About the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society

About the Society

The Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society (AFMS) is an independent non-profit society that supports and fosters interest in fluid mechanics and related disciplines in the Australasian region. This is done by providing a forum for people with a common interest, and by publishing or promoting relevant material. The Society aims to actively represent the views of its members to governments, institutes and the public. It supports all those with an interest in fluid mechanics including researchers and professionals.

The AFMS is charged with overseeing and supporting the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference (AFMC) series, currently held biennially.

Anyone who supports the aims of the Society, and has an interest in Fluid Mechanics, can be a member. Members have indicated their wish to join the Society and will annually retain membership though the payment of designated dues. The AFMS was incorporated in Victoria, Australia on 14 October 2008.

The Society's affairs are run by the council and its committees, within the constraints of the rules of the Society.

AFMS Purpose, Mission, Activities and Plans

A document articulating the strategic purpose, achievements and plans of the AFMS and its sub-committees can be found below.

This is a 'living document' that is updated on a periodic basis.

Download the AFMS strategic plan

Riding the Wave: The Value of Fluid Mechanics in Australasia

Knowledge and expertise in fluid mechanics underpins or enables a vast range of applications that benefit industry and society. However, this diversity means that all-too-often the discipline goes unseen and unrecognised. The analysis that culminated in this report serves to increase awareness of the value and roles that fluid mechanics plays in Australasia, thereby arguing for the discipline and its support as a key pillar in the socio-economic advancement of the region.

Australasia has an enviable history and global reputation for its prowess in fluid mechanics, being world leading in a number of areas. With a clear identification of what the discipline encompasses, and the many future opportunities that it offers, Australasia stands to gain even more by building upon the high standing and the region’s existing skills base in fluid mechanics to increase its integration with industry and commercial activities.

Looking ahead, it will be crucial to promote student participation in STEM subjects that support the discipline of fluid mechanics. The wide range of impact areas highlighted in the report should engender an increased diversity of participants in the discipline and improved gender balance. These will contribute to a pipeline of talent enabling creativity and innovation in the many future needs and applications that will utilise fluid mechanics.

This report was commissioned by the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society (AFMS) which is a voice for researchers and practitioners of the discipline, speaking for over 400 full and a further 500 associated members in the region. The study was conducted by the AFMS in collaboration with Harlin Ltd. (UK).

For more information about this report, please contact the AFMS at afms.admin@gmail.com.

Download the Report

Council

Executive Committee Members
Bianca Capra (President)	Defence Science and Technology Group
Tony Lucey (Vice-President)	Curtin University
Scott Draper (Secretary)	The University of Western Australia
Richard Manasseh (Treasurer)	Swinburne University of Technology
Elected Council Members
Maryam Abdolahpour	The University of Western Australia
Vassili Kitsios	CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere
Justin Leontini	Swinburne University of Technology
Ivan Marusic	The University of Melbourne
Robert Niven	UNSW Canberra
Bradley Pascoe (Student Representative)	The University of Sydney
Mathieu Sellier	University of Canterbury
James Venning	University of Tasmania
Automatic and Co-opted Council Members
Maziar Arjomandi	The University of Adelaide
Tracie Barber	The University of New South Wales
Sophie Calabretto	Defence Science and Technology Group
Julien Cisonni	Curtin University
Priyanka Dhopade	The University of Auckland
Rowan Gollan	The University of Queensland
Devereux Harvey	Australian Institute of Marine Science
Melissa Kozul	The University of Melbourne
Andrew Ooi	The University of Melbourne
Jana Orszaghova	The University of Western Australia
Ben Thornber	The University of Sydney
Cat Vreugdenhil	The University of Melbourne

Sub-Committees

Sub-Committee	Members
Student Prizes	Mathieu Sellier (Chair) Maryam Abdolahpour Tony Lucey James Venning
ARC College of Experts	Tony Lucey (Chair) Tracy Barber Ivan Marusic
Fellowships	Ivan Marusic (Chair) Tony Lucey Tracie Barber
Future AFMC	Ben Thornber (Chair) Rowan Gollan Robert Niven James Venning Cat Vreugdenhil
Outreach (and Social Media)	Justin Leontini (Chair) Bianca Capra Julien Cisonni Vassili Kistos Sophie Calabretto
AFMS Local Chapters	Robert Niven (Chair) Maryam Abdolahpour Richard Manasseh Mathieu Sellier
Women in Fluid Mechanics	Bianca Capra (Chair) Maryam Abdolahpour Priyanka Dhopade Rowan Gollan Melissa Kozul Daniel Mitchell-Eddington
Student/ECR	Bradley Pascoe (Chair) Priyanka Dhopade Azadeh Jafari Jana Orszaghova Methma Rajamuni Charith Rathnayaka Micheal Stavropoulos James Venning Cat Vreugdenhil Jisheng Zhao
Fluids Education	Andrew Ooi (Chair) Sophie Calabretto Bianca Capra Julien Cisonni Tony Lucey

Fellows

The rank of fellowship of the AFMS is accorded to a member for sustained contributions to, and leadership in, the discipline of Fluid Mechanics at the national level and which have attracted international recognition and prestige for the field in Australia and/or New Zealand. The number of Fellows in the Society is restricted to a small percentage of the total membership.

Year of Award	Name and Citation
2024	Con Doolan For outstanding contribution to flow induced noise research, engineering education and leadership.
2024	Richard Manasseh For seminal contributions to the understanding of rotating flows, bubble acoustics and microstreaming flows and for service to the fluid mechanics community.
2024	Jason Monty For outstanding contributions to the improved understanding of wall-bounded turbulence, air-sea interactions and indoor ventilation.
2024	Richard Sandberg For outstanding and significant contributions to advancing high-fidelity simulations and data-driven modelling, enhancing both fundamental understanding and practical applications in turbomachinery flow.
2024	Mathieu Sellier In recognition of outstanding and significant contributions to the field of Interfaces and Inverse Problems.
2022	Paul Brandner In recognition of outstanding research into cavitation, multi-phase flows and development of hydrodynamic facilities.
2022	Richard Brown For Outstanding commitment to Environmental Fluid Mechanics and Thermofluids in Australia.
2022	Tony Lucey For great contributions to fundamental and applied fluid-structure interactions, engineering education and academic leadership.
2022	Richard Morgan For a lifetime dedicated to advancing Australian and International hypersonic research, including the development of the super-orbital expansion tube, and his dedication to mechanical and aerospace engineering education.
2020	Peter Baines In recognition of longstanding contributions to research in geophysical and environmental fluid mechanics, especially in the area of stratified flows.
2020	Tracie Barber For outstanding contributions made in the areas of aerodynamics, fluid-structure interaction and biomedical fluid mechanics.
2020	Liang Cheng In recognition of contributions in the fields of coastal and offshore engineering, both academic and industrial.
2020	Evatt Hawkes For groundbreaking research in turbulent combustion and leadership in high-performance computing.
2020	Joseph Klewicki For outstanding fundamental contributions made to the modelling of wall-bounded turbulent flows.
2020	Andrew Ooi For outstanding contributions to computational fluid mechanics and for service in teaching and mentoring of aspiring fluid mechanicians.
2020	Yonggang Zhu For contributions to the application of microfluidics in chemical and biological detections and in thermal management.
2018	Steven Armfield For advances in the fluid mechanics of environmental and industrial flows, leading to applications as diverse as improved river management and the design of more efficient building ventilation systems.
2018	Hubert Chanson For seminal contributions in hydraulic engineering and environmental fluid dynamics.
2018	Nicholas Hutchins In recognition of outstanding research contributions in the study of high Reynolds number turbulent boundary layers.
2018	Gregory Neil Ivey For advances to the understanding of waves and mixing in stratified fluids.
2018	William Henry Melbourne For an outstanding record of contributions to research in wind engineering, its application through design codification, and academic leadership.
2018	John Elie Sader For fundamental contributions to our understanding of fluid-structure interactions at the nanoscale and development of the Sader Method used widely in atomic force microscopy.
2018	Mark Christopher Thompson For outstanding contributions to the numerical modelling of complex shear flows.
2016	John Clifford Patterson Awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to the understanding of natural convection flows.
2016	Phil Schwarz For pioneering research in computational fluid dynamics aimed at improving processes and equipment in the minerals industry.
2014	Min Seong Chong For pioneering contributions to series-expansion approaches to the Navier-Stokes equations and understanding the topology of turbulence.
2014	Ivan Marusic For advances in the study of wall-bounded turbulent flows and in recognition of leadership contributions to the fluid mechanics community.
2014	Arved J Raudkivi For fundamental contributions to understanding of coastal fluid mechanics and shore protection.
2014	Julio Soria In recognition of contributions to the study of turbulent flows made through experimental and computational methods.
2014	Yu Zhou For advances in understanding bluff-body aerodynamics, turbulent flows and fluid-structure interactions.
2012	Hugh Maurice Blackburn For contributions to computational mechanics, the study of fundamental unsteady flows and transition to turbulence.
2012	Roger Hamilton James Grimshaw In recognition of original contributions made to the understanding of wave phenomena and geophysical fluid dynamics.
2012	Hans Georg Hornung For pioneering studies in hypersonics and aerodynamics and for service to the fluid mechanics community.
2012	Dale Ian Pullin For seminal contributions in theoretical/computational fluid dynamics, vortex sheet dynamics, equilibrium particle simulation methods, and physics-based vortex models for turbulence and large-eddy simulation.
2012	Alexander John Smits Awarded in recognition of seminal contributions made in the understanding of wall turbulence under high Reynolds and Mach number conditions, and leadership in the fluid mechanics community.
2010	Robert Anthony Antonia For pioneering insights into turbulent flows, in particular the statistics of small-scale motion and large-scale organization in shear flows.
2010	David Vernon Boger Awarded in recognition of fundamental and pioneering contributions to the understanding of non-Newtonian fluid mechanics.
2010	Ross William Griffiths In recognition of seminal research in fluid dynamics, with far-reaching applications in the diverse fields of ocean modelling, volcanology and convection in the Earth's interior.
2010	Jörg Imberger For outstanding contributions to the understanding of mixing in coastal and inland waterways.
2010	Roger Ian Tanner For pioneering advances in rheology and the study of complex fluids.
2010	John Stewart Turner In recognition of fundamental contributions to understanding of geophysical and buoyant in recognition flows.
2010	Ian Ruthven Wood For contributions to the understanding of multiphase and free-surface flows.
Late Fellows
2014	Graham de Vahl Davis (11 May 1931 - 24 Dec 2019) For pioneering developments in the modelling and numerical simulation of natural convection flows.
2010	Robert William Bilger (22 Apr 1935 - 2 Oct 2015) For pioneering contributions to the modelling and understanding of turbulent combusting flows.
2010	Peter Numa Joubert (27 Aug 1924 – 13 July 2015) For seminal contributions to a broad range of topics in fluid mechanics and naval architecture.
2010	Raymond John Stalker (6 Aug 1930 – 9 Feb 2014) In recognition of outstanding developments in hypersonics research and the inception of the free-piston shock tunnel.

Emerging Leader Awards

The purpose of the recently inaugurated Emerging Leader Awards is to:

Recognise and celebrate emerging leaders in the field of fluid mechanics, for their contributions to the AFMS and more broadly to their field, as role models for young practitioners, researchers, educators and students in fluid mechanics; and
To reward the recipient for their role as an inspirational emerging leader in fluid mechanics for such activities as mentoring, the promotion of broad engagement with fluid mechanics, or inspiring the next generation of fluid mechanicians through their teaching.

Year of Award	Name
2024	Daniel Edgington-Mitchell
2024	Cat Vreugdenhil
2022	Bianca Capra
2022	Danielle Moreau
2022	Fatemeh Salehi

Policies

Rules of the Society

Rules for Awarding Fellowships

Rules for Emerging Leader Awards

Rules for Workshop/Meeting Grant

Rules for AFMS Local Chapters

Guidelines for hosting an Australasian Fluid Mechanics Summer School

Guidelines for hosting an Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference

Conditions of the Creative Commons License for Papers Published in the Proceedings of the AFMC

Rules for Awarding Student Presentation Prizes in the AFMC

Rules for Awarding Student Partipation Grants for the AFMC

Rules for Awarding Return-To-Work Grants for the AFMC

Women in Fluid Mechanics

The Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society, recognising that there is a significant lack of gender diversity in fluid mechanics, formed the Women in Fluid Mechanics (WiFM) subcommittee in late 2017. The purpose of this subcommittee is to promote and support female researchers in fluid mechanics in Australasia.

Since its formation, the WiFM has focused on establishing gender equity policies in the AFMC Hosting guidelines. Policy amendments proposed by the WiFM and endorsed by the AFMS include:

Gender equity for keynote speakers and conference scientific committee. The implemented policy follows the 40-40-20 approach (40% female, 40% male, 20% other including non-binary).
Inclusion of one gender equity event at the biannual AFMS Conference.
“Return to Work” Scholarships to support attendance at the biannual AFMS conference for AFMS members returning to work in field of fluid mechanics after an extended leave period.
Provision of AFMS subsidised childcare at the conference to allow for parents of young children to attend and participate.

The 21AFMC in Adelaide was the first AFMC to provide subsidised childcare to delegates and saw the inaugural WiFM event, a panel discussion titled “Fixing the Pipeline: Addressing Gender Equity in Fluid Mechanics”.

In 2020, the subcommittee aims to expand its membership, and focus on a number of areas including:

Job application mentoring for female ECRs
Network building
Travel scholarships

The subcommittee is presently chaired by Dr. Bianca Capra (UNSW Canberra), with Prof. Jim Denier (Macquarie U), Dr. Emilie Sauret (QUT), Danielle Moreau (UNSW), Daniel Edgington-Mitchell (Monash U), Nicole Jones (UWA) and Dr. Maryam Abdolahpour (UWA) as members.

AFMS WiFM mailing list

The WiFM subcommittee is always looking to increase its outreach to effectively communicate with the AFMS members. If you are interested in the initiatives and activities of the WiFM subcommittee, please subscribe to the WiFM mailing list by clicking on the link below.

Subscribe to the WiFM mailing list

The WiFM subcommittee is always looking forward to hearing from its members for suggestions and feedback on its activities. You can approach the subcommittee with your suggestions and queries at afms.admin@gmail.com.