External Recognition

4.1 National Recognition

A key factor in establishing the CRC for Railway Engineering and Technologies was the Railway Geotechnology, Track Design and Maintenance research conducted by Prof. Buddhima Indraratna and Dr. Richard Dwight for several years at UoW, prior to Rail-CRC approval. UoW is the only institution in Australia that conducts research in track geotechnology and large-scale simulation of rail track behaviour under dynamic loading (Appendix 5). The Theme 2 of Rail-CRC on “Innovative Track Upgrading & Maintenance” was developed by Prof. Indraratna and Dr Dwight. Prof. Indraratna is now the national Theme Leader for this, managing more than 2 dozen researchers and 10 projects from several Universities. Dr Dwight plays a major role in Theme 6 on Railway Engineering Education. In addition, A/Prof. Philip Laird represents UoW in Theme 4 on “Rail Transport Energy Efficiency”.

4.2 International Recognition

Prof. Indraratna has been appointed as the Chair of sub-committee in Soft Clay Improvement under the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE), Technical Committee, TC36. Over the next 4 years, this international group of 10 academics from various countries will address the need for improving soft and weak soil foundations for optimizing the efficiency of roads and rail embankments, and subsequently develop the International Standards for soft clay improvement.