2018 Playford Trust Honours Scholarship
I received the Playford Trust Scholarship for my Honours research into Halloysite clay as a microfiller in geopolymer and fly-ash-based concrete. The focus of my research was to show how we can improve the structural qualities of concrete, one of the most widely-used construction materials in the world, while also reducing the amount of embodied carbon dioxide that’s involved in the production of Portland cement-based concrete.
Having completed my Bachelor of Civil Engineering at Flinders University in 2018, I am now working as a structural design engineer with WGA in Adelaide. Working at WGA has been amazing, and I have had the opportunity to visit different a variety of industrial, mining and maritime site locations.
As structural engineers, we face real world technical problems every day – such as the corrosion of ageing steel structures and the degradation of concrete. This is compounded by the need for local industry to support our economy, as well as the global need to minimise our environmental impact by sourcing more sustainable alternatives to replace conventional finite construction materials.
I love having the chance to work towards solve these problems – all while ensuring designs are compliant and safe for society to use. Through my mining site visits I have had the opportunity to see these problems first-hand and have done some pretty amazing things in the process – like jumping in confined-space pontoons beneath water on floating marine structures, and climbing all the way up a 40-metre ladder tower to inspect corroded steel.