Dr Tian received his B. Eng. degree from Beihang University (former name: Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics) in 2005. Then he obtained the M. Sc, M. Res, and PhD from the University of Wollongong (UOW) in 2009, 2010 and 2014, respectively.
He was with the School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering of UOW as a research fellow from January 2015 to September 2015. Since October 2015, he was with the Institute of Fluid Science, Tohoku University as an Assistant Professor until December 2017. From 2018, he has been with the School of Science and Engineering of the University of the Sunshine Coast as a lecturer.
His research is on functional smart materials and their applications, including high performance magnetorheological elastomers (MRE) and shear thickening fluids (STFs). In UOW, he investigated the sensing possibility of MREs, the MREs with enhanced stiffness changing properties, shear thickening electrolyte, MR electrolyte, and their applications. In Tohoku University, he mainly researched on the effect of particle alignment in MREs.
Professional memberships
- Member of the Japan Fluid Power System Society.
Awards
- Best Post Award, Fabrication and Dynamic Viscoelastic Properties of MR Elastomers with Various Concentrations of Silicone Oil, 18th International Symposium on Applied Electromagnetics and Mechanics (ISEM2017), Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France, 3-6 September, 2017
- Granted ‘the 2014 National Award for Outstanding Self-Financed Chinese Students for Study Abroad’, China Scholarship Council, 2014
- Awarded as People’s Choice winner in Three Minute Thesis Competition, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2014
- Awarded as winner in Three Minute Thesis Competition, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2014
- Awarded as winner in Three Minute Thesis Competition, School of Mechanical, Materials and Mechatronic Engineering , Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2014
- Awarded with Defence Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) top up Scholarship, 2012-2014
- Awarded with the University Postgraduate Award (UPA) for the living allowance to PhD students, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2010
- Awarded with the International Postgraduate Tuition Award (IPTA) for covering tuition fee to PhD students, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2010
- Received Examiners’ Commendation for Outstanding Thesis when graduated as Master of Engineering (research), University of Wollongong, Australia, 2010
- Graduate with Distinction when graduated as Master of Engineering Practice, University of Wollongong, Australia, 2009
Potential research projects for HDR and Honours students
- Enhancement of the stability and performance of shear thickening fluids;
- Development of Magnetorheological electrolyte;
- Development of Magnetorheological elastomer with various Ferro particles;
- Applications with magnetorheological materials and/or shear thickening fluids, such as shock absorber, brake, and etc
Research grants
- Development of a novel noise reduction system, UOW Research Partnerships Grant, Li, W.H. and Tian, T.F. $9500, 2014
- Development of a novel railway noise reduction system working with MR technology, Enterprise Connect Researchers in Business Funding (An Australian Government Initiative), Li, W.H. and Tian, T.F. $64,228, 2013-14
Research areas
- smart materials and their applications
- system dynamics and vibration control
- mechanical design and manufacturing
- shear thickening materials
Teaching areas
- Dynamics
- Computational Mechanics
Dr Tongfei Tian is a Lecturer in Engineering (Dynamics). His research is on functional smart materials and their applications, including high performance magnetorheological elastomers (MRE) and shear thickening fluids (STFs).