A hat trick of tall poppies
By Emma Masters
One third of this year's nine South Australian Young Tall Poppy Science awards
have been won by UniSA researchers for their investigations in specialised science
and technology fields – one on the social and economic repercussions of fatigue,
another for improving communication systems, and one in augmented reality.
The awards recognise the achievements of outstanding young researchers and this year is the first time UniSA researchers have won a hat trick of Tall Poppies, reflecting UniSA’s growing research strength.
Dr Adam Fletcher, a senior research fellow at UniSA's Centre for Behavioural Science, received a Young Tall Poppy Science award for his investigations into sleep and work-related fatigue. He says that while the cost of fatigue has been well acknowledged in some areas – such as road and workplace safety – the impact of lack of sleep on a person's family life and general well-being is all too often dismissed. His computer model that predicts fatigue has been commercialised and is now in demand nationally and overseas.
Professor Alex Grant, who at 33 is UniSA's youngest professor, won a Tall Poppy for his contribution to information theory. He has been using mathematical theories to explore and extend communications systems, such as wireless data networks, broadband systems and new mobile telephony networks, to help deliver cheaper and better communications to the public. Leader of the Coding and Information Theory Research Group at UniSA's Institute for Telecommunications Research, Prof Grant is named in six patents.
Dr Wayne Piekarski, a UniSA PhD graduate and lecturer in the School of Computer and Information Science, received an award for his doctoral research into user interface design and augmented reality (AR), a process of projecting computer-generated images over a user's view of the real world.
Dr Piekarski built a mobile AR computer – with a backpack, virtual reality glasses, gloves with metallic sensors and a video camera that watches the user’s hands – so augmented reality can be experienced in an outdoor environment.
“People had built AR systems before, but my mobile system is one of the first that allows you to really control and interact with it where users can grab and change the virtual models using their hands,“ Piekarski says.
While the awards recognise scientific achievement, they also have a strong focus
on the researchers’ contribution to community awareness and education. UniSA’s three
award recipients said they were honoured to receive the prestigious award and look
forward to continuing to promote science and technology to the public, a part of
their award winning obligations.