UNSW@ADFA Weekly News

2 November 2006

Message from the Deputy Rector

On 24 October 2006, I attended a meeting between the UNSW@ADFA DSA Centre and Program Leaders from NICTA. Let us hope that the links established at this meeting will lead to long term research collaborations between UNSW@ADFA and NICTA.

On Friday 27 October, the Commandant and I hosted a visit from staff and students from the National Defence University of the People's Republic of China. My thanks to the Academy Library for providing a tour to these visitors.

Later that day, I hosted a visit from members of the Civil Air Defence Office, Qinghai Province, People's Republic of China. My thanks to Michael Harrap and the School of ACME for their help with this visit.

On Tuesday 31 October 2006, I was very pleased to attend the UNSW@ADFA Research Day where many postgraduate students from all Schools delivered oral or poster presentations of their work. It was inspiring to learn of the diverse range of high quality research that is being carried out at UNSW@ADFA.

Congratulation to Matt Wheeler of HASS and Fernando Gesto of ACME for winning the prizes for the best presentations. I am sure that the judges Professor Sue Thomas (University of Canberra), Professor Hans Bachor (ANU) and Professor Tessa Morris-Suzuki (ANU) had an extremely difficult task in choosing the winners.

Congratulations also to Sean Farrell of PEMS for winning the prize for the best poster as voted by members of academic staff.

Professor John Arnold
Deputy Rector

Reminder: Campus Newsletter published fortnightly - Next published on 2 NJovember 2006
Please note that the UNSW@ADFA Newsletter is a fortnightly newsletter. If you have any suggestions as to the usability or content of the Newsletter please send to newsletter@adfa.edu.au. Please keep the items coming.

STAFF BULLETIN

If you have something you would like to contribute, please download and complete the submission form and email the information to newsletter@adfa.edu.au by 12 noon on the Wednesday prior. The website will be changed to reflect Fortnightly news rather than weekly as show above.

NEXT PUBLISHED CAMPUS NEWSLETTER THURS 16 NOVEMBER 2006.

'The Canberra Exhibition’

A show of 9 paintings and 22 prints - Papunya Tjupi Art at ADFA

This exhibition is the result of bringing together two groups of Indigenous artists who would not normally get to meet one another, let alone make art together. This cross cultural artistic exchange took place at one of Australia’s leading art schools, where all the artists grasped with both hands the opportunity to explore new media and experience the kind of equipment, materials and professional support most art students take for granted but only a handful of the thousands of Indigenous artists working across Australia today can access.

The exhibition at UNSW@ADFA is only the second exhibition of this body of work.

6 – 17 November 2006.

Open Hours:

Monday to Thursday 9am-9pm

Friday 9am-5pm

Saturday & Sunday 1pm-5pm

Venue Address: Australian Defence Force Academy Library

Contact: 02 6268 8116, or email jc.doyle@adfa.edu.au

CrimTrac – Current systems, future opportunities

Presenter: Mr Ben McDevitt, CEO of CrimTrac

Time: 12 noon (Half hour presentation followed by 10 minute question time)
Date: Monday, November 20, 2006
Location: Lecture Theatre North, LT6 (Please note the location)

Map of ADFA: http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/images/adfamap.pdf

About the seminar

Mr McDevitt will give an overview of what CrimTrac does as an agency undertaking the task of facilitating information sharing for Australian law enforcement agencies. He will also discuss the increasing reliance on biometrics in policing as well as some of the new technologies being explored by the agency.

About the Speaker

Mr McDevitt is the Chief Executive Officer of CrimTrac, the national law enforcement support agency which assists Australian police services through forensic science, information technology and communications advances.

Australian Operations Research Society, ACT Chapter

Operations Research Symposium 2006

30th November 2006

UNSW@ADFA, Canberra

The Australian Operations Research Society, ACT Chapter will host a one-day Symposium on Operations Research on 30th November 2006 at UNSW@ADFA, Canberra . The symposium will provide a forum for operations research scientists to exchange ideas and discuss their latest research and applications. All interested Operations Research academics and practitioners are invited to give a 20 - 30 minutes talk in the symposium.

The talks will be accepted based on its relevance to the symposium and quality of work content. The accepted talks will be notified by 17 th November 2006.

To cover the cost of tea and lunch, there will a small registration fee of $20 for ASOR member and $30 for non-member. Full-time students are free. Registration fee must be paid in cash at the registration desk on the day of symposium.

For planning purposes, it would be appreciated to receive your expression of interests by 10th November 2006. Expression of interests must be sent to either: Dr Ruhul Sarker (r.sarker@adfa.edu.au) or Dr Philip Kilby (Philip.Kilby@nicta.com.au).

Symposium Chair: Dr David Wood, (David.Wood1@defence.gov.au), President, ASOR, ACT Chapter.

Sponsors: ADFA Operations Research Group, DSTO Operations Research Group and ASOR-ACT Chapter.

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Expression of Interests

Title:..........................

Name .......................................

Organisation: ...................................................

Email: .................................................

Title of Talk:........................................................

Abstract (maximum 100 words): ........................................

Academic Procession

Participating in our graduation ceremonies gives you the opportunity to be involved in one of the happiest and most memorable occasions of a student's life at UNSW. All academic staff at UNSW@ADFA are encouraged to join an academic procession on Wednesday 13 December 2006. The ceremonies will be held in Adams Hall as follows:

10.00am – Business, Humanities and Social Sciences

2.30pm – Engineering, Science and Technology

An invitation to attend will be emailed to all academic staff shortly.

Classifieds

If you have something you would like to contribute, please download and complete the submission form and email the information to newsletter@adfa.edu.au by 12 noon on Wednesday prior.

For Sale

2004 SUBARU Impreza GX Auto hatch. Extras include: tow bar, window tint & protector kit (bonnet, foglight & headlight protectors) floor mat, just serviced (62,500 km) & new tyres fitted. $18,250 ono Contact Craig Benson ITEE x88206

Holden Commodore Calais – VT II Sedan 4dr Auto 4sp 3.8S – Silver – 16" alloy wheels, ABS (Antilock Brakes), adjustable steering column, air cond. - climate control, airbags - driver &passenger; side for 1st row occupants, alarm, 10 disc CD stacker, central locking - remote/keyless, control - traction, cruise control, disc brakes front ventilated, disc brakes rear solid, electric seats for driver & passenger, engine immobiliser, fog lamps, independent rear suspension, leather steering wheel, on-board computer, power door mirrors, steering & windows, remote boot/hatch & fuel lid release, auto levelling suspension, trip computer, leather & woodgrain inserts – has been great and efficient family car but is now surplus to requirements - $12000 ono – Contact Warren Smith ACME x88262

For Rent

Cosy coastal cottage available for weekend and holiday rental at Mossy Point (15 mins. South of Batemans Bay). Contact Susan Cowan x88898.

FREE COMMUNITY LECTURES and SEMINARS

Defence & Security Applications (DSA) Research Centre Seminar Series

Seminar Title: The Hardened and Networked army

Presenter: Lieutenant General Leahy (Chief of Army)

Time: 12 noon
Date: Monday, November 13, 2006
Location: Lecture Theatre 3

Map of ADFA: http://www.unsw.adfa.edu.au/images/adfamap.pdf

About the seminar

Lieutenant General Leahy will discuss the Hardened and Networked Army (HNA), a response to the requirements of the Defence 2000 White Paper, requirements further reiterated in the 2003 and 2005 Defence Update. HNA is the Army’s ten year development plan to meet the dynamic, developing security environment, the challenge of constant operation commitments and the need to modernise the force. The most pressing challenges are managing and growing the Army’s workforce, developing the infrastructure demands and changing Army and Defence’s cultural view of land forces.

About the Speaker

In April 1999, Lieutenant General Leahy was appointed Chief of Staff at Headquarters Australian Theatre. Lieutenant General Leahy is a graduate of the Australian Army Command and Staff College, the United States Army Command and General Staff College, the British Higher Command and Staff Course and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Defence and Strategic Studies. In June 2002 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and assumed the appointment of Chief of Army. He has since been awarded the United States Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious service as Chief of Army. In June 2005, Lieutenant General Leahy was reappointed as Chief of Army for a further three years.

School of Physical , Environmental & Mathematical Sciences

Upcoming Seminars

The Asia-Pacific Seminar convenors welcome suggestions for seminar speakers and topics. Please contact 2006 convenors: Minako Sakai (m.sakai@adfa.edu.au), Glenn Banks (glenn.banks@adfa.edu.au), Paul Tickell (p.tickell@adfa.edu.au)

Enquiries:

Taufiq Tanasaldy (apss@adfa.edu.au), tel. (02) 6268 8914

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RESEARCH & RESEARCH TRAINING OFFICE REPORT

UNSW@ADFA Goldstar Awards

The three UNSW Goldstar Awards allocated to UNSW@ADFA researchers are a further indication of the excellent research undertaken on this campus. Goldstar awards of $40,000 each were awarded to UNSW@ADFA researchers who narrowly missed ARC funding in the current round. As followers of all ARC-related matters are aware, this year was especially significant in that the success rate for ARC Discover grants was the lowest since the implementation of the Discovery funding scheme, making the winning of these grants even more significant.

Both the Rector and Associate Dean (Research) send their congratulations to the following researchers who came so close to obtaining prestigious ARC grants.

Dr Valeri Ougrinovski (ITEE) Research in robust estimation and modelling of uncertain signals using hidden Markov models

A/Prof Michael Frater, Professor John Arnold, Dr Mark Pickering (ITEE) Co mpression and Processing of Video for Immersive Environments

A/Prof Hans Riesen, Em Professor Greg Jackson (PEMS) Light-induced water flips in crystals: Ultra-high density optical storage on the molecular level.

Congratulations to Dr Tapabrata Ray

Professor John Baird (Rector) and Professor Ian Petersen A/g Associate Dean (Research) have great pleasure in congratulating Dr Tapabrata Ray from the School of Aerospace , Civil and Mechanical Engineering (ACME) on his recent award of a 2006 Anthony Mason Fellowship. Sir Anthony Mason became UNSW's fifth Chancellor in 1994 following a career in law during which he was appointed Queen's Counsel, Commonwealth Solicitor-General, Vice-Chairman of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, a judge in the NSW Supreme Court and a Justice of the High Court of Australia.

Congratulations to Ray on winning this prestigious award.

Research Day 2006

Once again the annual UNSW@ADFA Research Day was a great success, thanks to the efforts of our postgraduate students in preparing a great array of posters and spectacular presentations. The afternoon sessions of Research Day included the Effective Supervision Workshop for postgraduate supervisors and Thesis Submission and Postgraduate Opportunity Seminar for postgraduate students. The Effective Supervision workshop conducted by Dr Catherine Manathunga from the University of Queensland was given what could only be termed ‘rave reviews', with students gleaning valuable advice from the Graduate Research School team lead by the Dean, Professor Margaret Harding .

Research Day would not run smoothly without the unstinting assistance of a large number of willing helpers. The Research and Research Training Office would like to extend special thanks to Ms Trish Boaden and her team in ETS for both the printing of the program and posters. Both were printed within very tight timeframes and were much appreciated for their professionalism by both the visiting academics and students. We would also like to thank the Academy Library and Library staff for their assistance and attendance throughout the day. The assistance provided by Fiona Brearley of the Defence and Security Applications Research Centre (DSA) with the large number of tasks involved with preparations for Research Day was also greatly appreciated.

Very, very special thanks, though, must go to Mr Abhijit Kallapur from the School of Aerospace , Civil and Mechanical Engineering. Without Abhi's (very) last minute intervention, the slick professionalism and organisation of the PowerPoint presentations would not have been possible. Abhi – on behalf of all postgraduate student presenters, the A/g Rector and A/g Associate Dean (Research), we thank you for your contribution which made the day run so smoothly. Oh – the RRTO thanks you too: the manager may even forgive you for causing her computer to crash!

Best Presentation Awards on Research Day

The three judges for the presentations –renowned researchers from the ANU and University of Canberra – were very impressed with the high calibre of research undertaken on this campus and waxed eloquent on the professionalism with which students gave their presentations. The judges informed the Research and Research Training Office that they had great difficulty in making a final decision as three presentations in the Engineering/Science category were almost inseparable. Unfortunately, only one prize could be given for the best presentation from each category (Business/Humanities and Engineering/Science).

1 st Prize for Humanities and Social Science

Mr Matt Wheeler, School of Humanities and Social Sciences won the first prize of $800 for his presentation ‘ From “Cool Shade” to “Southern Fire”: Security and violence in southernmost Thailand '

Abstract : Over the past five years, the predominantly Malay-Muslim provinces of southernmost Thailand have experienced a resurgence of political violence, with at least 1,500 people killed since the beginning of 2004 alone. Although resistance to Thai rule by Malay Muslims seeking an independent, Islamic state has recurred over the past century, the latest phase of violence erupted just as armed separatism appeared to be a spent force. Security and administrative policies instituted in the 1980s, dubbed “South in the Cool Shade,” brought about a decline in political violence that persisted through the 1990s. In particular, the Southern Border Provinces Administrative Center (SBPAC) and a security command called Civilian-Police-Military Task Force 43 (CPM 43) are credited with winning the cooperation of Malay Muslims, curbing violent separatism, and enhancing the legitimacy of the Thai state. Existing studies of the current unrest in southernmost Thailand attribute the rise in violence in large measure to the dissolution of the SBPAC and CPM 43 in 2002. The scale and intensity of recent unrest, however, call into question the “success” of security measures enacted during the 1980s and 1990s and demand a reassessment of the quality of that period's relative peace. A detailed study of how the “Cool Shade” administrative and security arrangements functioned should yield a deeper understanding of why political violence declined in the 1990s, why it returned, and how it may be more successfully countered in the future.

1 st Prize for Science and Engineering

Mr Fernando Gesto, School of Aerospace , Civil and Mechanical Engineering won the first prize of $800 for his presentation ‘ Becoming Invisible at Supersonic Speeds'

Abstract : Thrust Vectoring – the capacity to change the direction of the thrust produced by an aircraft's engine to change and control the aircraft's flight trajectory – is a technology that has been incorporated in some high performance military aircraft. By providing an alternative to aerodynamic surfaces for controlling vehicle flight, thrust vectoring therefore has the potential to redefine conventional approaches to aircraft design and the employment of the aircraft itself.

Until now, the main mechanisms that have been used to vector the thrust have been mechanical (Mechanical Thrust Vectoring), that is; by the mechanical re-positioning of the nozzle or thrust chamber off the engine's centre-line, or by the deflection of the exhaust flow via exit vanes. Fluidic Thrust Vectoring on the other hand, investigates the capacity to change the direction of thrust produced by an aircraft's engine, by controlling the interaction of fluid flows inside the engine.

This presentation discusses the advantages of fluidic thrust vectoring over mechanical thrust vectoring, and the lab experiments and computational analysis on this future technology being set up at the UNSW@ADFA.

Research Day Poster Competition

At the request of students who submitted posters in the competition this year, voting for first place was restricted to member of academic staff (who says the Research and Research Training Office doesn't listen to requests from students?). The rational was quite simple and aimed at preventing ‘vote stacking': as if such a thing would ever happen!

Special thanks must go to ETS for their great work in producing the high-quality posters at such short notice and to the students for the enormous effort put into designing the great posters which made such a significant contribution to the success of Research Day. We would like to thank all participants in this competition – as always, the posters attracted a great dealof interest and displayed the diversity of reasearch undertaken by our students. All posters entered into the competition will shortly be on display in the Academy Library.

First Prize: The cash prize of $500 was awarded to:

• Mr Sean Farrell from the School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences.

(We hear on the grapevine that there was another well-deserved prize awarded: something akin to the Packer's Prize at the Archibald. We're not saying any more….)

Dean's Awards

Professor Ian Petersen, A/g Associate Dean (Research) is pleased to announce that that theFaculty of Engineering @UNSW will again this year be running the Dean's Awards for Excellence in Postgraduate Research as a Poster Competition. Four Postgraduate Research Students from UNSW@ADFA have been selected to present their posters at this prestigious event.

The Dean's Awards for Postgraduate Research received a large number of excellent entries and following ranking based on the abstract received, a total of 48 students were short-listed for the poster presentation event. Professor John Arnold , Acting Rector, would like to congratulate the four UNSW@ADFA students selected to present their research at the event in Kensington on November 8 th and wishes them every success with their presentations.

Winners will be selected based on content of the poster and on a short presentation (5 minutes maximum) to judges in front of their poster. A total of 5 prizes will be awarded, one prize for Best Poster Overall ($3000), and 4 prizes for Runner Up in each of the Faculty Research themes ($500 each). Prize monies will be awarded to students to support their travel expenses to local and/or international conferences.

The four successful UNSW@ADFA students are:

Mahendra Samal Kumar (ACME)
Vinod Rajayogan (ACME)
Germane Xavier Athanasius (ITEE)
Vinh Bui (ITEE)

November 14 - Faculty Seminar – A/Prof Jacky Croke

Landscape Processes and Change: A Geomorphologist's Perspective

Abstract : In today's world, we are bombarded with images and data relating to a deteriorating physical environment. Topics such as global climate change, salinity, drought, declining water resources are commonplace in science and the media. A Geomorphologist is interested in the earth's processes and in many cases how human interaction can modify and alter these processes. While scale is a big issue in all geographical research, a Geomorphologist appreciates the need for adopting a ‘landscape' perspective in both research and practice. This talk provides a general overview of landscape processes and change in Australia, introducing concepts such as ‘thresholds' for change, lag times in response and recovery of landscapes. Using a number of case studies from specific geographic locations, this talk will discuss some of the critical issues in practice and research for geomorphology today. The talk will conclude with a discussion of the urgent need for geomorphology to contribute to the environmental debate that is increasingly being played out in a political, rather than scientific, arena.

The Faculty Seminar will be held in SL1 (Bld 21). Refreshments will available in the ACME/ P/g lounge from 3:15 and the seminar commence at 3:40pm. After the presentation, time will be available for questions and feedback. All staff and research students are encouraged to attend as Faculty Seminars provide a great opportunity for networking across all Schools at UNSW@ADFA .

And despite the fact that the only time we ever received a full complement of responses to our request for an RSVP was when there was a typo in the broadcast email, we have still not given up!! (The Manager of the Research and Research Training Office is obviously a slow learner – or subject to wishful thinking.......)

Please RSVP to Elvira Berra at e.berra@adfa.edu.au or on 88112 by cob on 10 November.

Upcoming Events

DATE	TITLE	VENUE
13 Oct	ADFA Golf Competition	Fairnain Golf Club
13 Dec	Degree Conferrals	Adams Hall

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