Dr Ahmed Elhanafi was awarded the prestigious Rob Lewis Medal for excellence in postgraduate research for his PhD project exploring the performance and survivability of a wave energy converter.

Dr Elhanafi’s work centres on improving the power extraction and cost efficiencies of one particular design – an oscillating water column. His findings will be used by commercial developers to understand how these devices behave in extreme weather conditions and to avoid over-designing the mooring systems, which currently represent up to a third of capital costs.

“Wave energy is one of the most promising renewable energy sources in many countries including Australia, but the levelised cost of energy for wave energy converters is still very high, which in turn hinders commercial development,” he said.

“Among several wave energy converter concepts, the oscillating water column device has globally drawn the attention of developers and researchers because it is arguably one of the most simple and elegant in design and principle of operation.”

He said he was looking forward to seeing his findings being applied within the industry and the production of wave energy converters entering the commercialisation stage.

“The need to protect our environment from the excessive use of fossil fuels drives my main and long-term goal, which is to see 100 per cent of the global energy demand being delivered by green energy resources, including wave energy,” he said.

Dr Elhanafi plans to contribute his findings to further research in the field, providing the knowledge required to help optimise the design of wave energy converter arrays – in which a number of devices can share mooring lines to reduce the cost of energy production.

Angus Cameron was awarded the Connell Medal for the most outstanding AMC graduate at a bachelor level, as well as the Captain Thomas Swanson Prize for the most outstanding engineering degree graduate.

The two medals cap off a stellar academic career during which he was named on the Principal’s Roll of Excellence for each year of his Bachelor of Engineering (Naval Architecture) (First Class Honours) degree, from 2014-2017.

After four years based in Launceston for his studies, Mr Cameron is about to set sail to Brisbane to take up a position as Graduate Naval Architect at boatbuilding company Norman R Wright and Sons.

“What I’m looking forward to most in my career is the opportunity to solve problems and manipulate physics by engineering a solution to solve a problem or serve a client. One of the most fantastic aspects of working at Norman Wright and Sons will be the opportunity not only to engineer solutions, but to see them come to life,” he said.

AMC Interim Principal Nataliya Nikolova commended the recipients on their outstanding achievements and wished them all the best for their future endeavours.

“Congratulations to all of our award recipients, you should be very proud of your achievements here at AMC and we look forward to seeing your contributions to the maritime industry as you carve out your future careers,” she said.

Congratulations to all of the 2017 award winners:

Ahmed Elhanafi – Rob Lewis Medal for excellence in postgraduate research

T M Rabiul Islam – Highly Commended, Rob Lewis Medal for excellence in postgraduate research

Brian Humphreys – David Sterrett Medal for excellence in postgraduate studies in any discipline area

Angus Cameron – Connell Medal for most outstanding AMC graduate at a Bachelor level; Captain Thomas Swanson Prize for most outstanding graduate in a degree program in the National Centre for Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics

Yun Shang (Mindy) Tan – Captain Thomas Swanson Prize for most outstanding graduate in a degree program in the National Centre for Ports and Shipping

Christine Chongwo – Captain Thomas Swanson Prize for most outstanding graduate in an ocean seafarer program in the National Centre for Ports and Shipping

(Pictured L-R: Angus Cameron, Christine Chongwo, TM Rabiul Islam, AMC Interim Principal Natalia Nikolova, Ahmed Elhanafi and Yun Shang (Mindy) Tan)

Published on: 14 Feb 2018