ResTech's Pierre Gouhier Honoured at Engineers Australia Centenary Dinner

Congratulations to our very own Pierre Gouhier who was honoured for his role with the Newcastle Division Education Sub-Committee at the Engineers Australia Centenary dinner on May 23, 2019.

Members of the Education Sub-Committee were recognised for their volunteer work & contribution to Engineers Australia’s Tomorrow's Engineers STEM strategy. A key part of the strategy is providing teachers with CPD opportunities, tangible resources and valuable links between Engineering Studies teachers, industry and the Engineering profession.

To find out more head to the Engineers Australia website.

Pierre Gouhier (left) pictured with Paul Reynolds - two members of the Engineers Australia's Newcastle Division Education Sub-Committee

Engineers Australia - Electrical Branch Division 2019 Program

ResTech's Peter Stepien is Chair of the Engineers Australia Newcastle Division Electrical Branch Committee. This committee support  Continued Professional Development (CPD) activities through monthly presentations in person and online via webinar. 

The 2019 program is outlined below (as at 9/7/2019)

• February 13/02/19 - Generation Facilitating Large Scale Uptake of Renewables - Sara Johnston and Clare Paynter

• March 13/03/19 - Advanced Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) Systems - Dr KC Wong

• April 10/04/19 - Is Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiting (REFCL) Technology the Correct Choice? Dr Bill Carman

• May 8/05/19 - Newcastle Light Rail: Overhead Live Wiring versus On Board Energy Storage - Patrick Lehane

• June 12/06/19 - Concentrated Solar Thermal: A Case Study

• July 10/07/19 - Embedded Systems Smorgasbord - Brenton Schulz

• August 14/08/19 - Forecasting in the National Electricity Market

• September 11/09/19 - Is Rapid Earth Fault Current Limiting (REFCL) Technology the Correct Choice? - Dr Bill Carman

• October 9/10/19 - Micro Grids in Remote Communities - Vi Garrood

• November 13/11/19 - Could the Electricity Network withstand an Earthquake? (including Annual Meeting)

To find out more about an upcoming CPD session or to register, check out the  Engineers Australia events page.

Dr Peter Stepien Presents at the Down To Earth Conference

Our Senior R&D Engineer Dr Peter Stepien is presenting at the 5th annual Down To Earth Conference in Melbourne from 27 - 28 November, 2018.

Peter has been involved in a range of investigations into earth fault limited power systems, including electric shock incidences and the use of VSDs, covering the effect of circulating currents, touch potential and the impact on protection devices. Peter will be speaking about simulation models of trailing cables in underground coal mines at the conference.

The team at ResTech are involved in the design and development of electronic equipment and provides a consultancy service to industry, contact us to find out how we can assist with your next project.

ResTech presents at 28th Electrical Engineering Safety Seminar (EESS)

ResTech’s Richard Griffiths will be presenting at the 28th Electrical Engineering Safety Seminar (EESS) on 7-8 November, 2018. Held in Sydney, this annual event welcomes abstracts from industry experts on a variety of topics around the theme ‘Electrical Engineering Safety - Back to Basics’.

Our Senior R&D Engineer, Richard Griffiths will be presenting his topic ‘A Demonstration and Trail of Adaptive Protection’ exploring a key requirement of electrical protection, to properly manage touch potential exposure risk.

ResTech is undertaking an ACARP project that sets out to demonstrate and trial a system that allows protection quantities and settings to be automatically determined to decrease nuisance tripping in many situations, while maximizing safety and ensuring compliance.

ResTech's Justin Gavranich Represents Australia at IECEx Meeting

Our R&D Embedded Systems Engineer Justin Gavranich Justin was the lead Australian delegate to attend the IECEx Management committee held in Cannes, France in September 2018.

Justin is heavily involved Standards Australia and is the Chairman of ET-006-01 Australian IEC Ex Conformity Assessment committee and EL-014-13 Equipment for Explosive Atmospheres Technical discussion committee.

Justin is also involved in numerous other committees as a technical expert including EL-014 Equipment for Explosive Atmospheres, EL-014-04 Intrinsic Safety, EL-014-09 Gas Detectors and ET-006 Australian IEC Conformity.

With team members like Justin, playing an active role within IECEx and Standards Australia committees, this allows us to have a clear understanding of standards and conformity assessment when it comes to your R&D needs. Contact us to find out how we can assist you with your next R&D project.

Justin Gavranich (right), lead Australian delegate at IECEx meeting in Cannes, France

Engineers Australia - Newcastle Division Electrical Branch Program 2018

ResTech's Peter Stepien is Chair of the Engineers Australia Newcastle Division Electrical Branch Committee. This committee support  Continued Professional Development (CPD) activities through monthly presentations in person and online via webinar. 

The 2018 program is outlined below (as at 16/05/2018)

• Feburary 14/02/18 - The Evolution of Ampcontrol: From Start Up to Success and Beyond Peter Cockbain, AM

• March 14/03/18 - Microsatellites Professor Andrew Dempster

• April 11/04/18 - Building a Wind Farm: The Australian Context Bruce Rummins

• May 9/05/18 - Construction of an Electric Vehicle: A Case Study Jon Eggenhuizen

• June 13/06/18 - High-Power Battery Charging James Kennedy

• July 11/07/18 - A Different Way of Looking at Our Power Systems Dr Terrence Summers

• August 8/08/18 - Alternative Generation Options in the Balance

• September 12/09/18 - Advanced Nuclear Reactors Tony Irwin

• October 10/10/18 - DC System and Power Electronics: A Friend of Foe?

• November 14/11/18 - Energy Storage: Opportunities and Challenges Beyond the Hype (incorporating AGM) Dr Glenn Platt

To find out more about an upcoming CPD session or to register, check out the  Engineers Australia events page.

ResTech presents at 2018 Mine Safety Electrical Conference

ResTech's Senior R&D Engineer Peter Stepien will be presenting his findings on Electrically Safe Variable Speed Drive (VSD) for Underground Mining Applications at the Mine Electrical Safety Conference (MESC) this week in Brisbane from July 9 - 11.  

Peter will provide an overview about this ACARP funded research group at the University of Newcastle and collaboration with ResTech and Ampcontrol. Peter will discuss how a solution can be delivered to the mining industry as a finished product in the shortest time possible. To find out more about Peter's upcoming session at MESC, click here.  

Newcastle City Council unveil 'Smart City' signs designed at ResTech

On May 28, 2018 Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and Councillor Peta Winney unveiled the first of many dual language signs to support the integration of smart city technology across Newcastle. 

ResTech was recently involved in a Hunter-based innovation as one R&D partner with the City of Newcastle for the Aboriginal Dual Naming ‘Smart City’ cultural trail project, led by the Council’s Guraki Aboriginal Advisory Committee.

Supported by research with linguists and local Aboriginal communities, place name spellings and pronunciations were established so ResTech could incorporate the language elements into the sign’s hardware design, development and fabrication. The signs will be showcased as examples of smart city technology through the augmented reality program that will be launched by the Council during NAIDOC Week in July 2018.

Showcasing the indigenous language of the Worimi and Awabakal people, the signs are part of a larger dual naming project backed by Newcastle City Council in prominent landmarks to create a a cultural signage trail across the city. The innovative smart city technology solution includes solar panels, wave finders, audio exciters and the industrial internet of things (IIoT) to capture data around the number of visitors to the sign and how many people have heard a native speaker say the place name.

ResTech were heavily involved in the project from initial rapid prototyping and design through the fabrication of the finished product.

To find out more about Newcastle City Council's indigenous trail click here.

Congratulations - Justin Gavranich - Young Engineer of the Year

We congratulate ResTech Research and Development Engineer Justin Gavranich who has been awarded Engineers Australia, Newcastle Division, Young Engineer of the Year.

Justin graduated from Griffith University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic Engineering with First Class Honours and has since achieved exceptional success in the hazardous area industry.

Justin has a passion for all areas of technology with a strong foundation in hazardous area (explosion protected) electronic design. He’s taken an active role in the development of technical standards in both national and international forums, including completing the Standards Australia Young Leaders Program and representing Australia at the 2015 International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) Young Professional Workshop.

As a young engineer and the first in his family to attend university, Justin is passionate about the importance of mentoring for aspiring young engineers.

We wish Justin the best of luck as he progresses to the national award.

Justin with his engineering colleagues at the Sally Chapman Memorial Dinner

Sustainable Options for Developing Water Harvest and Supply

Join ResTech Principal, Clint Bruin as he explores sustainable options for developing water harvest and supply at the Australian Regional Development Conference, 11 - 12 September 2017. 

People in small communities of Regional Australia need water.

The conventional approaches to providing treated water don’t work, practically or economically. They do not readily accommodate the absence of major infrastructure and economies of scale- such as unlimited grid power, diverse support and service skills, communications infrastructure, logistics and high population density.

New thinking and collaboration can change this.

This presentation will show that by going back to system design basics. By addressing the integration of process and renewable power so that it is in sympathy with the environment and available resources, we can create a new convention. A convention that is scalable, sustainable and natural.

The presentation explains how using renewable energy in the DNA of water treatment plant design (rather than just an add-on) we can implement practical and economic water solutions for small and distributed communities.

Find out more or register for the conference at https://regionaldevelopment.org.au/