Professor Tuan Ngo and Dr Yousef Alqaryouti win University Wood Challenge

Dr Yousef Alqaryouti and Professor Tuan Ngo with their award.
National Wood Challenge winners Dr Yousef Alqaryouti and Professor Tuan Ngo with their award.

Professor Tuan Ngo and Dr Yousef Alqaryouti have won the 2021 National University Wood Challenge.

The award was announced by the Senator for Tasmania Jonathon Duniam.

“This challenge aims to foster the breakthrough ideas that will create jobs and economic opportunities in Australia’s great forest industry,” Senator Duniam said.

Professor Ngo and Dr Alqaryouti, from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Melbourne, received the trophy for their work on Digital Fabrication and Structural Design of Low-Cost Hybrid Sandwich Panel Systems.

The panels offer a sustainable solution to help meet growing construction industry demand and could be used as prefabricated walls or floors in low to mid-rise buildings once they reach market.

Using digital fabrication – combining 3D modelling and computer-aided design with additive manufacturing – the team combined low-grade timber with bio-based, fibre-reinforced polymer (for the outer wrapping layer) and recycled wood fibre to achieve a lightweight prototype with excellent strength that complies with building design standards.

The panels can be manufactured at low cost with rapid production speed and will result in low building energy consumption, thanks to excellent insulation properties.

Professor Ngo and Dr Alqaryouti will use their $10,000 prize to further develop their panel system, with the aim of bringing the product to market.

“Once in production, these panels could help to bring the construction industry closer to the Government’s net zero carbon emissions target for this industry by 2050,” Professor Ngo said.

“We will build industry engagement and work with industry partners to test the product in large-scale buildings and apply different sustainable and recycled materials to expand applications for the global market.”

The Challenge opened in June 2021, funded by the Australian Government with support from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and run by Forest and Wood Products Australia.