Engineering with impact: our top stories of 2019
The University of Sydney team was the first Australian team to ever compete in and win at Spaceport America Cup.
1. Sydney rocketry team wins at prestigious US rocketry competition听
The University of Sydney was announced as a winner in the Spaceport America Cup intercollegiate rocketry competition, having competed in the 10,000 feet commercial off-the-shelf category.
The team was the first Australian team to attend and compete in the university rocketry competition held annually in New Mexico.
Competing against 51 student teams from around the globe, including Princeton and ETH Zurich, the University of Sydney team claimed victory with its custom-built rocket,听Silvereye, in the 10,000 feet commercial off-the-shelf category.
Of the win, team president Andr茅 Franck Bauer said: 鈥淥ur win represents the biggest achievement for university student rocketry in Australia鈥檚 history. We are proud to have represented our country well and look forward to collaborating with other universities for next year鈥檚 competition.鈥�
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2. It could pay to get personal at work 鈥� here's why
In July, Faculty of Engineering academics, Associate Professor and Dr , conducted research that suggests sharing a bit more in the workplace can be both personally rewarding and beneficial.
"We suggest there is a better team-building approach. It doesn鈥檛 involve bicycles or obstacle courses or whitewater rafting. It doesn鈥檛 even necessarily involve your whole team. It鈥檚 about understanding that teams are social networks built on connections between individuals. It involves deep one-on-one conversations, designed to get people out of their comfort zones," said Associate Professor Pollack and Dr Matous.听
Read their opinion piece .
3. Epilepsy prediction device receives Microsoft grant听
The University of Sydney's Faculty of Engineering was awarded an AI for Accessibility grant from Microsoft to support its efforts developing solutions that improve the independence for people living with epilepsy.
The grant is helping the University to accelerate its work on a seizure advisory system for adult individuals diagnosed with epilepsy who want or used to drive a vehicle.
The system,听NeuroSyd, aims at real-time monitoring and processing of brain-signals听while driving,听in a group of people living with epilepsy.听NeuroSyd听will be developed to deliver an early warning of the likelihood of an听epileptic seizure听strike.
Electrical engineering expert from the University of Sydney's Faculty of听听and Deputy Director of the听听顿谤听听hopes听the technology will bring independence to those living with epilepsy.
4. Over 2,000 fake Android apps discovered
As part of a two-year cyber security project, researchers from the听听School of Computer Science and Data61-CSIRO investigated over one million Google Play apps and discovered 2,040 potential counterfeit apps.
Above: Visually similar app icons in the top-10 apps of Google Play, which were not necessarily malicious. The researchers鈥� method,听, gave each app a similarity score based on style, content, structural similarity, hashing and the number of features detected on each icon.
Many of the fake apps impersonated highly popular apps and contained malware, with popular games such as Temple Run, Free Flow and Hill Climb Racing being the most commonly counterfeited. The study also found that several counterfeit apps request dangerous data access permissions despite not containing any known malware.
Counterfeit or 鈥榝ake鈥� apps are often used by hackers to steal user data or infect a device with malware. Installing counterfeit apps can lead to a hacker accessing personal data and can have serious consequences such as financial losses or identity theft.
5. New device could replace need for diabetes pin prick testing
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Monitoring听blood levels with the prick of a finger could be replaced with just a breath in a matter of years, thanks to a听ketone听monitoring device that will soon be taken from the lab to the clinic for trials.
Working collaboratively with AusMed Global and the Australian Trade and Investment Commission, a team of researchers from the University of Sydney听and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital recently unveiled the听breath听ketone analyser听at听the Hong Kong Trade Development Council鈥檚 International Medical and Healthcare Fair.
Led by , the device is being developed to allow people living with type 1 diabetes to better manage and detect incidences of ketoacidosis, a life-threatening medical emergency that occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin, causing the liver to produce high levels of ketones that damage the surrounding organs.
