MEI Symposium
On 12 December, graduate students, research staff and energy industry professionals from across the country met to exchange ideas and explore collaborations at the MEI Symposium.
The Symposium showcased the multi-disciplinary energy research taking place throughout The University of Melbourne.
The morning opened with Audrey Zilbelman, CEO of AEMO, delivering her keynote speech on navigating the transition to the fourth energy revolution to a full house - having to be streamed into the adjacent overflow theatre.
The rest of the day was filled with topical seminars delivered to brimming rooms, networking with industry and government, and crucial research into energy being shared amongst the community.
Importantly, the event provided a space for collaboration between the sector and The University, as well as an opportunity to celebrate the past year's accomplishments.
The Symposium was divided across MEI’s four research programs, with prizes being awarded to the best presenter and poster in each theme:
Energy Systems
Best Presentation
Sebastian Puschel - PhD Candidate, Electrical and Electronic Engineering
Presentation Title: Frequency response constrained economic dispatch with consideration of generation contingency size
Best Poster
Kyriacos Petrou - PhD Candidate, Electrical & Electronic Engineering
Poster Title: Controlling residential storage for the benefit of customers and networks
Energy Technology
Best Presentation
Bolong Zhang - PhD Candidate, Chemistry
Title: Luminescent Solar Concentrator: from Fluorophore Synthesis to Device Fabrication
Best Poster
Harshal D Akolekar - PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
Title: Enhancing gas turbine efficiency with machine learning techniques
Environment and Energy Resources
Best Presentation
Zebedee Nicholls - PhD Candidate, Australian-German Climate and Energy College, Earth Sciences
Title: IPCC Special Report on 1.5 degrees warming: what does it mean for Australia
Best Poster
Sareh Naji - Research Student, Infrastructure Engineering
Title: Effects of envelope design variables on indoor environment quality of prefabricated houses in Australia
Environment, Community & the Region
Best Presentation
Stephen Pollard - PhD Candidate, Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning
Title: Reconfiguring energy, community and the region through the Copenhagen Climate Plan
Best Poster
Will Clarke - PhD Candidate, Mechanical Engineering
Title: A model based approach to micro-grid control