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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

A report to quantify the value of Fluid Mechanics in Australia

Discussions at recent AFMS meetings have highlighted the need to better communicate the value that fluid mechanics provides to Australasia – this communication is important to justify future investment, at all scales, into fundamental and applied fluid mechanics research.

Motivated by these discussions, the AFMS is now actively working on a report to that will estimate the financial impact of fluid mechanics research across Australia and New Zealand, as well as other key metrics such as employment numbers.

It is intended that the outcome of this report will be for Australian universities, industry, Government, and the wider community to be better aware of the benefits that Fluid Mechanics brings to Australasia. It is hoped that it will also provide immediate value to AFMS members to support their funding applications and help them to communicate the importance and relevance of their research.

The AFMS will work with Harlin Ltd. to complete the report. Harlin Ltd. also worked on a similar report in the UK context called 'Our Fluid Nation'. Work on the report is expected to be completed in June/July 2023.

If you would be interested in participating in the development of this report, please contact the AFMS at afms.admin@gmail.com.

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

2024 Fellowships: Call for Nominations

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.

Please consider nominating deserving colleagues, following the procedure in this document.

Preliminary nominations are due by Friday 26 July 2024, by email to afms.admin@gmail.com.

Fellows will be announced in December 2024 and awarded formally at the 24th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference (AFMC).

Year of Award Name and Citation
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

2024 Emerging Leader Awards: Call for Nominations

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

  1. 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
  2. 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.

Please consider nominating deserving colleagues, following the procedure in this document. Self-nominations are also permitted.

Preliminary nominations are due by Friday 26 July 2024, by email to afms.admin@gmail.com.

The Emerging Leader Awards will be presented at the 24th Australasian Fluid Mechanics Conference (AFMC). Recipients of the award will receive a certificate of achievement and conference registration, accommodation and a keynote speaking role in the emerging leader category for the following (25th) AFMC.

Year of Award Name
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:

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:

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.