USQ plays role in new research hubs
FROM transforming rubbish into construction materials to reducing the fire risk of current battery technologies, University of Southern Queensland researchers will play leading roles in two major research hubs.
They are two of five Australian Research Council Industrial Transformation Research Hubs across the country – each granted $5 million from the ARC – that aim to support research that will foster strategic partnerships between universitybased researchers and industry.
USQ’s Professor John Bell and Professor Zhi-Gang Chen have been engaged as part of the Deakin University-led project that will deliver a new generation of energy technologies that are safer and more reliable to use.
Prof Bell, an expert in energy efficiency and renewable energy, also leads the university’s research endeavours as deputy vicechancellor (research and innovation).
“While energy storage underpins our technological society, there are serious issues related to safety, reliability and sustainability that must be addressed,” Prof Bell said.
“For example, explosions and fire pose a threat to human life; current technologies can be inefficient; waste materials levels are too high; and resources for current energy materials are limited.
“Together, we researchers will develop innovative solutions to these challenges facing current-generation energy storage and conversion technologies, from small scale portable devices to large scale industrial applications.”
Prof Bell and Prof Chen, who specialises in sustainable energy and thermoelectrics, will work on carbonbased supercapacitors, integrating it with a variety of renewable energy sources with a focus on reliability and consistency. Fellow USQ researchers Professor Hao Wang and Dr Weena Lokuge will work as part of another research hub, led by RMIT, focusing on reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and how to use waste products in new materials in the manufacturing industry.