News Archive

If you were on campus last Friday 30 March, you may have been surprised to see large groups of students with wheel barrows, conspicuously dressed in white protective clothing, working eagerly along the route between the back of the Civil and Mechanical Engineering building and Riley Oval.

These final year engineering students were participating in a simulated exercise as part of the Engineering for Sustainable Development unit. While actually dealing with harmless coloured water, students were required to act as if they were transporting and disposing of a hazardous material, whilst ensuring they complied with all of the necessary regulatory requirements. The students were divided into teams, each charged with a different responsibility – ranging from preparing the hazardous waste for transport or carrying the waste to the treatment area, to escorting waste carriers, checking compliance with procedures, or treating the waste at the designated treatment site.

During their engineering careers, students will almost certainly be faced with situations which have serious unintended, and possibly dangerous, consequences. In light of this, the exercise was designed to be as realistic as possible. Winthrop Professor James Trevelyan, unit convener, asked passing members of the public to act “anxious, curious, concerned and possibly aggravated by the possibility that hazardous materials may escape on the campus and cause pollution or even harm people.” Participating students were expected to communicate with and reassure concerned parties, just as they would need to in a real-life situation of this nature. The teams also needed to ensure that their methods and actions were environmentally, economically and socially sustainable.

Media references

Winthrop Professor James Trevelyan (School of Mechanical and Chemical Engineering, unit convener) (+61 8) 6488 3057
Shannon Hooper (Faculty of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics) (+61 8) 6488 3992