AAL’s industry engagement program focuses on assisting astronomy departments to prioritise their research translation activities, and to encourage a systematic approach to the commercialisation of astronomy intellectual property. AAL also aims to identify and support businesses interested in engaging with the astronomy sector.
Australia’s astronomy research groups are encouraged to share their commercialisation or industry engagement success stories with AAL. These are intended to illustrate the range of commercial applications of astronomical research.
In November 2023, AAL presented the first in a new series of semi-regular astronomy and gravitational wave commercialisation workshops. The aim of these workshops is to bring researchers, industry and government together to find ways to increase the commercial benefit from technology and IP rich fields of research.
The first workshop in the series was held on Tuesday 21 November at Mount Stromlo and included a tour of the AITC labs. The workshop was preceded by an informal “mixer” event on the evening of Monday 20 November. Considered a great success by those who attended, the formal presentation part of the workshop featured current industry engagement champions like Ilana Feain (QuasarSat / AAL Board), Matt Shields (PentaLYM), Josh Hacko (NH Micro), Celine D’Orgeville (ANU) and a host of other experts from astronomy and industry.
An excellent outcome of this workshop involved the unique networking opportunities available for all attendees. Speaker Josh Hacko (NH Micro) was introduced to AAO Macquarie’s Lee Spitler during the event. Spitler recognised the skill and adaptability of NH Micro when he saw Hacko present – as a result, NH Micro is now handling the precision machining and optical head assembly that will be used by AAO to build the collimator for LUNA. See AAO’s moonshot story here, and also see more about NH Micro here.
Facilitated and coordinated engagement between astronomers and industry is a priority of the Decadal Plan for Australian Astronomy. AAL’s increasing activity in this sphere created an excellent opportunity to build a new committee, filled with industry experts and IE champions from astronomy. The Industry Engagement Advisory Committee (IEAC) first met in February 2024, with a mandate to provide expert advice on AAL activities in this area and more broadly on sector-wide requirements. IEAC meetings occur quarterly via video conference.
Members of IEAC during 2023/24 are as follows:
While mining may seem to be light years away from astronomical research, the technology developed by scientists to detect tiny gravitational waves coming from outer space is now being applied to equipment used for airborne mining exploration.
Researchers at The University of Western Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) have partnered with Xcalibur Multiphysics (formally CGG) to develop advanced aircraft transmitters and receivers for mineral exploration.
Blocking out a universe of interference to find the tiniest of signals has created a new way to see the unseeable… for the full story, please visit AAL’s Industry Engagement website.
A four-year project working with gamma-ray astronomers has become a possible game-changer for an Australian water tank manufacturer based in suburban Adelaide.
Aquamate, was established in 1986 as a company that repaired leaking concrete tanks – an unassuming beginning for a company that grew into a leading supplier of large volume water storage systems, producing and installing polymer lined steel tanks across Australia and around the world. Aquamate is vertically integrated, manufacturing all components in-house, including their tank shells, roof structures and internal plastic membranes (or bladders).
An international collaboration of astronomers first contacted Aquamate in 2018 with a proposal – for the company to build a prototype water tank for the future Southern Widefield Gamma-ray Observatory (SWGO) – proposed to be built in South America.
Four years later, with a series of successful prototypes under their belt, Aquamate now finds itself in a very good position to become the sole supplier for the SWGO… for the full story, please visit AAL’s Industry Engagement website.
As referenced above, Josh Hacko from NH Micro is currently working with Lee Spitler’s team at AAO Macquarie to build a sensor called LUNA – Laser measurement Unit for Navigational Aid – for lead project partner Advanced Navigation. The sensor will eventually be delivered to US-based space systems company, Intuitive Machines, for an upcoming mission to land autonomously on the Moon.
NH Micro’s ability to make intricate parts comes from its origins as an Australian manufacturer of precision timepieces, known as Nicholas Hacko Watchmaker (NHW). Established in 2016, NHW developed the capacity to make up to 85% of their watches in-house by 2020, which allowed them to pivot quickly towards the manufacture of precision parts for astronomy instrumentation builders when this opportunity presented itself (see the story of HECTOR here).
This collaboration with astronomers helped Josh Hacko and NHW discover new, untapped markets, well beyond watchmaking… see the full story of NH Micro on AAL’s Industry Engagement website.
