Visiting Research Fellow Dr Mariam Darestani has been announced as a 2018 AMP Foundation Tomorrow Maker. The $37,000 grant will fund Mariam’s soil sensor project next year at Western Sydney University which aims to reduce the impact of over-fertilisation on our waterways and oceans.

DECRAs are awarded to promising early career researchers who have been awarded a PhD within five years. The award gives ECRs an opportunity for diverse career pathways in both teaching and research, and in research-only positions in high quality and supportive environments with a broadened aim to expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability. Congratulations to Dr Pejman Sharafi for receiving this DECRA, worth $420,437, based on his application ‘Interactions between volumetric units in modular buildings’.

At the invitation of Prof. Zhong Tao, CIE welcomed a visiting delegation of 2 Professors and 9 PhD students from the Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT). An all day workshop was run to promote collaboration and explore research opportunities, with presentations being given by CIE and HIT PhD students.

CIE director Prof. Bijan Samali, as well as Dr. Maria Rashidi and Mr Frank Moshfeghi-Nejad, met with the NSW Minister for Finance, Services and Property the Hon. Victor Dominello and NSW Premier the Hon. Gladys Berejiklian. The function was to celebrate Mr Dominello's 10 years in parliament.