Prof John Fielke
Professor
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine
College of Science
Professor John Fielke is an Industry Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Australia. He is based at the Mawson Lakes Campus.
Since 1983 John has developed experience in the research and design of agricultural machinery, specialising in the area of seeding and tillage machinery plus working in the area of product processing for the grains and dried fruits industries. His work has involved 11 years as being the Manager of R&D for agricultural machinery manufacturer Horwood Bagshaw.
For 3 years during 2002-2005 John undertook the role of Dean Research within the University of South Australia which has involved leadership in research and research education for the Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment .
For 8 years (2008-2015) John has been Associate Head (Teaching and Learning) within three engineering schools at the University of South Australia.
One of John's current research projects is improving the processing of almonds and olives. AWARDS:-
Guinness Book of Records record for "World's Longest Bike" in January 2015. It was 42m long, had 2 wheels and seated 20 riders.
National Office for Learning and Teaching 2013 citation for “For sustained, innovative and outstanding teaching of engineering drawing across the disciplines of engineering, education and design using industry-relevant curricula that foster independent learning”.
Society for Engineering in Agriculture Agricultural Engineering Award 2000.
Winner of the 1999 BHERT Award for Outstanding Achievement in Collaborative R & D in conjunction with Horwood Bagshaw.
Winner of AusIndustry Award for Best Business Plan in 1996 Enterprise Workshop National Finals.
Winner in conjunction with Mildura Co-operative Fruit Company of 1994-95 Manufacturing Facilities section of the South Australian Division of the Institution of Engineers.
Engineering Excellence Awards Highly Commended in Primary Industry Category of the 1991 BHP Australian Steel Awards.
Winner 1988 National Energy Innovation Award for Outstanding R& D Leading to the Efficient use of Energy.
Processing of almonds for earlier harvest/dehydration, reduced damage while hulling/shelling and improved cleaning.
Design and development of tillage and seeding equipment.
Shallow tillage tool design for dryland farming:-"The Influence of the Geometry of Chisel Plough Share Wings on Tillage Forces in a Sandy Loam" - Masters thesis; "Interactions of the Cutting Edge of Tillage Implements with Soil" - PhD thesis.
Processing of dried vine fruit involving contaminant removal, bulk handling, storage and transport.
Sorting and sizing of grain and other agricultural products.
Development of unique and innovative equipment for the mechanisation of agricultural and food processing industries (grafting of vines, extracting meat from crabs, detecting contaminants in minced dried fruit).
| Year | Citation |
|---|---|
| 2023 | Fielke, J. (2023). WO2023/283689A1, Apparatus and process for debittering olives and olives obtained thereby. |
-
Olives the Australian Way - A pre-commercial demonstration of a novel
debittering process for a new style of table olive, Australia's Economic Accelerator Innovate Grant, 27/06/2025 - 26/06/2027
-
Olives the Australian Way - Research and test marketing of OTAW olives, Kangaroo Island Olives Pty Ltd, 24/04/2025 - 23/04/2027
-
Olives the Australian Way - A new style of table olive using a novel olive debittering process, Australia's Economic Accelerator Grant, 01/12/2023 - 31/05/2025
-
IMCRC: Energy absorbing traffic lights (EATL), Innovative Manufacturing CRC Limited, 01/10/2021 - 30/10/2022
-
Ind - Developing the next generation MoistScan inline microwave moisture meter using an SDR platform, Realtime Instruments, 25/02/2019 - 23/08/2019
-
Building capacity in stored grain facilities research at the University of South Australia, Grains Research and Development Corporation, 01/06/2015 - 31/07/2019
-
Advanced Processing of Almonds, Hort Innovation, 01/09/2012 - 01/06/2019
-
2014 Farmer Evaluation of Prototype Impact Mills, Sargent Trading, 01/09/2014 - 30/06/2018
-
The application of bent leg technologies to higher speed tined seeding of cereal grains, Grains Research and Development Corporation, 06/03/2015 - 28/02/2018
Available For Media Comment.