Engineering a better future
by Rebecca Gill
Whyalla-born
William T Southcott Scholarship recipient Nick Palousis is an
aggressively ambitious businessman with a difference.
A dab hand at engineering, 25-year-old Palousis has a strong passion to save the planet. Combined with some country boy charm, it's not hard to see why this serial high-achiever is emerging as one of Australia's most influential young science entrepreneurs.
Palousis's vision of a sustainable future has been given a boost by a PhD scholarship, housed in the School of Advanced Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering at Mawson Lakes. Established by a generous bequest from engineer William T Southcott, the $105,000 scholarship will be used to develop ways to make manufacturing more environmentally friendly.
Palousis, who already has a swag of engineering and leadership awards
under his belt, said his biggest achievement has been co-founding the
influential
non-profit group, The Natural Edge Project, a sustainability think-tank to
which Palousis is a secretariat member.
And while Palousis has the earth's best interests in mind and heart, he also wants to boost companies’ bottom lines.
"With industry, if it's not economically viable, then it's less likely to be implemented. If I want to make a difference with this PhD, then I need to find a solution that is beneficial to all stakeholders."
Coming from a mechatronic background, Palousis aims to combine systems engineering with business strategy to design ways for electronics and automotive production to be streamlined to save resources and reduce toxic waste.
"A significant proportion of Australia's electronic and automotive products are produced in South Australia. I'm in a perfect position to tap my research into these markets and really make some progress," says Palousis.
For some PhD students, the problem with innovation lies in commercialisation, but Palousis is already collaborating closely with industry to ensure the real world needs of manufacturers are met.
"I am liaising with government agencies like the Department of Trade and Economic Development and the European Commission in Belgium, and with private sector companies, like Sony Europe. So far the research is going really well. I'm very excited about the future."
The Natural Edge Project,
www.naturaledgeproject.net