Dr Geoff Brooks' passion for teaching has paid off for his students.
Dr Geoff Brooks' passion for teaching has paid off for his students.
"A controlled volcano” is Dr Geoff Brooks' description of a steelworks
but, in terms of sheer enthusiasm, he may as well be talking about himself.
This materials engineer may not reach an operating temperature of 1600 degrees Celsius, but it takes equivalent energy to inject passion into metallurgy lectures - something his students vouch for.
“He's so excited about what he's teaching, we get excited too,” seems to be consensus.
His peers in the United States were excited enough to award him a plum $US150,000 grant to promote education in his field.
It's the first time the Iron and Steel Society has picked an academic outside North America.
Perhaps it is the poet in him.
In an earlier incarnation, before deciding to 'stop fiddling around' at lots of things and get serious about a few, Geoff popped up in prisons and pubs reading poetry.
He was part of Melbourne's street poetry movement, with a bit of blues guitar on the side, a Bachelor of Arts in the history and philosophy of science, a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, not to mention a yen to clean up the environment.
In his early career he focussed his skills as a chemical engineer on solving environmental problems in chemical and metalurgical industries.
He then took a sideways jump, undertaking a PhD in extractive metallurgy.
Enter Professor Howard Worner, 'hero and genius'.
Professor Worner spoke at Melbourne University and Geoff was hooked.
If the Macquarie Dictionary ever marks the word 'waste' as 'archaic', Howard Worner could take credit for kickstarting the process in industry, inventing processes to re-use just about anything.
“Howard believes there is no such thing as waste,” Geoff said.
Geoff was inspired enough to want to work with him and Howard was impressed enough to take him.
Since arriving from Melbourne in 1993, he's been the driving force behind revitalising the study of steelmaking at the University of Wollongong.
And to his own surprise, early plans for a research career have given way to a love of teaching.
“It's a very big surprise to me,” he said.
“If I don't end up doing the greatest research in the world, that's OK.
“My role as an educator and helping people is just as important as research.” He gets huge satisfaction seeing “students do well”.
Geoff is a rare breed: he holds dual Arts and Engineering degrees.“The shape of history has been changed by steel,” Geoff said.
He sees the first mass steel production by Bessemer in England last century as a defining moment, socially and politically - and one students need to grasp.
And the steel industry's impact on the planet remains critical.
“Last year the world produced 800 million tonnes of steel and only 20 million tonnes of aluminium,” he said.
“We are trying to cut the amount of electricity used to make steel by 20 percent,” he said.
Because steel commands such a major share of the world market, even a small change in electricity consumption in the industry would have significant effects on the environment.
A visiting fellow from the Institute for Learning and Research Technology at the University of Bristol is about to leave the University of Wollongong after a six-month stint in the Department of Economics and CEDIR.
Li Lin Cheah was one of the Institute's key developers in the computer based learning project, WinEcon.
WinEcon was funded under the UK Teaching and Learning Technology Program (TLTP) for 640,000 pounds and recently, a further 300,000 pounds for second-phase development.
The TLTP Economics Consortium, a group of eight universities led by Bristol University, developed WinEcon.
Launched in 1995, the project has won three prestigious international awards. Through Li Lin, the University has become an offshore member of the consortium.
Li Lin is a recognised world authority on WinEcon and the Asymetrix Toolbook authoring software and has a special interest in IT project management.
At the Department of Economics she is involved in several projects, including its funding application to the Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development; a submission to the 1998 ASCILITE (Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education) Awards, and has advised on the development of Nowra's flexible delivery options. Li Lin Cheah's visit to Wollongong is a welcome stop in her round-the-world tour from Bristol which began in September 1997.
Wollongong has been a good base to explore coastal New South Wales.
A keen scuba diver of both temperate and tropical waters, she has also become a running enthusiast during her stay, entering the recent City to Surf, and joined in the Lindeman Pass bushwalk organised by the Social Club.
Li Lin is no stranger to Australia though: she has a BSc and DipCompSc from Monash University and La Trobe University respectively.