Dr. Philip Nakashima, a researcher at Monash University, will receive the 2011 Barry Inglis Medal at an award ceremony to be conducted on September 5 2011 at the National Measurement Institute (NMI) located in Sydney.
During the award ceremony, Nakashima will also present a seminar on his research about the properties and structure of aluminum. His seminar will answer the questions related to the strength of aluminum, while being lightweight.
Dr Laurie Besley, who serves as Chief Executive Officer at NMI, stated that researchers have been struggling to find the actual character and structure of the inter-atomic bonds in aluminum for over 82 years, while, Nakashima was able to measure them as well as map their structure, he added.
Nakashima’s research, which has resolved the 82-year-old issue, will allow engineers to optimize the strength of the aluminum alloys utilized in applications such as aircraft wings. NMI has been presenting the Barry Inglis Medal in memory of Dr Barry Inglis, who served as the first Chief Executive Officer of the institute.
NMI will also present an award to the University of Sydney’s Dr Michael Biercuk for his research on the yoctonewton, the ultra sensitive measurement of force up till now. Besley said that the yoctonewton is an ultra-small force, which is million million billion folds lesser than the force exercised by a feather lying on a table, he added. Dr Biercuk’s seminar will discuss the applications that improved force detection sensitivity has in industries, including defense and mining.
Source: http://www.measurement.gov.au