
Professor Benjamin Cazzolato
Professor
School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
Lecturer, researcher and consultant in system dynamics and control, including vibro-acoustics, finite element analysis & modal analysis.
- My Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
My research involves the study of dynamic mechanical systems, especially those systems involving energy transfer via wave propagation. This involves length scales from the atomistic to large ocean waves. A select number of research topics are listed below. Please see the Acoustics, Vibration and Control Group website for a complete list of published works, active projects and research areas. The Robotics Group website also details projects in the fields of robotics and control.
Sound and Vibration
I have worked in the field of sound and vibration for two and a half decades, both as a consulting engineer and as a researcher, and covers both active and passive forms of noise control, aeroacoustics, vibroacoustics, thermoacoustics and vibration isolation.
Ocean Energy
I am currently research several mechanisms for generating useful forms of energy from oceans. These can be broadly classified as either wave energy converters or oscillating cylinders in low speed flows. The wave energy converters of interest are oscillating water columns and point (buoy) absorbers. For more information see the Wave Energy Research Group website.
Dynamics and Control
I am fascinated by the control of dynamic systems. Current research includes the control of energy converters, dynamically unstable mobile platforms, and parallel and serial manipulators. For more information see the AVC Group website or the Robotics Group website.
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2015 - ongoing Professor University of Adelaide 2007 - 2014 Associate Professor University of Adelaide 2003 - 2006 Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide 2001 - 2002 Lecturer University of Adelaide 2000 - 2000 Post-doctoral researcher University of Adelaide 1999 - 2000 Anglo-Australian Post-Doctoral Fellow University of Southampton 1991 - 1994 Consulting Engineer VIPAC Engineers and Scientists -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2018 Award Australian Acoustical Society President's Prize Australian Acoustical Society Australia - 2017 Award On Prime CSIRO Australia - 2016 Award Commercial Accelerator Scheme Encouragement Award The University of Adelaide Australia - 2016 Award National Instruments Impact Award Finalist and Runner-up National Instruments United States - 2013 Research Award Paper Award at ACRA 2013 ACRA Australia - 2013 Research Award Australian Acoustical Society President's Prize Australian Acoustical Society Australia - 2013 Teaching Award Australasian Association for Engineering Education for Award for Engineering Education Engagement, Australasian Association for Engineering Education - - 2012 Award Malcolm Kinnard Excellence Award Engineers Australia. Australia - 2012 Award The Innovation/Research and Development Engineering Excellence Award Engineers Australia SA Division Australia - 2012 Nomination Australian Engineering Excellence Award finalist Engineers Australia Australia - 2011 Research Award Australian Acoustical Society President’s Prize Australian Acoustical Society Australia - 2008 Research Award Runner up best prize in vibro-acoustics at Acoustics 08, the joint Acoustical Society of America and European Acoustical Society conference. - - - 2006 Teaching Award The Stephen Cole the Elder Prize for Excellence in Teaching The University of Adelaide Australia - 2006 Teaching Award Carrick Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning Office of Learning and Teaching - - 2005 Teaching Award ECMS Faculty Prize for Excellence in Teaching University of Adelaide Australia - 2000 Research Award Australian Acoustical Society President’s Prize Australian Acoustical Society Australia - -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 1999 The University of Adelaide Australia PhD 1991 The University of Adelaide Australia BE (Hons) -
Research Interests
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Journals
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Books
Year Citation 2015 Howard, C. Q., & Cazzolato, B. S. (2015). Acoustic Analyses Using Matlab® and Ansys® (1 ed.). United States: Taylor & Francis. 2014 Howard, C. Q., & Cazzolato, B. S. (2014). Acoustic Analyses Using: MATLAB® and ANSYS®. CRC Press.
Scopus37 -
Book Chapters
Year Citation 2021 Kamaruzaman, N. A., Robertson, W. S. P., Ghayesh, M. H., Cazzolato, B. S., & Zander, A. C. (2021). Vibration Isolation Performance of an LQR-Stabilised Planar Quasi-zero Stiffness Magnetic Levitation System. In Vibration Engineering for a Sustainable Future: Experiments, Materials and Signal Processing, Vol. 2 (Vol. 2, pp. 237-243). Springer International Publishing.
Scopus22002 Hansen, C., Simpson, M., & Cazzolato, B. (2002). Genetic algorithms for optimising ASVC systems. In O. Tokhi, & S. Veres (Eds.), Active sound and vibration control - theory and applications (pp. 185-220). Michael Faraday Hse, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, Herts, SG1 2AY: The Institution of Electrical Engineers. -
Conference Papers
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Conference Items
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Patents
Year Citation 2018 Zander, A., Nine, M., Ayub, M., Losic, D., Cazzolato, B. S., Howard, C., & Huang, D. (2018). WO/2018/157208, Acoustic graphene-containing compositions/materials and methods of formation. Switzerland. 2018 Cazzolato, B. S., Howard, C., & Leav, O. (2018). 2018903441, AN EXHAUST GAS ASSEMBLY. Australia. 2017 Zander, A. C., Nine, M. J., Ayub, M., Losic, D., Cazzolato, B. S., Howard, C. Q., & Huang, D. M. (2017). 2017900697, Acoustic Graphene-containing Compositions/Materials and Methods of Formation. Australia. -
Internet Publications
Year Citation 2018 Ayub, M. (2018). Acoustics At The Nanoscale. Science Trends. 2018 Ayub, M. (2018). Acoustics At The Nanoscale. Science Trends. -
Software
Year Citation - Sullivan, N., Grainger, S., & Cazzolato, B. (n.d.). Algorithms for Multi-Robot Routing with Adaptive Heterogeneity [Computer Software].
Grant Title | Scheme and Year | Amount Awarded |
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Development of Next Generation Rear Vision Mirror | CRC-IMST SP1.6, 2003-2005 | $300,000 |
Virtual acoustic sensors for active noise control systems | ARC Discovery, 2004-2006 | $296,000 |
Smart structures and virtual microphones | ARC Linkage International, 2005 | $41,000 |
Application of Passive Control Devices to a Launch Vehicle | US Air Force, 2000-2005 | $340,000 |
Scanning 3D laser vibrometer for non-contact in-plane and out-of-plane vibration measurement | ARC LIEF, 2005 | $542,000 |
A control moment gyroscope | Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith Fund, 2010 | $30,000 |
Establishment of a Large Scale Wind Tunnel Facility at the University of Adelaide | Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith Fund, SA Premier's Science and Research Fund and the University of Adelaide, 2010 | $1,687,000 |
Scramjet-based access-to-space systems | ASRP Stream B, Round 1, 2010 | $5,000,000 |
Multi-autonomous ground-vehicle international challenge | U of A DVCR/A, ECMS, Mechanical Engineering, 2010 | $100,000 |
Prosthetic attachment for transfemoral amputees | MDRG, 2011 | $20,000 |
Upgrade of 3D scanning laser Doppler vibrometer | DVCR Strategic Equipment Round, University of Adelaide, 2012 | $85,000 |
Mechanisms of sound absorption at the nanoscale | ARC DP, 2013 | $300,000 |
Oscillating water column efficiency improvement through impedance matching and active latching control techniques | ARC Linkage, 2013 | $325,000 |
Biologically inspired active vision systems | Interdisciplinary Research Fund, 2013 | $29,000 |
Establishment of a Flight Simulator Laboratory | Sir Ross and Sir Keith Smith Fund, 2014 | $58,000 |
Building an aero-elastic and aerodynamic testing facility using intelligent haptic control | ECMS Research Support Scheme 2014 | $32,000 |
A portable acoustic array | ECMS Research Support Scheme, 2014 | $40,000 |
Large scale 6 degree-of-freedom test facility | ARC LIEF, 2015 | $630,000 |
Modelling and optimisation of submerged buoys for improved ocean wave energy production | DVCR Interdisciplinary Research Fund, 2015 | $27,000 |
Single-Grain Sorter and Loader for Optical Dating | IPAS Pilot Projects, 2015 | $16,000 |
Establishment of force vibration testing capability for infrastructure health monitoring research | DVCR Research Equipment and Infrastructure Round, 2015 | $12,000 |
New experimental facility for temperature, defect and stress imaging | DVCR Research Equipment and Infrastructure Round, 2015 | $49,000 |
Stress evaluation with non-linear guided waves | ARC Discovery Project, 2016 | $334,000 |
Laser radar study of sound refraction through hot jets | ECMS Interdisciplinary Research Grant Scheme, 2016 | $20,000 |
Low noise small scale wind based power generation using non-linear vortices interaction | ECMS Interdisciplinary Research Grant Scheme, 2016 | $12,000 |
Nonlinear modelling of fully submerged wave energy converters for high fidelity yet computationally efficient numerical analysis and prototype design | ECMS Interdisciplinary Research Grant Scheme, 2016 | $18,000 |
High frequency upgrade for the University’s 3D Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometer | ECMS Infrastriucture Grant Scheme, 2016 | $67,000 |
High-resolution pipeline condition assessment using hydraulic transients | ARC Discovery Project, 2017 | $499,000 |
A standardised power conversion module for ocean energy applications | CRC-P, round 3, 2017 | $2,100,000 |
Large-volume, multi-use micro-CT | ARC LIEF, 2018 | $557,000 |
National Laser-based non-destructive evaluation system | ARC LIEF, 2018 | $680,000 |
Advanced composite materials containing graphene micro-inclusions for underwater acoustic applications | University of Adelaide - Interdisciplinary Research Funding Scheme, 2018 | $85,000 |
The control of the turbulent boundary layer on a flat plate using micro-cavities | Sir Ross & Sir Keith Smith Fund - Grants, 2018 | $320,000 |
Detecting developing cracks before pipe bursts using smart sensor systems | ARC Linkage Project, 2018 | $395,000 |
Australia-China JRC of offshore Wind and Wave Energy Harnessing | DIIS - Australia China Science and Research Fund, 2020 | $940,000 |
Environmental noise prediction from open cycle gas turbine power stations | Australian Acoustical Society Research Grant, 2019 | $36,000 |
Micro-perforation for passive drag reduction | ARC Discovery Project, 2020 | $540,000 |
Controlling coastlines while generating power | ARC Linkage Project, 2019 | $427,000 |
Smart Pipe Condition Assessment in Water Distribution Systems | ARC Discovery Project, 2021 | $536,000 |
The AIRSPACE Trial: AntI-MRSA PhAge Cocktail treatment via Acoustic Enhanced Nebulisers | MRFF, 2022 | $1,712,000 |
Total competitive funding | $19,237,000 |
Subjects Taught
I am currently responsible for teaching two control automatic control subjects; Dynamics and Control II and Advanced PID Control. Dynamics and Control II is focussed on understanding and controlling dynamic systems from a state space perspective. Advanced PID control, as the name suggests, is focussed on developing PID control skills within a theoretical and practical framework.
One key interest for teaching is the development of physical platforms to demonstrate control theory. These include the Quanser Aerospace Systems, the Ball and Beam System, the Quanser Tightrope Walker, the Inverted Pendulum, and many others.
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2023 Principal Supervisor Improved Test Methodology and Acceptance Criteria for Stab Resistant Body Armour Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Scott Edward Jenkin 2022 Co-Supervisor Mathematical Theory of Controlling Coastlines While Generating Power Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Amy-Rose Westcott 2021 Co-Supervisor Robust Power-Maximising Control of Wave Energy Converters Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Yifeng Gu 2020 Co-Supervisor Permeable Surfaces for Drag Reduction Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Van Thuan Hoang 2019 Co-Supervisor Drag Reduction of a Flat Plate Using Micro-Cavities Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Gianni Federico Severino 2019 Co-Supervisor The neurophysiology of dragonfly optic flow encoding with applications to neurobotic engineering Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Edward Luong -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 2019 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Stochastic Analysis of Marine Renewable Energy Devices: Wave, Wind, and Hybrid Systems Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Leandro da Silva 2018 - 2022 Principal Supervisor The impact of hydrodynamic coupling on the performance of multi-mode wave energy converters Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Ngan Bich Dinh Tran 2018 - 2022 Co-Supervisor Interactions Between Polyhedral Permanent Magnets Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr James Lawrence Grady O'Connell 2018 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Understanding the Flow Behaviour in Human Maxillary Sinuses for Drug Delivery Applications Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Oveis Pourmehran 2018 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Hemodynamics of aortic valve stenoses Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Araz Rezaei Kivi 2017 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Effects of Turbulence on Heliostat Wind Loads Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Azadeh Jafari 2017 - 2021 Co-Supervisor Performance Enhancement of Submerged Ocean Wave Energy Converter using Nonlinear Stiffness Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Benjamin Wilhelm Schubert 2017 - 2020 Co-Supervisor Paired Impulse Response Function and Layer-Peeling Method for Anomaly Detection and Condition Assessment of Pipelines Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Wei Zeng 2016 - 2023 Co-Supervisor A Computational Investigation of Target Detection and Tracking by Insect Small Target Motion Detector Neurons Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time John Vincent James 2016 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Task Allocation and Collaborative Localisation in Multi-Robot Systems Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Nicholas David Sullivan 2015 - 2020 Principal Supervisor An Investigation into the Mechanics of Sound Propagation through Turbulent Non-Isothermal Exhaust Jets in Cross-Flow Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Orddom Leav 2015 - 2016 Co-Supervisor Guidance for Time Efficient Path Following of Under-actuated Differential Thrust AUVs Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Xue Jin 2015 - 2018 Co-Supervisor The attenuation of sweep events within the turbulent boundary layer over a flat plate using a micro-cavity array Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Anton Silvestri 2014 - 2018 Principal Supervisor Three-Tether Wave Energy Converter: Hydrodynamic Modelling, Performance Assessment and Control Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Nataliia Sergiienko 2014 - 2020 Principal Supervisor A study on a single-tether spherical point absorber with an asymmetric mass distribution Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Fantai Meng 2014 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Harnessing Hydro-kinetic Energy from Wake-Induced Vibration (WIV) of Bluff bodies Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Eshodarar Manickam Sureshkumar 2014 - 2016 Principal Supervisor The Aeroacoustics of Finite Wall-Mounted Cylinders Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ric Zong Yang Porteous 2013 - 2017 Co-Supervisor Self-noise of Airfoils Under Stalled Conditions Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Alex James Laratro 2013 - 2017 Principal Supervisor An Insect-Inspired Target Tracking Mechanism for Autonomous Vehicles Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Zahra Bagheri 2013 - 2018 Co-Supervisor The effect of unsteady flow on wind turbine wake development and noise generation Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Nima Sedaghatizadeh 2012 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Gradient-Ascent Latching Controllers for Ocean Wave Energy Converters Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Peter Joseph Hardy 2012 - 2016 Co-Supervisor A Method for Compensation of Changing Environmental and Operational Conditions for Structural Health Monitoring Using Guided Waves Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Pouria Aryan 2011 - 2016 Co-Supervisor Experimental and Numerical Investigation of a Carbon Nanotube Acoustic Absorber Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Md Ayub 2011 - 2015 Co-Supervisor Harnessing hydrokenetic energy from Vortex-Induced Vibration (VIV) Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Javad Farrokhi Derakhshandeh 2011 - 2016 Principal Supervisor Application of Micro Perforated and Impervious Membranes for Noise Barriers Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Chenxi Li 2011 - 2015 Co-Supervisor Application of a Helmholtz resonator excited by grazing flow for manipulation of a turbulent boundary layer Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Dr Farzin Ghanadi 2010 - 2014 Principal Supervisor Six Degree of Freedom Active Vibration Isolation Using Quasi-Zero Stiffness Magnetic Levitation Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Tao Zhu 2009 - 2014 Co-Supervisor Hybrid Digital Control of Piezoelectric Actuators Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Mohsen Bazghaleh 2009 - 2014 Principal Supervisor A Study of a Stewart Platform-based Manipulator for Applications in Biomechanical Testing Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time APrf Boyin Ding 2008 - 2012 Co-Supervisor Scanning Laser Doppler Vibrometry for Strain Measurement and Damage Detection Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Stuart Wildy 2008 - 2013 Principal Supervisor Trajectory Design for a Very-Low-Thrust Lunar Mission Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Rogan Webbe Shimmin 2006 - 2010 Principal Supervisor Spatially Fixed and Moving Virtual Sensing Methods for Active Noise Control Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Danielle Moreau 2006 - 2010 Principal Supervisor Robust Scheduling Control of Aeroelasticity Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Zebb Prime 2004 - 2008 Co-Supervisor Numerical Investigations of the Performance and Effectiveness of Thermoacoustic Couples Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Luke Zoontjens 2004 - 2007 Principal Supervisor Lyapunov-based Control Strategies for the Global Control of Symmetric VTOL UAVs' Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Rohin Wood 2004 - 2007 Co-Supervisor Optimal Spatially Fixed and Moving Virtual Sensing Algorithms for Local Active Noise Control Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Dick Petersen 2003 - 2012 Principal Supervisor The Application of Tikhonov Regularised Inverse Filtering to Digital Communication through Multi-Channel Acoustic Systems Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Pierre Dumuid 2003 - 2013 Principal Supervisor Modelling and design of magnetic levitation systems for vibration isolation Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Will Robertson 2002 - 2007 Principal Supervisor Numerical Optimisation of Biomedical Implant Characteristics for Increased Service Life Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr David Thompson 2002 - 2004 Co-Supervisor NUMERICAL MODELLING OF PIPELINE CONSTRUCTION Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Alexander Dunstone 2001 - 2004 Principal Supervisor TOWARDS PRACTICAL SENSING STRATEGIES FOR LARGE ACTIVE NOISE CONTROL SYSTEMS Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Simon Hill 1999 - 2004 Co-Supervisor Virtual sensors for active noise control Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Jacqueline Munn
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Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2000 - ongoing Member Australian Acoustical Society Australia 2000 - ongoing Member Acoustical Society of America United States -
Editorial Boards
Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country 2012 - ongoing Associate Editor Journal of the Acoustical Society of America - United States -
Offices Held
Date Office Name Institution Country 2014 - ongoing Associate Dean Research Students for the Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences University of Adelaide Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles