Adrian Baddeley, Professor of Statistics at the University of Western Australia, has been named the 2008 Matheron Lecturer by the International Association for Mathematical Geology. This prize is named after one of the pioneers of geostatistics, Georges Matheron, from the Paris School of Mines. The award citation mentions Professor Baddeley’s contributions to stereology (quantitative microscopy), spatial statistics, and advanced statistical software. The award and lecture was presented at the 33rd International Geosciences Congress in Oslo, Norway, in August 2008.
A team of UWA scientists comprising of Professor Lorenzo Faraone, Professor John Dell, Professor Charles Musca, Dr Jarek Antoszewski and Dr Adrian Keating and Dr Kevin Winchester of MRX Technologies have won one of the nation’s most prestigious science awards, the Eureka Prize for outstanding science in support of National Defence or Security. T
he scientists’ work in infrared imaging systems will dramatically improve threat and target recognition, at longer distances and with higher reliability than current systems, making it ideal for military and combat applications. UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson said the prize was recognition of the revolutionary research of the team in microspectrometer sensing technology.
“This technology will be fundamental to Australia’s defence capability and is evidence of the innovative technology being developed at our University,” Professor Robson said.
UWA’s Microelectronics Research Group, led by Professor Lorenzo Faraone, developed a filter that enables the creation of the equivalence of colour images in infrared images. The new technology will be lightweight, fast, accurate and inexpensive.
Professor Mark Randolph was elected an “Honorary Overseas Member” of the Japanese Geotechnical Society in May 2008.
Dr Richard Merifield, Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems received the Telford Premium Prize from the Institution of Civil Engineers, London for the best journal paper in engineering mechanics.
Professor Dave White from the Centre for Offshore Foundation Systems was recently awarded the Canadian Geotechnical Journal’s R.M. Quigley Honorable Mention for 2007. This was awarded for his collaborative paper with Johnny Cheuk and Malcolm Bolton entitled Large-scale modelling of soil-pipe interaction during large amplitude cyclic movements of partially embedded pipelines. The award was presented at the Canadian Geotechnical Society Conference in Edmonton in September.
Professor David Sampson appointed Director for the University’s Bioimaging Initiative for five years in February 2008. This initiative covers coordinating and promoting activities across the University in Bioimaging, Bioengineering and related fields. In addition, Professor Sampson will be Director of the WA State Government e-Medicine Centre of Excellence.
