Professional engineering
The importance of research is considered on a par with that of teaching at the school of professional engineering and is led by Dr Neel Pandey, Head of professional engineering and Dr Thomas Vuong, Academic Lead (Research).
The school is proud of its interdisciplinary research work in areas such as engineering fundamentals and applied engineering and the diverse expertise of its twenty research-active academics allows exploration into mechanical, electrical, civil and medical research. The school's main goal is to provide research-informed learning and teaching that contributes positive impacts to society and industry.
The school of professional engineering works collaboratively with industry, community, universities as well as with other internal disciplines. Recent collaborative research projects include:
- Developing a computer model to investigate the aerodynamic characteristics of the existing CPAP device, in collaboration with IBTec, AUT University and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Ltd, led by Dr Thomas Vuong
- Developing a computer model to predict noise and vibration generated in an electric motor, in collaboration with Fisher & Paykel Appliances Ltd, led by Dr Thomas Vuong
- Deep Neural Network-based Non-Intrusive Energy Disaggregation for increasing efficiency and conservation of Energy in Smart Grid, in collaboration with AUT, led by Dr Shafiqur Tito
- Design protocols for proximity services in 5G cellular networks, Saad Aslam's PhD programme at Massey University.
The Professional engineering team welcomes collaboration so please don't hesitate to contact their Academic Lead (Research).
Researchers and their research interests:
Dr Thomas Vuong — Researches product design, biomedical applications specifically CPAP, advanced modelling (CFD, FSI, acoustic simulation)
Dr Vuong is a Lecturer at the School of Professional Engineering, holds a PhD and ME and is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME).
For more information on Thomas' profile, click here.
Dr Helen Zhou — Researches biomedical sensors, networks and systems, mathematic modelling for traffic flow and control, machine learning and spatial database management systems
Dr Zhou is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Professional Engineering and has research collaborations with local and international universities.
For more information on Helen's profile, click here.
Dr Nigel Shepston — Researches the teaching of engineering mathematics
Dr Shepstone is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Professional Engineering and has five peer-reviewed papers published in the proceedings of conferences.
For more information on Nigel's profile, click here.
Dr Pieter Nieuwoudt — Researches robotic pattern recognition
Dr Nieuwoudt is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Professional Engineering and has produced a conference paper for IVCNZ in 2018 as well as papers for Enzcon between 2011 and 2017.
For more information on Pieter's profile, click here.
Dr Shamzin Yazdanian — Researches manufacturing process engineering, particularly the application of light metals & composite materials in the marine and aerospace industry
Dr Yazdanian is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Professional Engineering and was involved with industrial projects in which friction stir welding technology was applied in local companies. Recently, he started focusing on engineering design and modelling of wind energy equipment which could have potential applications for further usage of wind energy.
For more information on Shamzin's profile, click here.
Dr Snjezana Soltic — Researches evolutionary computation, applied optoelectronics, data mining and human-centric lighting
Dr Soltic is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Professional Engineering and holds an MS degree in electrical engineering and a doctorate in Computer Science. In 2009 she began focusing on the design of eco-friendly white light sources and has developed several optimisation techniques for designing high-performance multiple LED displays.
For more information on Snjezana's profile, click here.
Cornelis Kok — Researches quadrotor helicopters, biomedical engineering applications, and mechanical engineering design
Cornelis is a Lecturer at the School of Professional Engineering and holds a Masters degree.
For more information on Cornelis' profile, click here.