Researchers earn Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowships

Four University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) researchers have been awarded a combined total of more than $2.8 million through the Advance Queensland Industry Research Fellowships (AQIRF) scheme.

The Fellowships support researchers partnering with industry on innovative research addressing issues that will positively impact Queensland.

The UniSQ Fellows include:

• Associate Professor Ali Mirzaghorbanali
• Dr Tejasri Yarlagadda
• Dr Dhasindrakrishna Kitnasamy
• Dr Wahid Ferdous

Associate Professor Ali Mirzaghorbanali was awarded $772,582 to develop a novel load cell-enabled and cloud-based instrumented rock bolt technology to predict support system failures in underground critical mineral operations in regional Queensland. Associate Professor Mirzaghorbanali’s industry partners are BHP and Aptella. He is also receiving in-kind support from Minova and TMR.

Dr Tejasri Yarlagadda was awarded $779,700 to fabricate antibacterial nanostructured surfaces (NSS) on various blood contact devices using advanced manufacturing techniques such as plasma etching, wet etching, reactive ion etching (RIE) and or UV lithography. The project will help address the current limitations of blood storage/contact. Dr Yarlagadda’s industry partners are Aegros and Panda Healthcare.

Dr Dhasindrakrishna Kitnasamy was awarded $320,840 to repurpose waste coal ash from power plants and recycled concrete aggregates from construction and demolition wastes as raw materials for the local brick industry. This will help reduce the carbon footprint and promote material circularity in brick manufacturing while helping to mitigate the waste crisis in the energy and construction industries. Dr Kitnasamy’s industry partner is Concrete Masonry Association of Australia.

Dr Wahid Ferdous was awarded $930,665 to develop composite railway bridge transoms from landfill-discarded wind turbine blades to mimic timber transom behaviour. Dr Ferdous’ industry partner is Austrak.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor John Bell said the AQIRF scheme offered UniSQ researchers the opportunity to partner with industry leaders to unlock innovative ideas, foster collaboration and drive research in real-world environments.

“We’re immensely proud of the work we do with our industry partners,” Professor Bell said.

“Industry partnerships mean our researchers can advance their research capabilities and translate their research into practical uses for the industry.”

Learn more about UniSQ’s research.