VOL. 3 NO. 4 MAY 2017 PERFECT PITCH How STEFAN MAUGER is cutting through the noise at Cochlear Healing touch No thanks Free wheeling Scalpel, suction, driver? Seashell inspired 3D printer: Driverless bus wheel design Engineers in the technology hits won’t get stuck operating theatre the road in Perth in the sand 01_EA019_May17_Cover.indd 1 21/04/2017 3:15 PM Australia’s leading supplier of corrugated metal pipes and corrugated plate structures for use in road and rail infrastructure projects, as: - Drainage culverts and stormwater systems - Bridge-spans and underpasses - Conveyor, personnel and stockpile tunnels - Mine portals and decline tunnels Manufacturing locations: Perth, WA Tom Price, WA Townsville, QLD Capella, QLD Blayney, NSW All supplemented by our state-of-the-art mobile mills for on-site manufacture where our experience, and safety record, is unrivalled. INQUIRIES: WA 08 9404 5391 QLD 07 4789 6700 General 1800 194 746 www.roundel.com.au 02-05_EA020_MAY17_Contents.indd 2 20/04/2017 3:24 PM | THE JOURNAL FOR ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA | MAY 2017 The journal for Engineers Australia ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA NATIONAL OFFICE 11 National Circuit, Barton, ACT 2600 Phone 02 6270 6555 www.engineersaustralia.org.au memberservices@engineersaustralia. org.au 1300 653 113 NATIONAL PRESIDENT: John McIntosh FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER IntPE(Aus) APEC Engineer create is the o cial magazine for members of Engineers Australia Publisher: Mahlab Australia’s leading supplier of corrugated metal pipes Managing Director: Bobbi Mahlab Editor: Kevin Gomez BS and corrugated plate structures for use in road and rail [email protected] infrastructure projects, as: Senior Writer: Christopher Connolly BE [email protected] - Drainage culverts and stormwater systems Chief Content O cer: Martin Wanless - Bridge-spans and underpasses Publisher: Stuart Singleton - Conveyor, personnel and stockpile tunnels Advertising Sales Managers: - Mine portals and decline tunnels Stuart Neish 02 9556 9122 [email protected] Manufacturing locations: Peter Stephens 02 9556 9116 [email protected] Perth, WA Tom Price, WA Townsville, QLD Art Director: Matt Caul eld Designer: Sonia Blaskovic Capella, QLD Blayney, NSW Production Manager: Kathy Little 369a Darling Street, Balmain NSW 2041 www.mahlab.co All supplemented by our state-of-the-art mobile mills for on-site Printed by: BlueStar Group manufacture where our experience, and safety record, is unrivalled. Mailed by: D&D Mailing Cover image: Adam Flipp ISSN 2205-5983 Opinions expressed by contributors are their own except where they are speci cally stated to be the INQUIRIES: WA 08 9404 5391 QLD 07 4789 6700 General 1800 194 746 www.roundel.com.au views of Engineers Australia. Engineers Australia retains copyright for this publication. Written permission is required for the reproduction of any of its content. All articles are general in nature and readers should seek expert advice before acting on 30 CONTENTS any information contained here in. “I love understanding how the body works, and, because I’m Cover story a true engineer, I love to build Torn between engineering and medicine, something that helps people.” Stefan Mauger opted for the best of both worlds, biomedical engineering. - STEFAN MAUGER ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA | MAY 2017 3 02-05_EA020_MAY17_Contents.indd 3 20/04/2017 3:25 PM UNSW Women In Engineering Awards - nominations open 1 May Do you know an outstanding female engineer? Nominate her for a Women In Engineering Award: • UNSW Alumnae Awards – 2 categories with a prize of $5000 each • Ada Lovelace Medal – open to any Australian female engineer To learn more and nominate visit unsw.to/WIEAwards _EA_APRIL17_UNSW_FP.indd02-05_EA020_MAY17_Contents.indd 1 4 20/03/201720/04/2017 10:54 3:25 PMAM | THE JOURNAL FOR ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA | MAY 2017 Engineers Australia 6 PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE 7 YOUR SAY 79 CALENDAR NEWS 9 Five girls rede ning what’s possible in STEM 10 Thubber - elastic and 16 thermally conductive 22 12 How to measure non-Newtonian liquids 40 14 What’s the big idea? The arti cial synapse 15 Another sci- device becomes a reality 18 Instrument mimics surgeon’s hand 20 Slip, Slop, Slap, Silicon TRANSPORT 22 Are we there yet? Perth’s driverless bus PEOPLE 30 COVER STORY: Cochlear’s Stefan Mauger has developed a new processor, o ering CONTENTS better than ever hearing quality for its users 66 Virtual reality is driving 58 66 long-distance collaborations 71 Inventing a beach wheelchair UNSW Women In Engineering Awards - and a renewable energy app saw Steve Gates named WA Volunteer of the Year nominations open 1 May 82 SwitchDin founder Andrew Mears is in the create spotlight, discussing distributed energy systems Do you know an outstanding female engineer? COMMUNITY 40 When a cyclone destroyed Nominate her for a Women In Engineering Award: a number of bridges in PNG, there were major challenges • UNSW Alumnae Awards – 2 categories with a prize of $5000 each in the rebuilding project TECHNOLOGY • Ada Lovelace Medal – open to any Australian female engineer 53 When will graphene turn its potential into bene ts? ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA 80 Technology Watch: Four engineersaustralia.org.au of the latest innovations Check out our weekly newsletter – your best resource for INNOVATION To learn more and nominate the latest news, events, policies, continuing education 58 Doctors, nurses and engineers and career-related information. are scrubbing up for the visit unsw.to/WIEAwards operating theatre ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA | MAY 2017 5 _EA_APRIL17_UNSW_FP.indd 1 20/03/2017 10:54 AM 02-05_EA020_MAY17_Contents.indd 5 20/04/2017 5:05 PM INSIGHT FROM ENGINEERS AUSTRALIA FROM THE PRESIDENT Taking a leadership role in shaping the future of Australia Our ongoing engagement with governments will be critical if we are to enhance our reputation as the trusted voice of the profession. While the engineering profession is often with governments will be critical if we are to described as a broad church, so too is Engineers enhance our reputation as the trusted voice of Australia. After all, we boast a membership that the profession. is 100,000 strong; representing all disciplines of We must continually strive to bridge engineering; who are dispersed across this vast the gap between decision-makers and the land and beyond. engineering profession. Our trusted voice must One of my many tasks as National President be supported by expert technical advice that is to harness the energy of this global cohort, will inform governments when they are making so that we may confront the challenges and decisions that will impact our ability to create exploit the opportunities that await us as an happy, healthy, prosperous and sustainable organisation. It is a duty I discharge gladly, communities. Our commitment to supporting and one which I am committed to, in a STEM and the academic sector must not waver, shared leadership capacity, with the Chief for they are the bedrock of our future. Executive O cer. The CEO, working collaboratively with the As you will be aware, we said farewell to Board, will be instrumental in setting a course Stephen Durkin earlier this year. The process for the future growth and fi nancial stability of fi nding a replacement is well underway. Our of Engineers Australia, ensuring that we take Royal Charter dictates that the CEO must be an a leadership role in shaping the future of this engineer, and a current member of Engineers great country and have the capacity to infl uence Australia. And that it is the Board’s responsibility engineering practitioners beyond our shores. to appoint the most eminently qualifi ed to I know there are some outstanding leaders in this o ce. the engineering profession. Many of them we While Engineers Australia advocates for the count as members. Many, but not all. To those profession, we must never lose sight of the fact who stand outside our realm, let me o er an that it is ultimately the community that will open hand of friendship. Engineers Australia benefi t from our work. To lead us, the Board will welcome all engineers who adhere to the very be looking for a candidate who has a vision for highest standards of ethics and are dedicated Engineers Australia, and can communicate a to advancing the science and practice of strategy for realising that ambition. In essence, engineering. Your contribution may well be the we are looking for a leader who can navigate a ‘tipping point’ for our organisation. course that will inspire others to follow. There is no better time to be a member of Australia deserves a well-trained and highly Engineers Australia. We are fortunate indeed qualifi ed engineering workforce. In fact, just as to be writing our own history, and I look our community demands it, so must we deliver. forward to sharing with you the next chapter of Our This is one area where the Board will be looking our journey. commitment to our CEO for thought leadership. to supporting Make no mistake, the challenges before us STEM and are many. And can be found, not just in the the academic day-to-day operations of an organisation that sector must not boasts such a large membership, but in the waver, for they way we are relevant to our members, both local John McIntosh FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER APEC are the bedrock and abroad, and the engineering profession. Engineer IntPE(Aus), National President of our future.” Engineers Australia’s ongoing engagement [email protected] 6 ENGINEERSAUSTRALIA.ORG.AU 06-07_EA019_APR17_Letters.indd 6 20/04/2017 5:05 PM YOUR SAY There is never any shortage of discussion among engineers in di erent forms of media. Here is a recent letter we received. COMMON SENSEORS in a timely manner we generally have to work with incomplete I am writing to support the views of John Giles data to arrive at an optimised solution to a problem which in expressed in his letter responding to the December itself has to be de ned, again usually with incomplete clarity article ‘Making Sense of IOT’ (create March 2017).