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Apostles of enterprise
UniMelb announces first cadre of 12 professors tasked with commercialising research.
The University of Melbourne has revealed a 12-name ledger of luminaries for its inaugural Enterprise Professors slate. This group is intended to strengthen the ties between UniMelb’ s research communities and the business community.
“ The question of how universities and industry can best collaborate has been a key focus of policymakers and academics for years,” said deputy vice-chancellor( research) professor James McCluskey.“ Having people with significant expertise in business development working alongside faculty researchers is part of the solution and one we are committed to supporting fully.”
Provost professor Margaret Sheil further elaborated on the 12’ s purpose.
“ The new enterprise roles have been created to broaden and enrich the university’ s academic community,” Sheil said.“ The appointments draw in people from diverse industries and professions, collectively bringing with them deep leadership knowledge, skills and networks that will create new opportunities and inspire our research community.” �
UNIMELB’ S INAUGURAL ENTERPRISE PROFESSORS
1. Joanna Batstone – VP and lab director, IBM Research-Australia( Melbourne School of Engineering)
2. Colin McLeod – director, Rision( Faculty of Business and Economics)
3. John Pollaers – chairman, Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council( Faculty of Business and Economics)
4. Lisa Paul – former secretary of the Department of Education and Training( Faculty of Arts)
5. Don Henry – public policy fellow in environmentalism at the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute( Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning)
6. Ted Baillieu – former premier of Victoria( Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning)
7. John Brumby – former premier of Victoria( Faculty of Business and Economics)
8. Jurg von Kanel – associate director, IBM Research-Australia( Melbourne School of Engineering)
9. Manfred Grohmann – director, Bollinger + Grohmann Ingenieure( Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning)
10. Patrick Maes – former CTO and GM strategy and planning, global technology, services and operations, ANZ Bank( Melbourne School of Engineering)
11. David Morgan – managing director, JC Flowers & Co( Faculty of Business and Economics)
12. Andrew Cuthbertson – chief scientific officer and R & D director, CSL( Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences)
Tip: never drive in floodwater
It doesn’ t take much rainfall to make your car float away; don’ t try it.
Winter has thus far brought heavy rainfall and flash flooding across the Eastern Seaboard. In light of this inclement weather, University of New South Wales engineers have a simple message for any motorist considering
UNSW’ s Grantley Smith, who led the research. Photo: Grant Turner / UNSW
driving through floodwater: don’ t do it. Researchers from UNSW’ s Water Research Laboratory have conducted tests examining how small and large cars behave when they go through floodwater. The tests were a world first, as previous experiments used vehicle miniatures, rather than actual cars.
A Nissan Patrol 4-wheel-drive vehicle, weighing 2.5 tonnes, can be rendered unstable by floodwater 45 centimetres high with a flow speed of 3.6 kilometres an hour. Once the water reaches 95 centimetres, the Patrol can completely float, and needs almost zero force to move it by hand.
A small car like a Toyota Yaris, weighing 1.05 tonnes, can be moved by water only 15 centimetres deep and with a flow speed of 3.6 kilometres an hour. It completely floats away in 60 centimetres of water.
The scientists said an able-bodied adult is more stable in floodwater than most cars.
“ What was surprising was just how little water it took to make even a large vehicle unstable,” said principal engineer Grantley Smith, who led the research.“ They became vulnerable to moving floodwaters once the depth reached the floor of the vehicle. Even in low water depths and slow flow speeds, floodwaters had a powerful enough force to make them float away.”
Three men died earlier this year while trying to drive through floodwaters in separate incidents in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales.
“ People need to rethink their actions and not drive into floodwater, because by doing this they are not only placing their lives at risk, but the lives of our volunteers who have to go out and rescue them,” NSW State Emergency Service acting commissioner Greg Newton said. ■
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