Mission design at rocket speed

Operations on 22 February, 2019

Planning space missions is traditionally a time-consuming and costly process. But the new Australian National Concurrent Design Facility (ANCDF), housed at UNSW’s Canberra campus, speeds things up so a mission can be planned in weeks rather than months.

Harnessing the expertise, design processes and software of the French Space Agency CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales), the UNSW team has created Australia’s first concurrent design facility.

The ANCDF allows engineers and scientists—both professionals and students—to design different parts of a mission in parallel rather than one after the other, which is the traditional approach. Read More about Mission design at rocket speed

The shape of a perfect storm: saving lives by predicting firestorms

Operations on 9 January, 2019

Scientists available for interview – details and photos below.

Correction: an earlier version stated the tool is being formally trialed by the NSW Rural Fire SERVICE. It is currently in use, but formal trials ended in 2016.

A fully developed pyrocumulus cloud, formed from the smoke plume of the Grampians fire in February 2013. Credit: Randall Bacon

Firestorms are a nightmare for emergency services and anyone in their path. They occur when a bushfire meets a ‘perfect storm’ of environmental conditions and creates a thunderstorm.

Dr Rachel Badlan and Associate Professor Jason Sharples are part of a team of experts from UNSW Canberra and ACT Emergency Services that has found the shape of a fire is an important factor in whether it will turn into a firestorm.

Fires that form expansive areas of active flame, rather than spreading as a relatively thin fire-front, are more likely to produce higher smoke plumes and turn into firestorms, the researchers found.

This finding is being used to underpin further development of a predictive model for firestorms. The model was trialed in the 2015 and 2016 fire seasons by the ACT Emergency Services Agency and the NSW Rural Fire Service, and now forms part of the national dialogue around extreme bushfire development.  

Read More about The shape of a perfect storm: saving lives by predicting firestorms

The L’Oréal Foundation and the UNESCO recognise five exceptional women scientists with the 2011 For Women In Science awards

Operations on 11 November, 2010

Australian professor Jillian Banfield honoured as the 2011 Laureate for North America

November 11, 2010: Professor Ahmed Zewail, President of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards Jury, today announced the five Laureates of the 2011 program.  Each year, five outstanding women scientists – one per region – are honoured for the contributions of their research, the strength of their commitments and their impact on society.  With the Marie Curie Nobel Centenary being celebrated in 2011, this year the For Women in Science program has a particularly strong resonance, placing women and chemistry at the heart of science today.

The awards ceremony will take place on March 3, 2011 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.  Each Laureate will receive US$100,000 in recognition of her contributions to science. Read More about The L’Oréal Foundation and the UNESCO recognise five exceptional women scientists with the 2011 For Women In Science awards

The L'Oréal Foundation and the UNESCO recognise five exceptional women scientists with the 2011 For Women In Science awards

Operations on 11 November, 2010

Australian professor Jillian Banfield honoured as the 2011 Laureate for North America

November 11, 2010: Professor Ahmed Zewail, President of the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards Jury, today announced the five Laureates of the 2011 program.  Each year, five outstanding women scientists – one per region – are honoured for the contributions of their research, the strength of their commitments and their impact on society.  With the Marie Curie Nobel Centenary being celebrated in 2011, this year the For Women in Science program has a particularly strong resonance, placing women and chemistry at the heart of science today.

The awards ceremony will take place on March 3, 2011 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.  Each Laureate will receive US$100,000 in recognition of her contributions to science. Read More about The L'Oréal Foundation and the UNESCO recognise five exceptional women scientists with the 2011 For Women In Science awards

Fighting back against malaria

Operations on 24 August, 2010

Rowena Martin The Australian National University, Canberra/The University of Melbourne In the 1950s it seemed as if medical science was winning the fight against malaria with the help of the ‘wonder drug’ chloroquine. Over the past half century the…

Australian Fellows win Eureka Prizes

Science in Public on 17 August, 2010

2008 Fellow Amanda Barnard and 2010 Fellow Rowena Martin have been awarded Eureka Prizes for their research achievements. Amanda has won the 2010 Eureka Prize for Scientific Research for her work on predicting properties of nanoparticles in sunscreens….

On the hunt for dark energy

Niall on 24 August, 2009

Tamara Davis

University of Queensland / University of Copenhagen

In 1998 astronomers made an astonishing discovery-the expansion of the Universe is not happening at a steady rate, nor is it slowing down toward eventual collapse. Instead, it is accelerating. The discovery required a complete rethink of the standard model used to explain how the Universe works. Read More about On the hunt for dark energy