103
v
.LUE o. 12 Queensland Institute or Technolog~, George Street, Bris!Jane 4000. Telephone 223 2111. August 19, 1985
GardenS and campus plan under public scrutiny
The QIT campus will accommodate planned student growth beyond tbe year 2000 with new buildings on tbe strip of State land between QIT and the South-East Freeway, and be better served by public transport if plans for Gardens Point are adopted by the Brisbane City Council and the State Government.
Strategy designs for the long- or simply not take full advantage of staff and supervised students from term use, rehabilitation, and the area's character and potential." the QIT Departments of Applied development of the Gardens Point Ms Bull said recent changes and Geology (finding bedrock), Survey- peninsula, including the City future pressures made a develop- ing (surface mapping), Civil Gardens, Parliament House, Old ment strategy essential. Engineering (traffic/transport), Government House, the Conser- "Establishment of the Mt Coot- Management (user and public at- vatorium of Music and QIT, were tha Botanic Gardens means the titude surveys) and Planning &
recently on display in the Brisbane much smaller City Gardens are no Landscape Architecture (vegetation City Hall inviting public reaction longer formal botanic gardens, but survey, data analysis and strategy and suggestions. The six week there are many historic specimens designs).
display was launched by the Lord which must be preserved. The City Public attitudes on the use of the Mayor, Alderman Sallyanne Atkin- Gardens are in a degraded state and Gardens fell into two major son on July 10. this is made worse by intensive ac- categories - those who wanted the The design proposals address tivities such as the popular Gardens as a tranquil area to escape problems and opportunities iden- FREEPS," she said. the city hubbub and those who par- tified in a 12 month planning study Other changes included the ticularly enjoyed the Gardens set- of the precinct under the supervi- South-East Freeway as a major ting for FREEPS type activities.
sion of senior lecturer in Planning gateway to the city, Alice Street Numbers were almost equal.
~li!!o!!P'I!•IIIa . . ,.llllli . .,.181'1~rat-QJT, *"~as a major art~~ Tile ,.-efiNnd llnlteiY ~ Ms Catherin Bu\\. a growmg QlT and an u1c1e;;.smt • f'n:~.:rv ... uu11 ol (;,., «•Jt:r,,
The study was directed by a joint cit!. popul~tion. . core as a tranquil area, with working party between the Brisbane The v1ew of Gardens Pomt restoration of the major lake City Council and QIT, set up for- from the Freeway and the develop- present until 1937·
malty by the Council in February, ing South Bank is clearly substan- e Removal of the nu'rsery and QIT 1984 with a detailed brief. dard,'' Ms Bull said. parking on the tip of the point to
"Our report to the working party "The point is no longer the make way for a BBQ area and is the first real attempt to look at backyard of the city, it now has a amphitheatre for FREEPS type the needs and wants of all of the very high profile. It is also a highly community activities;
land holders and of the users and treasured part of the city, with the
e
The Parliament House vista pro- the public generally in formulating Gardens and Brisbane's most viding a setting for the building a strategy for future development significant historic buildings - and suited to higher volume of the point as a whole," Ms Bull Parliament House and Old Govern- pedestrian traffic;said. ment House." e Separate and clear entrance
"This is preferable to ad hoc The three volume, 13 centimetre identification for the Gardens development which could destroy thick report includes input from (via Albert Street), Parliament
Above: Photograph of Gardens Point showing current land use.
Right: Preferred strategy
..
House (via George Street Ceremonial Forecourt).and QIT (via Gardens Point Road);
• A visual link between Queen Street Mall and the Gardens via an Albert Street concourse;
• A Gardens kiosk structure also visible from the mall, with refreshments and other facilities;
• An improved setting for Old Government House (occupied by the National Trust of Queensland), reaching into the Gardens for greater community access;
• Removal of security fences bet- ween QIT and the Gardens, defining the boundary instead with vegetation, garden walls etc.;
• Construction of three new
·ca -:mic uil in s for ()JT with landscaped settings on State land between QIT and the South-East Freeway, with car- . parking underneath to accom- modate parking currently on Gardens land. The buildings would present a new QIT facade to the South-East Freeway, and west bank; and
• Provision of a bus loop between the city and QIT, and a ferry ser- vice, with the Domain terminals linked across the campus to the Gardens by an elevated pedestrian walkway.
Catherin Bull
QIT Director, Dr Dennis Gib on said the proposed three new nver bank buildings would accom- modate the same number of new students as demolition and rebuilding of five existing buildings on campus. The three buildings would cater for a projected 400Jo growth in enrolments to 9400 equivalent full-time students by the year 2000.
Further development oppor- tunities on campus are identified in the strategy.
The plans do not provide for any additional parking for QIT.
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1986 budget difficult
The accountant's first pass at QIT's 1986 (calendar year) budget in July, came. up with a $'12 million shortfall between proposed govern- ment fundmg and projected expenditure, without consideration of any new programs.
This was the first step in a budgeting process which basically com- prises four stages - top down, bottom up, finding the money for im- portant initiatives, and the interschool battle for initiative money.
Major cost increases identified in the 'top down' stage, included an $80 000 lift in rates, $120 000 in additional maintenance and repair of equipment (mainly computers), $280 000 in part-time staff to ac- commodate additional EFT students and CPI salary adjustments.
Some consideration is given at this stage also to how the budget can be balanced and also how some money can be freed for new
programs. .
The 'bottom up' stage involves departments and schools in pro- posing changes in existing programs and priorities for initiatives, with associated costs.
The third stage will address how funds can be released for high priority initiatives through pruning· of existing programs and services, or perhaps through increased revenue for services to outside bodies and fundraising.
The fourth, 'interschool battle' stage will be for the funds released
in step three. .
"It's a difficult time for the executive and heads of schools," the QIT Director, Dr Dennis Gibson said, "but we are not looking for sympathy."
"Heads of schools are basically defending their patch in the first and third stages, but they'll be on the attack in the fourth stage.
"It will be one high priority against another and it is not easy to decide where our dollars are best spent," he said.
Dr Gibson would like to see about $300 000 available for new pro- grams, " ... otherwise we are standing still". .
Opportunities for QIT in Innovation Centre
QIT Director, Dr Dennis Gibson and Mr Terry Dempsey, an Associate of QIT, are two of the four directors appointed to the Board of Queensland's new innova- tion centre which opened in Charlotte Street, Brisbane, on June 26.
The Queensland Innovation Cen- tre Limited is an autonomous body whose objective is to promote the profitable commercialisation of Queensland inventions and innova- tions.
Dr Gibson said that the innova- tion centre would undoubtedly br- ing benefits to QIT.
"I can foresee opportunities both for our engineers who design and construct prototypes and for our Business School which is involved in finance and marketing. This will naturally mean additional liaison work for Q Search," he said.
Although Brisbane is the last mainland capital city to establish an innovation centre, Dr Gibson said there were advantages in the delay.
"Finding the right site for the centre was important. The decision to base it in the new Enterprise House in Charlotte Street, right in the centre of the business district, means that it probably has a better location than any of the other in- novation >eentres already in ex- istence," he said.
For Mr Dempsey, the opening of the centre coincided with the realisation of another project - a working prototype of a computer numerically controlled punch press, which in itself is an example of the kind of innovation that can be brought into production when research and commercial enterprise combine forces. In this case the cooperation has been between QIT's Mechanical Engineering Department and Mr Dempsey's company, Universal Engineering and Electronics Co. Pty Ltd.
The computer controlled press is a multipurpose machine which can be adapted to the small production runs required by many Australian manufacturing industries. Nothing of its kind existed before. Three other overseas companies have since produced similar prototypes but their cost makes them unable to compete with the QIT model.
Acknowledgments
'Inside QIT' is published by the Public Relations Office, QIT (U Block), George Street, Brisbane, phone 223 ' 2386. Postal address: G.P.O. Box 2434, Brisbane 4001.
A number of the articles are written by communication students at QIT, as indicated.
Production by Press Etching Pty Ltd.
Printed by Sunshine Coast Newspaper Co. Pty Ltd.
Page 2 Inside QIT, August 198S
The punch press has been developed under the direction of Mr Jim Kelly, lecturer in QIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Mr Dempsey has been associated with the project from its inception.
"Both the software options and the hardware have recently rolled off G.B.'s production line in Charlottesville, Virginia," he said.
"The components should arrive in Australia this month and the machine should be in working order in September.''
Key Cen re agreement finalised
An agreement signed in June between QIT and the University of Queensland bas finalised arrangements for the establishment of the Centre for Survey- ing and Mapping Studies in Queensland.
The agreement will give effect to the proposal that the Institute offer:
• a UG3 course in cartography as at present, and transfer the present UG3 offering in surveying to the Darling Downs Institute of Advanc- ed Education;
• a UG1 course in surveying as at pre- sent;
• a PG 1 course in land development surveying as at present;
e a PG 1 course in surveying practice as from 1988, leading to the registra- tion and licensing of graduates to practice in Queensland. This course will closely follow the model of the graduate diploma in legal practice as presently offered in the School of Law.
Under this same agreement the University of Queensland will withdraw its present undergraduate degree course and offer:
• a one year course leading to an Honours degree and/or a one year course leading to a graduate diploma in surveying and mapping;
• a range of masters degree and Ph.D.
offerings as presently offered.
The Darling Downs Institute of Ad- vanced Education will offer a UG3 course in surveying, while not entering the undergraduate and postgraduate fields.
The University of Queensland and the QIT will cooperate in the teaching of courses at all levels at both institutions and will share resources. As a result of this rationalisation, some resources will be available to increase the amount of research, development and consulting by University of Queensland and In- stitute staff. ·
The agreement will continue until December 31, 1993 and thereafter until terminated by either participating institution.
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BEHIND PARLIAMENT HOUSE
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'' (14£ 60Y5 AT '0-IE: rNNOVA110N CEN'f'Rf HAVE COME UP wrnf A FfW IDEAS A8ocJf' HOW Q ·I • T. CAN Stc011E -niE LARG6S1' 1'6fZ'nARY riJST'l~ IIJ -rH£ WOI?I.-0 .... WI"!WOUT BEING AN ArR-'mAFFIC HAZARD OR GAA881NG ANY GARDENS LANO . "
Council Profile: Des Walker
Dr Des Walker
By
Elizabeth Mitchellproposed by QIT staff members, "Dr Council members. The Assembly is Walker said. QIT's senior policy-making body.
"This year we had $40 000 to divide Dr Walker said that he sees his work among 40 projects,"he said. "Only half on QIT Council as a means of putting of the projects worthy of our support something back into the research and could be funded. education system from which he has
"We can only provide the 'seed drawn so much.
money'- that is, the committee's funds "The research environment is based startthe project off and if it is proven to on tertiary education, "Dr Walker said.
be viable it will usually attract the sup- "I accepted a role on QIT Council port of other major funding bodies, because I believed that I should try to -such as- the-National Health and return to tertiary education some of the Medical Research Council, or the Na- academic and professional benefits I tiona! Energy Research Development have gained. I have maintained a posi- and Demonstration Council." tion on one committee of the Board of
In determining whether or not funds Advanced Education for this reason."
should be awarded to a particular staff Dr Walker said that he had a high member's research proposal, outside ex- opinion of QIT as a tertiary institution.
perts are asked to assess the quality of "I have been involved in various Research and the development of the project. education committees and have seen a knowledge is one of the most important "This is an objective means of assess- number of institutions in operation and functions of any tertiary institution and ing the worth of a project,"Dr Walker I believe that QIT can indeed hold its in the chair of QIT's Research and said. head up high,"he said. "It is improving Development Support Committee is one all the time and is a tertiary force to be
of Australia's most astute. &llf!Ljju~ial~if~ie~-j~~~~~~W;e~~~it~ti~;-Jr~ectk~o~n~~-~~"is1SO'iif'!rm!l"!!nr!!'MI!~'Ir"-~~~~
research adminiStrators, Dr Des r was orn
Walker. the United Kingdom. After obtaining
As the Officer in Charge of CSIRO's his Ph.D. at Sheffield University he meat laboratory, Dr Walker is responsi- moved to Adelaide, where he was first ble for the support and direction of employed by the CSIRO. In 1972 he research in an extremely broad range of came to Brisbane to head the Meat disciplines from basic biological science "On Council my responsiblity is to Research Laboratory.
to waste management engineering. participate in the corporate decision- Eight years ago Dr Walker was Dr Walker's role on Council as chair- making process. I support the desires of awarded a Doctorate in Science in man of the Research and Development the Council and the Institute which I recognition of his contribution to Support Committee, is somewhat believe will improve QIT's performance research.
similar. as a tertiary institution."
"My responsibility is to assist the Dr Walker is also a member of the committee to divide up a small amount Academic Assembly on which he of money between the research projects represents Council along with two other
Paper on self esteem for U.S. forum
Lecturer in human resource management at QIT, Dr Phyllis Tharenou, was the first Queenslander and probably the first Australian woman to present a paper at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management in the U.S.A., the world's most prestigious management forum.
The conference, with 4500 delegates, was held at San Diego from 10-14 August, 1985.
Dr Tharenou's 20-page paper, titled 'The Nature of the Relation- ships between Self Esteem, Job Complexity, Job Satisfaction and Job Performance', presents a new view on current theory in organisa-
Dr Phyllis Tharenou
tiona! behaviour, based on research over two years with apprentices in an electricity authority. Her research was assisted by seed fun- ding of $3000 from QIT in 1983/4.
The basic findings were that an employee's self esteem had a con- siderable influence on later feelings of job satisfaction, and that con- fidence in doing a job had a signifi- cant influence on later performance.
Dr Tharenou found a stronger case for self esteem influencing work satisfaction and performance than for the more traditional view of work satisfaction and perfor- mance influencing personal self esteem.
This.had direct management ap- plications in staff selection inter- views, she said.
"Using self esteem as an addi- tional criterion in choosing so- meone in an interview, we are likely to get people who are more satisfied with their work, who perform bet- ter at it, who are absent less and who cope better," Dr Tharenou
·said.
Also, in staff assessment, managers needed to consider the employee's confidence in job abili- ty. This could be brought about by ensuring the employee had ade- quate feedback on performance, clear goals and successes along the way.
New, broad science
degree at QIT
A restructured, flexible Bachelor of Applied Science degree will be of- fered at the QIT in 1986, which will broaden the career opportunities open to its graduates.
Head of School of Applied Science, Dr Ron Gardiner said the course would offer students in- depth studies in a particular area of applied science, together with studies to an advanced level in another discipline area, such as business, computing, engineering or law, or a double science major.
"It will particularly suit students wishing to work in interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary areas or to become secondary school teachers," Dr Gardiner said.
In the first year of the three year course (or equivalent part-time), a wide range of subjects will be available. Students will select their areas of major and submajor study at the end of first year.
Areas of major study, which must comprise not less than half of the remainder of the course, must be undertaken in one of five discipline areas within the School of Applied Science: biology, chemistry, geology, mathematics or physics.
The sub-major study areas are selected at the same time from any of QIT's seven schools.
Students must choose to take a double major or a major and two sub-majors in their degree course.
Research to improve
swimmers' medal hopes
A $6000 grant from the Australian Sports Commission to QIT medical physics expert, Dr Bob Treffene will "help medley swimmers do as well as we did in L.A.," according to world 200 metre butterfly record holder, Jonathon Sieben.
He was speaking at a seminar to mark the awarding of the grant, at- tended by coaches and swimmers, and Senator Mal Colston represen- ting the Minister for Sport, Mr Brown at QIT on July 3.
Dr Treffene worked with Tracey Wickham on her world records, and Jon Sieben and Justin Lemberg, 'the mean machine', and coach Laurie Lawrence leading up to the Los Angeles Olympics. A specially designed heart rate monitor and a computer model to calculate a swimmer's optimum pacing over the required distance helped in formulation of the most effective training programs for these swimmers before their major events.
"It was a major factor in helping
me win in L.A.," Jon Sieben said.
Dr Treffene said the team had proven medal chances could be im- proved using correct sports science.
Courses promoted
The winter months are a time when QIT devotes a good deal of activity
· to promoting its courses on the careers market. Displays at the Tertiary Studies Expo and ongoing promotional visits to country areas precede QIT-in-Action open days on August 23 and 24.
A five-day Career Evenings Pro- gram will follow the Open Days.
Some ten thousand students
· ·ted this year's Tertiary Studies Expo, held in City Hall at the end of June.
QIT's display, which was central- ly placed, was one of the largest and general comments were that the position and information were both excellent.
Head of the Counselling Centre, Dr Brian Whitelaw, who has been Chairman of Tertiary Studies Expo for the past three years, said that this year's expo drew particularly favourable responses.
"It has become apparent that the
Tertiary Studies Expo is the stan- dard by which all other careers markets are judged," he said.
In order to reach prospective students outside the metropolitan area, the Counselling Centre has an itinerary, which begins in June of each year and virtually covers the entire state.
"We are part of the travelling cir- cus of careers markets organised in conjunction with the Guidance and Special Education Branch," he said.
"So far this year we have already visited Roma, Goondiwindi, War- wick, Stanthorpe, Kingaroy, Murgon, Gympie, Maryborough and Bundaberg. We currently have
"Physiological testing is little us- ed in the U.S.A. and we are in front in this area," he said.
The latest grant will enable similar scientific techniques to be applied to individual medley swim- mers in order to:
• determine the relationship bet- ween swimming S):1eed for each stroke in medley ev-ents and total performance;
• evaluate improvement in perfor- mance due to training programs
at various swimming speeds in each stroke in the medley event;
and
• determine the need for specific training programs for each stroke in the medley event.
The grant, one of five in Queensland for 1986, comes under the Australian Sports Commission Applied Sports Research Program which aims to solve sports problems through sports science research.
From left to right: Olympic coach, Laurie Lawrence, Dr Bob Treffene and Senator Mal Colston with the $6000 Australian Sports Commission cheque.
Podiatry skates away with $12 500
A $12 500 Australian Sports Com- mission grant has been awarded to the QIT's Podiatry Section to in- vestigate causes and prevention of roller skating injuries.
The research, in cooperation with the Australian Federation of Amateur Roller Skaters, will utilise sports medicine expertise and equipment at QIT, including the 'electrodynogram'. This system uses electrodes attached to the feet and connected with a back-pack unit to record data for computer analysis. It records the amount of weight being carried by different parts of the foot at any given time.
Lecturer in podiatry, Mrs Linda Garbett said that roller skating had become an increasingly popular sport particularly among children, but little research had been done in the area.
"We do know that in many figure-skating exercises, the changes in direction and posture are made on feet which have to remain relatively stable in order to main-
a display at Rockhampton and have yet to visit Mt lsa, · Cairns, Townsville, Atherton, Mackay and Nambour.
The QIT-in-Action Open Days on Friday, August 23 from 11.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m., and on Satur- day, August 24 from 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m., will serve as an introduc-
tain balance and this can cause pro- blems," she said.
The research will be carried out with a control group of ten to twelve year olds.
"First of all we will test them here in the clinic to ensure that they have no abnormalities. Then we will take them to the skating rink, connect them to the elec- trodynogram and record the results while they execute certain basic skating movements," Mrs Garbett said.
"Our initial work will establish what are normal parameters of forces during skating. Out of this may grow further research on how to control abnormal forces, recom- mendations for treatment principles and for construction of roller skating boots."
The research liaison between the Podiatry Section and the roller skaters was prompted by publicity of the ectrodynogram associated with last year's Consultech exhibi- tion on carnpus.
trodnction to the many and varied course and career opportunities available through the Institute.
The Career Evenings Program, from August 26 to 29, will be put on by the various Schools who will offer an explanation of what their courses lead to and the re- quirements for entry.
CTEC report favours institutes
The Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission's supplementary report 10 the Federal Government on fun- ding in 1986 and 1987, for consideration in the August budget, recommends the allocation of $400 000 per annum for applied research support to Queensland technological institutes.
The report says: "State authorities should advise on the distribution in Queensland ($400 000) where, as well as the Queensland Institute of Technology, the claims of Capricornia Institute of Advanced Education, Darling Downs Institute of Advanced Education and James Cook University need to be considered."
The Program of Special Assistance to Technological Institu- tions ~ould cost $2.5 million per annum nationally. It would provide. matching funds (dollar for dollar) for approved applied research pro- jects with industry.
Institutes of technology have been actively lobbying for several years for more equal treatment to universities in research support.
"Unlike universities, CAEs (which include specialist institutes of technology) do not have a com- ponent within their grant to fund ongoing research activity. They thus enounter greater difficulty in - setting up the infrastructure to enable them to respond to the needs of outside bodies, yet they have a considerable contribution to make in the fields of applied research, especially in engineering and the technologies," the report says.
The report recommends abolition of the less than full funding per new student policy in higher education in recent years and a making up for lost ground in equipment and staff- ing for institutions seriously af- fected by underfunded growth.
Growth in student numbers of 2.50Jo per annum nationally is pro- posed for 1986 and 1987 toward· meeting an unsatisfied demand for higher education estimated at 10 000 in 1985. Priorities for growth include "to increase significantly intakes into science and technological courses."
..
QIT is an almost smoke-free zone according to initial results collated from the recent 'How the Health Are You?' question- naire. Responses show that there are very few smokers on campus.
• * * •
Could fhe low proportion of smokers be the result of the ex·
hortations of 'I'm an Individual' Jacko, whose current anti- smoking ad for the Queensland Cancer Fund includes segments shot on QIT campus?
• .. * *
If you are one of the few smokers left on campus who couldn't be scared off by Jacko, there is hope for you yet.
Latest brainchild of our Director of Counselling Services, Dr Brian Whitelaw, is a correspondence course with a dif·
terence. For a registration fee of $40 you can be on your way to giving up smoking - by mail. And you stand to get your money back at the end. All you have to lose is your smoker's
~~ugh, ~ee pa~~
? . -
* • * *
From smoke to steam ... Happiness is a hot pizza according to the make-and-deliver pizza producers, who have brought Q Search one of their most off-beat research jobs. The brief is to monitor the time/temperature behaviour of a pizza from the oven to the mouth, via the home delivery route.
This will involve a study of oven and ambient temperatures and of the insulation qualities of packaging. No doubt sampl- ing will aiso be an important part of the exercise.
Changes proposed to CTEC structure
Chairman of the Commonwealth Tertiary Education Commission, Mr Hugh Hudson, has recommend- ed changes to the structure of CTEC and its relationship to the States.
The recommendations in a 60-page submission to the Federal Education Minister, released in Ju- ly, include:
• extension of CTEC's functions to include promotion of cross- sectoral developments;
00
• redesignation of the existing three statutory councils (i.e.
Universities Council, Advanced Education Council, TAFE Council) as advisory councils;
and
• provision of a single statement to CTEC from each State for each triennium, covering priorities for all three sectors and all activities in tertiary education.
00 CJO
Co
COME AND
~CHECK US OUt
To gain an excellent insight into more than 60 degree and other courses, the Queensland Institute of Technology invites you to our Open Days on 23 and 24 August.
Counsellors, members of professional bodies, lecturers and students, will be on hand to discuss courses in Business, Law, Engineering, Health Science, Applied Science, Computing and the Built Environment (i.e. . architecture, urban/regional planning, building).
Full-time or part-time courses give you professional qualifications with practical skills and postgraduate courses allow you to specialise further.
So come and check us out and you'll get an idea what it's really like to be one of 9000 students here.
Open Days: Friday 23, and Saturday 24 August, and Career Evenings: 26-29 August.
~UEENSLAND INSTITUTE
OF TECHNOLOGY
Queensland Institute of Technology. George Street. Brisbane.
Old. 4000. Ph 223 2111 (next to the Botanic Gardens)
'
Grant for metal wear
research to Mech. Eng.
QIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering is to carry out research aimed at developing more versatile and wear-resistant alloys in conjunction with steel and cast iron manufacturers, Connellan and Sons of Tarragindi.
This company has received a earth elements when added to cer- Mr Baddeley said that the
$380 000 Industrial Research and tain molten alloys, will act as graduate students, who would be Development grant to be utilised nucleating catalysts and produce selected within the next few weeks, over three years. The grant will changes in the morphology of the would work separately, using dif- enable the company and the Wear phases in the alloy microstructure. ferent testing methods, although Studies Centre in the Mechanical These microstructural changes pro- their aims would be similar.
Engineering Department to carry duce the required changes in the "They will be trying to correlate out both fundamental and applied wear resistance and toughness of the wear mechanisms of erosion research into wear-resistant ferrous the alloys." and abrasion with alloy microstruc- metals. Mr Baddeley said that much of tures so that more resistant
Dr Don Lakeland from Con- the groundwork for the current materials can be developed for nellan, who was QIT's first research had been done over the _these applications," he said. "Their Associate, and Mr Doug Baddeley, past six years by a number of third results will then be correlated with lecturer in materials, will in- and fourth year engineering student an ongoing macrostudy of all black vestigate ways of modifying the research projects, which had looked coal power stations in Australia, crystalline structures of ferrous at similar applications for alloy being conducted by Dr John Sliger
metals. steels. of the E.C.N.S.W.
Mr Baddeley explained that com- Mr Baddeley himself has spent a "It would appear that every ponents for applications such as total period of eight months of power station is going to need a dif- dragline and bulldozer bucket teeth P .E.P. leave at the AMAX ferent solution to the wear problem and hammers for sugar mills and Materials Research Laboratories at because they are dealing with dif- coal-crushing plants needed to be Ann Arbor, Michigan over the past ferent coals and have different extremely wear-resistant. However, two years to study the transforma- methods of handling and most abrasion-resistant alloys tend- tion kinetics, wear and fracture crushing," he said.
ed to be brittle, while most tough resistance of several alloy steels and Although this is intended to be a alloys were too soft to be wear resis- cast irons. three-year project, it is expected
tant. The down-time suffered by in- that each graduate student will
dustry through breakages of brittle Wear Projects for Electricity work for a maximum of 12 months.
components in these types of equip- Industry "We should have a total of six ment was extremely costly and Another two projects being under- students . working on the project more versatile alloys were needed. taken by the Wear Studies Centre during the three years," Mr Bad-
"One of the reasons for brit- are been financed by the Electricity deley said.
tleness in a white cast iron alloy (a Commission of N.S.W., the common abrasion-resistant alloy), Queensland Electricity Commission
is due to the dendritic or tree-like and the Electrical Research Board.
BOOk W iII
formation of hard and brittle metal The N.S.W.E.C. and the Q.E.C.
carbides. The carbides form a net- have both provided funding of $18
work throughout the microstruc- 000 per year for three years to
e t d
ture of the alloys, and under impact finance two full-time masters
X en
conditions provide a path for crack engineering students who will study propagation and hence failure. If the specific wear problems en- these carbides can be changed to a countered by power stations in the globular formation, the hardness grinding and crushing of coal for and abrasive wear resistance will be the boilers.
retained, and it will also be strong The Electrical Research Board is and tough," he said. providing the money to build equip-
" This microstructural change ment and purchase materials for the can be affected in several ways. One projects.
is by vibrating the alloy while it is According to Mr Baddeley, until changing from a molten to a solid three years ago most of the research state by breaking up the formation money allocated within the industry of dendrites growing into columnar went to the electrical area.
crystals. A second method is to use "However, it has become evident rapid solidification methods to pro- that next to salaries and purchase of duce amorphous metal structures the coal, maintenance (mainly and then compress the powder into replacement parts) is the most ex- component parts. A third method is pensive aspect of power genera- to use chemical compounds as tion," he said.
nucleants. The latter method is "The Australian black coals have more practical for the foundry in- a very high abrasive ash content dustry and this is the one we are compared with those available in looking at currently. most other countries in the world.
"We find that minute amounts Hence we have greater wear of compounds based on the rare problems."
B.P. carries on
Amoco . scholarship
When B.P. Australia Ltd took over the Amoco refinery at Bulwer Island recently, they also took over Amoco's committment to award scholarships to mechanical engineering students at QIT.
From now on the scholarship will be presented as the B.P.
Mechanical Engineering Award.
When retiring Refinery Manager, Mr Don Armstrong, presented a cheque for the scholarship to Mr Jack Laracy, Head of the
Mechanical Engineering Depart- ment in June, he said that it gave him great pleasure to continue the award under the B.P. flag.
"I like to think the award will at- tract top graduates into the oil in- dustry," Mr Armstrong said.
The annual scholarship, con- sisting of a $2500 grant, is awarded to the student with the best overall result in the first year of the bachelor degree course in mechanical engineering.
From left: Retiring Refinery Manager of B.P. 's Bulwer Island refinery, Mr Don Armstrong and Refinery Manager elect, Mr Dennis Neil, present a cheque for $2500 to Mr Jack Laracy.
Page 4 Inside QIT, August 1985
microcomp.
application
A new book, Computer Interfacing Techniques in Science, co-authored by Mr John Davies, senior lecturer in QIT's Physics Department, was released in Australia last month. It had already been released in the U.S.A. by publishers Scott Foresman.
The book, which is the only one of its kind on the market, is the result of five months' intensive work for Mr Davies during P.E.P.
leave at Virginia Tech., Blacksburg, U.S.A.
Mr Davies' initial aim was to in- vent an interface which allowed control of electronic circuits from the keyboard of a microcomputer.
Having successfully achieved this, the book was written to describe the techniques that were used.
One of the many applications of Mr Davies' invention was described in a feature on computer-assistance for the severely handicapped in the May issue of Inside QIT.
Working with co-author, Dr Paul E. Field, was a very positive ex- perience for Mr Davies.
"It was extraordinary that I could travel half way around the world and find myself working with someone who had exactly the same outlook on education as myself, although he teaches chemists and I teach physicists. We both wanted to extend the application of the computer beyond the maths and business areas, into the sciences,"
he said. "Our book represents 40 man-years of experience in this par- ticular field."
"It is also significant that we work with a very cheap microcom- puter - the Timex Sinclair - which means that our techniques are within the practical reach of all students," Mr Davies said.
Computer Interfacing Techni- ques in Science will be used in science classes in high schools, in universities and colleges and by hobbyists and scientists. It will also be used in the continuing education course, Introductory Microcom- puter Interfacing Principles, which is conducted through Q Search.
Mr Davies agreed that com- pleting the book in five months meant working under a great deal of pressure.
"Being away from home, without the distractions of family and friends, helped," he said. "I was able to put in a seven day week and worked long hours."
QIT's Industrial Design course celebrated its tenth anniversary with an exhibition at the Queensland Art Gallery.
The exhibition was officially opened on July 1 by Mr Mike Ahern, Minister for Industry, Small Business and Technology, and ran until August 4.
A selection of works from both cur- rent and graduated students, demonstrated a wide cross-section of the work involved in the Industrial Design course within the School of the Built Environment.
Senior lecturer in industrial design, Ms Vesna Popovic, said the exhibition
was to develop awareness of industrial design within the community. She ex- plained that industrial design improv- ed the quality of life and work of peo- ple, through effective design of pro- ducts and systems.
Ms Popovic said the industrial design students were highly profes- sional and that their work was up to world standard.
"We had six finalists in the Mainichi International Design Com- petition in Japan last year," she said.
"This was highly significant as there were 420 submissions from around the world. Some of this work was on display at the exhibition. "
Dr Vesna Popovic talks to Mr Mike Ahern, Minister for Industry, Small Business and Technology
- Students paid to
t y
With QIT's Mathematics Department poised to introduce its first cooperative education degree program in 1986, a seminar to share the ex- perience of similar programs at Swinburne and NSW Institutes of Technology with staff and local employers was held on campus on August 2.
Guest speakers were Mr Alex Gardner, Dean of Applied Science at Swinburne and Mr Neville Holmes, Senior Systems Engineer with IBM who was also on second- ment to NSWIT's computing school.
Mr Gardner said the Swinburne science degree was classified and funded as a four year course with the second last year spent working in a relevant position in industry.
This year was formally supervised by Institute staff and assessed on a pass/fail basis.
The Institute finds paid jobs for the students and each student is in- terviewed by three different employers.
"It's hard work for the academics to sell the course but it is important to do,"Mr Gardner said.
"We ensure the job is suitable and the student will get the right sort of experience. We also insist that the student returns to the Institute for the final year and this is made clear to employers."
The student was treated like a regular employee and was required to submit a report cleared by the employer, to the Institute.
Mr Gardner said the science cooperative education program which had run for eight years benefited students, employers and the Institute.
Students' motivation increased in the final year as a result of work ex- perience which gave students greater maturity, relief from con- tinuous study and an appreciation for the course relevance. The ex- perience was also an advantage for future employment.
He said that students provided a dependable resource for employers for project work or relieved highly qualified staff for more important tasks. The program also kept staff in touch with current industry practice.
Jobs are not difficult to come by for the work experience year at Swinburne and NSWIT.
"We have more offers from employers than students for jobs,"
Mr Gardner said.
NSWIT had 150 job offers for 100 computing student placements this year, according to Mr Holmes.
"Students are responsible for fin- ding their own work experience jobs but in practice, every member of staff is involved," he said.
"The students do good, reliable work and employers don't have to pay heaps."
Employers often expected far too little of students and had to be well briefed to ensure the students were given a reasonable amount of responsibility.
The QIT maths degree will operate on the same basis as the NSWIT and Swinburne degrees with a full year's work experience prior to the final course year.
Videos on contact lenses
Educational videos about contact lenses will be produced at QIT with a $3000 grant to optometry lecturer, Mr Michael Collins and Head of Department, Mr Ken Bowman, from Ciba VisionCare.
The grant is to enable them to com- pile a package of videotapes to be used in continuing education for practising optometrists about contact lenses.
Mr Bowman said the video package was a first step which should lead to a larger program over the next few years.
"There are only. three schools of op- tometry in Australia and they necessari- ly carry a great responsibility for conti- nuing education," he said. "This is par- ticularly so for us in Queensland where practitioners are often in areas remote from Brisbane and isolated from ongo- ing educational facilities."
OCCAM - the cutting edge of computer technology
Can computers be built which are enormously faster than current machines, and if they were, how would the users go about pro·
gramming them? Dr John Gough, Principal Lecturer in QIT's School of Computing Studies, is researching ways of eliminating the bottle-necks that exist in current computer languages which are holding up development.
By Dr ·John Gough
One of the research projects cur- rently being pursued at QIT relates to the problem of building com- puters which are hundreds of times more powerful than current machines. There are both hardware and software aspects of the project, which specifically look at the prin- ciples of machine design and pro- gramming for computer systems which consist of large numbers of communicating processes.
Staff from Control Engineering and Computer Science sections are involved in the project, which has a preliminary research grant from the QIT Research and Development Support Committee.
It comes as a surprise to almost all casual computer users to be told that there is a need for future com- puters which exceed the power of the largest present computers by factors of hundreds and, perhaps, thousands.
This impression is based on the apparent speed with which current computers tackle the simple tasks which the casual user presents. Un- fortunately, however, there are any number of interesting and impor- tant problems which cannot be solved by current computers simply because the solutions take too long to compute.
Most-of the difficult problems of artificial intelligence require significantly more computational power than is available in today's machines. There are also numerous problems in physics and engineer- ing which could comfortably use computers many times more power-
ful than the machines currently described as 'supercomputers'.
Two examples of areas in which large gains in computational power could be put to immediate use are weather forecasting and medical imaging. Weather forecasting, and problems in meteorology generally, can be solved more accurately by using more accurate models than are presently used. The problem is that small increases in the accuracy of the model lead to very large in- creases in the time taken to perform the computation.
In medical imaging, a computer with one hundred times the speed of those currently used would enable CAT scans to be made of the beating heart. Currently, CAT scans are used for imaging areas such as the human head, but re- quire the imaged region to be fixed in position, and require about 20 seconds to reconstruct the image from the X-ray data.
Providing large increases in com- putational power is a challenge to both the hardware and software sciences. The factors of speed in- crease that may be obtained by us- ing faster components in conven- tional designs, are limited by fun- damental physical laws.
Any large increases in speed in the future will have to be gained by arranging to make the machines do more computations at once, rather than trying to make the machines do one thing at a time, but faster.
Machines must be designed so that problems may be solved by 'parallel processes', as they are call-
ed. For the hardware designer, the probtem is to supply hardware com- ponents with facilities for com- munication, so that various parts may cooperate in the computation.
For the software designer, the problem is to devise mechanisms which assist people in the writing of programs in which the potential for simultaneity is manifest.
The software aspects of the QIT project involve the use of a newly proposed computer language called OCCAM, named after the medieval philosopher William Of Occam.
William is best known for his espousal of the principle which has since become known as 'Occam's razor'.
What William of Occam actually said was "Entia non sunt multiplicanda praetor necessita- tum", a dictum which may be roughly translated into the ver- nacular as "Keep it simple, stupid".
The connection between this principle and the design of the pro- gramming language lies in the language's avoidance of un- necessary complexity. The arguments in favour of such an ap- proach may be easily expressed, although it is fair ~o say that in the past many language designers have blatantly disregarded the principle.
One of the consequences of using languages which are syntactically complex is that a large amount of effort must be expended in just working out what a program says before even beginning to work out what it means. This p~:obtem
becomes even more acute as the level of complexity of the underly- ing problems becomes greater.
The most complex computer pro- grams ever written have a level of complexity which exceeds that of any human artefact, and pose the
Swiss textile research praised by lecturer
Dr Serge Kokot, lecturer in .inorganic and analytical chemistry at QIT, returned at the end of June from six months' P.E.P.Ieave in Zurich where he was part of a research team at the world famous Swiss Federal Institute af Technology (E.T.H.).
The project he was involved in was a study of 'Catalytic Damage during Peroxide Bleaching' which examined the phenomenon of spots and holes occurring in fabric during the bleaching process.
Dr Kokot's association with textiles began with his doctoral work on chemical aspects of wool dyeing at the School of Textile Technology at the University of N.S.W. Dr Kokot then travelled to Zurich in 1972 where he worked as a post-doctoral fellow and later as a research fellow, on various treatments of cotton fabric at the E.T.H., under Professor Zollinger.
About twelve years ago Dr Kokot joined QIT and in 1978 returned to Zurich, this time on P .E.P. leave, to work on a similar .project: However this recent research work on catalytic damage was an entirely new program in which he was invited to participate.
Dr Kokot said this P.E.P. program was an important one for him per- sonally and for QIT.
"I was very pleased and somewhat flattered to receive an unsolicited in- vitation from Professor Zollinger to join his research team. After all, Pro- fessor Zollinger has a high interna- tional reputation and could have in- vited anyone from among his numerous contacts in the U.S.A., Europe or Japan. So it was a small personal plus to be selected," Dr Kokot said.
"Furthermore I realised that given the overall aims of QIT and its recent · thrust to enourage research at the In-
stitute, the kind of program suggested fitted in very nicely with these QIT objectives. Showing the outside world that we have recognised expertise and research ability seems to be precisely the kind of ammunition necessary to support the broadening of research and development initiatives at our Institute.
"The project to which I was attach- ed was supported by joint funding by the Swiss cotton industry and the Swiss Federal Government. Up to mid 1985 over a quarter of a million dollars was contributed in addition to permanent salaries and very substan- tial amounts of time on fabric pro- cessing equipment in industry. The whole program is regarded most seriously by all concerned," Dr Kokot said.
Dr Kokot explained that the hole phenomenon occurring during bleaching seems to be a random ef- fect. While there are many potential sites on the fabric that could produce this damage, many do not. Never- theless, thousands of metres can be affected with the result that the material is downgraded or, in some instances, has to be thrown away.
"The overall research aims of the E.T.H. group were to simulate the damage effect under laboratory con- ditions, to find out what was causing the damage and then to attempt to find means of preventing it," he said.
"Because the program was in- dustrially guided, the tendency had been to look at the problem in an em- pjrical way. By the end of 1984 the project leaders decided to call on the expertise of someone who could relate some of the practical results of the project to some fundamental aspects of the phenomenon. That is where I carne in. It was particularly ap-
propriate work for me since I am a chemist with research interests and ex- perience in aspects of inorganic chemistry, corrosion, analytical chemistry and textiles. Since I have worked for Professor Zollinger previously, I could function effective- ly in the general Swiss environment and at the E.T.H. in particular, almost from the day of arrival," Dr Kokot said.
His particular part of the program had two aims: to study the mechanism of hole formation in cotton fabrics during hydrogen peroxide bleaching and to study the effect of metal or metal ion catalysts on the hole forma- tion phenomenon.
To do this, Dr Kokot said he had to interact with many members of the working group, to work independent- ly where required and to suggest and set up small sub programs.
"The project is very efficiently organised. A high degree of profes- sionalism is expected as are participa- tion and performance," he said.
"Weekly seminars review the pro- ject, a large amount of interaction between the members of the group and a high level of interaction with people outside the group, as and when required, exists. There was a very good research infrastructure, ex- cellent library facilities, good equip- ment back up and, in some important areas, streamlined administrative systems."
"I was able to spend eight to ten hours a day doing nothing but chemistry, undistracted by other pro- blems." he said.
Dr Kokot also praised the cooperative spirit of his co-workers.
''All the participants recognised the importance of the project and sup- ported it. Most of the group members
system designer with problems of the most extreme kind. The chief weapon in the struggle to manage this complexity is the use of abstraction mechanisms.
Abstraction is the process by which it is possible to concentrate on the interaction between a system and its environment, without hav- ing to be concerned with the details of the underlying machanisms. This principle leads to an hierarchical model: the interaction of the various subsystems may in turn be understood without concern for the irrelevant detail of the yet lower- level mechanisms which support each subsystem.
The role ot the programming language in this methodology is to provide a framework to support the abstraction mechanism. In favourable cases it is possible for the behaviour of a program to be sufficiently clear and unambiguous that it is possible to logically prqve that the program is correct.
The concept of logically proving that a computer program is correct is still considered somewhat of a theoretical novelty in the computer industry, and yet it is undeniably necessary. The point is that a pro- gram which has an indefinitely large number of possible data-sets cannot ever be shown to be correct by testing. All that testing shows is that the program works correctly on the data on which it has been tested.
Language OCCAM makes its contribution to programming methodology by deliberately limiting its facilities and constructs to the necessary minimum which are required to support the kind of parallel programs for which it is in- tended. It does not, in William of Occam's words, "multiply entities beyond necessity". The language
were men at their intellectual and academic peak, providing a challeng- ing stimulus and a searching sounding board."
As a result of his research, the group was able to demonstrate a mechanism that could be responsible for the hole damage. It appears that it is necessary to have three or four dif- ferent conditions occurring at the same time at a small, localised area, for the damage to occur.
"This is associated with small metal particles which have found their way into the fabric through a medium such as lubricating oil. The group is now running industrial trials on how to · maintain the efficiency of the bleaching process while preventing the hole damage phenomenon," Dr Kokot said.
He pointed out that experience in working in a well-organised and highly-motivated group involving considerable collaborative effort was particularly satisfying and useful. It underscored once again that industrially-orientated research and development involving chemical pro- cesses demands input from a range of experts in the subject.
Dr John Gough
does, however, provide a powerful abstraction mechanism.
The central core of language OC- CAM is a notation for expressing the interrelationship between pro- cesses, and a mechanism for ag- gregating simple processes into more complex processes. The nota- tion thus directly supports the hierarchical view of systems, and provides an abstract model which forms a reliable basis for understanding and reasoning about computer programs in which many separate parts are all executed at once, and which communicate only as necessary in order to coordinate their actions.
This process model is an ideal representation for one possible hardware structure, consisting of large numbers of separate computa- tional units loosely linked together by communication channels.
The QIT project is investigating the construction of computing machines comprising large numbers of microprocessors linked together in this way, and programmed in OCCAM. Current plans involve the design of computing machines in- tended for specialised computa- tional tasks such as the simulation of dynamic systems.
" There are valuable spin offs from this trip for my work at QIT," Dr Kokot said.
"Observing how the project was being managed is one of these. But I have also brought back with me a large amount of chemical informa- tion, some of which will be injected into course programs immediately, while other aspects will contribute to research programs of my own or those of post-graduate students.
Apart from this, experiences with a variety of instrumentation, especially in the areas of material science and analytical chemistry, will be of con- siderable benefit."
Dr Kokot said he hopes to give two seminars at QIT. The first of these is intended for a general audience and will concentrate on his life and ex- periences in Central Europe.
Hopefully it will encourage other P.E.P. leave candidates to consider Europe a~ a possible alternative to the U.K. or the U.S. The second seminar will be concerned with various aspects of the P .E.P. program, concentrating on the 'Catalytic Damage' project and some of his research contribu- tions to it.
Apple support for tone edit program
A QIT project to develop a microcomputer program which will edit a writer's tone was among Ap- ple Education Foundation grants announced laS! n1on1 h.
There were 150 applications for 21 grants nationally.
The project, to be undertaken by communication lecturer, Mr Rod Miller, and principal lecturer in computing, Dr John Gough, will net the QIT a Macintosh valued at
$6000.
The program will provide quan- titive guidance for a writer to
change what he/she has written ac- cording to the computer analysis.
The analysis will give information about the relationship and attitude to the reader that the writer is sug- gesting in a passage.
Mr Miller said there were basical- ly three tone styles: personal,· im- personal and imperative.
"The program will give the writer a scaled readout on the tone content of draft copy which can be refined,~
according to the writer's com- munication objective," he said.
Inside QIT, August 1985 Page 5
