Growing up in the shadows of a large aluminium smelter in central Norway has had a profound effect on the research interests and achievements of Dr Arne Dahle.
Dr Dahle's deep passion for light metals research is the direct result of his upbringing in the coastal town of Sunndalsora, a major hub for the aluminium industry in Norway.
'Visiting the large aluminium refinery there really influenced me, from school right through to my undergraduate studies at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim,' Dr Dahle said.
'During my university studies I had vacation work as a cast house operator and this further stimulated my curiosity of the casting process and crystallisation of metals. This was my reason for specialising in solidification.'
Dr Dahle joined the University's Faculty of Engineering, Physical Sciences and Architecture in 1997 and is also affiliated with the UQ-based Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Cast Metals Manufacturing (CAST).
The cutting-edge research being conducted by Dr Dahle and his team into a technique which gives cast aluminium greater strength by reducing its porosity has resulted in his selection for a 2001 UQ Research Excellence Award valued at $75,000.
Dr Dahle's grant will be spent on attending conferences, staffing, new equipment and travelling to visit project collaborators in the United Kingdom, United States and Sweden.
His UQ collaborators are postdoctoral fellow Dr Kazuhiro Nogita and postgraduate student Stuart McDonald. Industry partners include Comalco in Australia, the London and Scandinavian Metallurgical Company in the United Kingdom and Ford Research Laboratory in the United States.
The UQ team is also collaborating with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Norway, Jonkoping University in Sweden and the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, USA.
Dr Dahle spent the year prior to moving to Brisbane doing mandatory military service in the Royal Norwegian Air Force as a teaching assistant at the Air Force Academy.
While using the Academy's scanning electron microscope he discovered a concept to control the crystallisation process that weakens light metals by causing porosity (holes) during casting.
'This has led to the program of work at The University of Queensland. It is clear that the international research community and industry has accepted the discovery made by us,' Dr Dahle said.
As well as proving profitable and rewarding personally, the research led by Dr Dahle has enormous potential to add further impetus to the already burgeoning use of light metals such as aluminium and magnesium.
'These materials are particularly attractive for automotive and electronic applications because of their high strength and low weight,' he said.
'The main challenge and limitation in the production of cast light metals is that they tend to contain high levels of porosity, or holes, which significantly reduces the strength and often causes components to be scrapped.
'We have discovered that porosity formation in aluminium alloys is controlled by one particular event during the crystallisation process.
'We have developed methods to control this crystallisation process and this can change porosity dramatically. The current aim is to tailor an addition that can be used industry-wide to improve the soundness of cast aluminium.
'High-strength aluminium alloys would enable improved productivity for component producers, improved properties and a more widespread use of lighter materials in society.
'This would provide a more sustainable society with more environmentally friendly materials.'
The UQ Foundation Excellence Award is the latest of many academic recognitions bestowed on Dr Dahle.
In 1996 he was the youngest-ever recipient of the prestigious Dr Mathias Sems honours prize from the Norwegian Metallurgical Society. Only 15 people have been chosen for the award in the last 25 years.
He has also won two Australian Research Council (ARC) Large Grants and two ARC Small Grants, as well as an UQ Infrastructure Research Grant.
Dr Dahle is on study leave from the University until January next year.
He is dividing the time equally between Comalco Research and Technological Support in Melbourne, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the Hydro Aluminium Research Centre in his hometown of Sunndalsora.
Away from his research Dr Dahle has one other clear goal for which to aim. He is the star striker for Sparta FC in the Brisbane's Premier League, Commercial.
Media: For more details about the research of the nine winners contact Peter McCutcheon (07 3365 1088 or 0413 380012) or Jan King (07 3365 1120 or 0413 601 248)
