Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology

Congratulations to Professor Mark Cook AO, Professor in Biomedical Engineering in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Chair of Medicine at St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne, and the team behind Epiminder’s pioneering implantable EEG-monitoring technology. The technology, backed by the Australian medical device company Cochlear, was developed collaboratively by the University of Melbourne, the Bionics Institute, and St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne. 🔗 Tap to learn more → https://unimelb.me/48AQj3c

The new ‘Rebel Girls’ program aims to inspire Australian children with disabilities to “see themselves in STEM and dream without limits”. The initiative’s centrepiece features a book that’ll be shared to 12,000 Australian schools – among the featured stories is that of Dr Katrina Wruck, a former University of Melbourne Research Fellow. “If everything went perfectly the first time, there’d be nothing to learn,” Dr Wruck says in the book. “Mistakes aren’t setbacks – they’re stepping stones to something extraordinary”. Head of School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and The Royal Australian Chemical Institute President, Prof Amanda Ellis, adds how “children with disabilities deserve to see role models who reflect their lived experiences. This is just one of the barriers we want to break down for women, especially when pursuing a career in STEM”. At the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, we remain committed to supporting pathways, visibility, and opportunities for women in STEM. Tap to learn more → https://unimelb.me/49RbmRI

Six FEIT academics are among 21 #UniMelb researchers to receive grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DECRAs). Congratulations to each of the awardees: 🔵 Dr Linpeng Fan, Biomedical Engineering: aims to unlock cardiac insights using a materials-based approach to modelling the heart’s left ventricle. 🔵 Dr Peiyao Wang, Mechanical Engineering: aims to investigate how electrode porous structures impact ion transport under fast operations to improve battery performance. 🔵 Dr Ekaterina Vylomova, Computing and Information Systems: aims to develop a computational framework to explore and document under-resourced languages. 🔵 Dr Robert Turnbull, Computing and Information Systems: aims to address the knowledge gap of Arabic translations of the Gospels using the recently discovered Sinai New Finds. 🔵 Dr Shaanan Cohney, Computing and Information Systems: aims to develop privacy-preserving technologies to protect young people online while upholding security and individual rights. 🔵 Dr Alireza Akbarzadeh Chinforush, Infrastructure Engineering: aims to develop AI-driven, physics-informed Finite Element Methods to enhance the analysis of timber structures. Tap to learn more about #DECRAs → https://unimelb.me/4osm0Ss

Our inaugural IGNITE initiative (the Indigenous Global Network for Innovation, Technology and Engineering) launches next week! The immersion program has selected seven students across five Australian Universities – University of Melbourne, University of Technology Sydney, Griffith University, University of Sydney and Charles Sturt University for a 10-day experience in Seattle. The cohort will visit leading tech companies and universities, including Amazon Prime Air, Boeing and Microsoft, to understand how companies are embedding First Nations knowledge in new and emerging technology. ”This program is a unique and exciting opportunity for the participants to connect with and learn from global leaders in innovation,” states Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology Dean Prof Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas. FEIT’s Associate Dean Indigenous A/Prof Joseph West adds, “through celebrating, valuing and protecting Indigenous knowledge traditions, we can help unlock participants’ potential and leadership in addressing global issues". Tap to learn more about #IGNITE2025 → https://unimelb.me/4ptFmHG

The University of Melbourne marks 70 years of computing, tracing back to the arrival of CSIRAC and the foundation of its first computing department. This rich history culminated in a joint anniversary celebration with Australia’s renowned computing awards organisation, the Pearcey Foundation, who presented their National Awards at the event. “Australia's achievements in ICT over the past 70 years are only possible thanks to the leadership and innovation of our scientists and engineers – a group that the Pearcey Foundation has recognised and celebrated since 1998. Many of these luminaries have passed through CIS, one of Australia’s top teaching departments in this field,” said Pearcey Foundation chair, Wayne Fitzsimmons OAM. A powerful reminder of where innovation begins and the legacy we build on. Tap the link to learn more → https://unimelb.me/4ikropj 📸 Peter Casamento #UniMelb #CIS #FEIT #PearceyAwards Prof Uwe Aickelin, Prof Justin Zobel, Prof David Skellern, Dr Cathy Foley, Sam Kroonenburg

Did you know Australia's savannas make up more than a quarter of the world's remaining savannas? These expansive landscapes are being strained by wildfires, intensive land use, invasive species, and the impacts of climate change. Understanding how savannas are likely to change in the future is key to making smart, informed choices about how to manage the land and create policies. Researchers from the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology and the Faculty of Science created an AI tool called Themeda. It uses 33 years of satellite data from northern Australia - such as fire scars, elevation, temperature, rainfall, and soil information. Using this data, Themeda can predict how the land cover will change each year for every 25-by-25-metre area across the 1.5 million square kilometres of northern savanna. This opens new possibilities for advancing data-driven environmental monitoring and land change modelling. Tap through to read more → unimelb.me/3K4kFmJ

On Wednesday, we recognised and celebrated the outstanding contributions of our valued partners, supporters, and benefactors. Their collaboration has played a vital role in creating lasting impact and delivering outcomes across the University and in the broader community.  'When universities, industry, and community unite, the impact is powerful,' said Dean Prof Thas Ampalavanapillai Nirmalathas. 'Together, we can build a world that is smarter, fairer and more sustainable.' Please join us in thanking our partners. We look forward to continuing to solve real-world challenges with you in 2026. Learn more → unimelb.me/3sXnm0V

Deep in exam prep? Take a break and look back on our new Master’s-level course ELEN90091 Semiconductor Devices ☀️ Introduced this year as part of the electrical engineering program, the course is a hands-on practical workshop that allowed students to design, fabricate, and characterise their own crystalline silicon solar cells. Crystalline silicon is the dominant solar cell technology today, making up more than 95% of the global market. To fabricate their cells, students used techniques drawn from the solar and microelectronics industries including dopant diffusion, antireflection coating deposition, and metal contact patterning. So next time you come across a solar panel, you can point out how it’s made!