UWA offshore engineer wins science award

A researcher and lecturer at the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) School of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering (CEME), Dr Scott Draper, has won a $10,000 Woodside Early Career Scientist at the 2016 Premier’s Science Awards in Perth.

The audience was told that Draper is internationally renowned for his research in offshore fluid mechanics, particularly in the field of marine renewable energy.

Draper has developed models to optimise the configuration of offshore wind and tidal turbines, predict seabed scour and estimate the stability of offshore structures in extreme wave conditions.

His research on marine renewable energy provided the first accurate assessment of such energy resources in the United Kingdom, according to the University of Western Australia.

The awards were hosted by the Chief Scientist of Western Australia, Professor Peter Klinken, and were attended by WA’s top scientists and researchers.