Antoinette Tordesillas facts for kids

Antoinette A. Tordesillas is an Australian mathematician. She is a professor of applied mathematics at the University of Melbourne. She has greatly helped us understand how tiny particles, like sand or dirt, move and behave. Her important work includes predicting how soil on other planets would react if we tried to build or dig there. She also created a model that can help find out when and where landslides or earthquakes might happen by looking at how slopes change. She received the J H Michell Medal in 2000 for her excellent research.

Her Journey to Becoming a Professor

Antoinette Tordesillas started her studies at the University of Adelaide. She focused on applied mathematics and chemistry, earning her first degree in 1986. For her special project, she developed a model about the hot-dip galvanising process, which is used to make sheet metal.

She then earned her Ph.D. in 1992 from the University of Wollongong. Her advanced degree focused on how rollers touch and coat materials.

After working for a short time at other universities, she joined the University of Melbourne in 1996. In 2013, she also took on a role in geomechanics there. She became a full professor in 2016.

At the University of Melbourne, Professor Tordesillas teaches mathematics and statistics. She also leads a research group that studies how tiny particles behave. Her research combines ideas from mathematics, engineering, physics, and geophysics. She has worked with teams from different countries and on big projects. These projects have received funding from groups like NASA, the Hong Kong Research Council, the US National Science Foundation, and the US Department of Defense. Much of her work aims to understand how granular materials move. This knowledge helps in predicting seismic activity and preparing for future space travel.

Amazing Discoveries and Research

Understanding Soil on Mars and the Moon

Professor Tordesillas led a team that worked with NASA to study the soil on Mars and the Moon. Their goal was to understand how these surfaces would react if we tried to build, mine, or drill there. NASA asked Professor Tordesillas for help because the US Army had suggested her as an expert on sand.

To do this, Professor Tordesillas and her team at the University of Melbourne used information about space soil. They also looked at photos taken by orbiters and rovers. They combined this with their study of how tiny particles move. This involved testing fake space soil and using computers to model what happens when pressure is added. They also looked at simpler models of perfect, round particles and adjusted them for different gravity strengths. Professor Tordesillas thought about how the unique shapes of particles seen on Mars and the Moon might have formed. She realized that we need to understand many local conditions before any future landings. She also noted that this research could help with problems caused by stored granular materials, like wheat, iron ore, and coal, which are important exports for Australia.

Predicting Landslides and Earthquakes

Professor Tordesillas received a large grant to create a model that shows a very detailed picture of individual particles. This model helps to see tiny changes that happen in granular materials before they break apart. This is a big step towards predicting earthquakes and stopping soil erosion from heavy military vehicles.

Professor Tordesillas and her team developed a special computer tool. It uses applied mathematics and big data to predict when and where landslides might happen, sometimes up to two weeks in advance. This model looks at huge amounts of data to find places where future failures, or seismic activity, might occur. It flags locations where particles start moving in similar, organized ways. This happens just before a failure. The tool uses powerful computer programs to understand big data and find hidden patterns. Catching these small changes early is key to predicting failures. This allows existing information to help with risk assessment and management.

After five years of work, Professor Tordesillas and Robin Batterham created and patented the Spatiotemporal Slope Stability Analytics for Failure Estimate (SSAFE) model. This model looks at slope stability data over time to predict the time and place of future failures. It combines remote seismic data with the physics of how granular materials fail. The model can be used to predict failures in mines, where precise measurements of rock face movement are taken. It can also monitor rural areas using satellite radar data. The main goal of this model is to improve early warning systems and reduce the dangers of landslides, especially with changes in climate.

Removing Liquid from Materials

In 2012, Professor Tordesillas and her colleagues filed a patent application for a method to break down materials or remove liquid from them. This method involves feeding a material between two surfaces that are moving in opposite directions. This action shears the material, meaning it cuts or breaks it parallel to its flow between the surfaces.

Awards

Professor Tordesillas was given the J H Michell Medal in 2000. This award is presented every year by the Australian and New Zealand Industrial and Applied Mathematics Society. It recognizes an outstanding new researcher in applied mathematics.