The following list represents a selection of the talented research
students undertaking postgraduate studies in railway engineering
and other related areas with Rail CRC. Through the
efforts of these students, the Australian railway industry is
benefitting from the significant research and development efforts
in their particular rail research areas. In addition, the
knowledge and skills these students gain in rail research
throughout their postgraduate studies stand them in very good stead
for long-term careers in the railway industry into the future.
Amie Albrecht is completing her PhD in applied mathematics at UniSA
under the supervision of Associate Professor David Panton. Her
thesis is titled
'On the Integration of Railway Track Maintenance and Train
Timetabling'
and is being completed as part of Rail CRC project 12 'The
Development of an Integrated Scheduling System for Long Haul Rail
Networks'. Amie holds a Bachelor of Information Technology (with
Honours) from UniSA with majors in mathematics and computing. She
expects to submit her thesis by mid 2006. Upon completion of her
thesis, Amie is keen to undertake further applicable research
within the university structure by collaborating with industry.
E-mail:
amie.albrecht@unisa.edu.au
.
Behzad is one of a number of students working on the unique Rail
CRC Project 86 ‘
The feasibility of improving rail infrastructure by introducing
native vegetation on clay soil sites’.
Bezhad’s thesis is titled ‘Numerical and analytical
models of soil sunction on rail track stability and movement using
native vegetation’ and it is due for submission by March
2007. Behzad possesses a Bachelor of Science (Civil Engineering
– Honours) and a Master of Science (Civil Geotechnical
Engineering) and has five years industry experience working as a
geotechnical engineer and project manager. He is looking forward to
working within the rail industry or within the geotechnical field
after the completion of his PhD. E-mail:
bf94@uow.edu.au
Sakdirat is undertaking a Rail CRC research project at UoW under
the supervision of Dr Alex Remennikov within the project #5/23:
'Dynamic Analysis of Railway Track and the Assessent of Its
Capacity with Particular Reference to Concrete Sleepers'. He is
developing a new limit states design concept of prestressed
concrete sleepers towards his thesis entitled
'Experimental and Numerical Studies for Predicting Dynamic
Responses of Prestressed Concrete Sleepers to Impact Loading'.
He holds a Bachelor of Engineering with Honors (Civil Engineering)
from Suranaree University of Technology, a Master of Engineering
(Civil Engineering) from King Mongkut's University of Technology
Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand, and a Certificate on Urban Development
from Taiwan. He worked for the Department of Public Works, Royal
Thai Government for few years, prior to joining the Faculty of
Engineering, UoW. Sakdirat is anticipated to submit his PhD thesis
around July 2007 on top of a Mini-MBA degree (Graduate Certificate
in Business). He would love to obtain suitable employment within
the Australian rail or construction industry on completion of his
PhD. Visit:
http://www.uow.edu.au/~sk906/
.
Tao Pang is undertaking his Masters at Central Queensland
University under the supervision of Associate Professor Manicka
Dhanasekar, within Rail CRC Project 75, ‘Development of Novel
Insulated Joints’. Tao holds a degree in Structural
Engineering from Tongii University from Shanghai and has worked as
a mechanical engineer in China. His thesis is titled
‘Contact/Impact Analysis of Insulated Rail Joints’ and
this is expected for submission in May 2007. Email:
t.pang@cqu.edu.au
Wayne undertook his Masters studies at the University of South
Australia within Rail CRC Project 86, ‘The feasibility of
improving rail infrastructure by using native vegetation on clay
soils’. Wayne possesses degrees in Engineering and Applied
Science (Environmental Management) from the University of South
Australia and has been employed as a geotechnical and environmental
engineer within the rail industry for the Australian Rail Track
Corporation for the past three years. He formally submitted his
thesis in March 2006, working under the supervision of Dr Don
Cameron and Ms Joan Gibbs, and looks forward to continuing
involvement with research within the rail industry through his
ongoing involvement with Rail CRC. E-mail:
wpotter@ARTC.com.au
Julie’s research on the mathematical modelling of level
crossing accidents is being undertaken at the Centre for Industrial
and Applied Mathematics at the University of South Australia. Part
of Project 83, Julie’s thesis is titled
‘Modelling of Level Crossing Risk Management
Strategies’
and is expected to be completed in April 2007. Her supervisors are
Professor Jerzy Filar and Dr Malgorzata Korolkiewicz from UniSA,
and Associate Professor Jeremy Davey from QUT. She holds a Bachelor
of Information Technology (Computing and Mathematics) with first
class honours from UniSA, and has also studied several postgraduate
level subjects overseas. She has several years work experience in
the IT and Higher Education sectors. E-mail:
julie.sleep@postgrads.unisa.edu.au
Thao’s research is being undertaken at University of South
Australia under the unique Rail CRC Project 86, ‘The
feasibility of improving rail infrastructure by introducing native
vegetation on clay soil sites’. Her statistical research
forms one part of the project, with her thesis titled, ‘
Determining suitable native vegetation to improve rail corridors
using experimental design and statistical analysis’.
Thao’s thesis is expected to be submitted by May 2007 and is
under the supervision of Dr John Boland. Thao possesses a Bachelor
of Applied Science (Hons) and Bachelor of Applied Science. E-mail:
Thao.Tran@postgrads.unisa.edu.au
Angela is currently a PhD scholar at the Centre for Accident
Research & Road Safety - Queensland (CARRS-Q) based at the
Queensland University of Technology. Her PhD thesis titled "Driver
behaviour at railway level crossings: The role of an educational
intervention for different road user groups", is under the umbrella
of Rail CRC Project 83, the Level Crosssing Risk Management
project, which is headed by Chief Investigator Associate Professor
Jeremy Davey. Prior to working at CARRS-Q, Angela worked at Monash
University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) in both the areas of
injury prevention and road safety. Angela holds a Masters in Public
Health, Graduate Diploma in Education and Bachelor of Nursing. Her
career ambition is to work as a Behavioural Scientist in traffic
enforcement / policy. Angela is due to submit her thesis in
September 2007. Email:
angela.wallace@student.qut.edu.au
Xuan Vu is undertaking her PhD studies at University of South
Australia within Project 15, ‘Development of in-cab advice
systems for improving timekeeping and reducing energy consumption
in long haul trains’. She holds a Bachelor of Teaching
Mathematics from the University of Education of Hochiminh city,
Vietnam, a Bachelor of Information Technology (Computing and
Mathematics – Hons) from University of South Australia and
her Phd thesis is titled, ‘Analysis of necessary conditions
for the optimal control of a train’. Her project supervisors
are Professor Phil Howlett and Dr Peter Pudney and her expected
submission date is June 2006. Xuan hopes to work within the rail
industry in the short-term before becoming an academic in a
university. E-mail:
Xuan.Vu@unisa.edu.au
