Researcher Summary
My research focus is on the development of new technologies that can revolutionise the design and operation of fluid filled pipeline networks. I am an internationally recognised expert in unsteady pipeline hydraulics and pipeline condition assessment technologies. My research has led to changes in the hydraulic design process of pipeline systems in seismically active areas and has been adopted in the aftermath of the recent 2011 Christchurch earthquakes.
I have obtained over $NZD 7.5 million in research funding as principal investigator and I am a co-leader a large international collaborative project on Smart Urban Water Supply Systems, a project that involve over 22 academics from world leading universities. The aim is to developed new cutting edge technologies that allow fluid filled pipeline networks to serve as a network capable of transferring information (like electrical and communication grid) as well as fluid. My work has resulted in technologies that are patented and taken up by the largest water companies in the world. One technology has an international commercial contract with a Fortune 500 company for world wide application in water networks.
We have a state-of-the-art pipeline hydraulics laboratory that is fully equipped with the latest acoustic technologies and with automated control and measurement grid. This network is capable of replicating real world, water supply system conditions.
