Rate My Professor Jayne O'Shea

Dr Jayne O’Shea holds the position of Honorary Lecturer in the School of Engineering within the College of Engineering, Science and Environment at the University of Newcastle, Australia. She also serves as Operations Manager and Senior Consulting Engineer at TUNRA Bulk Solids, part of the university's Bulk Solids Group. O’Shea completed her Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering with First Class Honours and the University Medal at the University of Newcastle from 2005 to 2009. She then pursued her PhD at the same university between 2010 and 2015, with her doctoral research examining belt conveying system energy prediction models using the relaxation properties of rubber, culminating in the thesis titled "Mechanical and Dielectric Relaxation Studies of Conveyor Belt Compounds to Determine Indentation Rolling Resistance Properties."

Throughout her over decade-long career at the University of Newcastle's Bulk Solids Group, including TUNRA Bulk Solids and the Centre for Bulk Solids and Particulate Technologies, Dr O’Shea has progressed through roles such as laboratory technician, engineer, research assistant, class tutor/demonstrator, research associate, consulting engineer, and senior consulting engineer. She has contributed significantly to the design and commissioning of various testing facilities at the university and has been involved in over 100 bulk handling research and consulting projects in Australia and overseas, spanning materials like coal, iron ore, gold ore, bauxite, and grains. Her academic interests include belt conveyor systems, bulk material handling, discrete element modelling (DEM), engineering computations, engineering design, and material characterisation. Key publications include "The Influence of Viscoelastic Property Measurements on the Predicted Rolling Resistance of Belt Conveyors" (O’Shea et al., Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2014), "Dielectric Relaxation Studies of Conveyor Belt Compounds to Determine Indentation Rolling Resistance" (O’Shea & Wheeler, International Journal of Mechanics and Materials in Design, 2017), "Investigation of the Dynamic Deflection of Conveyor Belts via Experimental and Modelling Methods" (Shen et al., Measurement, 2018), "A Comparison of Rubber Stress Relaxation Models for Conveyor Belt Indentation Rolling Resistance Calculations" (Munzenberger et al., International Journal of Mechanics and Materials in Design, 2019), and "Optimizing Friction Losses of Conveyor Systems Using Large-Diameter Idler Rollers" (Cousseau et al., Lubricants, 2025). In recognition of her contributions, she received the AW Roberts Award from the Australian Society for Bulk Solids Handling in 2019. Additionally, since 2021, Dr O’Shea has chaired the RU-002 Australian Standards committee on conveyor belting.