Scientist behind movie magic honoured by peers
Professor Monaghan
If you see a movie, or a TV advertisement, that involves a fluid behaving in an unusual way, it was probably made using technology based on the work of a Monash researcher.
Professor Joseph Monaghan who pioneered an influential method for interpreting the behaviour of liquids that underlies most special effects involving water has been honoured with election to the Australian Academy of Sciences.
Professor Monaghan, one of only 17 members elected in 2011, was recognised for developing the method of Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) which has applications in the fields of astrophysics, engineering and physiology , as well as movie special effects.
His research started in 1977 when he tried to use computer simulation to describe the formation of stars and stellar systems. The algorithms available at the time were incapable of describing the complicated systems that evolve out of chaotic clouds of gas in the galaxy.
Professor Monaghan, and his colleague Bob Gingold, took the novel and effective approach of replacing the fluid or gas in the simulation with large numbers of particles with properties that mimicked those of the fluid. SPH has become a central tool in astrophysics, where it is currently used to simulate the evolution of the universe after the Big Bang, the formation of stars, and the processes of planet building.
“I was delighted to hear that I had been elected to the Academy. It meant that my work had been recognised and appreciated by a group of outstanding scientists,” Professor Monaghan said.
SPH has since been applied to a number of fields beyond astrophysics.
“I worked with Monash Archaeologist Peter Bicknell to apply SPH to study the tsunamis that may have led to the demise of the Minoans. The resulting method is also now used by marine engineers who utilise its ability to simulate waves breaking on ships and shore structures, by physiologists exploring virtual surgery, and by engineers simulating the effects of impact and fracture on various structures.”
Professor Monaghan said that SPH also underlies the technology used in special effects involving water or other fluids in movies, such as the lava flow in the The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
For more information about the Australian Academy of Science visit their website.