Graduation - past ceremony

Thursday, 30 April 2009 at 5pm

Costa Hall, Geelong Waterfront Campus, Deakin University

Faculty of Science and Technology
Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences

Stage Party
The Chancellor Mr David Morgan presided, assisted by the Vice- Chancellor Professor Sally Walker.
The MC was the Chief Operating Officer Mr Graham Dennehy.
The Mace-bearer was Mr Dale Warren.
The Faculty Representative was Mr Darren Taylor.

Presenters were:
Deputy Dean, Faculty of Health, Medicine, Nursing and Behavioural Sciences, Professor Joe Graffam.
Dean, Faculty of Science & Technology, Professor Brian McGaw.
Chair of the Academic Board, Professor Philomena Leung.

The Student Response was delivered by Dr Alireza Nouri.

Doctoral Degree Recipients

Dr Ray C Bartolo - Thesis title: "Molecular Physiology of Water Balance in the Spinifex Hopping Mouse."

Summary
Many animals live in the deserts of Australia and survive without drinking water. This research examined desert adaptations in the Spinifex hopping mouse, and is the first study to demonstrate how many genes and enzymes in the kidney are controlled to maintain water balance in the absence of drinking water.

Dr Nicholas Joel Bauer - Thesis title: "On the Simultaneous Estimation of Optical Flow and Object State."

Summary
This thesis focuses on the enhancement of differential optical flow techniques. The framework of differential optical flow has been built upon to improve object motion estimation within a video stream or image sequence. This augmentation comes in the form of a combined optical flow and object state estimation method (SEOS).

Dr Timothy John Black - Thesis title: "Power Saving in Sensor Networks via Mobile Base Station Repositioning."

Summary
This research investigated the effect of dynamically repositioning the geographic location of a mobile base station within a sensor network in order to reduce energy consumption and increase network lifetime. Through simulation and experimental methodology, the proposed approach outperformed existing methods by extending network lifetime whilst reducing energy consumption.

Dr Tong Cheng - Thesis title: "Photochromic Wool Fabric from Sol-Gel Technology."

Summary
This work has investigated the possibility of producing photochromic wool fabrics using a silica sol-gel coating method. Silicas made from sol-gel methods are uniquely suited to host photochromic dyes for developing colour-changing wool. The achieved photochromic effects have open a new product area for fashion effects on wool textiles.

Dr Timothy Scott Corbett - Thesis title: "Characterization and Development of the QuickstepTM Melding Process."

Summary
Melding is a new approach to joining advanced composite materials and components. The research focused on characterizing the nature of composite materials joined by the Melding process. The outcomes of the thesis demonstrate that melding produces joints that are equivalent to monolithic material.

Dr Minoo Naebe - Thesis title: "Carbon Nanotube Polymer Composites and Nanofibres: Influence of Polymer Morphology."

Summary
This study examined how carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in electrospun polymeric nanofibrs influenced the polymer morphology, and how polymer morphology change induced by different post-electrospinning treatments influenced CNT-polymer interation and nanofibre properties. The results showed that both the polymer structure and morphology played important roles in determining the composite and nanofibres properties.

Dr Alireza Nouri - Thesis title: "Novel Metal Structures through Powder Metallurgy for Biomedical Applications."

Summary
Biocompatible porous Ti-16Sn-4Nb alloys were synthesised in quest of a novel biomaterial for bone regeneration. The alloys were prepared from elemental powders via mechanical alloying followed by space-holder sintering. The effects of ball milling variables on the characteristics and mechanical properties of bulk and porous Ti-16Sn-4Nb alloy have been investigated.

Dr Joanna Elizabeth Petkowski - Thesis title: "Biology and Control of White Blister Rust of Brassicaceae Vegetables."

Summary
This research project was a response to the outbreak of white blister rust disease and its spread to Brassica oleracea crops in Australia. Disease management strategies based on the understanding of the Albugo ¿ Brassica pathosystem, epidemiology, and the use of chemical control measures were developed for the Australian Brassica industry.

Dr Adnan Teletovic - Thesis title: "Turbulent Filling of Iron Castings."

Summary
This thesis explores the fluid flow aspects of the casting filling process. The work in this thesis shows that, if the filling process is understood, its effect on the quality of the castings can be accounted for during the design of the casting and the runner system, thereby minimising defect formation.

Dr Matthew Stuart Turner - Thesis title: "Reddl: A Language for Rapid Development of Document Editor Applications."

Summary
Electronic document editor software is traditionally complex to design and difficult to implement. This research resulted in REDDL, a language for the specification of electronic document editors at a simplified declarative level, employing a deterministic storage model. This approach allows rapid and simplified development of this class of software.

Alfred Deakin Medal Recipient

Lynne Quick
These Medals are awarded annually to candidates with a record of outstanding scholarship as well as service to the community and the University.
The awards are named in honour of Alfred Deakin after whom this University is named and were an initiative introduced by the University to commemorate the life of Alfred Deakin.

Occasional Address

The Occasional Address was delivered by Mr Kee Wong -Managing Director, e-CentricInnovations Pty Ltd.

Mr Kee Wong is founder and the Managing Director of e-CentricInnovations Pty. Ltd., which is a management and technology consulting and systems implementation company specialising in providing strategic advice and systems integration services in e-Business and IT for large enterprises and government in Australia, New Zealand, US and South East Asia.

Mr Wong is well experienced in both business and IT with specific focus on strategy, change management, project governance and management and large scale systems integration.

Mr Wong's background covers Engineering, Information Technology and Business. He has experience in large multinational organisations such as Hewlett Packard, Lotus and IBM; government organisations such as CSIRO and the Bureau of Meteorology as well as Small Medium Enterprise such as Synergy Software and e-CentricInnovations (which he founded in 1999).

Mr Wong has a Bachelor of Engineering (Honors) from Monash University (1985), a Graduate Diploma in Computing from Chisholm Institute of Technology (now Monash University, 1988) and an MBA from Monash/Mt. Eliza Business School (1998).

Mr Wong is currently a national Board member (Director) of the Australian Information Industry association (AIIA), Federation Square and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO). He is also an IT Industry Ambassador for the Starlight Children Foundations' IT Fund for Kids, a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) and member of the Australian Institute of Management (AIM).

Mr Wong was the State Chairman for AIIA in Victoria, and sat on the ICT Advisory Board for the Minister of ICT in Victoria as well as on the Industry Reference Group for development of IT Strategy for Public Transportation in the Victorian Department of Infrastructure (DOI). He was also a founding Board member (Director) of RFID Association of Australia and active alumni member of the Mt. Eliza Business School.