Research in the School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering

The School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering has maintained high professional standards and a strong research orientation since its foundation. Many of its graduates hold leading positions in industry and government departments or are full professors in universities.

Postgraduate study and research is encouraged in the areas described later, but enquiries and suggestions for other initiatives are welcome as we are alert to the need for evolution.

Research Areas:

Sensing and Processing
	Electromagnetics Professor Peter Cole, Associate Professor Christopher Coleman, Associate Professor Christophe Fumeaux, Associate Professor Cheng-Chew Lim, Dr Tamath Rainsford Electromagnetics is the discipline that describes the interactions of electromagnetic fields and waves with matter, and is therefore fundamental to most areas of electrical and electronic engineering. The relevance of the discipline is for example evidenced by today's omnipresence of personal wireless devices such as cell phones or GPS navigation systems. Research in electromagnetics is crucial to modern electronic technology and has enabled progress in a huge range of applications across the spectrum. Those applications include for example power lines for energy transmission at low-frequency, satellite and mobile communication at radio frequencies, or sensing through the interaction of light with micro/nano-structures at optical frequencies. The activities related to electromagnetics in our School include: Antennas technology (from HF to THz) Radio waves propagation for radar and communication Radio-frequency identification (RFID) Computational electromagnetics
	Microelectronics Professor Derek Abbott, Dr Said Al-Sarawi, Associate Professor Christopher Coleman, Associate Professor Michael Liebelt, Associate Professor Cheng-Chew Lim, Dr Braden Phillips The research in microelectronics encompasses a diverse range of areas including: new microelectronic devices research, mixed analogue-digital VLSI design, high speed digital circuits and systems, computer architectures, parallel computing and algorithms, RF and wireless systems, photonics and vision systems and design verification. Our broad research activities has allow use to create many collaborative partnerships with wide range of companies. Examples of projects are: Hardware verification algorithms for complex high performance system-on-a-chip Wireless microvalve for biomedical applications Parallel matrix-vector processor architecture Low power RF IC for GPS Memristive-based CMOS/nano electronics and systems Information Sementics Low power memory architecture for multiprocessors
	Radars Professor Doug Gray, Professor Bevan Bates, Associate Professor Christopher Coleman Today, through its many and diverse applications, radar is a key tool for remotely sensing and monitoring the environment and for the tracking and surveillance of both civil and military objects. The focus of the University of Adelaide Radar Research Centre is in the use of radar for surveillance and environmental monitoring. It brings together research groups from the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Discipline of Physics in the School of Science together with various external organizations such as the Australian Defence Science and Technology Organisation, the Bureau of Meteorology, the Australian Antarctic Division and commercial companies such as Raytheon Australia and ATRAD. Examples of projects are: Soil moisture - PLIS WREN: A Weather Radar Experimental Network Wideband digital phased array receivers for radar, EW and GPS Digital broadcasting passive bistatic radar Fast high resolution direction finding for electronic warfare
	Signal and Image Processing Professor Doug Gray, Dr Andrew Allison, Dr Danny Gibbins, Associate Professor Cheng-Chew Lim, Dr Brian Ng, Mr Matthew Trinkle, Professor Lang White Signal and image processing is all around us, from the basic telephone systems to the advance aircraft avionics, from vehicle safety with electronic stability control to memorable 3D pictures of your unborn child. It deals with the gathering of data, extracting the important relevant information, and sending the useful results to the user. Recent advances have resulted in 60GHz digital systems that expands the range and speed of applications, and improved 3D tomography for detailed body scanning. A few of the important projects in the school includes: GPS signal processing Radar MIMO signal processing Insect vision Stochastic signal processing
	Telecommunications and Wireless Systems Professor Lang White, Associate Professor Cheng-Chew Lim, Dr Brian Ng, Dr Matthew Sorell Resarch encompasses a diverse range of ares: wireless ad-hoc and sensor networks, cellular telecommunications, data comparession and coding, protocol design, network optimisation and forensics. Examples of projects include: Cross-layer design based on network utility maximisation Diversity routing and multipacket reception for ad-hoc networks Image compressed sampling with wireless sensor networks 60 GHz wireless communication Telecommunications and automated planning
	TeraHertz (T-Ray) Imaging Professor Derek Abbott, Associate Professor Christophe Fumeaux, Dr Brian Ng, T-rays are an exciting new area of photonics research, opening up a new region of the electromagnetic spectrum, usually based on advanced laser technology. Spanning 0.1-10 THz (THz stands for 10¹² Hz), the radiation promises many fascinating applications from security screening to rapid quality control. Hosting the national facility, our Adelaide T-ray group enjoys a broad range of research topics, including terahertz generation and detection, terahertz waveguides, terahertz near-field microscopy, terahertz metamaterials, and biomolecular sensing. Several challenges are waiting for prospective students in the fields of science and engineering. Examples of projects include: THz beam characterisation and modelling THz for security and food quality control THz waveguides
Sustainable Energy
	Power Electronics and Electrical Machines Associate Professor Nesimi Ertugrul, Dr Wen L Soong, Dr Rastko Zivanovic The research in power electronics and machines is primarily focussed at developing low-cost power electronics and motor drives in applications such as : small-scale wind turbine generators; PV grid-connected inverters and automotive auxiliary motor drives. This involves using novel magnetic material types (e.g. soft magnetic composites, amorphous magnetic material) and simplified power electronics and control techniques. There is also ongoing work in condition monitoring of electrical machines and power quality analysis. Examples of recent research projects include: Design of small-scale permanent magnet wind generator based on soft magnetic composites Control of low-cost power electronics for small-scale wind turbine generator Optimisation of interior permanent magnet traction machines for electric vehicles Stator winding fault detection based on negative-sequence currents
	Power Systems Associate Professor Nesimi Ertugrul, Dr Michael Gibbard, Mr David Vowles, Dr Rastko Zivanovic The research in power systems is divided into two key areas. First, in the area of power system protection, our research is examining areas such as automated fault and disturbance analysis; sensitivity analysis of protection devices and algorithms and signal processing applications in power engineering. Second in the area of power system control and dynamics, our research interests includes areas such: as damping performance of power systems; determining of power system limits; and integration of wind farms into power systems. Examples of recent research projects include: Automated fault and disturbance analysis Sensitivity analysis of protection devices and algorithms System modelling, analysis and commissioning assistance for Basslink (HVDC link between Victoria & Tasmania) Tuning of controllers and assisting client with commissioning of power system stabilizers and oscillation dampers Performance of wind turbines and wind farms in weak transmission networks Control of power electronics for HVDC links