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Articles by Charlotte Barkla
Meet George Ferris, the civil engineer behind one of the world’s most popular fairground rides
In 1890, as plans for the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago were taking shape, organisers put a call out to engineers to design a superstructure. George Ferris had just the thing. Director of Works for the Chicago exposition, Daniel H. Burnham wanted something that rivalled Paris’ Eiffel Tower, which had been erected in 1889 for the Exposition Universelle. Burnham challenged designers to come up with “something novel, original, daring and unique”.
A Menagerie of Masonry Mix-ins
If you think coffee-flavored concrete is unusual, check out these strange construction materials. Most people know The Great Wall of China as a famous landmark. What you may not know is its secret ingredient … sticky rice. Scientists at Zhejiang University in China made this discovery in 2010 while analyzing the mortar from the 600-year-old city wall in Nanjing.
Algae Burger, with Extra Slime
Move over Krabby Paddy, algae burger is coming through! What comes to mind when you think of algae? Seaweed in the ocean? The sludge on the bottom of a fish tank, perhaps? What about… burgers? While beef or lamb are among the most common burgers in the supermarket at the moment, Professor Benu Adhikari says that might not always be the case. “Five years ago, the focus was on plant proteins,” says Benu, a researcher in food engineering and processing from RMIT University, Melbourne.
Buildings that Bounce
Image courtesy of QUT Check out what happens when you combine 3D printing with Auxetic geometries! Just imagine: a render you could apply over the walls of a building, to protect it from collision damage. Sounds like magic? It could be closer to reality than you think, thanks to engineer, Dr Tatheer Zahra from the Queensland University of Technology. She’s working on a unique, 3D-printed product that could be embedded inside a cement-water mixture.
A New Weapon in the Marine Trash War
This method of detecting marine waste is truly out of this world! Marine waste is a serious global issue. Current estimates suggest there are a larger number of plastics in the ocean than stars in the milky way. While efforts to cut down plastics in everyday living are vital, so, too is tracking what waste currently exists. Geospatial scientists at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, are working on a new method to detect plastic waste on remote beaches, using satellite technology.
Books to boost body image and self love in kids
Guest post. Standing in front of the mirror, head tilted. She squints, focuses, dwells. She hones in on all the ‘flaws’ – and the tween girl looking back at her agrees with her thoughts. Yep. Definitely ugly. Her hair is too thin. Her skin too pale. Her body too thick. And her face? Well it’s hideous, of course. She approaches the heap of clothes on her floor (the one her mum has been nagging her to put away) and selects the same oversized hoodie she wears most days. Even though it’s not cold.
Not just about the numbers
Shaking up the traditional image of finance and economics at school could be the key to creating financial literacy among the next generation, writes CHARLOTTE BARKLA.
ALL BODIES ARE GOOD BODIES
by Jimmy Fallon ; illustrated by Miguel Ordóñez ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 9, 2015 A succession of animal dads do their best to teach their young to say “Dada” in this picture-book vehicle for Fallon. A grumpy bull says, “DADA!”; his calf moos back. A sad-looking ram insists, “DADA!”; his lamb baas back. A duck, a bee, a dog, a rabbit, a cat, a mouse, a donkey, a pig, a frog, a rooster, and a horse all fail similarly, spread by spread.
Turning the ship around
A ground-breaking program is empowering women leaders in STEMM to tackle the world’s environmental problems. Homeward Bound, an Australian-born leadership initiative, was dreamt into reality by leadership expert and social entrepreneur Fabian Dattner, who was inspired after speaking to a group of female Antarctic scientists.
Meet RoBeetle, a tiny, fuel-powered crawling robot
Inspired by these observations, Pérez-Arancibia and his team developed a new type of non-electrical microactuation, based on the concept of controllable chemically-powered artificial muscles. “We developed a new type of microactuator…[that] can be driven by the controlled catalytic combustion of fuels with high energy densities, including hydrogen, methanol, butane and propane,” Pérez-Arancibia said.
Australian-designed bionic glove aims to give autonomy to paralysis patients
A new bionic glove being developed in Australia could see paralysis patients achieve greater autonomy. The seeds of the KinoGlove project were sown 17 years ago, when biomedical engineer Puya Abolfathi began his PhD at the University of Sydney in 2003. “We intended to create a rehabilitation glove — a soft glove that people with spinal cord injuries could wear,” Abolfathi told Create.
National Heritage status for The Dish, an Australian engineering icon
Australia’s most famous telescope has been awarded National Heritage status, making it the 118th site to be added to the list of natural, historic and Indigenous places of outstanding significance. Renowned for its role in the 1969 Apollo 11 mission moon landing and immortalised on screen in the Australian film The Dish (2000), the CSIRO Parkes Observatory is the first functioning scientific instrument to be granted this status.
From birds to burrs, here are four examples of biomimicry at work
For decades, engineers have been designing spectacular skyscrapers, tunnels and dams that defy the natural world. Now, the profession is increasingly looking to nature for inspiration. According to the US-based Biomimicry Institute, biomimicry is “a practice that learns from and mimics the strategies found in nature to solve human design challenges”. Put simply, it’s the innovation that arises from nature.
This company is using a wastewater byproduct to fuel an Australian-first hydrogen project
Western Australia (WA) may soon be a world-leader in hydrogen production, with a project to produce low-emission hydrogen and graphite from sewage set to launch next year. Recentlyannounced by Hazer Group, the three-year project at Water Corporation’s Woodman Point Wastewater Treatment Plant is expected to produce 100 tonnes of fuel-grade hydrogen and 380 tonnes of graphite each year, from the biogas released during the wastewater treatment process.
Engineers designed a ‘brain-on-a-chip’ that could pave the way for tiny supercomputers
For the first time, researchers have designed an artificial synaptic network in hardware, mimicking the information-transmitting synapses in the human brain. Smaller than a piece of confetti, the chip is made from tens of thousands of artificial brain synapses. These silicon-based memory transistors – or memristors – could pave the way for small and portable brain-inspired circuits that don’t require data connections. “So far, artificial synapse networks exist as software.
This research into 3D-printed materials could shape how buildings are constructed in the future
For Dr Phuong (Jonathan) Tran, senior lecturer in advanced manufacturing at RMIT University, the future of building materials comes from looking at what already exists in nature. “One of the objectives of our research group is to look into nature materials and learn how they’re structured and designed, and how they’ve evolved over millions of years to achieve structures that are very light, but with high performance,” Tran told create.
Australian researchers have recorded the world's fastest internet speeds using a single optical chip
An Australian research team has successfully tested and recorded the world’s fastest internet data speed, using an optical micro-comb. In a collaboration between RMIT, Monash and Swinburne universities, researchers logged a data speed of 44.2 terabits per second (Tbps) – a rate capable of downloading 1000 HD movies in a split second.
Sustainable from the start
24 April 2020 Students in South Australia’s Wipe Out Waste (WOW) Schools program are looking deeply into their daily waste habits. The WOW program has conducted around 700 bin materials audits in schools since it was introduced in 2006. WOW was developed by state government body Green Industries SA and is run by not-for-profit organisation, Kesab Environmental Solutions. It aims to significantly reduce the amount of material headed to landfill in favour of composting, recycling or reusing.
Spatial data on demand gives engineers a clear picture
A new service aims to provide high-quality spatial data for engineers and planners within minutes. With a background in surveying, Dan Paull understands the importance of accuracy. “[As a surveyor] I’d often go into building sites or be involved in the process of capturing information about a site very early in the design phase,” Paull told create.
Life and learning on Mars
Science education has come a long way in the past few decades, particularly when it comes to practicals and excursions. Long gone are the days of ‘chalk and talk’ interspersed with the occasional chemistry prac. Not only do we now have an array of online resources and interactive practicals to engage our students in real-world science, but here in Victoria we also have access to six science and mathematics specialist centres.
Everything you need to know about forest therapy and its health benefits
Looking for an excuse to pack up your troubles, ditch your job in the city and head to the forest? Well, it might be just what the doctor ordered. Based on the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku (forest bathing), forest therapy is a research-based medical practice that supports physical and mental health through guided immersion in forest and natural environments.
Engineers critical for Australia's 5G future
Almost 80 per cent of Australian businesses are set to adopt 5G services within the next three years, with the new network promising greater network availability, device capability and connection speeds up to 100 times faster than 4G. Optus recently launched its 5G network following Telstra’s rollout late last year.
Students win global competition with cholesterol-busting nanofilter
The FilterPhytes team (from left): Eloisa Bennetts, Donna Win, Oliver Hubbard, Andreas Orsmond, Kavya Mathur and Anh Tu Quang Lam. Proving the best designs are often found in nature, students from the University of Sydney have taken out first place in a global biomolecular design competition with a nanofilter that mimics the behaviour of fern leaves to fight cardiovascular disease.
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