Staff Search

Professor Rod Smith

Name :	Professor Rod Smith
Position :	Professor (Irrigation Engineering)
Section :	Faculty of Engineering and Surveying Agriculture, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Office :	Z440
Location :	Toowoomba Campus
Phone :	61 7 4631 2510
Extension :	2510
E-mail :
Qualifications :	DipEng Geelong IT BEng, MEngSc Melb PhD UNE

Home Page : http://www.usq.edu.au/users/smithrod
The views expressed on staff homepages may not reflect the views of the University.

Professional Memberships

Fellow, The Institution of Engineers, Australia

Research Interests

Irrigation - Evaluation, simulation, optimisation and real time control of surface irrigation, incl surge & fertigation; infiltration from surface irrigation advance data; precision or prescription irrigation; development of diagnostic tools for mobile sprinkler irrigation systems, incl travelling guns, centre pivot & lateral move machines; irrigation pipeline hydraulics; gated pipe; salinity and leaching.

Odour - Odour emissions from intensive animal facilities; odour measurement by olfactometry and electronic nose; emission kinetics; odour dispersion modelling.

Environmental Hydraulics - Vetiver grass hedges for overland flow, erosion control and stabilisation of floodways.

Recent Research Outcomes

Three most recent :

Smith, RJ, Raine, SR, McCarthy, AC and Hancock, NH (2009) Managing spatial and temporal variation in irrigated agriculture through adaptive control. Australian Journal of Multi-disciplinary Engineering, 7(1): 79-90.

Navabian, M, Liaghat, AM, Smith, RJ and Abbasi, F (2009) Empirical functions for dependent variables in cutback furrow irrigation. Irrigation Science, 27: 215-222 (doi 10.1007/s00271-008-0138-8)

Almeida CDGC, Botrel TA and Smith RJ (2009) Characterization of the microtube emitters used in a novel micro-sprinkler. Irrigation Science, 27: 209-214 (doi 10.1007/s00271-008-0135-y)

Most notable :

Sohn, JH, Smith, RJ, Yoong, E, Leis, J and Galvin, G (2003) Quantification of odours from piggery effluent ponds using an electronic nose and an artificial neural network. Biosystems Engineering, 86(4), 399-410.

McClymont, DJ and Smith, RJ (1996) Infiltration parameters from optimisation on furrow irrigation advance data. Irrigation Science, 17(1): 15-22.

Smith, RJ (1995) A Gaussian model for estimating odour emissions from area sources. Mathematical & Computer Modelling, Special Issue on Air Quality and Meteorological Modelling, 21(9): 23-29.

Smith, RJ (1993) Dispersion of odours from ground level agricultural sources. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 54: 187-200.

Smith, RJ (1988) Energy loss in branching flow and its application to irrigation pipeline design. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research, 41: 181-189.

Currently Teaching Courses/Programs

ENV3104 Hydraulics II
ENV4106 Irrigation Science

Teaching Experience

Tertiary : 29 years