
Associate Professor Robert Niven
- BSc(Hons) and The University Medal in Chemistry and Geology, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 1991.
- PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia, 1998.
搁别蝉别补谤肠丑听
- Internationally recognised research leader in (a)听Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, especially entropic insights into dimensional analysis, generalised conservation laws and Lie symmetries; (b)听Probabilistic inference in data science, including applications of maximum entropy analysis and Bayesian inference; (c)听Environmental contaminants and impacts, especially听per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contaminants, and environmental听impacts and policy;听 Highlights听include:
- Dimensionless groups based听on entropic similarity, and applications to fluid mechanics, hydraulics, heat and mass transfer,听chemical reaction and environmental systems.
- Spatial and parametric听analogues of the Reynolds transport theorem and resulting conservation laws, and connections to Lie scaling.
- Maximum entropy analysis, Bayesian inference and machine learning applied to scientific and engineered systems, including flow networks, hydrological听systems,听groundwater vulnerability assessment and geological mineralisation.
- The combinatorial basis of entropy听and its applications,听including to the analysis of graphs and flow networks.
- PFAS contaminants in soils, water and other media, including entrapment mechanisms听and their remediation by foam fractionation and in situ fluidization. This includes major intellectual property commercialisation听and laboratory facility development.
- Other emerging contaminants in soils, water and other media, including tyre waste antioxidants and breakdown products
- Environmental impacts, sustainability and environmental management.
- Success in research funding, with a career total of A$4.501听million in grants and fellowships from Australian, European, French, German, Japanese, UK and U.S. sources. This includes ARC Discovery Project grants for 2010-12 and 2014-16, an听ARC SRI PFAS grant over 2019-24, industry grants and a recurring NESP-funded project.
- Leadership of a research group and major project on the remediation of PFAS contaminants in water and soil across 亚美棋牌 Canberra and Macquarie University, funded by an ARC SRI grant (total听A$1.364 million)听with industry partner OPEC Systems Pty Ltd. This has involved听significant IP commercialisation, including new manufacturing plants in Emu Plains, NSW, and North Carolina, USA.
- Success in competitive research fellowships, including Churchill (1998), Fulbright (2003),听JSPS (2006), Marie Curie Incoming International Fellowship, Denmark (2007-08), Endeavour (2010) and Isaac Newton Institute (2010).
- Several paid Visiting Professor research positions听at听Institute PPrime CNRS / Region Poitou-Charentes, France (2014-15, 2018 and 2023) and听CentraleSupe虂lec / CNRS / Universite虂 Paris Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France (2018).
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Teaching听
- Course coordinator and lecturer for undergraduate courses in听fluid mechanics, hydraulic engineering, environmental engineering, materials engineering, geology, soil听mechanics, hydrology, contaminant hydrogeology and (from 2023) nuclear engineering, across BE degree听programs in听Aeronautical, Civil, Mechanical and Naval Architecture Engineering, and BTech degree programs听in Aeronautical Engineering and Aviation.
- Delivery of Masters-level workshops and short courses in Bayesian inference, including to the AFMC Summer School (Dec 2019) and APS-DFD (Nov 2024).
- Postgraduate teaching in Maximum Entropy Analysis, including a Masters / PhD course at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and delivery of numerous Masters-level short courses and workshops in Australia and internationally.
- Past and听present supervisor of a number of BE thesis, Masters and PhD students.
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Academic Engagement and Leadership:
- Elected Council Member of the Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society, from 2021, and听Founding Chair听of the ACT Chapter, from 2019.
- Editorial Board Member of the journal Entropy听since 2007, and Stat since 2019.
- Undergraduate Aeronautical Coordinator, SEIT, 亚美棋牌 Canberra, 2016-2018.
- Research Development and Mentoring Coordinator, SEIT, 亚美棋牌 Canberra, 2016-2018.
- Host or member of听the organising committee of international conferences: AFMC 2024 (Lead Chair and Treasurer), Canberra, Dec 2024; AFMC 2022, to be held Sydney, Dec 2022;听MODSIM, Canberra, Dec 2019; MaxEnt 2018, The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK, Jul 2018; MaxEnt 2017, Sao Paulo,听Brazil, Jul 2017; MaxEnt 2015, Potsdam, NY USA, Jul 2015;听BayesianControl 2015, Poitiers, France, Apr 2015; MaxEnt 2013 (Chair), Canberra, Dec 2013 (the first time held in Australia);听MaxEP Workshop, ANU, Canberra, Australia, Sep 2011; and Facets of Entropy, Copenhagen, Denmark, Oct 2007.听
- Host of numerous visiting scholars and PhD students to SEIT, 亚美棋牌 Canberra.
- Past or present research grant assessor for funding agencies in Australia, Romania, Chile and USA.
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External Engagement and Leadership:
- Public commentary on PFAS contamination in Australia, including to an inquiry of听the Parliament of Australia, since 2018.
- Expert Opinion services in major disputes concerning soil and groundwater contamination, including cases to听the Supreme Court of NSW.
- Founder and President (since 2013) of The MaxEnt and Bayesian Association of Australia, Inc., a scientific association and registered charity to support research and teaching in probabilistic inference.
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- Publications
- Media
- Grants
- Awards
- Research Activities
- Engagement
- Teaching and Supervision
- Invited Professor, 1听month,听2023, hosted by Institut Pprime and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Poitiers, France.
- Invited Professor, 1听month, 2018, hosted by Laboratoire des signaux et syst猫mes (L2S), CentraleSup茅lec / CNRS / Universit茅 Paris Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, France.
- Invited Professor, 3听months, 2018, hosted by Institut Pprime and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Poitiers, France.
- Invited Professor, 11 months, 2014-2015, hosted by CEAT, Institut Pprime, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Poitiers, France, funded by Region听Poitou-Charentes and Institut Pprime, Poitiers, France.
- Invited Senior Research Fellow, 1 month, 2012, hosted and funded by Institut Pprime, CEAT, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Poitiers, France.
- Senior Research Fellow, 3 months, 2011, hosted and funded by Institut Pprime, CEAT, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Poitiers, France.
- Visiting Fellowship, 1 month, 2010, hosted and funded by the Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Cambridge, UK.
- Endeavour Executive Award, 2 months, 2010, hosted by the Graduate School of Integrated Arts and Sciences, Hiroshima University, Japan, funded by the Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations.
- Marie Curie Incoming International Fellowship, 14 months, 2007-2008, at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, funded by the European Commission (6th Framework Programme).
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Invitation Fellowship, 1 month, 2006, at Dept of Information & Image Sciences, Chiba University, Japan.
- Fulbright Professional Fellowship, 4 months, 2003,听hosted by 3 universities in USA, funded by the Australian-American Fulbright Commission.
- Churchill Fellow, 3 months, 1998,听funded by the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust.
- Recipient of 6 other awards and prizes during BSc(Hons) studies in听chemistry and geology.
Recent engagement:
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Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society, Riding the Wave: The Value of Fluid Mechanics to Australasia, Hawthorn, Victoria, 2 December 2024 (member of working group).
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Obbard, E., Burr, P., Gludovatz, B., Hanley, T., Waite, D., Maddison, P., Kruzic, J., Yang, J., Laws, K., Niven, R.K., Aboutanios, E. & Ladouceur, F. (亚美棋牌), Submission 238 to Australia's Science and Research Priorities - Conversation Starter, The Science Strategy and Priorities Taskforce, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Canberra, Australia, 6 April 2023.
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Boxall, N.J., Davis, G.B., Navarro, D.A., Williams, M., Joll, C., Heitz, A., Niven R.K. & Wong B. (2023), Sampling Guidance for Complex Waste Materials: Sampling Plan Design Principles Applied to End of Life Tyres and Rubber Materials, Version 1.1, Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, Australian Government, Canberra, ACT, Australia, October 2023, 25 pp听
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Niven, R.K., Lee, C.-K., Mohotti, D. and Hazell, P., How to survive a tactical nuclear bomb? Defence experts explain, The Conversation, 20 April 2022, https://theconversation.com/how-to-survive-a-tactical-nuclear-bomb-defence-experts-explain-181340
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Niven, R.K., Environmental contaminants in Australia: the need for a Commonwealth EPA, invited presentation, panel on 鈥淎re Our Environmental Laws Fit for Purpose?鈥, National Environmental Law Association, 2021 National Conference, presented 3 Sep. 2021.
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Niven, R.K.听(亚美棋牌), Stuetz, R. (亚美棋牌), Andersen, M. (亚美棋牌), Timms, W. (Deakin), Boyle, C. (Deakin), Moon, E. (Deakin), Ghadouani, A. (UWA), Proposal for the Renewal of Field of Research (FoR) Codes in Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering, Submission to the ANZSRC Review, submission 2, 10 February 2020.
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Niven, R.K.听(亚美棋牌), Stuetz, R. (亚美棋牌), Andersen, M. (亚美棋牌), Timms, W. (Deakin), Boyle, C. (Deakin), Moon, E. (Deakin), Ghadouani, A. (UWA), Proposal for the Renewal of Field of Research (FoR) Codes in Environmental Science and Environmental Engineering, Submission to the ANZSRC Review, 7 June 2019, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.24239.48806.
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Niven, R.K., Khan, S., Taylor, M., Wilson, S.P. and Wright, I. (2019),听Summary and Position Paper: The need for a Commonwealth Environmental Protection Agency (CEPA) for enforcement of the regulation of environmental contaminants, May 2019,听DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10638.00323.
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Niven, R.K.听(2018), Submission, Parliamentary Inquiry into the Management of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance (PFAS) Contamination in and around Defence Bases, Parliament of Australia, 6 July 2018,听DOI:听10.13140/RG.2.2.20480.74245.
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Niven, R.K.听(2018), Submission to NSW Government on Proposed Remediation of Land State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP), NSW Government, April 2018, DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15140.78721.
My Research Supervision
- Mr听Felipe听Condo Colcha
- Ms听Charuni听Wickramarachchige
- Ms听Ana听Todorova