Today at the Airshow:
The Monash team that brought you the world’s first 3D printed jet engine…
Now has the world’s largest 3D metal printer, and have just used it to print a giant aircraft door hinge—the largest powder bed 3D printed metal aerospace component. It’s 11kg and 40 by 80 by 39cm in size.
Media call today at 11am on the Victorian Government display at the International Airshow in Avalon.
Tomorrow in Sydney: polymer science making plastic fantastic
Smarter bank notes, health-protecting wearable electronics, and bendy solar cells are just some of the ways that polymer science is making plastic fantastic.
This week, three Australian researchers will tell audiences in Sydney and Melbourne how they are putting polymers to work.
More below or email toni@scienceinpublic.com.au.
March: Why has pregnancy become so complicated? Can we change?
Pregnancy has become complicated and confusing. Two Melbourne mums and midwives are on a mission to change that.
“Over the past century, we’ve transformed the birth experience—saving millions of lives, mums and babies. But along the way, we’ve lost something,” says midwife Agnele Mihovilovic.
“It’s time to use all we now know about the first 1,000 days to empower women with adequate support and direction to nurture and nourish themselves, and their baby.”
“And we need to push all health professionals to understand that they need to change their approach, and communicate differently with 21st century mums,” she says.
April: saving lives by the millions
Australians have gained 25 years, and China’s life expectancy has doubled, child birth is much safer, smallpox and polio are gone. Public health has transformed millions of lives. But what do the next 50 years hold?
Australia is a hotspot for lifestyle-influenced diseases such as diabetes, alcohol-related liver damage, obesity, stress, and mental health challenges. We’re also facing an ageing population and a changing climate.
We’ll be exploring these and many other issues such as smoking, car safety, and adolescent health at the World Congress on Public Health in Melbourne, from 3 to 7 April, bringing together academics and policy makers from universities and institutions around the world, including the World Health Organisation.
We’ve included a taster below. We’ll tell you more throughout March.
Kind regards,
Melbourne hosts the world’s largest 3D metal printer—and it’s open for business
The biggest powder bed 3D printed metal aerospace component is on display at the Melbourne International Airshow at Avalon.
Monash University has commissioned the world’s largest metal printer, and has used it to print a large door hinge from a Chinese jet airliner. The aluminium hinge weighs 11 kg and is 40 by 80 by 39 cm in size. It is the largest powder bed 3D printed metal aerospace component printed to date.
The $3.5 million Xline 2000R printer acquired by Monash University is one of five made to date by German manufacturer Concept Laser. It’s the only one outside America and Europe, the only one based in a university and the only one in the southern hemisphere available for contract manufacturing.
“The new printer allows us to make large complex shapes and unique tools quicker, lighter and with less waste,” says Professor Xinhua Wu who leads the Monash 3D printing initiative. There are several types of 3D printing. The powder bed approach uses a laser moving across a base plate to fuse fine coatings of metal powder, one layer at a time, to gradually build an object.
Monash University and spin-off company Amaero Engineering demonstrated their mastery of additive manufacturing in metal at the 2015 Airshow when they presented the world’s first printed jet engine.
Since then, Amaero has operated as the commercial arm of the 3D printing initiative. “This new printer creates promising opportunities for advanced manufacturing in Australia for global markets,” says Amaero CEO Barrie Finnin. “Last year, we printed production components that are now flying in passenger jets and small turbojet engines. Our technology is also now operating in our manufacturing facility in Toulouse with our partner Safran – the French-based global aerospace and defence company.”
“Now we can literally go bigger. This new capability will be of great interest to our aerospace and automotive customers in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia,” Barrie says.
The Amaero team are presenting a range of printed components for inspection on their stand at the Airshow, including
- the first 3D printed jet engine (a Safran gas turbine power unit from a Falcon executive jet)
- the large jetliner door hinge
- a large, complex air intake component
- a cut away view of a new rocket motor design.
The development and commercialisation of this advanced 3D metal printing technology has been supported by Monash University; Safran; and the Australian Government through the Entrepreneur’s Programme; the ARC; and other agencies. CSIRO and Deakin University were also participants in the original engine printing project supported by SIEF which continues to provide valuable data and software tools.
Find out more about Amaero: www.amaero.com.au
For interviews contact:
- Amaero: Niall Byrne, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, +61 3 9398 1416; +61 417 131-977
- Monash: Claire Bowers, claire.bowers@monash.edu, +61 3 9905 4218; +61 438 971 837
Stills and video of 3D printers at work are available. Contact Niall Byrne.
Tobacco, taxes, divestment, data, and disease control: a taste of the Congress program
Doctors, nurses, surgeons, ambos, and other individuals are all saving lives, one at a time. But well-designed public health programs and policies—such as providing cities with sanitation systems or the eradication of small pox—save and transform lives by the millions.
Australians are living 25 years longer, thanks in part to public health interventions ranging from plain packs to lockout laws to childhood vaccinations, and from addressing malnutrition to tackling obesity. Find out what the next 50 years have in store at the World Congress on Public Health in Melbourne in April.
We’re better at managing infectious disease outbreaks, predicting and preventing the onset of non-communicable diseases like diabetes, talking about the importance of mental health, changing attitudes to smoking, and planning cities that promote healthier lifestyles.
Will we still live as long in the face of new challenges such as climate change? What’s the quality of life we’re experiencing, particularly in our senior years? Why are other countries being left behind? What does the next century in public health hold for humanity?
The Congress provides a unique opportunity to explore these and other challenges, put public health on the agenda in Australia, and hear presentations from leading international experts. Keynote speakers and topics include:
- Last century, it was clean water and sanitation. This century, it’s clean air, air pollution and climate change. Maria Neira, World Health Organization will explore if we’re at a turning point in public health.
- Divestment movements versus increasing taxes: how linking health and finance can cut the number of lives lost to tobacco use—Prabhat Jha, Centre for Global Health Research, and Bronwyn King, Tobacco Free Portfolios.
- Is food the key to healthier people and planet? Alessandro Demaio, World Health Organization presents on the parallel problems of obesity-related disease and the climate change impacts of our food systems.
- How do vested interests use astroturfing, sowing doubt and lobbying to steer governments away from evidence-based public health policy? Peter Miller, Deakin University, will explore alcohol, tobacco and gambling examples.
- Can Africa’s health problems can only be improved by African people doing work in Africa?—Alex Ezeh, African Population and Health Research Center.
If you’d like to attend the conference, media passes are available—contact Ellie Michaelides on ellie@scienceinpublic.com.au to register.
We’ll be tweeting news and interesting content from the Congress from @WCPH2017 using the hashtag #WCPH2017.
For more information about media at the Congress, visit the Science in Public website: www.scienceinpublic.com.au/publichealthcongress
For more information about the Congress itself, visit the website: www.wcph2017.com/index.php
Polymer science making plastic fantastic
Academy of Science events this week in Melbourne and Sydney—speakers available for interview.
Smarter bank notes, health-protecting wearable electronics, and bendy solar cells are just some of the ways that polymer science is making plastic fantastic. This week, three Australian researchers will tell audiences in Sydney and Melbourne how they are putting polymers to work.
Wearable patches that warn of sunburn and smart contact lenses that act as sunglasses are just the beginning for RMIT’s Associate Professor Madhu Bhaskaran who hopes her research into “stretchy electronics” will lead to wearable devices that can improve our health.
Printable solar cells—in our windows, curtains and even our clothes—are the future, according to Dr Scott Watkins. While at CSIRO he worked with the Victorian Organic Solar Cell Consortium (VICOSC) on developing new materials and printing processes to manufacture polymer-based solar cells.
And over in Adelaide, Associate Professor Drew Evans and his team at the Future Industries Institute created the world’s first plastic car mirror—over 3 million of which they’ve now exported to America. The process they’ve developed allows manufacturers to replace components made from traditional materials like glass, in cars, aircraft, spacecraft, and even whitegoods—making them lighter and more efficient.
In many ways, these innovations can be traced back to the humble $10 note. Fifty years ago—following a major forgery, CSIRO’s Professor David Solomon was invited to a meeting about how to make bank notes more secure. His solution became Australia’s world-famous plastic bank note and was based on Professor Solomon’s glittering career in the field of polymer science.
With Professor Ezio Rizzardo David Solomon went on to discover the first practical method of making controlled polymer structures by a simple method termed NMP.
“This represented a quantum leap in polymer science,” said Academy President Andrew Holmes, himself a chemist who led the VICOSC project.
“Controlled polymerisation allowed chemists to make polymers that were not accessible before. As we could stop and start the chain reactions, we could create all sorts of shapes and sizes, and make polymers with different properties. This has led to an explosion in commercial applications for these materials, from medicine to the environment, and paints to electronic materials,” said Andrew.
Polymers in a material world is the first event in the Australian Academy of Science’s 2017 National Speaker Series Plastic Fantastic. It comes to Melbourne on 28 February and Sydney on 2 March.
Other talks will follow later in the year in Wollongong, Brisbane and Adelaide. The series is presented with the support of Professor David Solomon AC.
The event speakers are available for interview: please contact Toni Stevens on 0401 763 130 to arrange.
Having a baby: it’s time to take the pressure off
Pregnancy has become complicated and confusing. Two Melbourne mums and midwives are on a mission to change that.
“Over the past century, we’ve transformed the birth experience—saving millions of lives: mums and babies. But along the way we’ve lost something,” says Agnele Mihovilovic.
“It’s time to use all we now know about the first 1,000 days to empower women with adequate support and direction to nurture and nourish themselves, and their baby.”
“And we need to push all health professionals to understand that they need to change their approach, and communicate differently with 21st century mums,” she says.
Women today are overwhelmed with an array of often conflicting information from their GP, midwife, obstetrician, complementary health providers, family, friends, Facebook and Dr Google. They’re confused and often scared.
- Some have expectations of control—a perfect ‘Women’s Day’ pregnancy, natural birth and straight back to the gym. And when that doesn’t happen, they’re lost and confused.
- Some have no time to stop and think about their developing baby.
- Some are just terrified about what’s happening to them during pregnancy.
Karen McNeil and Agnele Mihovilovic say pregnancy doesn’t have to be that way. As working midwives in Melbourne, they’ve seen it all. They’ve seen hundreds of happy healthy mums and babies. But they’ve also seen the overbearing obstetrician, the single-minded midwifery model of care, the natural evangelist fighting the system, and the scared young mums overwhelmed by making the right choice for herself and her baby.
“Epigenetics, epidemiology, neuroscience and psychology have expanded our understanding of how the development of a baby in the womb during pregnancy is influenced by genetic input, but also by environmental factors and the mother’s emotional health,” says Karen. “Now we can use that knowledge to guide and inform women.”
Angele and Karen are planning to speak at conferences of health professionals to help them change their thinking. And they’re running workshops for prospective and pregnant mums in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Peace of mind comes:
- when a mother has a clear understanding of the choices that are available from the beginning of pregnancy
- with good nutrition; balancing mind, body, and spirit
- with strong emotional connections with those who matter to you
- by reducing stress and worry during pregnancy.
Agnele and Karen are available for interview. Contact them via email at pregnancyprep@nurturingus.com.au or call Karen on
0418 765 619 and Agnele on 0411 082 013.
For more information visit www.nurturingus.com.au.
More about Science in Public
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Kind regards,
________
Niall Byrne
Creative Director
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