Career Summary
Biography
I have a multi-disciplinary engineering background, having bachelor degrees in surveying and civil engineering and working in several Newcastle-based surveying and civil engineering firms throughout my career.
While my background is in civil engineering, surveying and project management my passion is renewable energy. To gain expertise in this field, I undertook a PhD in mechanical engineering at the University of Newcastle, with my research focused on optimising small-scale wind turbines.
Towards the end of my PhD I began to look at commercialising my research, undertaking CSIRO's ON Prime and ON Accelerate programs with two of my colleagues from the University of Newcastle - Dr Sam Evans and James Bradley. We started Diffuse Energy in 2018 with support from CSIRO and the University of Newcastle, with the three of us now working full-time on the company.
I continue to have a very strong relationship with the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE) at the University of Newcastle, supervising PhD candidates, final year project engineering students and conducting research in collaboration with the university. I have previously taught mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering, computational fluid dynamics and engineering design subjects at the university.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering, University of Newcastle
- Bachelor of Surveying (Honours), University of Newcastle
- Bachelor of Engineering (Honours), University of Newcastle
Keywords
- Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
- Renewable Energy
- Wind Energy
- Wind Turbines
Languages
- English (Mother)
Professional Experience
Teaching appointment
| Dates | Title | Organisation / Department |
|---|---|---|
| 1/11/2019 - | Conjoint Lecturer | Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, University of Newcastle Australia |
| 2/7/2018 - 31/10/2019 | Associate Lecturer | Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, University of Newcastle Australia |
Publications
For publications that are currently unpublished or in-press, details are shown in italics.
Chapter (1 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |
S P da Costa M, Kesby J, Clausen PD, 'Structural Optimisation of 3D Printed Small Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbine Blade Using Bi-directional Evolutionary Layout Optimisation Method', Wind Energy Exploitation in Urban Environment. TUrbWind 2018 Colloquium, Springer Nature, Cham, Switzerland 215-228 (2019) [B1]
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Conference (2 outputs)
| Year | Citation | Altmetrics | Link | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 |
Evans SP, Kesby JE, Bradley J, Clausen PD, 'Commercialization of a Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbine for Distributed Generation', Journal of Physics: Conference Series (2020) [E1] © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. Small-scale distributed wind generation faces challenges in being cost competitive due to recent advances in solar photovoltaic and... [more] © 2020 IOP Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. Small-scale distributed wind generation faces challenges in being cost competitive due to recent advances in solar photovoltaic and battery storage technology. Reductions in levelized cost of energy (LCOE) can be achieved by improvements in aerodynamic efficiency, generator controller design, or reducing cost of manufacture. In this paper we present a case study detailing the commercialization of a novel 200 W high-efficiency diffuser augmented wind turbine (DAWT). Results include increased rotor efficiency, bespoke controller design, and the novel use of manufacturing processes. Findings and conclusions are of direct interest to small wind turbine designers as they seek to reduce LCOE.
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| 2016 |
Kesby JE, Bradney DR, Clausen PD, 'Determining Diffuser Augmented Wind Turbine performance using a combined CFD/BEM method', SCIENCE OF MAKING TORQUE FROM WIND (TORQUE 2016), Munich, GERMANY (2016)
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Grants and Funding
Summary
| Number of grants | 8 |
|---|---|
| Total funding | $167,000 |
Click on a grant title below to expand the full details for that specific grant.
20191 grants / $22,000
New Ventures Incubation Grant$22,000
Funding body: CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
| Funding body | CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Joss Kesby, Samuel Evans, James Bradley |
| Scheme | CSIRO New Ventures |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2019 |
| Funding Finish | 2019 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C1500 - Aust Competitive - Commonwealth Other |
| Category | 1500 |
| UON | N |
20185 grants / $130,000
Jobs for NSW MVP Grant$50,000
Funding body: NSW State Government
| Funding body | NSW State Government |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Joss Kesby, Samuel Evans, James Bradley |
| Scheme | Jobs for NSW |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2018 |
| Funding Finish | 2019 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | Other Public Sector - State |
| Category | 2OPS |
| UON | N |
CSIRO - Stanford Australia Scholarship$30,000
Funding body: CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
| Funding body | CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Joss Kesby |
| Scheme | CSIRO New Ventures |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2018 |
| Funding Finish | 2019 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C1700 - Aust Competitive - Other |
| Category | 1700 |
| UON | N |
Airflow over a fluid coupling$25,000
Funding body: Rexnord Australia Pty Ltd
| Funding body | Rexnord Australia Pty Ltd |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Joss Kesby, Phil Clausen |
| Scheme | Entrepreneurs’ Programme: Innovation Connections |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2018 |
| Funding Finish | 2018 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C3111 - Aust For profit |
| Category | 3111 |
| UON | N |
CSIRO ON Accelerate 4$15,000
Funding body: CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation)
| Funding body | CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Joss Kesby, Samuel Evans, James Bradley |
| Scheme | Australia's National Innovation Accelerator Program |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2018 |
| Funding Finish | 2018 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C1700 - Aust Competitive - Other |
| Category | 1700 |
| UON | N |
CSIRO ON Accelerate - High Performing Team Grant$10,000
Funding body: CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
| Funding body | CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Joss Kesby, Samuel Evans, James Bradley |
| Scheme | Australia's National Innovation Accelerator Program |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2018 |
| Funding Finish | 2018 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C1700 - Aust Competitive - Other |
| Category | 1700 |
| UON | N |
20172 grants / $15,000
Testing a new ember blocking device to prevent loss of property and life in bush fires$12,000
Funding body: NSW Department of Industry
| Funding body | NSW Department of Industry |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Joss Kesby, Philip Clausen, James Bradley |
| Scheme | TechVoucher Program |
| Role | Investigator |
| Funding Start | 2017 |
| Funding Finish | 2019 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C2220 - Aust StateTerritoryLocal - Other |
| Category | 2220 |
| UON | N |
CSIRO ON Prime 5$3,000
Funding body: CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
| Funding body | CSIRO - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation |
|---|---|
| Project Team | Joss Kesby, Samuel Evans, James Bradley |
| Scheme | ON Prime |
| Role | Lead |
| Funding Start | 2017 |
| Funding Finish | 2017 |
| GNo | |
| Type Of Funding | C1700 - Aust Competitive - Other |
| Category | 1700 |
| UON | N |
News
Venture capitalist blown away by University-born small wind turbine startup
June 5, 2020
Dr Joss Kesby
Position
Conjoint Lecturer
School of Engineering
College of Engineering, Science and Environment
Contact Details
| joss.kesby@newcastle.edu.au |
Office
| Room | ES320 |
|---|---|
| Building | Engineering Science (ES) |
| Location | Callaghan University Drive Callaghan, NSW 2308 Australia |
NEWS • Jun 05.2020
Venture capitalist blown away by University-born small wind turbine startup
The University of Newcastle-based start-up, Diffuse Energy, has secured $400,000 in seed funding from Australian venture capital fund, Shearwater Growth Equity, to scale production of its promising renewable energy option.
Renew Economy article
'There is renewed hope for the future of “small wind” energy generation this week with news that Australian start-up Diffuse Energy has locked in $400,000 in seed funding to scale production of its very small, enclosed-blade diffuser turbine technology.'