Faculty of Engineering 3

Honorary Doctorate Awardee

Mr Simon Dyer

Simon Dyer is a visionary Australian business leader and entrepreneur. Owner of the Brisbane-based Sealy of Australia mattress business, and director of Tempur-Sealy International, he has an unwavering commitment to innovation and excellence in the sleep industry.

Sealy of Australia is headquartered in Wacol, Brisbane and has been owned by the Dyer family since 1923. Now an international brand, the company operates in 11 markets globally, from the United Kingdom to Australasia, with 16 Sealy manufacturing facilities, including at the Wacol site which hosts the international headquarters for Sealy Research and Development.

The collaborative research project between Sealy and the QUT Biomechanics and Spine Research Group commenced in 2017 and has steadily strengthened over the years. The significant impact includes Sealy hosting undergraduate students for internships and Capstone projects, hosting QUT outreach programs such as the Faculty of Engineering ASPIRE program, and support for many research projects which have led to community health benefits.

Mr Dyer’s long-standing connection to QUT through Sealy’s collaborations with the QUT BSRG have led to improvements in sleep for people of all ages and conditions, by enhancing understanding of what people need from a mattress to get a good night’s sleep. New criterion has been developed that describe body posture for sleeping alignment, as well as how age, body shape, size and gender influence body posture for sleeping and spinal alignment.

Building on these collaborations and research projects, in June 2023 QUT celebrated the opening of the Centre for Biomechanics and Sleep Research, a world-leading capability that provides space for discovery and development of cutting-edge, sleep health focussed knowledge and technology to benefit the community.

Mr Dyer holds a master degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management (1986) and Bachelor Degree in Law (1981) and Commerce (1979) both from the University of Queensland.

In recognition of his distinguished service to QUT, scholarship, and the community, QUT Council has awarded Simon Dyer Doctor of the University.

Doctor of Philosophy

AHERN, Zeke Alexander

Thesis Title

Analysis of Crash Frequency Data Considering Simultaneously Multiple Objectives and Advanced Modelling Aspects

Supervisors

• Professor Paul Gerard Corry  (Associate Supervisor)
• Professor Alexander Paz  (Principal Supervisor)
• Dr Rabbani Wahi  (External Supervisor)

Citation

Crash prediction models are vital for road safety, aiming to understand and mitigate crash factors. Developing these models involves extensive hypothesis testing, which affects results and interpretations. Analysts often face challenges such as restricted model specifications that may omit key factors, leading to biases and misspecification. This research introduces a framework to estimate crash prediction models by integrating diverse modelling considerations, such as potential contributing factors, functional forms, and heterogeneous effects, within a systematic testing environment. It utilizes an optimization-based search strategy to explore these factors efficiently while maintaining interpretability.

ATHMARAJAH, Gopikrishna

Thesis Title

Localised Failures of Thin Steel Battens Under Extreme Temperature Environments

Supervisors

• Dr Anthony Deloge Ariyanayagam  (Associate Supervisor)
• Professor Mahadeva Mahendran  (Principal Supervisor)

Citation

This research investigated the behaviour of cold-formed steel (CFS) battens used in the cladding systems of external building envelopes under extreme weather conditions. Through detailed experimental and numerical studies, it examined the critical pull-through and pull-out failures of batten screw connections at elevated temperatures (simulating bushfires) and sub-zero temperatures (simulating blizzards). This research identified the critical parameters influencing these failures and developed new design capacity equations for inclusion in the CFS design standards. The use of the findings from this research will improve the resilience of CFS cladding systems under extreme bushfire and blizzard conditions.

BURGESS LIMERICK, Benjamin

Thesis Title

Manipulation On The Move: Mobile Manipulation in Dynamic, Unstructured Environments

Supervisors

• Distinguished Professor  Peter Corke  (Principal Supervisor)
• Dr Jesse Logan Haviland  (Associate Supervisor)
• Dr Christopher Francis Lehnert  (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

Humans are expert mobile manipulators - they not only manipulate in unstructured, dynamic, and unknowable environments but will also generally perform manipulation on-the-move, subconsciously optimising for future tasks. For instance, a human might grasp an object from a table while walking past or flick a light switch as they enter a room. Comparatively, current approaches in robotics are slow and inelegant - a mobile manipulator would instead sequentially drive to the target, stop, and then reach out to complete the task. This thesis addresses the capability gap and demonstrates robust manipulation on-the-move in real-world environments.

KARUNATHILAKE RALAHAMILAGE, Roshani Dulmini Kumarihami Karunathilake

Thesis Title

Health Conscious Optimal Control of Lithium ion Batteries

Supervisors

• Professor Paul Gerard Corry  (Associate Supervisor)
• Professor Troy Wayne Farrell  (Associate Supervisor)
• Associate Professor Yateendra Mishra  (Associate Supervisor)
• Professor Don Mahinda Vilathgamuwa  (Principal Supervisor)

Citation

In this project, an advanced battery management system for battery energy storage systems is proposed that minimises cell degradation and energy losses in the converter, leading to a reduction in the rate of capacity loss in the battery pack and achieving maximum battery pack utilisation by taking cell inconsistencies and electrochemical parameter variations into account. As temperature is one of the key elements that affect the Li-ion battery's internal kinetics and characteristics, a computationally efficient electrochemical thermal model is proposed that can estimate surface and internal temperature distribution in the cell with a minimum of cell measurement.

LI, Bonan

Thesis Title

Mechanical and Hydration Properties of Montmorillonite: Insights from Molecular Dynamics Simulations at Different Hydration States

Supervisors

• Associate Professor Chaminda Gallage  (Mentoring Supervisor)
• Professor YuanTong Gu  (Associate Supervisor)
• Dr Yilin Gui  (Principal Supervisor)
• Adjunct Associate Professor Haifei Zhan  (External Supervisor)

Citation

This thesis uses molecular dynamics simulation methods to explore the crystalline swelling, structural anisotropy, mechanical properties, initial hydration characteristics, and water transport mechanism of montmorillonite. It will revolutionise the design approach for bentonite used in engineered barriers in Australia and internationally.

MALONE, Connor John

Thesis Title

Beyond Place Matching for Visual Place Recognition on Robots and Autonomous Vehicles

Supervisors

• Dr Sourav Garg  (External Supervisor)
• Professor Michael John Milford  (Principal Supervisor)
• Associate Professor Thierry Peynot  (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

This thesis investigated applications of Visual Place Recognition (VPR) for autonomous vehicles - the task of using images to determine a location. Most research develops new artificial intelligence methods to improve the precision of location estimates. However, this thesis has focused on building frameworks around the existing high-performing methods to improve functional aspects during deployment of these technologies. The work demonstrates how VPR can be used to: switch between existing methods to improve location estimates; adjust parameters to ensure performance exceeds a target; and provide prior information to improve scene understanding in conditions such as night time, rain and snow.

PAHALAGE, Nishadi Nayanthara

Thesis Title

Experimental Investigation of Critical State Behaviour and Static Liquefaction for the Design of Mine Tailings Dams

Supervisors

• Associate Professor Chaminda Gallage  (Principal Supervisor)
• Dr Jayasiri Pemathilaka Rajapakse  (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

This thesis investigates the critical state behaviour and static liquefaction of mine tailings materials for assessing the stability of tailings storage facilities (TSFs). Through comprehensive laboratory testing and in-situ analysis of tailings from two Australian TSFs, the study examined the impact of laboratory reconstitution methods on tailings mechanical response. The research identifies transitional behaviour in tailings, its implications on the stability assessments and develops new empirical correlations for assessing liquefaction potential. Findings provide insights for improving the design and safety of tailings storage facilities globally, addressing a critical geotechnical engineering challenge.

RAINE, Scarlett Georgina

Thesis Title

Weakly Supervised Segmentation of Underwater Imagery

Supervisors

• Dr Tobias Fischer  (Principal Supervisor)
• Dr Brano Kusy  (External Supervisor)
• Dr Frederic Dominique Maire  (Associate Supervisor)
• Dr Ross Marchant  (External Supervisor)
• Professor Niko Suenderhauf  (Associate Supervisor)

Citation

Robotic underwater and surface vehicles generate vast quantities of images of coral reefs and seagrass meadows. Analysing this data is difficult, slow, and costly, relying heavily on marine experts. This thesis introduces innovative artificial intelligence methods to automatically identify marine species in underwater images, reducing the need for expert labelling. The thesis proposes four novel, weakly supervised approaches for the automated processing of underwater images, enabling accurate, automated monitoring of coral reef health and estimation of carbon stored in seagrass meadows.

VIDANAPATHIRANA, Kavisha Gayath

Thesis Title

Geometric Constraints for 3D Data Association

Supervisors

• Professor Clinton Brian Fookes  (Associate Supervisor)
• Adjunct Professor Peyman Moghadam  (External Supervisor)
• Professor Subramanian Sridharan  (Principal Supervisor)

Citation

This thesis aims to help autonomous agents such as robots to better understand their surroundings by using knowledge about their environment's geometry and the fact that things usually don't change dramatically from moment to moment. The thesis proposes improved methods for practical tasks, such as helping autonomous agents find their exact location and track how things move around them. The novel techniques proposed will enable the design of autonomous systems with the ability to use logical assumptions about how the world typically behaves, making them more effective in understanding their environment and navigating to achieve specific tasks.

Undergraduate awards

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical)

• ALVES, Pedro

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Third Class Honours

• ANAND, Srivardhan
• BOON, Winston Yong Ching
• FULLER, Nicole Riddell
• HAPPER, Quinn Nicholas
• HART, Hilton
• SEEMANN, Nathan Pierce

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – Third Class Honours

• KOO, Wooje
• KRIEGER, Bailey Paul
• ROFF, James David
• WANIGASEKARA ARACHCHIGE, Lokitha Himsara

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division B

• AHMAD, Ameer
• AHMAD, Waleed
• CHEW, Zhen Yang
• CVJETANOVIC, Luka
• EDSER, Declan
• EDWIN, Gary Savio
• GARDNER, Christopher
• HARGREAVES, Lachlan Eric
• HEWITT, Hamish William
• KIWAI, Zedidiah
• LOO, Kah Seng
• LOWE, Matthew Raymond
• MANLEY, Nathan James
• MATHEW, Kevin Job
• MIJNSSEN, Joris Nicolaas
• NAEEM, Zonair Ahmed
• NORBERT, Teague
• WANSTALL, Mitchell John
• WIKLUND, Magnus James
• XIE, Junxin
• ZHANG, Guibo

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – Second Class Honours – Division B

• GLOVER, Spencer Calland
• GRECH, Thomas George
• MCILWAIN, Riley Andrew
• PANG, Xuesong
• SELTH, Lachlan Ian

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Aerospace) – Second Class Honours – Division B

• LEE-JENDILI, Sharlene Shareena
• NGUYEN, Daniel
• PETROVIC, Radomir

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – Second Class Honours – Division B

• BUCKERIDGE, Jonathon Michael
• EDWARD, Timothy Alexander
• EVANS, Ryan Lee
• GARDINER, Timothy Mario
• LARKINS, Zachary Troy
• LIANG, Zhikun
• LUCAS, Andreas
• LYON, Mathew Gary
• RAJESH, Siddharth Visal
• RANADEERA, Amanda Sandalee
• TREADGOLD, Jayden Anthony
• WILSON, Scott Alexander
• WRIGHT, Liam Lochlan Harrison

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• BESCHEL, Siegfried James
• BROOKER, Beau
• EASDALE, Talia Rose
• HART, Tiecy Claire Delmo
• HUNGERFORD, Max William Morton
• JAVILLONAR, Laurence Christopher
• JOVANOVIC, Filip
• KASPERSKI, Oskar
• KIRKLAND, Isaac William
• PODIRALAHAMY, Arambawattage Nelanga Vidushika
• REYNOLDS, Jack Beresford John
• RICE, Samuel Floyd
• ROBINSON, Jarrad James
• SLOAN, Jack Steven
• TRAPPETT, Madelyn Maree

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• BENGTSON, Declan Jon
• MCGORRY, Joseph Daniel
• NG, Hoi Ming
• REEVE, Kirk Thomas

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Aerospace) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• AYLES, Steven Sean
• BORTHWICK, Zoe Alexandra
• CAUTELA, Olivia Peta Jane
• STODDART, Daniel John

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• BARLOW, James William John
• BEBENDORF, Drew
• CHAND, Avishkar Bhavesh
• COLQUHOUN, Mary Clare
• ENTRIKEN, Jay
• JONES, Lachlan
• NEL, Jason Daniel
• PHAM, Nguyen
• SRIVASTAVA, Shlok
• TRUMAN, Darcy Rhodes

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – First Class Honours

• ALBER, Julian
• CHAI, Mathew Thomas
• FERNANDES, Brett Aiden
• GULISANO, Dylan Ross
• GURDLER, Steven
• HILL, Felix Jan
• HOLMES, Samuel Lui
• LAYCOCK, Blake
• LINDENBOY, Mikhail Alekseevich
• MAHER, Jonathan Matthew
• MAKEJEV, Cody William
• MANGIN, Steve Richard
• MILBURN, Joseph Reece
• NEWBERRY, Reilly Claude
• NGAI, Chin Hei
• OBAID, Nour
• ROBBEN, Travis Bernhard
• SHREPP, Yelena
• TAN, Jeremiah Ju Xia
• THIELEMANN, Jule
• VAN DEN BERG, Reinhard
• VAN HAAFTEN, Luke Alexander John
• VECCHIO, Monica Kate

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – First Class Honours

• CHEN, Sean
• LEACH, Harrison Jack
• LIUBIMSKII, Vladimir
• MAIER, Kiara Nicolin
• RYAN, James
• TERRY, Java Luisa Fiona
• TOON, Fraser William

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – First Class Honours

• BENNIE, Callum
• BISSETT, Hamish Bentley
• COATES, James Mark
• GOODWIN, Hayden James
• HOGAN, Jack Michael
• LEE-HEARN, Elliott Joseph
• MURPHY, Samuel Austin
• RALSTON, Thomas Ethan
• SABRA, Abdullah
• TRAN, Martin

Bachelor of Business (Management)/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Third Class Honours

• FEAR, Lachlan Dominique

Bachelor of Business (International Business)/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division B

• HOPPER, Robert

Bachelor of Business (Management)/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division B

• ROBERTSON, Lachlan William Sean

Bachelor of Business (Finance) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division B

• JAYAWARDANA, Uttimawadu Nidula Hansaka

Bachelor of Business (Economics) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• BOEGHEIM, Joshua Jack

Bachelor of Business (Finance) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• HENRY, Blake Jacob
• NORRIS, Lachlan James
• WONG, Xiao Yu

Bachelor of Business (Management) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• SCALIA, Danielle Mary

Bachelor of Business (Management) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• KAPADIA, Kevin

Bachelor of Business (Accountancy)/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – First Class Honours

• MATERAZZO, Alexander Maurizio

Bachelor of Business (Finance)/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – First Class Honours

• DEEN, Mohammed Abdullah

Bachelor of Business (Management)/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – First Class Honours

• FORD, Matthew William

Bachelor of Business (Accountancy) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – First Class Honours

• FORSINGDAL, Caelan Peer

Bachelor of Business (Economics) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – First Class Honours

• TSE, Jessica

Bachelor of Business (Finance) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – First Class Honours

• JOY, Deepu

Bachelor of Business (Finance) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – First Class Honours

• REES, Jeremy Owen

Bachelor of Design (Industrial Design)/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division B

• SOLITANA, Jenny

Bachelor of Design (Architecture)/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• GROFSKI, Kyle William

Bachelor of Design (Landscape Architecture) – with Distinction/Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division A

• O'SULLIVAN, Ella

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science)

• SCHOFIELD, Ellen Louise

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Information Technology (Information Systems)

• WHEELER, Joshua Michael

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science) – with Distinction

• MIKHNO, Kseniya

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science) – with Distinction

• GLAS, Hugh James

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science) – with Distinction

• MARTIN, Calvey John

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science) – with Distinction

• CHUA ROSSITER, Alexandra Kim
• TURNER, Charlie Thomas

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Aerospace) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science) – with Distinction

• ROSS, Flynn James Worthington
• TATTERS, Brendan Richard

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Information Technology (Computer Science) – with Distinction

• GALLETLY, Ryan James
• WYNNE, Isaac Daniel

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – Second Class Honours – Division B/Bachelor of Mathematics (Applied and Computational Mathematics)

• GELDART, Aaron Jay

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Mathematics (Applied and Computational Mathematics)

• KRETE DE SOUZA, Heitor

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Mathematics (Statistics) – with Distinction

• BALLAM, Bryce Douglas

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Mathematics (Applied and Computational Mathematics)

• MCINTYRE, Ronan Hilton

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Mathematics (Applied and Computational Mathematics) – with Distinction

• LYTTLE, Jayden

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Mathematics (Applied and Computational Mathematics) – with Distinction

• TRUONG, Bryan

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Third Class Honours/Bachelor of Science (Chemistry)

• DHILLON, Gurvir Singh

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – Second Class Honours – Division B/Bachelor of Science (Physics)

• VON RICHTER, Louis Paul

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Aerospace) – Second Class Honours – Division B/Bachelor of Science (Physics)

• PHILIPSON, Adam

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Aerospace) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Science (Physics)

• MCKELLAR, Duncan Ross

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Science (Earth Science) – with Distinction

• MALIG, Roviel Lorey Pamintuan

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Science (Environmental Science) – with Distinction

• CHARILAOU, Yasmin Fay

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical and Aerospace) – Second Class Honours – Division A/Bachelor of Science (Physics) – with Distinction

• ALLAN, Alexander James
• BALLANTYNE, Andrew Capell

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Science (Physics)

• WALLIS, Brendan Alexander

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Chemical Process) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Science (Physics) – with Distinction

• FORD, Jake Byron

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Science (Earth Science) – with Distinction

• SYMON, Lauren Kate

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Civil) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Science (Physics) – with Distinction

• CHAMBERLAIN, Scott Christopher

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Computer and Software Systems) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Science (Physics) – with Distinction

• DRUETT, Connor Leonard

Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Electrical) – First Class Honours/Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) – with Distinction

• WEBSTER, Lucy

Postgraduate awards

Master of Engineering (Electrical)

• KAUSHIK, Naman
• SPITERI, Luke Alexander
• TIMBS, Dean Patrick James
• WATSON, Vinod

Master of Professional Engineering (Civil and Construction)

• DORJI, Ugyen
• MAVENAL SUNNY, Johan
• MOHAMMED, Arif
• PELZANG, Namkha
• TSHERING, Namgay

Master of Professional Engineering (Civil and Management)

• DESAI, Piyush Lalji
• DHULESIYA, Sohil Rakesh
• DIXIT, Shantanu Dilip
• DORJI, Tshering Choden
• ITALIYA, Hetkumar Dilipkumar
• KOTADIYA, Darshil Bhavesh
• PATEL, Ishani Shubham
• SELVAVINAYAKAN, Ajith Hemangan
• THANKI, Darshan Narendra
• TOBGAY, Sonam
• VACHHANI, Udaykumar Naranbhai
• VAGHANI, Parth Durlabhbhai
• VIJAYENDRA, Adesh Srivatsa
• WEERASINGHE, Weerasinghe Pedige Dilith Madubasha
• YADAGIRI, Dileep Kumar
• YANGDEN, Tshering

Master of Professional Engineering (Electrical and Management)

• CHATURVEDI, Paarth
• JOY, Derick
• NASAPPAGARI, Roshini
• PATEL, Viral Ashokbhai
• SABALE, Abhishek Namdeo
• TONY, Kelvin

Master of Professional Engineering (Electrical)

• PAKTINAT, Soroush
• TSHERING, Cheten
• WANGDI, Sonam
• WONG, Cyrene Ling Wei

Master of Professional Engineering (Civil and Construction) – with Distinction

• JAMTSHO, Tashi

Master of Philosophy

• LI, Jiahang
• RAYNER, Jaimie Skye
• VAN OORT, Tjeard Douwe

Master of Philosophy (Engineering)

• MACIAS LEON, Paula Andrea