Prof. Chin ( Bob ) Loo

Biography

Prior to joining the University of Newcastle in 2010, I spent over 30 years in industrial research. My employment at BHP Research, Shortland - now Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER) – spanned over 28 years. During this time our team provided technical support to the marketing of BHP Billiton iron ores and coals worldwide. The aims of our research activities included: defining the link between fundamental iron ore and metallurgical coal properties and their performance in the ironmaking process, the formulation of ore and coal blends for effective sintering and coking, and the evaluation of new deposits. My current research activities continue to focus on these areas, and they include work funded directly by BHP Billiton and an ARC Linkage grant with BHP Billiton and BlueScope Steel as partner organisations.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford - UK, 1980
• Bachelor of Technology, University of Bradford, UK, 1975

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Research

Research keywords

• Blast Furnace Ironmaking
• Cokemaking
• Iron Ore Properties
• Iron Ore Sintering

Research expertise

• Characterisation of ironmaking raw materials relevant to their end-use (e.g., iron ore for sintering, iron ore sinter and coke for blast furnace ironmaking, and coal for cokemaking)

• Applied research with focus on understanding process fundamentals (e.g., the iron ore sintering and cokemaking processes)

• Formulation of research programs to achieve desired, tangible outcomes (e.g., results that can be used in technical marketing and/or solve commercial-scale problems)

• Effective dissemination and presentation of research results in publications and forums to maximize benefits to the funding organizations (e.g., brochure, journal/conference paper or customer presentation on how to sinter YANDI ore effectively for BHP Billiton Marketing)

Languages

• English
• Malay

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
091499	Resources Engineering And Extractive Metallurgy Not Elsewhere Classified	50
091299	Materials Engineering Not Elsewhere Classified	35
020499	Condensed Matter Physics Not Elsewhere Classified	15

Centres and Groups

Centre

• Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER)
• Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER)

Group

• Centre for Ironmaking Materials Research

Memberships

Editorial Board.

• Member - Advisory Board of the journal ISIJ International

Awards

Research and Technology Award

1998	BHP Innovation Prize - Major Innovation Category BHP (Australia) For work carried out on on a new BHP iron ore. Award was for 'YANDI project - Accelerating sales through the use of science'.

Invitations

Sixth International Symposium on Agglomeration The Society of Powder Technology, The Iron and Steel Institute, The Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan (Keynote Address)	1993
Annual Meeting China Society of Metals, China (Invited Presenter)	1997
150th ISIJ Meeting (International Organised Session) Iron and Steel Institute of Japan, Japan (Invited Presenter)	2005
Third China International Coking Technology and Coke Market Congress China Iron and Steel Assoc & China Coking Industry Assoc., China (Invited Presenter)	2005
Fourth International Congress on the Science and Technology of Ironmaking The Iron and Steel Institute of Japan, China (Keynote Address)	2006

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

• Group Leader of Carbon Steel Materials at BHP Research with total budgets of over AUS $5 million per annum from 2002 to 2005

• Fundamentals Research Leader of Carbon Steel Materials at BHP Research from 2006 to 2009

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• Blast Furnace Ironmaking
• Preparation of Ironmaking feed materials

Teaching expertise

• Ran or was involved in over 60 two-day courses on ironmaking for BHP officers - from iron ore operations and marketing - over a period of 25 years