BE, ME, PhD, CPEng
Senior Engineer/Director
Michael began working part-time at MEL Consultants in 1999 and then full time as a Senior Engineer in 2003. His PhD research investigated the effects of surface roughness and free stream turbulence on stationary circular cylinders at high Reynolds numbers. At MEL Consultants, Michael is responsible for wind-tunnel tests and data analysis, and the development of advanced instrumentation and data analysis systems. Michael recent research has investigated wind effects on tall buildings including the effects of vented facades. He is active in the wind engineering community, presenting papers at national and international conferences. Michael has been a member of AWES since 1998.
BE (Hons), BCom, Grad Dip(IWeb), MIEAust
Senior Engineer/Director/Health and Safety Officer
Alex joined MEL Consultants Pty Ltd in 2000 after completing his B.E. with Honours at Monash University. He oversees the wind tunnel testing and analysis of environmental, structural and facade pressure studies and the maintenance of the environmental testing equipment. His other role at MEL is that of the Health and Safety Officer, maintaining a safe and orderly workplace for staff. Alex is a past Australasian Wind Engineering Society Board Member and has presented at both national and international conferences.
BSc, BE(Hons), PhD, MIEAust
Senior Engineer/Director
Jim joined MEL Consultants in 2009 after several years working in Europe at the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) in Laboratoire de Mecanique de Lille and Robert Bosch GmbH in Germany in the aerospace and global automotive sectors, respectively. Jim completed his PhD in Mechanical Engineering in the field of experimental fluid mechanics in 2002 and has expertise in advanced fluid mechanics experimental measurement and visualisation techniques, predominantly laser based. At MEL Consultants he is responsible for pressure, environmental and structural studies, conducting full-scale measurements, the development of post-processing software and measurement techniques as well as analytical desktop studies. Jim has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles and is developing Computational Wind Engineering (CWE/CFD) within the company, focusing on the hybrid merging of the technique with physical modeling process in the wind tunnel.
BE, MS, PhD, FIEAust, MASCE, CPEng, RPEQ
Senior Engineer/Director
Leighton joined MEL Consultants in 2014 with about thirty years' experience in project management (site, design studio, and consulting), civil and structural engineering, wind-engineering applications, and research. He has evaluated over 600 buildings and structures for wind loads (local cladding pressures and/or frames loads) through wind-tunnel testing; evaluated pedestrian-wind climate for many of these buildings; measured forces on other structures like stacks, outdoor monuments, and solar collectors; defined snow loads for structures via wind-tunnel data; and, investigated pollutant dispersion from laboratory buildings, stacks, and ships. His professional leadership roles include: past Secretary of the ASCE Environmental Wind Engineering Committee, 2000-2006; past Chair of the ASCE Structural Wind Engineering Committee, 2005-2011; past President of the American Association for Wind Engineering(AAWE), 2007-2008; Past Board Member for the Applied Technology Council, 2011-2017; current Board Member for the Australasian Wind Engineering Society, 2014-2021; past Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Wind Engineering and Industrial Aerodynamics, 2011-2017; and past Americas Regional Coordinator for the International Association for Wind Engineering, 2009-2017. Recipient of the AAWE Michael Gaus Award (2013), and the AAWE Best Journal Paper (2013). Leighton is a Chartered Professional Engineer and Fellow of Engineers Australia, is a Registered Professional Engineer in Queensland, has authored many conference and journal papers, has edited and co-authored the ASCE publication entitled "Wind Issues in the Design of Buildings", and contributed to the updating of the 2013 "ASHRAE Handbook Fundamentals" (Chapter 24). Leighton has had several media appearances, including interviews on the television show "Mega Engineering", and has assisted occasionally in legal cases as an expert witness. He may be contacted on +61-(0)481-263-324.
BE, PhD, MIEAust
Senior Engineer
Yogen began working at MEL Consultants in 2007 on a casual basis while studying at Monash University. He became a full-time staff member of MEL Consultants in 2014 shortly after completing his doctorate in engineering. Yogen now oversees most facade pressure studies at MEL Contributions but, as with all employees, is capable of working on any testing and analysis from any of the MEL Consultants service streams.
BE (Hons) , PhD , MIEAust
Senior Engineer / Regional Consultant (Asia-Pacific)
James joined MEL Consultants in 2010 while completing his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at Monash University. At MEL Consultants he is the Asia Pacific regional consultant leading our Kuala Lumpur office and manages various projects such as environmental, structural wind loads and facade design pressure studies. With his experience at MEL Consultants, and his proficiency in multiple languages/dialects, James is able to work as a conduit between the engineering and developer worlds.
BE (Hons), MIEAust
Engineer
Eric joined MEL Consultants Pty Ltd in 2011 after completing his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Honours at Monash University. At MEL Consultants, Eric is reponsible for wind tunnel testing and analysis of environmental, aeroelastic and pressure models. He has in-depth knowledge in CAD Software, including Rhino and AutoCad, for model making and developing 3D models for 3D printing, through at-work experience and company sponsored training.