USQ lecturer awarded national fellowship

USQ senior lecturer in computer systems engineering, Dr Wei Xiang, has been awarded a prestigious 2012 Endeavour Research Fellowship by the Department of Education Employment and Workplace relations (DEEWR).

Run by the Australian Government, the Endeavour Awards are an internationally competitive, merit-based scholarship program which provides opportunities for people to undertake study, research and professional development in Australia.

Dr Xiang will spend six months in Singapore next year investigating advanced mobile 3-D communications technology that will assist in a variety of areas including 3-D tele-health for precision remote healthcare.

'My project involves investigating cutting-edge mobile 3-D communications technology that brings an Avatar experience to mobile Internet users on the go. More specifically, the project aims to research energy-efficient and error-resilient techniques for transmitting 3-D video over error-prone broadband channels such as the National Broadband Network (NBN),' he said.

'As opposed to conventional 2-D tele-health technology, the proposed project presents a groundbreaking idea of implementing broadband HD 3-D telehealth through the platform of the NBN.

'The most innovative aspect of the proposed research is the provision of lifelike immersive tele-consultation experience enabled by the introduction of visual depth perception into 3-D tele-health. This makes the consultation as realistic as possible and thus allows the doctor and patient to maintain the trust and confidence of face-to-face consultation.'

Dr Xiang said he was surprised to receive the fellowship, but looks forward to commencing his research.

'I was not expecting an Endeavour Award as the Award is a well-known prestigious fellowship at the national level offered by the DEEWR and the competition has always been so intense every year.

'The Award news came as a complete surprise when I received a congratulation email from the DEEWR. My mind went blank for a couple of seconds and I was thinking Wow, it really is Endeavour. What a pleasant surprise!

'The many sleepless nights gone into writing the grant application have eventually been proven worthwhile. As a researcher at a regional Australian university, I am proving to myself that we can aspire to the same research excellence achieved by our metropolitan peers.'


Contact Details:

Connie-Louise Rego, USQ Media, 07 4631 2977