Rate My Professor Thomas Fiedler

Associate Professor Thomas Fiedler holds a position in the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, within the disciplines of Aerospace Systems, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering. He completed his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Germany, in 2004, followed by a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Universidade de Aveiro, Portugal, in December 2007. Fiedler commenced his academic career at the University of Newcastle in 2008 as a postdoctoral researcher in the Centre for Geotechnical and Materials Modelling. He progressed through prestigious fellowships, including an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship from 2010 to 2013 and a University of Newcastle Research Fellowship from 2012 to 2014. Currently, he serves as Program Convenor for Mechanical Engineering and is affiliated with the Centre for Mass and Thermal Transport in Engineering Materials.

Fiedler’s research centers on cellular materials such as metals and ceramics, as well as composite materials. His academic interests include experimental and computational mechanics, finite element methods, lattice Monte Carlo methods for thermal and mass diffusion, mechanical and thermal material testing, impact engineering, renewable energy conversion, thermal analysis, and thermal storage. Notable projects involve developing metal foams for lightweight, strong structures in automotive and aerospace applications, composite heat sinks blending paraffin with copper foams for energy-efficient cooling in buildings and electronics, and bioactive, dissolvable biomaterials for surgical implants that repair tissue, skin, and bone defects. He has published over 136 journal articles, including “Recent Advances in the Prediction of the Thermal Properties of Metallic Hollow Sphere Structures” (2010), “Miscibility Gap Alloys: A New Thermal Energy Storage Solution” (2018), “Lattice Monte Carlo analysis of thermal diffusion in multi-phase materials” (2011), and “On the electrical and thermal contact resistance of metal foam” (2014). Fiedler’s achievements include the 2013 Pro-Vice Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Research Performance, 2012 and 2010 Pro-Vice Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence in Research Publications, 2009 Vice Chancellor’s Award for Researcher of the Year, and the 2006 Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science grant for “Investigation of Damage Evolution in Metallic Foams.” His international collaborations span Malaysia, Portugal, Slovenia, Brazil, and Germany, fostering commercial interest in his developments.