Colin Austin’s story

In the early seventies engineer Colin Austin realized that computers would revolutionize the design process.

He wrote a piece of software that transformed the international design of plastics moulds using scientific principles rather than 'gut feel'. So successful was this software that the company that Colin founded (Moldflow) became the most successful exporters of technical software in Australia, a multi-million dollar company selling in over 48 countries throughout the world.

Colin became internationally recognized as the leader in his field of computational fluid flow and the company world famous for a series of innovations which sprung from Colin concepts of how to manage research, a process he calls ‘speculative research’ pursuing unconventional approaches on the hunch they may just work out, high risk with many failures but the one success could literally change the world.

He became increasingly concerned about environmental issues. In the late seventies Australia suffered a series of dramatic dust storms loosing millions of tonnes of top soil.  He saw loss of top soil as a major threat and started a series of experiments to learn how to regenerated soil. He found that the micro biology regenerated soil and the key was to maintain conditions in which the microbiology could flourish with the soil moist but not wet.

He focused his interest on the management of what he sees as the world’s most critical resource fresh water. He examined the research programs around the world, saw they were largely financed by Governments, what he calls ‘competence research’, highly organized and planned but often over organized, killing of those high risk - high reward creative ideas.

Colin felt that with his expertise in fluid flow simulation and armed with the technique of ‘speculative research’ that he may just be able to change the way we think and manage our soils and water.

He sold his multi million dollar company which gave him the resources to set up a research group of some dozen highly talented and creative researchers to tackle those high risk speculative projects which fail to attract funding.

At first his group focused on irrigated agriculture.  He continued his software development with a number of innovations by developing a simulation of flood irrigation which led to the development of micro flood irrigation which unlike conventional flood irrigation can apply precise quantities of water. He also developed scheduling software which enables precise application of water by calculating plant water usage.

However his life was about to change when he was invited by World Vision to go to Africa to see if he could work out a way that local people could grew sustenance food in the periodic droughts which cause so much hardship. Stunned by the cultural shock of meeting malnutrition first hand he began to analyze the heart of the problem.

Before leaving Australia he assumed that the problem was simply no rain, but he quickly learned that this was not true. The core problem was erratic rain. People simply cannot live where there is no rain.

Populations grow where there is on average adequate ran and are then thrown into despair when the rain fails to materialize. He felt the situation was just like Australia, no one complains about the lack of rain in the Simpson Desert; there is no one there to complain. The problems arise in areas like Perth and South East Queensland where there is on average adequate rain which encourages a high population density which becomes threatened when the rain fails to materialize.

He was introduced to the reality of the green drought, when there is enough rain for the crops to start to grow. But a break in the rains, even of a few weeks, but at the critical times when the seed heads should be maturing, means the crop fails completely, resulting in famine.

Realizing the problem was erratic rain, rather than no rain; he developed a system called the wicking bed which is essentially an underground water reservoir. Rain, when it occurs, is channeled into this reservoir which allows the plants to keep on growing to maturity even if the rains fail to materialize.

The original thinking behind the wicking beds was to use water more effectively and in this the technology has been highly successful reducing water usage by up to 50% while increasing productivity.

However the wicking beds have a second dimension as the base of the wicking beds are filled with waste organic material which provided nutrients for the plants and help to recycle otherwise waste material.  The conditions inside the wicking bed provide conditions in which micro biological activity can flourish. And help regenerate the soil.

However when global warming became an issue he realized that the wicking bed system had a third dimension.  Plants absorb some thirty times the total man made emission of carbon.  Unfortunately most of the carbon simply re-enters the atmosphere giving little net gain.  However in the wicking bed system organic material is decomposed in semi anaerobic conditions such that decay is fungal rather than bacterial so carbon becomes embedded in the soil.

Colin realized that this could have major significance in the battle against global warming.  Society produced massive quantities of organic waste, on the farm, as a bye product of forestry and urban waste.  At this moment this waste is contributing to global warming and is regarded as a nuisance which has to be disposed of, often at significant expense. 

The wicking bed provides a system in which this waste can be turned to benefits by improving soil quality and agricultural production, particularly when water is limited but it also provides a way of combating the increasing green house gases in the atmosphere.

Colin sees that since the break down of the Copenhagen conference this could have profound significance on a global scale.  The largest, and certainly the most rapidly expanding source of green house gases come from the rapidly industrializing countries, with China as the lead country.  Colin wife is a Chinese doctor so he is familiar with China and its agricultural system.

He sees that wicking beds are a way in which China could curb its green house gas emissions, important in its own right.  However China is a lead country and if China were to widely take the initiative then other countries would follow and one of the road blocks to reaching international agreement would be removed.

His current ambition is therefore to introduce this technology to China.

Awards

He has received numerous awards including;-

1980 John Derham Award for Technical Innovation

1982 National Small Business Award

1983 Governor of Victoria, Export Award

1984 Governor of Victoria, Export Award

1984 Dept of Trade in Association with Confederation of Australian Industry's Export Award for outstanding achievement.

1985 AITA, Cad software solution of the year award

1988 Australian Bicentennial Export Award, Services Category

1989 Australian British Chamber of Commerce Federal Award for small business export initiative and innovation

1990 Governor of Victoria Export Award to Colin Austin for significant export achievement by an individual

1990 Government of Victoria Export Award Certificate of Commendation, services category

1990 Business Bulletin Small Business Achievement Award

1990 Business Bulletin small business achievement award

1991 The John Hart Technology Award

1991 Rolls Royce/Qantas award together with the Warren Centre award for engineering excellence

1991 Governor of Victoria Export Award, awarded for significant achievement by an export product

1993 AITA Exporter of the year award

1993 ANTEC (USA) best technical paper award for lean plastics manufacture

1994 Southern Cross Award for Excellence awarded by Technology in Government Committee

1997 Fred O.Conley Award for outstanding achievement in plastics engineering &technology

2002 Triannual Plastics Industry Award for contributions to the plastics industry

2002 SPE Environmental Award

2002 SaveWater award winner agricultural section

2003 SaveWater award Regional Sustainability

Publications

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22 Feb 2010