Core expertise
Engines
Spray systems
Particle flows
Pollutant formation
Renewable energy
Climate change mitigation
Biography
Damon is a mechanical engineer who specialises in engines and propulsion systems, in particular the formation and control of pollutants from diesel engines. He has a strong interest in climate change mitigation, and was a lead author in energy systems in the climate change mitigation working group for the fifth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
In a recent interdisciplinary project, he worked with University of Sydney colleagues to apply mechanical research typically used to study engine fuel systems to the design of asthma inhalers. The goal was to deliver the maximum amount of spray to the lungs, while minimizing the release of hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellant, which has a potent global warming effect.
“I like to think of the asthma inhaler as a fuel system, but with a cooler spray,” he says. “The canister is the fuel tank, if you like, and the nozzle and the spray actuator is the fuel delivery system.”
