Design researcher, practitioner and Australian Future Fellow, Professor Andy Dong has been appointed to the new Warren Chair in Engineering Innovation within the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies at the University of Sydney. 

 

With a background in mechanical engineering and artificial intelligence, Professor Dong is a distinguished researcher in the areas of computational design and design-led innovation. His research investigates how the design of products influences their potential rate of innovation, an area he calls "predictive analytics for engineering innovation."

 

Professor Dong says his goal is to produce research to help businesses to design or re-design products and services so that they can continually improve.

 

Professor Archie Johnston, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, said Professor Dong's appointment is further acknowledgement that design orientated innovation in engineering is a crucial focus for the future of the profession and the industry as a whole.

 

"We have introduced a number of innovation and entrepreneurship subjects across our programs in the faculty, particularly at the postgraduate level. We want to embed a real culture of innovation, one that is truly integrated with the research aspects of engineering and technology."

 

Professor Johnston says Professor Dong will work closely with the faculty's leadership team including the recently appointed Chair of Engineering Sydney, David Stewart, and Professor David Lowe, its new Associate Dean (Education).

 

The chair is funded by the Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering, an independent industry-linked institute committed to fostering excellence and innovation in advanced engineering throughout Australia that is attached to the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies at the University of Sydney.