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/ 

Justin Gavranich - Young Engineer of the Year Finalist

We congratulate ResTech Research and Development Engineer Justin Gavranich, a finalist in the Engineers Australia, Newcastle Division, Young Engineer of the Year Award.

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 for Friday 8 September, when the winner of the Young Engineer of the Year will be announced at the Sally Chapman Memorial Dinner.

The Internet of Things and Managing Change

Clint Bruin, Principal ResTech, will be presenting on 'The Internet of Things and Managing Change' at the MEMMES (Mining Electrical and Mining Mechanical Engineering Society) Newcastle Branch, June meeting. 

Meeting details: 
Date: Tuesday 20 June
Time: 5:30pm
Location: Toronto Workers Club
Address: 9 James Street, Toronto, NSW

ResTech Receives ACARP funding

ResTech is pleased to announce that it has been awarded ACARP funding for 2017 to continue research into electrical protection schemes in coal mines as well as funding for two additional projects in collaboration with the University of Newcastle.

ResTech received funding from ACARP in 2016 of $174,000 to undertake a broad evaluation of the adequacy of past and present systems and approaches. The aim was to develop and justify new approaches for electrical protection. The outcome of this research has led to further funding from ACARP in 2017 of $129,000 to investigate adaptive protection schemes. The aim is to provide a proof of concept demonstration to demonstrate and quantify the advantages over current practices. This work will be done in collaboration with Ampcontrol.

The first project with the University of Newcastle, is in collaboration with Dr Galina Mirzaeva from the School of Electrical Engineering and Computing. ACARP funding for $158,000 was awarded to develop electrically safe VSDs. The aim is to minimise the adverse effects that are generated by VSDs by looking at alternative topologies and control of switching devices.

The second project is in collaboration with Dr Rohan Stanger from the School of Engineering. ACARP funding of $119,000 was awarded to develop a novel method to measure fine coal particle size and density which will be faster than present methods. This will allow for plant optimisation due to the faster feedback and hence improved productivity.

National Engineers Australia Innovation Award

ResTech in conjunction with Ampcontrol have been awarded the 2013 National Engineers Australia Innovation Award for our project on the management of VSD earth leakage currents in fault limited networks.

ResTech’s submission covered seven years of research including analysing phenomena, developing simulations, conducting underground research, educating the industry and developing VSDguard a protection regime to monitor VSDs and protect plant and personnel.

The judges described the project as ‘an excellent example of engineering problem solving resulting in the development of a product with international marketing potential. Ampcontrol with ResTech took information that all others saw as "noise" and used it to identify and clear potential hazardous situations in underground mines. The company has applied advanced investigative techniques, modelling and design to produce the product.’

Find out more about the awards