University of Melbourne Magazine

Melbourne School of Engineering: News Update

Melbourne School of Engineering

    • Visit the Melbourne Engineer for the latest Engineering and IT news at the University of Melbourne. themelbourneengineer.eng.unimelb.edu.au

    Celebrating philanthropy and the Diane Lemaire Scholarship

    Philanthropic support enables opportunities for our students, strengthens interdisciplinary collaboration and advances vital research for the benefit of humanity. Through the University Annual Appeal or through independent gifts in support of specific programs and projects within the School, each gift and each donor is deeply appreciated and contributes to the overall success of Believe — The Campaign for The University of Melbourne.

    The School was recently honoured to receive a bequest from the late Miss Diane Lemaire, who completed her Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in 1943, and holds a special place in the School’s history as the first female to complete engineering studies at the University of Melbourne. The funds have endowed the Diane Lemaire Scholarship in perpetuity, with an initial priority to support female students undertaking their PhD. We are delighted to celebrate Miss Lemaire in this way, and acknowledge her generosity with gratitude.

    Expansion of the Melbourne Accelerator Program

    The Melbourne School of Engineering continues to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation through the Melbourne Accelerator Program. We are delighted that the Faculty of Business and Economics, the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning and the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences have joined us to support budding entrepreneurs among our students and recent graduates. Initiatives include public forums, master classes and access to Entrepreneurial Fellowships.

    Visit map.eng.unimelb.edu.au

    Digital Rosetta Stone wins software challenge

    Aikuma, an android app for preserving the world’s endangered languages in audio digital form, won the Grand Prize in the Open Source Software World Challenge 2013. A team led by A/Professor Steven Bird in the Department of Computing and Information Systems first tested their software in Papua New Guinea and more recently visited the Amazon, enabling remote Indigenous communities to record and translate their stories using a smartphone.

    Staff Achievements

    Congratulations to Professor Frank Caruso from the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, on receiving the 2013 CSIRO Eureka Prize for Leadership in Science for his pioneering work developing nano-materials for medicine. Congratulations also to Professor Ivan Marusic, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who has been elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science for his contributions to fluid mechanics and advancing our understanding of wall-bounded turbulent flows.