Our Vision
Our vision is to be the leading internationally recognised research centre in the region, for investigating, understanding and predicting the safety and behaviour of engineering infrastructure under in-service and limit conditions. We achieve this as an integral part of a circular economy, dedicated to high societal productivity and minimised waste.
We aim to be the nexus of the various scientific disciplines in the broad fields of engineering infrastructure; its design, evaluation, construction, performance, retrofit and reuse.
Our Origin
CIES was established as a University of New South Wales Research Centre in January 2007 to facilitate advanced research in all aspects of civil engineering infrastructure, embodying building structures, bridges, tunnels, roads, railways, pavements, dams and the like. It has expanded to include construction management, advanced systems and low-carbon technologies.
The core activities of the Infrastructure Centre are underpinned by a significant number of eminent academic staff of international renown in their respective fields, particularly in structural engineering, geotechnical engineering, construction management, advanced materials engineering, pavement engineering, engineering mechanics, computational mechanics and in laboratory testing.
We conduct pure and applied research with funding won from National Competitive Granting Schemes (particularly through the Australian Research Council’s Discovery and Linkage Project Schemes) as well as other contestable funding programs, and with direct support from industry. We also undertake commercial activity in collaboration with industry that is challenging and strategic in its nature. These research and commercial activities are conducted with essential physical resources, such as those of the Heavy Structures Research Laboratory, Advanced Materials Research Laboratory, Geotechnical Laboratory and our Advanced Computational Analysis Laboratory.
The composite of structural, geotechnical, construction and materials academics and researchers in the Infrastructure Centre is the leading group in Australia and in the region, with a demonstrated capability for delivery of research outcomes.
Ideally located at UNSW Sydney’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, CIES projects incorporate several engineering disciplines – from structural engineering to geotechnical engineering to construction and management, and engineering materials to computational mechanics.
Multi-disciplinary collaboration for the best results
At CIES, we apply our skills to engineering and safety assessments of infrastructure. In particular, we look at the construction and risk management of buildings, bridges, dams, roads and other infrastructure when subjected to both in-service conditions and overload (or limit) conditions, such as in fire, earthquake, cyclone or blast situations, or when exposed to hostile environments and climatic variations.
The centre aims to promote multi-disciplinary collaboration across the Faculties of Engineering, Science and the Built Environment at UNSW and to foster international and interdisciplinary research collaborations and partnerships with industry.
In short, CIES offers:
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Access to advanced analytical, computational and experimental techniques and facilities.
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A forum for idea exchange and research collaboration between engineers, scientists and planners.
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The ideal base from which to develop industry proposals and grant funding applications.
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Industry partnerships to secure the practical application of research outcomes.
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Opportunities for postgraduate students in a wide range of relevant disciplines.
