On a wet October evening, over 220 people turned out at the Clayton Campus to celebrate the annual Faculty of Engineering Alumni Awards. This was the second year that the alumni event was run. The Engineering alumni were able to reconnect with former classmates and establish new friendships and networking opportunities.
The evening started with short speeches by the Dean, Professor Tam Sridhar and the Chair of the Monash Engineering Foundation, Dr Peter Rogers. Both speakers encouraged those present to become involved with their alma mater and contribute to the education of a new generation of Engineering graduates.
Tim Leach, the president of the Monash Engineering Student Society, was the guest speaker and he delivered a rousing speech focussing on what campus life is like today and challenging those present with what it means to be an alumnus.
“When you graduate you have a ready made network at your fingertips that spans an incredible range of industries, organisations and countries…yet sadly we let that lapse. Wouldn’t it be great if we could keep that network alive and buzzing ready to keep that Monash spirit alive?” said Tim.
“And well what exactly is that spirit? Well I think it is best summed up by one of my favourite quotes, a quote from the founder of this very institution, Sir John Monash himself. Sir John said, “Adopt as your fundamental creed that you will equip yourself for life, not solely for your own benefit but for the benefit of the whole community.” And I challenge you this evening ladies and gentlemen, take a look at yourself in the mirror and ask…have you equipped yourself for life…not just for yourself…but for the benefit of the whole community? Because that is the Monash spirit, that is the spirit that I hope has brought you back here this evening.”
The presentation of the Alumni Awards was a highlight of the evening, with those present able to share in the amazing success stories of some of our outstanding alumni. The departmental winners were:
Alumni of the Year Frank Miller (award accepted by son Craig Miller)
Frank Miller was one of the earliest graduates in Engineering from the Clayton Campus. He had an outstanding international career, reaching CEO and Director level positions within Australia and overseas. He is a distinguished leader, has overseen major export programs involving significant capital investment, worked with various levels of government to develop and restructure business, redevelop disused sites and he has taken great pride in creating jobs and the development of people. Although retired, his leadership continues today in his community interest.
Early Career Alumni of the Year Jenny Ho
Jenny has distinguished herself as a researcher who is filled with passion, enthusiasm and excitement for her work. Dr Ho conducted her doctoral dissertation on the topic “Synthesis of Inorganic-Biodegradable Polymer Composite Microspheres for Controlled Delivery of a DNA Prime-Protein Boost Vaccine”, a research which has very immediate and eminent applications for the future use of DNA molecules as human therapeutic vectors. She has been described as innovative, productive and has established enviable academic credentials through the publication of numerous internationally recognised journal papers, conference papers and some honour awards. In 2008 she won the Schlumberger Faculty for the Future Fellowship, a prestigious international award which was presented to role models and talented women in science and engineering. She is currently a Senior Research Fellow in the Dept of Chemical Engineering.
Alumni of the Year Adrian Williams (Award accepted by A/Prof Kodikara)
Dr Williams is a PhD graduate of the Dept of Civil Engineering. His PhD lead to notable work on understanding the mechanics of rock-socketed piles and developing design methods integrated with construction processes. This work was directly used in the extensive foundations of the West Gate Bridge construction. He is an outstanding engineer who has contributed extensively to the field of geomechanics over many years and has achieved a world wide reputation in his specialised field. He was the Chief of CSIRO, Division of Petroleum Resources, then the Chief of CSIRO, Division of Energy Technology before re-establishing and heading Geodynamics, a leading company dealing geothermal energy.
Early Career Alumni of the Year Andrew Somers
Andrew Somers has been described as a truly exceptional graduate. He was the top student in the dept during his Civil Engineering degree and also completed a Bachelor of Commerce, Master of Transport and Master of Traffic degrees. He has been recognised within his employment as “high flyer” with rapid promotion to the position of Acting Manger, Network Operations program within VicRoads. He is very active in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Executive Committee, showing leadership in a number of key portfolios. Andrew has been awarded the VicRoads Divisional Award for “Getting things done” and the Kerry Burke Memorial Award which gave him the opportunity to travel to a number of key institutions around the world to obtain first hand information on developments in congestion management and intelligent transport systems. He has published 8 papers, 6 in refereed Australian conferences and 2 in international conferences.
Dr Ivanovich completed his PhD research at the young age of 22, after being selected as the best engineering student in the entire state of Victoria by the Institute of Engineers Australia. Milosh was also the recipient of the Young Australian of the Year in 2000 for contributions to Science and Technology. He has made significant and substantial contribution to professional and scholarly achievement, evidenced both through his significant contribution to Telstra, where he is currently the Senior Emerging Technology Specialist and through his published works. Milosh has a long and distinguished record of involvement in the community, within Telstra and within the profession. He has had the distinction of being invited to be an Australia Day Ambassador for the past 10 years, including the appointment to a lifetime ambassadorship role since 2007. He has developed very supportive relationships with younger staff members and provides them with inspiration and guidance, not only in their project work, but also in their professional careers.
Dr Cole commenced his PhD studies at Monash nearly 30 years ago and he has achieved a great deal since that time. His contribution to several fields of research has been significant and of particular note are his contributions to the field of corrosion, where he has furthered the fundamental understanding of the processes controlling atmospheric corrosion.This latter work has had important ramification for the building industry throughout Australia and internationally. Ivan has received several awards that testify to the contributions he has made.
Dr Cole is currently the Deputy Chief (Science) within CSIRO’s Division of Materials Science and Engineering. This role has permitted Dr Cole to demonstrate his excellent leadership skills and both mentor and inspire younger researchers within the Division. Under his leadership the Division has grown its science collaborations, improved its science metrics and gained a strong outcome from a recent, detailed Science Review.
Early Career Alumni of the Year Timothy Scott
Dr Scott began his PhD in 1998, focussing on the thermal and photocuring kinetics of vinyl ester resins and the effect of their structure on the thermal properties. This work was ground breaking and added an entirely new dimension to the understanding of these industrially important polymers. He is currently working as a Research Professor as the University of Colorado.
Tim has published extensively (23 international journal papers) and in the top ranking journals, including 2 papers in Science, one in Advanced Materials, 5 in Macromolecules and 2 in Polymer.
Tim’s positive attitude towards his job can be summed up by his oft-repeated phrase “how difficult can it be?”.
Megan recently joined Suzlon Energy Australia as Business Development Manager, Strategy and Policy. Suzlon is the world's fifth largest manufacturer of wind turbines. In Australia, Suzlon’s current commitments will see close to 700 megawatts of clean renewable energy delivered to Australian consumers for a range of utility and investor clients.
Prior to this, Megan spent two years in London as Head of Policy for the UK Business Council for Sustainable Energy (UKBCSE), which brings together the Chief Executives of the major energy companies in the UK to progress the sustainable energy agenda. In this role Megan worked with the energy sector to develop positions in a range of key policy areas, including the delivery of the EU 20% renewable energy target, and working with the Prime Minister’s office on energy efficiency policy.
Before moving to the UK, Megan worked at Sustainability Victoria where she led the development of the Victorian Wind Atlas, and the Government’s black balloons energy saving campaign. She also contributed to the development of a range of key policy initiatives, including the Wind Energy Policy and Planning Guidelines, the Victorian Renewable Energy Target, and the National Framework for Energy Efficiency.
Early Career Alumni of the Year Cameron Devries
Cameron graduated from Monash in May 2007 with first class honours in a bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and a bachelor of Aerospace Engineering. Whilst at Monash he was an active member of the Monash Aerospace Club, being elected to President in his final year. Upon completion of studies he was offered a full time position as a graduate engineer at Aerosonde. This not only involved classical engineering duties, but being involved in the manufacture and ground and flight testing of prototype designs; as well as going out into the field as a normal flight line technician and pilot He was promoted to the position of Lead Systems Engineer and since then has been the lead airframe and systems engineer on all major design projects including a new wing, several iterations on the standard airframe and a total ground-up redesign of the entire aircraft.
Since Cameron left Monash after finishing his undergraduate degree he has enthusiastically participated in activities such as open day, school nights and given a number of presentations, as well as providing input to the recent accreditation of the Mechanical and Aerospace degrees. He has also actively supervised and resourced a number of final year projects, providing an important link to the local aerospace industry.
