Education

AQW Inc. actively supports education and research on all aspects of alumina refining for the benefit of the industry, the global environment and the communities in which it operates.

The aims of the Education Program are to:

• Promote and fund research into alumina refining for the betterment of the alumina refining industries internationally and in Australia specifically;
• Organise and promote the triennial International Alumina Quality Workshop conference as a forum for showcasing world class research focusing on current programs and issues in the alumina industry of the 21st Century and beyond; and
• Promote alumina refining technology as a career choice that is interesting and challenging for scientists and engineers and offers ample opportunities for collaborative research with external institutions.

Since 1996 university students have been sponsored to attend and present posters. Numbers reached a peak of 23 at the 2012 conference, falling to 13 in 2015 and 12 in 2018.

A program of supporting students at Honours level in engineering and science was established in 1991. The following list of students has been compiled according to available records - if you have queries or additional details please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

In 2022 AQW established the Alumina Industry Scholarship at the University of Queensland in collaboration with the Liveris Academy, to support talented undergraduate students with demonstrated leadership prowess, a passion for sustainability and the potential to solve problems through large-scale innovation. Each award is a 3-year commitment to support a student in their progress towards an honours degree in science or engineering, chosen on a competitive basis.

The recipients of this award to date are:

• 2022-2024, Max Foreman
• 2022-2024, Sara Alaei
• 2025-2028, Jane Brewster

AQW Inc. also funds scholarships at Honours and PhD level.

AQW has sponsored these PhD students:

José Gomes, Curtin University

Born in Brazil, José started his studies at the Institute of Physics of the University of São Paulo. After moving to Perth, he finished his BSc in Physics at Curtin University. He then undertook a Master of Chemical Engineering at Curtin with a thesis entitled “The Effects of Crystal Growth Modifiers on Bayer Precipitation” under the supervision of A/Prof. Hari Vuthaluru from Curtin, and Dr Tian Li and Dr Iztok Livk in the Alumina Group at CSIRO - Mineral Resources, with support from Alcoa.
In 2018 José was awarded an AQW Inc. scholarship for a PhD study aimed at improving environmental outcomes for bauxite residues through deeper understanding of the reaction pathways and controlling factors in the formation and leaching of aluminosilicates. The project is jointly supervised by Dr Franca Jones (Curtin) and Dr Peter Smith (CSIRO).

PhD Title: Composition and leaching of aluminosilicates formed in caustic solutions.

Start Date: May 2018

Jose is currently "Research Chemist | Process Development & Innovation" at Fortescue.

John Vogrin, The University of Queensland

John Vogrin undertook his PhD studies in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of Queensland after completed his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering there with first class honours in 2015.  He worked in the UQ hydrometallurgy group as a research assistant before starting his PhD. His previous experience also includes engineering process design at Hatch. John’s research generated fundamental characterisation and solubility data, and a robust thermodynamic model, for synthesised desilication products. 

John completed his PhD in 2017. He is now "Head of Projects" at Zeotech Ltd. 

For educational resources, go to the Resources page.