When we observe our faculty members hard at work, we often don’t consider what they do outside of the laboratory, the classroom or the office. We hear of university students competing at the top level in various sports while studying in the United States, with swimmers Katie Ledecky at Stanford and Missy Franklin at UC Berkeley being prime examples.

When it comes to the Winter Olympics though, most people think of success coming from countries like Norway, the United States, Germany, Austria, and Canada – countries where snow and ice are abundant, and mountains are plentiful. However, for Doctor Elias Arcondoulis, a Greek Australian in the Department of Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, the Winter Olympic sport of bobsleigh is his best chance of Olympic glory, and he’s not letting anything stand in his way.

Who is Dr. Arcondoulis?

Doctor Elias Arcondoulis is from Adelaide, South Australia. It was here that he obtained a double degree with First Class Honors in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematical and Computer Sciences, majoring in Applied Mathematics, from The University of Adelaide (ranked 114^th in 2019). When he finished his undergraduate degree in 2006, he took a job at British Aerospace Systems (BAE Systems), where he worked for a couple of years before deciding that he wanted to study further and pursued his Ph.D. in experimental aeroacoustics at the University of Adelaide, graduating in May of 2017.

We asked about his study of aeroacoustics, what it meant and his current research foci. His area of research focuses on the intersection of aerodynamics and acoustics, and Elias used the analogy of the sound made by the side-mirror of a car at high speed. He’s looking at three different areas of aeroacoustics now – one is passive noise controls method for bluff bodies, which involves keeping cylinders quiet through adding a porous coating to the cylinder to try and reduce the noise they make in products such as aircraft landing gear and HSR pantographs. Another is acoustic beamforming arrays, the use of microphones to find acoustics sources. Elias used the sport of cricket’s hot spot, used to detect whether the ball has struck the bat, as an example of how acoustic beamforming arrays work. He is also continuing his research on the tonal noise emitted by a wing section.

“This is very applicable to small-scale wind turbines,” Elias said, implicitly referring to South Australia’s push to increase its renewable energy load.

From Strongman to Sledman

During his university days, Elias got involved in powerlifting and strongman competitions. He was competing in competitions across the country, and as recently as 2013, he was the second strongest man in Australia for a man weighing under 105 kilograms. While he admits that his passions outside of the laboratory might not make him a “typical scientist,” he can wear multiple hats.

“I feel like I lead two lives. When I do my academic work, I wear my academic hat. I’m only an academic when I’m working when I’m doing research. When I’m in the gym, I’m not an academic; I’m purely an athlete. I’m just lifting stuff.” Elias mused that he is most assuredly a scientist in the lab, even if he doesn’t look like one outside of the laboratory or his research facilities.

His experiences in the gym also raised questions. Elias acknowledged that he plays a very different role in China, compared to Australia. He admitted that when he was in Australia, he was one of the smaller lifters, always trying to reach the standards set by those above him. However, in China, he is often observed by those around him.

“People get impressed even by your warm-ups, but when I used to train, I was surrounded by guys who would bench press 200 kilograms and squat over 300 kgs,” Elias reflected. He went on to talk about how his focus is important and ensuring that he is self-motivated when he is in the gym.

For this reporter, bobsleigh seemed like an unusual sport to go into, not just from a cultural perspective, but from an athletic perspective. Elias explained that bobsledders tend to be recruited from two groups, weightlifters, and sprinters, due to those two sets of skills being so key. The leg power, specifically the explosive power through the quadriceps, a strong upper body, and strong core muscles are the key areas for bobsledders.

“Bobsled tends to recruit sprinters who were heavy set, or Olympic weightlifters who have a lot of speed in their legs, but then they need to convert that vertical speed into horizontal speed, which takes some time.” His athletic skills explained why Elias felt bobsleigh was his best chance of representing Australia at the Olympics. While his national teammates are working on their strength, Elias is working on his explosive athleticism.

Where Do You Go, and Where Have You Been?

Dr Arcondoulis in the yellow helmet

As part of his preparation to represent Australia, Elias has traveled to Calgary in Canada, to the famous Calgary Ice House. Elias spoke fondly of this incredible facility, where numerous countries practice their starts on a specially designed U-shaped track. The Australian team regularly practices in Calgary, where the cost of living is lower than in other parts of the world. He’s anticipating some fantastic facilities in Yanqing, on the outskirts of Beijing in the lead up to 2022.

Dr Arcondoulis practising at SUSTech

However, Elias pointed out that he does not need much in the way of ice or bobsleigh tracks to prepare. He can do a lot of his training in the gym or on dry land. He needs to make sure that he can provide explosive sprints, which he can achieve through exercises like deadlifts, weighted jumps, short sprints of between 30 and 50 meters, and squats. Elias was very firm on these exercises as being among a group that is key to being successful for him to push a bobsled well.

“If you’re a heavy sprinter, if you’re a heavy guy that can move quickly, that’s really what needs to be done. Being able to get behind the sled needs a strong upper body and the ability to slam your legs through the sled to power it,” said Elias. As a strong, powerful man, he pointed out that his place in the team is over in the first four to five seconds.

Academic and Athletic Success Together

He spoke fondly of the importance of training while he was studying and believes that his opportunity to work here at SUSTech has helped him enormously in potentially representing Australia as a winter Olympian.

“I love pursuing myself intellectually as hard as I can, and then I can pursue myself physically as hard as I can. It’s almost like the Chinese belief in yin and yang. I believe that when I’m doing my academic work, I’m using my brain as hard as I can; when I’m doing my sporting work, I’m using my body as hard as I can, and that contrast between the two has given me peace.” Elias reminisced about how he struggled during his Ph.D. because he was only training for its athletic pursuits and is convinced that he is training much better now that he is employed full time.  “I work well to pressure and deadlines; I think that’s a big factor,” he admitted, speaking to how many successful people deal with issues.

Experience of Bobsledding

Elias was candid about his experience of bobsledding for the first time. When it was suggested that bobsledding was one of the scariest sports around, like the skeleton and the luge, there was a small nod of recognition from Elias. He disagreed though, as his biggest fear was motion sickness, but he has subsequently dealt with that with anti-nausea medication. He talked openly about being scared about not getting into the sled, and it not being a particularly enjoyable experience.

“It’s like getting stuffed in a washing machine and dumping you off the top of Mount Lofty,” professed Elias, harking back to the well-tread and well-cycled paths around the summit of this very rocky South Australian mountain, south-east of the city. “It’s very rough, there’s no padding for your knees or elbows, and for me, the biggest fear is not getting in. I’ve nearly fallen but still managed to get in.”

We asked about the new facilities in Yanqing, but he admitted he hadn’t been up there yet. Elias was effusive about the Olympic Spirit that coursed through his veins when he went for a visit to the Olympic Green in Beijing 6 months earlier.

“I spent six hours there, and I took it all in. I envisioned the opening ceremony, along with some of my good friends who competed in the Beijing 2008 Summer Games, when they walked into the stadium. I walked on the roof of the stadium; it was a great day. Visualisation is a big part of my training,” reflected Dr. Arcondoulis, pointing out the importance of realizing your dreams.

The Finals Steps and His Final Message

If he is fortunate enough to be selected, Elias wants to see the snowboarding, and naturally, he would want to go and support his fellow countrymen. He believes that Australia could have a women’s team qualify for the Winter Olympics in 2022. Similarly, the relationship between the sliding athletes is like siblings, so he would want to go and support other Australians competing in the skeleton and luge events as well.

We asked, as a final question, what message he would give to people looking for inspiration from him, given the wide range of things he has done in life so far, and what he is hoping to achieve in the future.

“Never let anyone pigeonhole you. If you want to be someone who has multiple facets in their life, don’t let anyone say ‘Oh, you can’t be good at this, because you’re already good at that.’ Just make sure your time is focussed to one thing at a time and don’t let it overlap with the other task. If it does, you will always be in a self-battle of tug-of-war.” Elias pointed at his own life, reflecting on the idea that academics are not good athletes, and yet he has proved many people otherwise.

In Summary

Dr. Elias Arcondoulis is an amazing individual. Coming to SUSTech last year as one of Australia’s strongest men, he’s proven himself in fields of academia and athletics, and could prove himself to be SUSTech’s first Olympian. It shows that SUSTech really is a place where anybody can pursue their dreams.

Do you have a story about a student on campus succeeding in a non-traditional manner? Send us an email at sustechnewshub@sustc.edu.cn, and we will be in touch to find out more.