World-class laser diagnostics facility opens in Newcastle

The official opening of a $1.5 million state-of-the-art Laser Diagnostic Laboratory took place at the University of Newcastle on Friday 13 June, advancing research into, amongst other areas, artificial heart design.

The new laboratory is the combined initiative of the Discipline of Chemical Engineering at the University of Newcastle and the Australian Research Council (ARC), bolstering the activities of chemical engineering researchers.

Dr Behdad Moghtaderi, Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment says, "The new laboratory is fully equipped with a wide range of flow diagnostic systems, measuring the velocity and flow rate of fluids, including the new Micro-PIV technology designed to evaluate the performance of artificial heart designs.

"The technology available includes a Stereoscopic Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), a 3D system used in combustion research, aircraft design and weather simulation and a number of particle analysers designed to measure the size and density of particles, for example the droplets of water generated by a fire fighting sprinkler system.

"The laboratory will cater for the emerging fields of nanotechnology, bioengineering and biomedical engineering, covering a wide range of industry sectors including pharmaceutical, wastewater treatment, production of artificial organs, implants, medical diagnostics and the food industry.

"These emerging fields have been identified as areas of national importance with the Federal Government allocating a significant portion of ARC funding for new initiatives in these key areas of research," concludes Dr Moghtaderi.

Item provided courtesy of The University of Newcastle