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INGENUITY, a new magazine focusing on the frontiers of engineering research at UNSW and with a global distribution, was launched on Tuesday by UNSW’s Dean of Engineering, Mark Hoffman.

“We are, without question, a powerhouse of engineering research in Australia,” said Hoffman. “With nine schools, 32 research centres and participating or leading 10 Cooperative Research Centres, we do truly amazing research – among the world’s best. And we work with more than 500 partners in industry and government to bring the fruits of that research to society.

“We have capacity to do more, as many potential research partners in Australia and overseas are not necessarily aware of the breadth and depth of what we do,” he added. “If we are to have the greatest impact in the world at large, as a university and as engineers, we need to get our research out to the world.  And the creation of INGENUITY is part of that effort.”

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A schematic of the bionic eye developed by UNSW biomedical engineers, from INGENUITY magazine's inaugural edition.

Hoffman said the magazine was one of a number of initiatives UNSW Engineering is pursuing to enhance the Faculty’s global impact and its academic and research excellence.

“In May, we hosted the first Ingenuity Fellow, a journalist-in-residence program for overseas science journalists. Our inaugural recipient was Rebecca Morelle, global science correspondent for BBC News in London, and she spent three weeks on-campus meeting some of our best minds and most impressive innovators. And last month, we held a sold-out public event with Peter Norvig, Research Director at Google, talking about Google’s approach to artificial intelligence and machine learning.

“We mean to not just be the leading engineering faculty in the country but, in a global industry, to be seen as one of the great engineering faculties of the world,” he concluded.

Through engaging storytelling by some of the country’s finest science writers, stylish design and beautiful photography, INGENUITY will bring to life the Faculty’s work in areas like quantum computing, bionic vision, solar energy, water and city environments, artificial intelligence, biomedical instrumentation, robotics, advanced polymers, space research, materials and membranes, cyber security and sustainable design.

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Prof Mark Hoffman, Dean of Engineering, with publisher Karen Taylor-Brown, managing editor Heather Catchpole and editor-in-chief Wilson da Silva.

The free magazine is being distributed to senior executives of Australia’s largest corporations, federal and state parliamentarians and senior government officials, scientific and industry collaborators of UNSW’s Faculty of Engineering globally, as well as science and technology journalists worldwide. The print edition is also being distributed to Australian embassies and trade offices overseas, and at the biennial World Conference of Science Journalists and the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

The magazine is produced by specialist custom publishing house Refraction Media, whose clients include Google, the CRC Association, the Office of the Chief Scientist and ANSTO. Refraction Media was named Best Small Publisher in 2015 at the annual Publish Awards.

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The cover of INGENUITY, the new research magazine of UNSW Engineering.

“Quality long-form journalism in science and technology is hard to come by in Australia,” said Wilson da Silva, the faculty’s senior communications adviser and former editor-in-chief of COSMOS magazine, which he co-founded with Alan Finkel, now Australia’s Chief Scientist. “There’s a wealth of great research stories to tell at UNSW, and we hope that everyone, including the general public, will enjoy the quality writing in INGENUITY and the great stories of Australian research excellence it has to tell.”

How to receive INGENUITY:

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  • PHOTOS: Stills of the magazine launch, the magazine’s cover and inside layouts.