Australian chapter: Second biennial meeting summary

This year the Department of Infrastructure Engineering of Melbourne University (UoM) hosted the biannual conference of the Australian chapter of InterPore (International Society for Porous Media), bringing together Australian and international specialists from academia and industry working in areas related to porous media and the modelling and simulation of natural and industrial porous media systems. Thirty-eight delegates attended the 3-day event at UoM’s Woodward University House, and although the turnout from UoM was small, the conference raised an awareness of how many UoM researchers are studying this important subject.

The main session topics were 1) porous media characterisation, 2) modelling of flow through- and the deformation of porous media, 3) carbon geo-sequestration, 4) and complex system simulation and upscaling. Each session started with a keynote presentation by an internationally renowned expert: Mark Knackstedt (ANU, Canberra), Antoinette Tordesillas (UoM), Pierre Adler (UPMC, Paris, France) and Victor Calo (Curtin University, Perth). Keynote speakers were asked to highlight contradictions, knowledge gaps, and/or open questions in their field, stimulating the discussions associated with their sessions. Generous time for discussion was included into the programme.

Since porous media research spans so many disciplines, ranging from material science to 3D printing, speakers were asked to provide context and explain the subject-specific terminology used in their presentations. This ensured effective communication and a wide engagement in the discussions. Fostered by a poster session, this format promoted a richness and diversity of contributions by both speakers and the general conference participants. PhD students, in particular, welcomed that more subject context was provided and the ample opportunity for discussion. They felt empowered, motivated, and inspired after the conference.

With regard to the future of porous media research, a consensus was reached on how important it is to combine physical experiments with numeric simulations in order to disentangle complex behaviour in terms of cause and effect chains. Furthermore, it became clear that, regarding the upscaling of the often counterintuitive behaviour of heterogeneous porous media, current research still is in its infancy, and many opportunities are there to greatly enhance our understanding, paving the way for ground-breaking innovations and industrial applications.

With so many visitors, the InterPore delegates welcomed Melbourne as an excellent conference location, and the conference venue and catering supported by Australia’s CSIRO as a sponsor were much appreciated by all participants. Including the icebreaker at Uni House and the conference dinner at the Red Spice Thai in Melbourne’s CBD, the conference promoted exciting science, extensive communication, highly informative technical discussions and enthusiasm for porous media research.

The chair of the 2018 Australian InterPore conference, Prof. Stephan Matthai, Chair of Reservoir Engineering (UoM), presents Dr. Anita Singh (UNSW), with the best-poster award.