Rate My Professor Mark Jones

Emeritus Professor Mark Jones is an Emeritus Professor in the School of Engineering (Mechanical Engineering) at the University of Newcastle, Australia, where he held the Chair in Bulk Solids Handling from 1999 to 2023. He earned a PhD and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from Thames Polytechnic, UK. Before joining the University of Newcastle in 1999, he worked as Senior Lecturer and Senior Consulting Engineer at Glasgow Caledonian University in the UK from 1988 to 1999, serving as Lead Investigator on large-scale research projects funded by the European Coal and Steel Community, the Department of Trade and Industry, and industry partners including BP (UK), Aluminium Pechiney (France), and Alcoa (USA), with his largest project valued at $1.2 million. At Newcastle, he has directed the Centre for Bulk Solids and Particulate Technologies since 2001 and acted as Senior Consultant to TUNRA Bulk Solids, overseeing growth in TUNRA's turnover from less than $1 million in 2005 to $4.7 million in 2012. He has held key administrative positions, including Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor (2004-2005), Assistant Dean (Research Training), Assistant Dean (Community Relations and Marketing), Deputy Head of School, and Head of Mechanical Engineering.

Professor Jones's research focuses on pneumatic conveying, material characterisation, fluidisation and de-aeration (for pneumatic conveying performance prediction), gravity flow of solids, and mixing and de-mixing of solids within bulk solids handling. His principal contributions include developing modelling techniques for fluidised dense phase pneumatic conveying, establishing theory on dense phase slug-flow mechanics, intelligent control systems for pneumatic conveying, pioneering dense phase hydraulic conveying in energy generation, unravelling segregation mechanisms in blended materials, and characterisation techniques for bulk solids applications. He has led several Australian Research Council (ARC) projects, such as a Large Grant on plug formation mechanics, SPIRT and Linkage Grants on pressure drop prediction, bulk storage optimisation, high-speed belt conveyors, and handling of stringy/compressible materials. Notable publications include the book 'Handbook of Pneumatic Conveying Engineering' (2004, with D. Mills and V.K. Agarwal), chapters like 'Applications of Numerical Modeling in Pneumatic Conveying' (2016), and recent articles such as 'Predictive modelling approach for cottonseed plug velocity applying a circuit theory analogy' (Powder Technology, 2023) and 'Optimizing Pressure Prediction Models for Pneumatic Conveying of Biomass' (Processes, 2023). As Editor of the journal Bulk Solids and Powder Science and Technology since 2007, President of the International Freight Pipeline Society, and Chair of the Australian Society for Bulk Solids Handling, he exerts significant influence, delivering international conferences, undergraduate courses in Mechanics of Bulk Solids and Particulates, a Master's program, and professional development courses worldwide.