Issue 562 (March 2007) - Office of Marketing and Communications

19U Q N E W S , M A R C H 2 0 0 7metals discoveryGOES AGAINST THE GRAINLife in the laboratory is a stroll along thebeach for two UQ researchers, afterdiscovering metals bear exciting similaritiesto granular materials such as sand.Christopher Gourlay and Professor Arne Dahlefrom the CAST Cooperative Research Centremade the discovery when deforming metals asthey were solidifying, publishing their findings inthe journal Nature.The authors explain that we are all familiarwith wet sand drying up around our feet when wewalk on the beach.This happens because our weight forces thesand grains to rearrange, opening up spacesinto which the surrounding water flows – aphenomenon known as “dilatancy” which wasfirst described in 1885.Mr Gourlay and Professor Dahle have provenfor the first time that metallic alloys can alsoexpand in the same way when cooled from theliquid state – the process used to manufactureeveryday products such as steering wheels andmobile phone covers.Mr Gourlay said the findings were an earlybut important step towards understandinghow metals deform during industrial castingprocesses.“The experiments take us another steptowards understanding the deformation ofsolidifying alloys within the wider context ofgranular mechanics,” Mr Gourlay said.The research behind the Nature paper, titled“Dilatant shear bands in solidifying metals”formed the backbone of Mr Gourlay’s recentlysubmitted PhD thesis.Professor Dahle said the findings opened upAnother world: Metal crystals under an opticalmicroscope.new and exciting links between alloy solidificationand research areas as diverse as volcano andearthquake science, soil mechanics and theprocessing of cereal crops.“It puts the research area on the mapand provides new opportunities for furtherinvestigation and collaboration,” Professor Dahlesaid.Based at The University of Queensland’s StLucia campus, the CAST CRC was established in2005 with a seven-year, $200 million investmentfrom the Federal Government and industry tosupport excellence in light metals research.CYBER SEEDS PLANTEDCybersmart: Dr Vic Galea with studentsat UQ’s Gatton campus.The pursuit of an efficient way toidentify, diagnose and treat diseasesin plants has led a UQ lecturer on aninteresting learning curve through cyberspace.Dr Vic Galea from the School of Land, Cropand Food Sciences (LCAFS), developed theunique project, A Virtual Plant Pathology LabCD-ROM, in response to a challenge from theUniversity to enhance the learning opportunitiesfor students through the use of technology.Dr Galea’s project was recognised at theprestigious Australasian Society of Computersin Learning in Tertiary Education (ASCILITE)conference, winning not only the President’sAward for Excellence but also an individualaward for outstanding achievement.Dr Galea said the Virtual Plant PathologyLab project was a collaborative undertakingbetween himself and the University’s Teachingand Educational Development Institute (TEDI),with the original concept born from thenecessity to provide students in the field with areliable and comprehensive diagnostic tool.The Virtual Plant Pathology lab givesagronomy students the ability to work their waythrough a variety of scenarios in relation to thecrop they are diagnosing, eliminating potentialdisease culprits as they examine the symptomsin the field.“This project is a great example of thetechnology and innovation that characterisesthe agricultural industries in Australia andaround the world,” Dr Galea said.“With an increasing global population, theneed to be able to minimise and eliminatediseases in food and grain crops is becomingvitally important.”