Rate My Professor Tom Honeyands

Associate Professor Tom Honeyands serves in the School of Engineering at the University of Newcastle, where he is Centre Director (Alternative Ironmaking) for the BHP Centre for Sustainable Steelmaking Research and holds leadership roles in the Centre for Ironmaking Materials Research. A New Zealand native, he earned his Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) from the University of Auckland and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Newcastle in 1994, with his doctoral research initiating his career in 1991 by building a full-scale model of a steel caster to examine fluid mechanics in thin slab caster moulds using computational fluid dynamics. His research specializations encompass the characterization of ironmaking raw materials for their end-use performance, particularly the properties and behavior of iron ores in sintering and blast furnace ironmaking processes. Honeyands applies laboratory furnaces and microscopy to simulate these processes, investigating structural changes in iron ore beds and interactions of lump iron ore with sinter and pellets.

Prior to joining the University in October 2015, Honeyands amassed over 26 years of experience in industrial R&D and consulting. From 1995 to 2006, he progressed through roles at BHP Billiton Central Research Laboratories and Iron Ore Business, including Research Engineer supporting Boodarie Iron, Senior/Principal Research Engineer leading process optimization worldwide, and Iron Ore Research Leader focusing on geometallurgy and technical marketing. Subsequently, from 2006 to 2015, as Director of Creative Process Innovation, he developed the Marx Value in Use model, applied in more than 35 studies for iron ore miners, and led AMIRA projects P1097 on transportable moisture limits and P1150 on moisture measurement for conveyor systems. At Newcastle, he has secured funding from ARC Research Hubs, BHP Billiton, and Australian Coal Research Limited for projects on advanced iron ore technologies and coal self-heating. He supervises doctoral students on hydrogen-enriched blast furnace operations and sinter quality. Selected publications include 'Phosphorus Segregation and wetting in steel making slag' (2026), 'Heat transfer model for laboratory-scale brushed arc electric smelting furnace' (2026), 'Softening and Melting Behaviour of Ferrous Burdens in Gas Compositions Representative of Hydrogen Enriched Blast Furnace Operation' (2025), and 'Findings from Laboratory-scale Electric Smelting Furnace Experiments' (2025). His contributions advance sustainable steelmaking technologies.