Background / Research Interests

After completing a B.App.Sc. (Hons) in Engineering Materials Science, Greg worked on his Masters degree investigating phosphate bonded alumina biocomposites. During this time Greg was responsible for the ceramics laboratories at NSWIT and then UTS as well as the thermal analysis facility. From 1988 to 1998 Greg carried out part-time lecturing at UTS as well as part-time teaching at TAFE, all in the area of materials science. In 1998, he was appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Materials Science, having enrolled in his PhD at the University of Sydney. The topic of the thesis was “Fracture and Fatigue of Particulate MMCs”, working closely with Comalco Australia. On completion on 1996, Greg enrolled in the Graduate Certificate in Higher Education.

In the last five years Greg has been involved in research teams both inside UTS and in collaboration with other universities that has resulted in successful competitive grant applications of more that $1.5 million. This has resulted in the development of a network of sophisticated materials testing and characterisation equipment. Since 1990 the total of successful competitive grants is nearly $2.5million.

Current research interests include superplastic metal matrix composites, mechanical properties of nanoscaled ceramic coatings on metal substrates and nano-particle reinforced epoxy composites.  Greg is also active in consulting in failure analysis, mechanical testing and materials characterisation.

Greg is currently the Treasurer of the Australian Fracture Group and serves on the Editorial Board of The Australasian Ceramics Society’s journal and is a reviewer for The Institute of Materials Engineering, Australia’s Materials Forum.

Selected Publication List (Last Two Years):

1. Mansell, M. Heness, G. Yeung, W Y. “X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analysis of oxide formation on 8150 aluminium foils” Materials Forum. v 29, p 579-58, 2005

2. Zhu, P., Yeung, W.Y., Heness, G.L. and Duggan, B.J., “On thermomechanical processing of high ductility SiCp/Zn-22wt.%Al metal matrix composites”, Mater. Sci. Forum, 475-479, pp. 979-984, 2005

3. Zhu, P. Yeung, W Y. Heness, G L. Duggan, B J. “On thermomechanical processing of high ductility SiCp/Zn-22wt. %Al metal matrix composites” Materials Science Forum PRICM 5: The Fifth Pacific Rim International Conference on Advanced Materials and Processing. v 475-479, n II, p 979-984, 2005

4. Roest, R. Heness, G., Latella, B., Ben-Nissan, B., “Fracture toughness of nanoscale hydroxyapatite coatings on titanium substrates” Proc. 6th Int. Conf. Fract. & Strength of Solids, pp. 1297-1302, 2005

5. Heness, G. and Yeung, W., “Effect of secondary heat treatments on the superplasticity of Zn-22% Al metal matrix composites”, Proc. 15th International Conference on Composite Materials, 8e, pp.1-10, 2005

6. Roest, R., Heness, G., Latella, B. and Ben-Nissan, B. “Fracture toughness of nanoscale zirconia coatings on titanium substrates”, Proc. Int. Conf. Structural Integrity and Fracture, pp. 325-330, 2004

7. Heness, G. and Ben-Nissan, B. Innovative Bioceramics, Materials Forum, 27, pp. 104-114, 2004

Recent Research Grants

* 2005, ARC Linkage Infrastructure, “Surface mechanical Analysis Facility”, Principal Investigator ($447,967)

* 2005, ARC Linkage Infrastructure ,“Advanced Deformation Simulation Laboratory”, Principal Investigator ($825,000)

* 2002, ARC Linkage grant, “3D Optical Surface Profiler”, Principal Investigator ($288,000)

* 2001, RIEF grant on “Manufacturing Facility for Thermoplastic Composites & Ecocomposites” Chief Investigator ($279,534)

* 2000, RIEF grant on "High-Performance Data Acquisition and Control Platform for Smart Materials and Structures", Chief Investigator ($314,234)

* 2000, SPIRT grant on "A System for Location of Insulation Faults in High Voltage Transformers", Associate Investigator ($270,000)

* 1999, RIEF grant on “Mechanical Property Investigation Facility for Development of Advanced Materials”, Lead Principal Investigator ($350,000)