Prof Easton is passionate about seeing research and teaching being used in the real world. He has worked in research and management roles across academia and industry for over 25 years.
Professor Easton is currently the Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research Infrastructure) and a Professor of Engineering. Previously he was the Director of the Advanced Manufacturing Precinct at RMIT which brought together three facilities: Micro Nano Research Facility, Microscopy and Microanalysis Facility and the Digital Manufacturing Facility. The precinct is able to fabricate, manufacture and characterise materials, devices and components from the nano-scale to the metre scale. Prior to this he was the Associate Dean for Manufacturing, Materials and Mechatronics within the School of Engineering.
He is very interested in the intersection between industry and universities. Most of his career has been spent at either side of the intersection, working with industry focused research centres, industry which partners with universities or within universities that partner with industry. This fits very well with RMIT's culture of producing work ready graduates and translational research.
He has also been the Diversity and Inclusion advocate for the School of Engineering. He realises that his is very fortunate to be given the opportunities that he has had in his career and life and thinks it is important for others to have similar opportunities. One of the attractive attributes of RMIT is its focus on these issues.
Awards:
2023:
International Magnesium Award for Special Contribution on Innovation of the Year
2022-2024:
Mercator Fellow, German Research Foundation
2021:
Light Metals Luncheon speaker at the TMS Annual Meeting
2020:
Create the Future. Honourable Mention in Manufacturing/Robotics/Automation category.
2018:
-TMS Light Metals Division Magnesium Technology best student paper award (supporting author)
-Outstanding Referee for Acta Materialia
2017:
-TMS Extraction and Processing Division Technology Award
(https://www.tms.org/portal/Professional_Development/Honors___Awards/EPD_Technology_Award.aspx)
-Gifkins Lecture
2015:
Outstanding Referee for Acta Materialia
2012:
-TMS Light Metals subject award – Warren Peterson Cast shop for Aluminium Production for the paper “Chemical additions to reduce hot tearing in the casthouse”.
(https://www.tms.org/portal/Professional_Development/Honors___Awards/Light_Metals_Subject_Award_Warren_Peterson_Cast_Shop_for_Aluminum_Production.aspx)
-Best Paper of the Billet Process and Equipment Track at the conference Extrusion Technology 2012, “The Influence of Iron Content on the Tensile Properties and Anodizing Response of AA6060 Extrusions” (ET ’12).
2011:
Outstanding Referee for Acta Materialia
2010:
CAST commercialisation award: for his role in the commercialisation/licensing of Laser Assisted Joining
2009:
GKSS Magnesium Research Award for ‘important contributions to the understanding of the relationship between nuclei and grain refinement for magnesium alloys’
(https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/702546)
CAST commercialisation award: for his role in the commercialisation/licensing of AM-EX1
2008:
Honorable mention from the B-HERT awards and 50th Anniversary Vice Chancellor’s award for excellence in research from Monash University for magnesium alloy development work
2007:
Edgerton Award
2006:
Henry Marion Howe award: best paper in Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A
CAST commercialisation award: for his role in the commercialisation/licensing of AM-HP2
2003:
Madhu Nilmani award for best paper at the Eight Australasian Conference on Casthouse Technology
Gordon Dunlop Award for Scientific Excellence leading to a Commercial Application
CAST commercialisation award: for his role in the commercialisation/licensing of AM-lite
CAST commercialisation award: for his role in the commercialisation/licensing of AM-SC1
Public and media engagements:
Media release for Adding copper strengthens 3D-printed titanium, study finds
(https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2019/dec/3dprinting-titanium-copper)
AIME-TMS Anniversary Keynote Presentation. Near Net Manufacturing of Light Metal Alloys.
(https://www.tms.org/portal/PUBLICATIONS/Proceedings___Other_Resources/Recorded_Presentations/AIME-TMS_Anniversary_Keynote_Presentations/portal/Publications/Proceedings___Other_Resources/Presentations/AIME-TMS_keynote_presentations.aspx?hkey=66bfdb7a-f9c8-4)
Acknowledgement of Country
RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.