Rail Engineering, Civil and Structural Engineering, RailCorp – Track Engineering
Dr Sak Kaewunruen, in collaboration with industry partners, has helped change the philosophy for manufacture, design and maintenance of railway tracks. He developed a tool to investigate rail surface defects and three-dimensionally map crack spreading. He is also developing a new type of ‘smart track’, which will have inbuilt sensors to measure forces, vibrations and noise. Helping engineers better understand track/train interactions, enhance train services and reduce wastage of construction materials. He has also developed a national design standard of rail engineering and his research into concrete sleepers contributed to an innovative design allowing faster and heavier freight trains, increasing efficiency. This has fundamentally changed the operation of railways, and his work has been recognised by many awards including the Engineers Australia’s Young Railway Engineer of the Year,.
Sak created the Facebook group ‘Young Railway Engineers Australasia’, allowing young engineers to network and share engineering-related information. He has, participated in the RTSATube Project, which promoted rail transport to students and is a member of EngQuest, which inspires primary school students to discover more about engineering through practical, construction-based learning. He is also a member of several steering committees of national research projects, which shape research projects for industry-ready applications.