Staff Profile
Career Summary
Biography
Dr. Andrew J. Fleming graduated from The University of Newcastle with a Ph.D in 2004. He is presently an Australian Research Fellow and Senior Lecturer at the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, The University of Newcastle, Australia. His research includes optical nanofabrication, nanopositioning control systems, high-speed scanning probe microscopy, micro-cantilever sensors, and metrological position sensors. Academic awards include the University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellors Award for Researcher of the Year and the IEEE Control Systems Society Outstanding Paper Award for research published in the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology. Dr. Fleming is the co-author of two books, several patent applications and more than 100 Journal and Conference papers.
In addition to his academic outputs, Dr. Fleming has track record of technology transfer. In particular, he is the author or co-author of four patent applications:
• A Positioning System and Method; 2010; PCT: WO 2010/040185 A1, A. J. Fleming
(This patent is presently being examined in 13 countries)
• Power Harvesting From Piezoelectric Transducers; 2002, Australian Provisional; A. J. Fleming, S. O. R. Moheimani
• An Electro-magnetic Vibrational Damping Apparatus; 2002, Australian Provisional; S. Behrens, A. J. Fleming, S. O. R. Moheimani
• An Impedance Synthesizing Arrangement, An Improved Vibrational Damping, Apparatus and a Method for Deriving a Digital Signal Processing Algorithm; 2001; PCT/AU01/00566 US Appln.No.10/295822; A. J. Fleming, S. Behrens, S. O. R Moheimani
Dr. Fleming has co-organized nine invited sessions at international conferences since 2005. These include:
• "Control Techniques for High-Speed Scanning Probe Microscopy” and “Enabling Control in High-Speed Scanning Probe Microscopy” at the American Control Conference, Vancouver, June 2012.
• “Control of Nanopositioning and Scanning Probe-Based Systems” at the American Control Conference,
San Francisco, June 2011.
• “Nanopositioning and Scanning Probe Systems” and “Advanced Control Methods for Nano-Measurements”
at the American Control Conference, Baltimore, June, 2010.
• “Control of Nanopositioning and SPM Systems”, “Modeling and Control of Nanopositioning and SPM
Systems” and “Feedforward Control of Nanopositioning and SPM Systems” at the American Control
Conference, St Louis, 2009.
• “Micro- and Nano-Positioning” at the Joint IEEE Conference on Decision and Control and the European
Control Conference, Seville, Spain, 2005.
Dr. Fleming recently presented the invited workshop “Measurement and Control for High-Speed Sub-Atomic Positioning in Scanning Probe Microscopes” at the IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation in Anchorage, May, 2010.
Qualifications
- PhD, University of Newcastle, 05/05/2004
- Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), University of Newcastle, 21/01/2000
Research
Research keywords
- Atomic Force Microscopy
- Micro-cantilever sensors
- Nanometer Position Sensors
- Nanopositioning
- Optical Microfabrication
- Probe Based Nanofabrication
- Scanning Probe Microscopy
Research expertise
Dr. Fleming has made extensive contributions to the dynamics, control and analysis of scanning probe systems. For example in "Bridging the gap between conventional and video-speed scanning probe microscopes" Ultramicroscopy, August, 2010, 110(9), 1205-1214, a combination of new mechanics, control techniques, and a new imaging pattern allow the speed of a scanning probe microscope to be increased by more than two orders-of-magnitude without loss of image quality. The reduction of image acquisition time from 200s to 1s opens up an entirely new range of imaging possibilities where the sample is not static. Examples include the imaging of dynamic polymeric reactions and the live observation of biomolecules and cells. The increases in speed increases also allow a probe-based fabrication technique to practically produce complex micro- and nano-structures.
Another example of Dr. Fleming’s contribution to this research field is journal paper "Nanopositioning system with force feedback for high-performance tracking and vibration control" IEEE Transactions on Mechatronics, June, 2010, 15(3), 433-447. This paper describes a new sensor and control system that eliminates the mechanical resonance of a nanopositioner. Due to the elimination of resonance and the low sensor noise, an object can be maneuvered to the resolution of a single atom in less than 1ms. This could potentially enable a probe-based fabrication system to create thousands of features per second with atomic resolution. This work is presently being patented in thirteen countries.
A further example of innovation in scanning probe systems is "Sensorless vibration suppression and scan compensation for piezoelectric tube nanopositioners", IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, January, 2006, 14(1), 33-44. This paper introduces a unique sensorless technique for the actuation and control of piezoelectric tube scanners. A positioning resolution of 10 Angstroms was reported over a wide-bandwidth and range of 100 micrometers. This paper was awarded the 2007 IEEE Control Systems Society TCST Outstanding Paper Award and has received more than 70 citations to date.
Dr. Fleming's earlier research included structural and acoustic control utilizing piezoelectric transducers. In precision machines, such as hard disk drives or milling machines, small amounts of vibration and long settling times reduce the accuracy and speed of the device. Damping augmentation can simultaneously improve both of these performance measures.
Fields of Research
| Code | Description | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| 090600 | Electrical And Electronic Engineering | 65 |
| 029900 | Other Physical Sciences | 20 |
| 010200 | Applied Mathematics | 15 |
Memberships
Body relevant to professional practice.
- Member - Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
- Member - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Conference Chair
- Member - International Program Committee - ACC 2013
- Member - International Program Comittee - Mechatronic Systems 2004
Editorial Board.
- Editor - Advances in Acoustics and Vibration
Appointments
| Fellowship Australian Research Council (Australia) | 01/01/2009 |
| Fellowship APD Australian Research Council (Australia) | 01/01/2006 - 01/12/2008 |
Awards
Research Award.
| 2012 | Rising Star Award Newcastle Innovation (Australia) Awarded for excellence in industrial engagement. |
|---|---|
| 2011 | Best Student Paper Award - Awarded to Mr. Matt Fairbain Australian Control Conference (Australia) The following paper was selected as the best student paper at the Australian Control Conference in Melbourne 2011. "Improving the scan rate and image quality in tapping mode atomic force microscopy with piezoelectric shunt control" by M. Fairbairn, S. O. R. Moheimani and A. J. Fleming. |
| 2007 | Researcher of the Year University of Newcastle (Australia) University of Newcastle Vice Chancellors Award for Researcher of the Year |
| 2007 | Best Paper Award IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology (Australia) IEEE Control Systems Society Award for Outstanding Paper Published in the IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology |
Collaboration
Dr. Fleming is a frequent collaborator and visitor to a number of internationally recognized research labs. Recent collaborations include:
• Dr. Kam Leang at the Electroactive Systems and Control Lab, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Reno, Nevada.
• Professor Santosh Devasia at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle.
• Professor Frank Allgöwer at the Institute for Systems Theory and Automatic Control, University of Stuttgart, Germany.
• Associate Professor Georg Schitter at the Centre for Precision and Microsystems Engineering, Delft University of Technology, Netherlands.
• Mr. Arnfinn Eielsen at the Department of Engineering Cybernetics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
Administrative
Administrative expertise
• Member of the University of Newcastle Research Development Advisory Group (2009-2010)
Teaching
Teaching keywords
- Control Systems
- Digital Signal Processing
Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 21 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $9,207,480 |
For project grants received where the lead institution is other than the University of Newcastle, details are shown in italics.
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
2013 (2 grants)
Nano-Optical Microscopy, Characterization and Fabrication Facility$155,000
Funding Body: University of Newcastle
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming, Doctor John Holdsworth, Doctor Grant Webber, Professor Erich Kisi, Professor Dirk Van Helden | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Equipment Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $155,000 | 2013 | 2013 |
| GNo:G1200167 | ||
American Control Conference, Washington DC, USA, 17 - 19 June 2013$1,500
Funding Body: University of Newcastle - Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Travel Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $1,500 | 2013 | 2013 |
| GNo:G1300882 | ||
2012 (3 grants)
Probe based nano-fabrication of micro-electronic and mechanical systems$340,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming, Professor John O'Connor | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Discovery Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $340,000 | 2012 | 2014 |
| GNo:G1100209 | ||
A Miniature Interferometer for Sub-Nanometer Position Sensing over Long Distances$15,000
Funding Body: University of Newcastle - Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Pilot Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $15,000 | 2012 | 2012 |
| GNo:G1200349 | ||
Actuator 2012, Bremen, Germany, 18 - 20 June 2012$1,500
Funding Body: University of Newcastle - Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Travel Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $1,500 | 2012 | 2013 |
| GNo:G1200766 | ||
2011 (2 grants)
High Speed Nanopositioning with Nanometer Resolution$10,000
Funding Body: University of Newcastle
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Linkage Pilot Research Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $10,000 | 2011 | 2011 |
| GNo:G1100664 | ||
American Control Conference, San Francisco, California, 29/6/2011 - 1/7/2011$1,500
Funding Body: University of Newcastle - Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Travel Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $1,500 | 2011 | 2012 |
| GNo:G1100312 | ||
2009 (4 grants)
Electron Microscopes for Nanometer-scale Imaging/Microanalysis in the Materials, Biological, Physical, Engineering and Chemical Sciences$650,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Professor Erich Kisi, Professor Scott Donne, Doctor Vicki Keast, Associate Professor Alan Brichta, Professor Robert Melchers, Conjoint Professor Christina Offler, Professor John O'Connor, Professor Reza Moheimani, Emeritus Professor John Patrick, Professor Dirk Van Helden, Professor Bruce King, Professor Geoffrey Evans, Professor Hugh Dunstan, Doctor Geoffrey MacFarlane, Associate Professor Yong-Ling Ruan, Doctor Severine Roselli, Doctor Minjie Lin, Professor Christopher Grof, Doctor Silvia Frisia, Doctor Rebecca Lim, Doctor Heber Sugo, Doctor Jennifer Forrester, Doctor Olivier Buzzi, Doctor Andrew Fleming, Professor Erica Wanless, Doctor Clovia Holdsworth, Doctor Russell Drysdale, Professor Stephen Fityus, Associate Professor David McCurdy, Doctor De Zhu | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF) | Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $650,000 | 2009 | 2009 |
| GNo:G0189120 | ||
New drives and control techniques for high performance piezoelectric actuation$580,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Discovery Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $580,000 | 2009 | 2013 |
| GNo:G0188750 | ||
Electron Microscopes for Nanometer-scale Imaging/Microanalysis in the Materials, Biological, Physical, Engineering and Chemical Sciences$70,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Professor Erich Kisi, Professor Scott Donne, Doctor Vicki Keast, Associate Professor Alan Brichta, Professor Robert Melchers, Conjoint Professor Christina Offler, Professor John O'Connor, Professor Reza Moheimani, Emeritus Professor John Patrick, Professor Dirk Van Helden, Professor Bruce King, Professor Geoffrey Evans, Professor Hugh Dunstan, Doctor Geoffrey MacFarlane, Associate Professor Yong-Ling Ruan, Doctor Severine Roselli, Doctor Minjie Lin, Professor Christopher Grof, Doctor Silvia Frisia, Doctor Rebecca Lim, Doctor Heber Sugo, Doctor Jennifer Forrester, Doctor Olivier Buzzi, Doctor Andrew Fleming, Professor Erica Wanless, Doctor Clovia Holdsworth, Doctor Russell Drysdale, Professor Stephen Fityus, Associate Professor David McCurdy, Doctor De Zhu | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF) Partner funding | Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $70,000 | 2009 | 2009 |
| GNo:G0190441 | ||
IEEE/ASME Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics, Singapore, 14-17 July$1,500
Funding Body: University of Newcastle - Faculty of Engineering & Built Environment
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Travel Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $1,500 | 2009 | 2009 |
| GNo:G0190429 | ||
2008 (5 grants)
Centre for Complex Dynamic Systems and Control$5,400,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Professor Graham Goodwin, Professor Minyue Fu, Professor Reza Moheimani, Doctor Julio Braslavsky, Doctor Gregory Adams, Associate Professor Jose De Dona, Doctor Maria Seron, Doctor James Welsh, Doctor Andrew Fleming, Associate Professor Tristan Perez, Doctor Damian Marelli, Associate Professor Brailey Sims, Conjoint Professor Kerrie Mengersen, Professor A Pettitt, Dr R Reeves, Professor Ian Turner, Dr Salvatore Crisafulli, Dr M Downey, Mr J Lee, Mr P Stone, Conjoint Professor John Rayner | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| ARC Centres of Excellence | Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $5,400,000 | 2008 | 2010 |
| GNo:G0188623 | ||
CDSC Sub-Account: Mechatronics$785,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Professor Graham Goodwin, Professor Reza Moheimani, Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| ARC Centres of Excellence | Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $785,000 | 2008 | 2010 |
| GNo:GS090005 | ||
Centre for Complex Dynamic Systems and Control$323,084
Funding Body: NSW Department of State and Regional Development
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Professor Graham Goodwin, Professor Minyue Fu, Professor Reza Moheimani, Doctor Julio Braslavsky, Doctor Gregory Adams, Associate Professor Jose De Dona, Doctor Maria Seron, Doctor James Welsh, Doctor Andrew Fleming, Doctor Damian Marelli, Associate Professor Brailey Sims, Conjoint Professor Kerrie Mengersen, Professor A Pettitt, Dr R Reeves, Professor Ian Turner, Dr Salvatore Crisafulli, Dr M Downey, Mr J Lee, Mr P Stone | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Centres of Excellence (Partner) | Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $323,084 | 2008 | 2010 |
| GNo:G0189187 | ||
Reduction of Creep, Hysteresis and Temperature Drift in Piezoelectric Actuators$20,000
Funding Body: University of Newcastle
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming, Doctor Mehmet Yuce | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Near Miss Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $20,000 | 2008 | 2008 |
| GNo:G0188415 | ||
SPIE Smart Structure and Materials 2008, San Diego, CA 9/3/2008 - 13/3/2008$2,500
Funding Body: University of Newcastle
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Travel Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $2,500 | 2008 | 2008 |
| GNo:G0188556 | ||
2006 (2 grants)
Nano-positioning facility for nano-scale measurement and manipulation$530,000
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Professor Reza Moheimani, Scientia Professor Ian Petersen, Professor Graham Goodwin, Professor Rick Middleton, Professor Minyue Fu, Dr Valeri Ougrinovska, Dr Hermanshu Pota, Doctor Andrew Fleming, Dr Steven Schofield | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Linkage Infrastructure Equipment & Facilities (LIEF) | Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $530,000 | 2006 | 2006 |
| GNo:G0185548 | ||
Analysis, Optimization, and Control of Scanning Atomic Force Microscope Micro-Cantilever Probes$303,996
Funding Body: ARC (Australian Research Council)
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Discovery Projects | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $303,996 | 2006 | 2008 |
| GNo:G0185309 | ||
2005 (1 grants)
The 44th Annual IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 12-15 December 2005$2,500
Funding Body: University of Newcastle
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Travel Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $2,500 | 2005 | 2005 |
| GNo:G0185867 | ||
2004 (2 grants)
Scanning Tunnelling Microscope with sub-Nanometer Resolution$12,000
Funding Body: University of Newcastle
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Early Career Researcher Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $12,000 | 2004 | 2004 |
| GNo:G0185009 | ||
IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, 14-17 December 2004, Bahamas$2,400
Funding Body: University of Newcastle
| Project Team | ||
|---|---|---|
| Doctor Andrew Fleming | ||
| Scheme | Role | |
| Travel Grant | Chief Investigator | |
| Total Amount | Funding Start | Funding Finish |
| $2,400 | 2004 | 2004 |
| GNo:G0184838 | ||
Research Supervision
| Number of current supervisions | 5 |
|---|---|
| Total current UoN Masters EFTSL | 0.1 |
| Total current UoN PhD EFTSL | 2.7 |
For supervisions undertaken at an institution other that the University of Newcastle, details are shown in italics, and the institution name is listed below the program name.
Current Supervision
| Commenced | Proposed Completion | Program | Supervisor Type | Research Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 2015 | M Philosophy(Elec Engineering) | Co-Supervisor | OPUS Codec Hardware Encoder/Decoder |
| 2013 | 2017 | PhD (Electrical Engineering) | Principal Supervisor | Study of the Physics and Photonic Properties of Structures Created from Sub-wavelength Optical Phenomena |
| 2013 | 2017 | PhD (Electrical Engineering) | Principal Supervisor | High-Speed Nanopositioning with Nanometer Resolution for Imaging and Probe Based Nanofabrication |
| 2013 | 2017 | PhD (Electrical Engineering) | Principal Supervisor | Development of Meso-scaled Robots Using Piezoelectric Thin Film Actuators |
| 2011 | 2015 | PhD (Electrical Engineering) | Principal Supervisor | Implantable Body Sensors with Low Power MAC Protocol |
Dr Andrew Fleming
| Work Phone | (02) 4921 6493 |
|---|---|
| Cell / Mobile Phone | (02) 4921 7223 |
| Fax | (02) 4960 1712 |
| Andrew.Fleming@newcastle.edu.au | |
| Position | Australian Research Fellow School of Elect Engineering and Computer Science Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment |
| Focus Area | Electrical and Computer Engineering |
| Office | EF07H/EE106, Engineering F/Engineering E, Callaghan University Drive Callaghan NSW 2308 Australia |
| URL: | www.newcastle.edu.au/profile/andrew-fleming |
Research Networks
