University of Western Australia
Engineering PhD Student Xiong Xiao has been awarded the Postgraduate Research Excellence Award held by the Joint Chemical Engineering Committee (JCEC) on behalf of the Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) and Engineers Australia.
Xiong Xiao’s research is in fluid science and resources and he was named the winner for his presentation “Refrigeration: The Road to the New Generation of Refrigerants”. Xiong explained why next generation of refrigerants is in demand, introduced the importance of thermophysical properties in refrigeration cycle design, and how the accurate new models can affect the refrigeration industry.
The competition is open to all chemical engineering postgraduate students in WA to showcase the latest research outcome in a 15-minute timeframe. One finalist from Curtin University, The University of Western Australia, and Murdoch University are selected to represent their institution. Novelty, application in industry, significance to chemical engineering, and presentation skills are the four key criteria for this contest.
Xiong said, “This competition was an invaluable chance for me, it inspired me to think deeply regarding the application of my research and how to convey the achievements to others efficiently. One question that would frequently come from the industry is why others should care about my outcome. I simulated the results if someone simply use the old default software package, and ignore the recent measured data and developed model to design the air conditioning system in summer. They would have an unrealistic result of cooling the system from 21 to 3 degree C!”. Xiong also would like to thank his supervisors Professor Eric May, Dr Darren Rowland and Dr Saif Al Ghafri.
IChemE is a global professional engineering institution with over 35000 members in more than 100 countries. In Western Australia, the member group committee joins with the Engineers Australia WA Chemical Branch to form the Joint Chemical Engineering Committee (JCEC) that organizes events, provides professional support, and offers business promotion in the state.