CSIRO SNAPSHOT Issue 07.16

01 Customers

Taking the drag out of pumping

Taking the drag out of pumping

Picture trying to pump a semi-liquid mixture through huge pipes in industrial size loads. Usually, you’d use tonnes of water to keep the mixture, or slurry, moving, and a considerable amount of energy. That’s why we’ve developed a new ‘drag-reducing’ industrial pumping technology, adopted by mining company Glencore Minara Resources, which creates a lubricant that coats the slurry, coaxing it through the pipes with less water and energy use. It's simple, cost-effective, easy-to-implement, and could be applied to a broader range of industrial processes where sludge or slurry needs to be transported, such as construction, waste management, coating services and food processing. Can this tech help your business?

02 Research

A concentrated solar thermal energy power plant

Breakthrough in solar air-con

The next time you’re strolling around your local shopping centre, consider the temperature. Did you know that large commercial spaces such as these use around 60 per cent of their total energy on heating and cooling? In comes our energy efficient solar air-conditioning. Our breakthrough technology is being used at Stockland Wendouree Shopping Centre in Ballarat, Victoria. Using concentrating solar thermal technology, the system produces its own heat energy to power the air-conditioning, which results in less cost to the business. How we’re concentrating on an efficient future

Dogs in the back of a ute

Snake antivenom for dogs

Do you get worried when your pooch takes a run through the tall grass? So do we – especially when you consider that thousands of dogs die from snake bites every year. That’s why we worked with a small biotech company to develop a new antivenom to save dogs from deadly snake bites. The product is not only more effective but also costs less than others on the market. It could also have applications for treating humans for snake bites or against the toxins of paralysing ticks. Saving our pooches from snakes

03 Discoveries

Boosting electric car batteries with a salt bath

04 People

Gabriella on a horse

Young stars of CSIRO Chile

Our research centre in Chile is nurturing some exciting up-and-coming research talent. Meet Gabriella, a water resource researcher who was inspired by England’s grand buildings and bridges to study engineering. An internship in Tanzania then got her interested in how engineering can deliver water supply and sanitation solutions, particularly for poor rural areas. Gabriella’s Masters research on water management issues in Chile’s Copiapo Basin made her a perfect candidate for CSIRO Chile’s Land and Water program. Also meet Alfredo the mathematician and Nicolas the informatics engineer

Jobs

To infinity… and beyond!

Have you always wanted to investigate galaxy formation in the nearby universe, the characterisation of radio transients in the sky and the evolution of magnetic fields in galaxies over cosmic time? Well now you can! Our Astronomy and Space Science team is offering the chance for a talented and experienced FPGA firmware developer to join the Digital Systems Team. You’ll also work closely with the ASKAP System Commissioning Team.

Get it ON!

Be a part of one of Australia’s newest and most exciting accelerator programs. We’re looking for an Accelerator Lead who will be responsible for the end-to-end delivery of the ON Prime and ON Accelerator Programs. This will include managing the processes for program applications, curating the curriculum for both programs, and evolving the program to be best practice in design and delivery.

05 Participate

The ON team

Incubator open to partners

We know we’re not the only ones passionate about unlocking Australia’s sci-tech innovation future. Which is why our accelerator program ON is now open to partners! Run within CSIRO this past year, we’ve already shepherded a raft of success stories, from rehabilitation apps to international partnerships in agriculture. Now we want to step it up and are calling for applications from researchers and research organisations to take part in the next phase of our accelerator. Collaborate and innovate through ON

A Doarama interactive 3D map

On yer’ bike! TDF gets interactive

Want to experience the Tour de France without shelling out for flights and having to pretend to talk French? Now you can. We’re proud as punch(ture) to share our latest start-up success story from our Data61 team, Doarama. This year we’ve produced 3D interactive map visualisations of the TDF routes, allowing users to control and interact with the routes in a virtual world. Get touring now

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