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Meet some of our students
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Wynita Griggs, Mackay, Queensland, Australia
I have just completed my PhD on developing stability techniques for feedback interconnections of systems.
One of these techniques requires that we describe the interconnection of two systems in terms of its inputs and outputs; (the internal workings of the systems being treated as “inside a black box”). Using this approach requires minimal knowledge of the physical laws governing the system and of the interconnections within the “black box”. Based on a class of assumptions we place on the systems in the interconnection, we then guarantee stability of the feedback loop. This work creates an extension of the well-known passivity and small gain stability techniques in nonlinear control theory.
I have enjoyed my experience of studying at RSISE. The skills that I have acquired while studying here will last a lifetime.
Supervisor(s)
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Jason Schiemer, Canberra, ACT, Australia
I’m a local guy from Canberra and spent my high school years at Marist College before going on to Narrabundah College. After this I went on to the Australian Defence Force Academy (University of New South Wales) for my first year of university and then I transferred to ANU.
I decided to do two engineering majors; Materials and Mechanical Systems and Manufacturing and Management, and I chose a Chemistry major in Science. During my first year of study I found I had a passion for materials and the only way I could pursue it and combine this with chemistry, was to come to ANU.
At the moment I have an internship at Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) Ltd in Switzerland. ABB Ltd is a major global supplier of various electronic, power, control and robotics solutions. It employs more than 100,000 people in several countries around the world, and is headquartered in Zurich.
The internship is for approximately six months and I’m part of a team that is investigating new curing technologies for thermosetting polymers used for electrical insulation. Details of the work are confidential, but it involves familiarisation with many different test methods. As well as full-time employment, a stipend, and access to high quality equipment and personnel, I am in Europe where I can ski! I’ve travelled around a bit too, and the next stop is France.
I heard about the internship from Dr Paul Compston who is an academic in the Department of Engineering. He recommended me to colleagues in ABB Ltd and I was lucky enough to be selected. This just goes to show the power of networking and having access to academics at ANU that build important relationships with industry and academia around the world.
I’m not yet sure if I want to go straight on to PhD study, or to go into industry first. One of the great benefits from the internship is that it has really helped me to broaden my horizons.
Whatever I decide to do, my study at ANU, the academics I studied with and the friendships and networks that I have made will all help me to make a choice that’s right for me. And I know I can get a job anywhere in the world.
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Wen Zhang, China
I graduated from the two-year Master of Engineering with Honours. During my time as an undergraduate I tackled a wide range of core and optional modules ranging from Manufacturing and Production Systems to Solar Thermal Energy Research. As a student I am interested in improving myself and enriching my knowledge. Happily, the research environment at the College helped me to do this so that not long after my first year, I decided to do my Honours year project at the College.
I received a lot of guidance and support from academic staff which I value highly. Because of individual research backgrounds, acadmic staff helped to provide a rich study and research environment. I also learned a lot from my fellow students who come from all over the world.
After experiencing undergraduate study here, it wasn’t a difficult choice to decide to do my PhD with the ANU College of Engineering & Computer Science!
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David Barton, Canberra, ACT, Australia
I have almost completed my doctorate at the ANU College of Engineering & Computer Science.
My research focuses on finding better solutions for energy systems on remote islands off the coast of Australia. To do this I am using a multidisciplinary approach, examining social and political factors as well as the technical issues. I am combining technical modeling of the use of variable sources of power such as solar and wind on small island grids, together with conducting in depth interviews, and social network analyses to explore political and social factors involved in the uptake of new technology. I've found that the technical issues tend to be relatively straight forward, and negotiating the politics of renewable energy development is far more of a challenge. This research will lead to more economical and environmentally friendly energy systems for remote islands, and also identify themes relevant to mainland scenarios.
Supervisor(s)
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Adele Scott, Australia
I am taking the Combined Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Science degree. At the moment I'm on a 12-month exchange at the University of Ottawa in Canada. I'm taking classes in electrical, computer and mechanical engineering to count towards the Mechatronics and Telecommunications majors in my Engineering degree at ANU, as well as classes in physics to count towards my Science degree.
I applied to the International Office at ANU about 12 months before the exchange and through their various agreements they were able to arrange the university placement for me. Before I left I had to seek approval from the Engineering and Science faculties for the units I wished to study abroad which did take some careful consideration as they needed to replace specific subjects in my degrees. I had to organise other non-academic arrangements myself such as flights, accommodation and visas but these were no problem with a bit of early planning!
Classes here are much the same as at home in Australia and everyone is very friendly and curious about the new face with the strange accent. There are the usual lectures, labs and tutorials although the days can be spread out far longer here, sometimes beginning at 8:30 in the morning and not finishing until 10:00 at night, which makes for a very cold walk home at minus 30 degrees!
I have been living on campus in a very large self catered residence which has been a great way to meet locals and other exchange students and has been extremely convenient. Next semester I will be living off campus with some local students at the University of Ottawa which I am really looking forward to. Although academically university study is similar, there are plenty of challenges when you’re thrown into a new learning and living environment. I think I’ve learned to be more adaptable, independent and motivated to make the most of opportunities here.
Exchange has been the perfect way for me to fit in some travelling and break up a very long five-year program without taking time off. It's definitely not all hard work and there are heaps of opportunities for travelling and having fun. In the four months that I’ve been here I’ve travelled to cities like Montréal and Québec City. I’ve also participated in winter and spring sports like downhill and cross-country skiing, ice skating, snowshoeing, dog sledding, tobogganing, canoeing and bushwalking. I’ve seen a National Hockey League match, been to the biggest winter carnival in the world and eaten far, far too much maple syrup... and I still have eight months to go! To be able to do all this without halting my studies has been just fantastic.
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Tim Preston, Australia
I studied the Master of Software Engineering at ANU full time and found it very challenging and interesting. The core subjects offered a balanced mix of software engineering topics, while the elective subjects allowed me to pursue personal interests and develop my programming skills further.
The course content visited all major aspects of software engineering, including up-to-date topics like modern driven architecture which is important in this industry. However, the most valuable part of the degree for me was the experience of my lecturers who were willing to share all they knew with me. By the time I graduated I felt a lot more confident in my abilities. The degree definitely kick-started my career in software engineering.
I now work in the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at ANU. The job involves analysis, design and implementation of an automated data reduction pipeline. I’m also involved in some planning and management, so my degree has provided a perfect fit, and I cannot imagine a better job to have after finishing the program.
At ANU, teaching staff are professional. It was clear that each had a passion for their chosen field and they spent considerable time planning the course material. The academic staff are always willing to help, especially Dr Clive Boughton who brought the course together. I believe that choosing to return to university, and ANU in particular, was one of the best decisions of my life.
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Anika Schumann, Rostock, Germany
I first came to ANU as a Masters student when I became interested in the automated diagnosis of large-scale systems like telecommunication or power supply networks.
Now I am in my third year of my PhD focussing on new techniques to explain the abnormal behaviours of physical systems. These systems are mostly composed of many different components and I am currently looking at how to compactly gather as much local failure information as possible from the components and how to efficiently combine this data to reason about possible problems in the whole system. The timely and accurate identification of failures will allow the automatic planning of actions to reconfigure the systems and thus remedy the failures to improve the system's performance. The research that I am involved in has many applications like helping energy and communications suppliers to provide more efficient and cost-effective services to consumers.
Supervisor(s)
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Mayank Daswani, India
I am studying for my Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours). I was born in Japan and moved to India when I was five years old. My favourite subjects at school were always mathematics, computer science and physics so it’s no surprise that I have a keen interest in computing. What interests me most is how computer science can help society to grow and prosper by building better, faster and more accurate computers to do all sorts of things from traffic control to construction to e-commerce. Computer science is just about everywhere.
The BCS (Hons) allows students access to pretty advanced theory and practice with some of the world’s best researchers, and this is challenges me to do better. Also, working in machine and assembly language in my computer systems course gives me
a real insight into the way computers actually work so that rather than being a user of computers, a student becomes an innovator in computer science. The range of topics I’m covering is diverse, from analyses of algorithms to functional programming to networks and web design.
I was attracted to ANU because of its reputation for research and its high international ranking. I was also impressed by the BCS (Hons) degree in comparison with what is on offer at other universities. There are also a lot of scholarships available for high achieving students and I wanted to take advantage of these.
Canberra is a relatively small city and I live on campus where we have a pretty close-knit community. As an international student I have found people here to be very friendly and I have made friends with students from around the world. I recommend that anyone enrolling at ANU go to Orientation Week (or ‘O’ Week). This is a fantastic social time and gives you the chance to meet lots of new people.
I haven’t decided what I want to do with my current studies and although I’m very interested in computer security as well as cryptography, my interests may change during the course of my degree. I think that’s one of the great things about studying in a challenging and rigorous academic environment.
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Puthick Hok
I did a Masters in computing* believing that career prospects in IT are excellent, especially when combined with a degree from ANU. It also suited me academically because in high school I was good at mathematics, chemistry and biology. Before I came to ANU, I dreamed of studying at an internationally recognized university and living in a place where science is valued and recognized. Learning at ANU was tough but very rewarding. Course work was challenging and my lecturers were supportive. They were keen to see me work hard to get the best possible results.
Canberra is an amazing city. It is an ideal place for study, recreation and leisure. I still catch up with some of my ANU friends from time to time as I am currently working in Canberra for a biotechnology company called Diversity Arrays Technology. Here I am systems administrator, and I also look after the company’s Linux servers.
I would recommend ANU to anyone who values hard work, challenging experiences and a supportive student environment.
*Students with a similar background would now apply to enter the Master of Information Technology Studies.
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Rebecca Dunn, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia
I am studying a combined Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Science degree. I chose engineering because I wanted to do something about the greenhouse effect and I settled for the Sustainable Energy Major.
ANU differs from the other major Australian universities in that you aren’t bound to the “classical” engineering disciplines of civil, mechanical, electrical, aeronautical etc. It’s a much more flexible degree. In first year everyone studies maths, physics, electronics, mechanics, materials, and programming. Then we choose major(s) and a few extra courses. In the Sustainable Energy Major, we study more electronics, heat transfer, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, photovoltaics, other energy sources, and things like the economics of energy systems.
The flexibility of the engineering degree extends further than the classroom, too. Staff are always keen to see a new project undertaken, like the solar bike race. There are also the regular competitions students compete in like the SAE racing car challenge and the Aerowest model plane competition in the States.
After graduation I think I’d like to do a PhD, then work in industry. Of course every university says, “Come and study here, we’re the best.” But you should really choose the one where you like the degree and culture the best. I like the laid-back attitude at ANU, and I was enticed by the small class sizes (the biggest lectures have 300 students instead of 1,000).
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James Sheridan, Wagga Wagga, NSW, Australia
I'm a PhD student in the Department of Computer Science, where I'm investigating ways in which physiological signals from the brain can be used to 'talk' to computers.
To do this I am developing a system for measuring and analysing brain waves to complement the Wedge Virtual Reality theater. The Wedge is a futuristic example of human-computer interaction which allows researchers and students like me to make sense of massive sets of data by literally immersing myself into a fully-interactive 3D image, and sound field, which floats in space in front of me.
I plan to use brainwaves (EEG/Electroencephalograph), gaze and movement data to create a neuro-feedback loop that will allow a 3D exploration of the functional state and structure of the mind and I'm doing this as a contribution to new-media arts as well as to science and technology. An ultimate goal of my work may be to find new ways to train and influence the brain without the use of drugs.
See the Canberra Times story here
Supervisor(s)
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Sajid Hassan, Malaysia
I decided to do my Masters at ANU because of its high ranking in the Asia-Pacific region and I’d heard positive reports about ANU from students in Malaysia and India.
The Master of Engineering offered lots of new topics and in today’s workplace employers expect you to be able to multi-task in a range of disciplines related to engineering. I found that the biggest advantage with the program is that it allows you to take any course you like within the University, hence you can specialise in subjects that you feel passionate about in combination with engineering courses.
If you come to ANU make sure you interact with fellow students and academics who come from various parts of the world. I think this is an important part of learning and personality development. Also, don’t limit yourself to technical courses. If possible, take one or two management courses which can help you to broaden your career prospects and make you more employable.
I am currently working as an Engineer at Bridge IT Engineering in Canberra. I initially met one of their company representatives at a careers fair, which is how I came to work with them. My job scope includes deployment of IBM mobility software in organisations which are clients of Bridge IT Engineering.
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Prateek Puri, Australia
I am taking the Combined Bachelor of Engineering/Bachelor of Information Technology. The Systems Engineering approach at ANU gives everyone a taste of different fields simply because it is a holistic system to meet the overall requirements of a project. This means that you don’t major in one particular field but you undertake experiential education in several fields. In this way I’ve had several opportunities to put theory from different engineering disciplines into practise.
Facilities at ANU are up-to-date, fully equipped and easily accessible. Staff are expert and specialise in different fields. Their wide experience means that they are interesting and able to relate their interests enthusiastically. We have great interactive classes.
I chose the R&D program because it gives engineering students like me the opportunity to come into contact with excellent research facilities and to be taught by researchers who specialise in different fields of engineering.
The flexibility of the R&D program makes it stand out from a normal course which has its own scheduled time during the year. A student can take up the program any time of the year. Besides this, a stipend of $300 a week for a total of 12 weeks definitely eases the financial burden of study!
Studying the nano-indentation field has enabled me to evaluate my interests and helped me to focus into my degree program from the very first year. It has given me a true research experience and shown me how actual research is carried out.
My research project, which investigates phase transformations of silicon due to indentation and different polymorphs of silicon, tests the material property relationships of silicon. This is essential for the semi-conductor industry that includes companies such as Intel.
What I especially like about the R&D program is that it brings me close to research activities all over the world. As a student I get the opportunity to work in the Research School of Physical Sciences & Engineering (RSPhysSE) at ANU which is world-famous.
One of the other benefits of studying the R&D program is that I can complete a four-year Engineering degree in three and a half years, or a five-year combined Engineering degree in four and a half years. The degree also broadens my prospective career path because I get to experience study that is important to industry as well as academia, and I’ll be making the most of the networks that I build to help me decide what I want to pursue after I graduate.
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Ali Mihsen Mashi, Saudi Arabia
I researched many universities before making the decision to come to ANU to undertake a Master of Engineering. The main reason I chose ANU is because of its great reputation in the areas of engineering and computer science.
Teaching techniques of the lecturers included small group work. Often these groups challenge each other on different projects. The benefit of this style of learning is how much we achieve – far more as part of a team than on our own. We exceed everyone’s expectations, including our own in what we learn. We also have a lot of fun!
At ANU I made many friends who are not only my study partners, but people I socialize with on and off campus. They are from all over the world including Canada, India, China, Brazil and Australia.
Canberra is a very safe, clean and fun place to live. Being the capital city, I connected with the embassy that represents my home country – Saudi Arabia – where I met up with a very strong network of people that I’m also now proud to call my friends.
Now I am doing my PhD with two great supervisors who taught me during my postgraduate studies. Would I recommend ANU to others wanting to study at one of the world’s top universities? Definitely!
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Hugh Blemings, Australia
I completed a Masters in IT (eScience)* part time at ANU with the support of my employer. I undertook this program in order to gain some formal academic qualifcation, gaining admission on the basis of prior work experience and referee reports. I don't have an undergraduate degree and entered as a mature age student (38 at the time).
I work in the Computer Science/Research and Development area and long term may want to do a PhD, hence the need to get a formal qualification under my belt.
I knew the reputation of many of the lecturers in the Department of Computer Science at ANU through various contacts, and was therefore confident that they'd be a good group to learn from. Studying part-time while holding down a demanding full-time job together with family commiitments meant I particularly appreciated the support shown to me by the lecturers I worked with.
The course work was, without exception, current and relevant and ANU is a great campus. I forged many friendships that have lasted well past graduation. I would recommend ANU without hesitation. The best known Australian university with great teaching staff and top-notch facilities.
*Students with a similar background would now apply to enter the Master of Information Technology Studies.
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Tor Lattimore, Canberra, ACT, Australia
I am taking the Bachelor of Computer Science (Honours). I went to Narrabundah College in Canberra and studied double Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, English and a minor in IT. I really enjoyed maths and physics in school, but even then most of my personal academic interests were in computers and their applications in maths or artificial intelligence.
This encouraged me to enrol in the ANU Bachelor of Computer Science (Hons) and I’m now in my second year. What interests me most about this field is that it is logical and broad and I love problem solving.
So far I’ve got a lot out of the short lecture series given by the researchers in two courses taught by Dr Marcus Hutter (Probability/Combinatorics) and Dr Jochen Renz (Sets/Databases). They are both especially enthusiastic and interesting, and they manage to bring their real research interests into the lectures and somehow make them come alive. Being able to meet and talk to these high calibre researchers is a great boost to study and it helps to keep me motivated.
I chose the BCS (Hons) because it promised the right combination of courses, flexibility and a scholarship and so far it is delivering on all of these. The ANU campus is big, open, bicycle friendly and, surprisingly in drought afflicted Canberra, very green.
Socially, if you join the student clubs, there are always BBQs and get-togethers on somewhere. I like Canberra; large enough to have all the amenities of a big city and small enough to ride my bike everywhere. Clean air, clean water, streets that you can ride on and of course the great ANU at its throbbing heart, all keep me happy!
When I complete my current studies I’ll most likely undertake a PhD in some kind of computational mathematics. I really haven't thought where I’ll do this, but based upon my experiences so far, ANU is certainly on my list of choices.
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