PhD student saves Australian water authorities $90 million a year on pipe maintenance

17 May 2012

And wins the 2012 CSIRO Cooperative Research Centres’ Award for early career researchers A young PhD student has won the CSIRO-sponsored speakers’ award for early career researchers for his presentation at the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) Association’s annual conference in Adelaide. Fengfeng Li, a Queensland University of Technology student with the CRC for Infrastructure and Engineering  Read More...

Rocky road for faster trains

16 May 2012

Anyone who has travelled on trains in Europe or Japan rocketing along in silence and comfort wonders why Australian trains continue to trundle at 1940s speeds. It’s not the train or even the lines, but the rocky foundations (or ballast) on which the rails are laid, and results in strict speed limits for trains. The  Read More...

‘Green steel’ from old rubber tyres produces no waste or toxic fumes

16 May 2012

The ‘impossible’ achieved through deep collaboration between Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology and OneSteel The seemingly impossible dream of producing steel with the help of recycled materials such as old rubber tyres and plastics is now a reality thanks to close researcher-industry collaboration. University of New South Wales researchers and OneSteel Ltd collaborated  Read More...

Australian solar cell technology breaks the 20% barrier

16 May 2012

Aussie researchers team with Suntech to develop Pluto Technology World-class Australian solar research has produced new photovoltaic solar cells that recently broke the 20% barrier for conversion efficiency in capturing the sun’s energy, the highest ever efficiency for a low-cost, commercial silicon solar cell. Suntech’s Pluto solar cell production capacity reached 0.5 gigawatts last year.  Read More...

Leaky rusty water pipes pose million-dollar problem for water authorities

16 May 2012

Australia’s water mains are getting older, and bursting or leaking water pipes are costing business and local residents millions of dollars, but many of these dollars could be saved thanks to some clever computer modeling by a PhD researcher. The costs come through extended loss of service supply, water contamination, massive losses of water, and  Read More...

Some kids can hear but don’t listen

16 May 2012

A significant number of children aged 6 to 18 can ‘hear’ everything that’s said in a noisy environment, but they have trouble taking it in. It’s a problem which causes great concern to parents and teachers, and may affect up to one child in every classroom. Although these difficulties are commonly referred to as Auditory  Read More...

The CAT scan search for the perfect lamb chop

16 May 2012

Australians love their lamb, but health-conscious meat-eaters are looking to leaner lamb chops for the dining table. Now farmers have a new tool to help them choose sheep most likely to produce the lamb people want – and it all started with a machine that has transformed medical testing, the CAT scanner. PhD student Fiona  Read More...

Nano solution to sick building syndrome

16 May 2012

‘Sick building syndrome’ causes persistent illness in office workers and costs the Australian economy an estimated $12 billion a year, but nanotechnology may have an answer. Sick buildings are created when fumes given off from a range of products: paints, photocopiers, office furnishings and plastics. Known as volatile organic compounds, these fumes are a major  Read More...

New test identifies attention difficulties in kids as one cause of listening problems

16 May 2012

Children with poor listening skills can now be distinguished from those with hearing problems thanks to a new test created by HEARing Cooperative Research Centre Researcher Imran Dhamani. The problem emerged as anxious parents reported their children as having difficulty in listening, especially in noisy classrooms. It may affect as many as one child in  Read More...

Deep collaboration with solar, sheep, sensitive hearing aids, chicken vaccines and green steel reaps $billions

16 May 2012

Deep collaboration with industry and across sciences has won five innovative research projects an Australian Collaborative Innovation Award for 2012. Announced this evening [Wednesday 16 May 2012], the awards recognise the impacts of collaboration on advancing Australian technology and knowhow. Pluto technology, the world’s most commercially successful photovoltaic cell, has increased solar cell efficiency to  Read More...