Chief Scientist and Engineer, Professor Mary O'Kane, has praised the winners of the 2013 Engineering Excellence Awards Sydney saying their inventiveness and innovation highlight the strength of the industry in New South Wales.
The awards recognised ground-breaking accomplishments across a broad range of engineering fields – from medical devices and software, to infrastructure projects and robotics systems.
More than 450 engineering professionals came together for the celebration, hosted by Engineers Australia, at The Star Event Centre, Sydney, earlier this month.
Professor O'Kane said the Engineering Excellence Awards Sydney underlined the strength of the NSW engineering sector.
"What this year's awards have again highlighted is just how many truly talented engineers we have working on projects here in New South Wales, which have the potential to deliver social, health and environmental benefits not only here but across Australia and around the world," Professor O'Kane said.
"We have again witnessed some wonderful examples of engineering excellence across many disciplines and I extend my congratulations to not only the award recipients but all the nominees across the various categories," she said.
The night's top gong, the Bradfield Award, recognising highest overall achievement, was presented to State Water Corporation and Water for Rivers for their Computer Aided River Management (CARM) Project.
The award acknowledged the sustainable solutions implemented as part of the $65million upgrade of infrastructure and operational processes in the Murrumbidgee River System. CARM also won the Excellence Award for Engineering for Regional Communities.
The prestigious President's Award went to CSIRO and joint entrant Catapult Sports – which have developed revolutionary technology to track elite athletes, overcoming current limitations in GPS-poor environments.
Meanwhile, Cochlear Limited's Senior Vice President of Global Quality - Clinical and Regulatory, Dr Bronwyn Evans, was named Professional Engineer of the Year for the critical role she has played – leading a team of 90 engineers and scientists to ensure the safe and reliable application of Cochlear implants worldwide.
Samuel Green, a graduate student at London Business School who is studying towards a Master of Business Administration (MBA), was named Young Professional Engineer of the Year. As a Structural Engineer at Arup Sydney, Samuel was involved in the design, management, and on-site delivery of some of the city's most prestigious buildings. Samuel supports the engineering profession through his active involvement in Young Engineers Australia Sydney (YEAS); he is the immediate past Vice Chair, and has held YEAS executive positions for three years.
And Matt Barrie, CEO of Freelancer.com, the world's largest online outsourcing marketplace which connects over 7.3 million professionals globally, was named Entrepreneur of the Year.
The other category winners were:
Industry Awards
Control Systems and Communications: Autonomous Robotic Systems for Steel Bridge Maintenance (UTS Sydney and joint entrant, RMS)
Software and Embedded Systems: Tracking Elite Athletes with Clearsky Technology (CSIRO and joint entrant, Catapult Sports)
Products, Manufacturing Facilities and Processes: Tektum Space 2.0 – Bucasia Beach House (TEKTUM Ltd and joint entrant, Arup and Make Good Pty Ltd)
Environment and Heritage: UWS Eucface Project (Steensen Varming Pty Ltd)
Welfare, Health and Safety: UUBED New Hospital Bed (UUBEE Pty Ltd and joint entrant, Lehr Paul and Partners)
Innovations and Inventions: Wideband Multibeam Phased Array Feed Receiver For The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (CSIRO)
Research and Development: Autonomous Robotic Systems for Steel Bridge Maintenance (UTS Sydney and joint entrant, RMS)
Project Awards
Project Management: Beaconsfield Substation Rebuild (TransGrid and joint entrants, UGL Infrastructure and ABB Australia)
Infrastructure Projects: Glenfield Junction Project (Glenfield Junction Alliance)
Buildings and Structures: The Star Casino Redevelopment (TaylorThompson Whitting and joint entrant, Brookfield Multiplex)
Small Business Ventures: Sensor technology: A Smart Way to Manage Incontinence (Simavita Pty Ltd)
Engineering for Regional Communities: Computer Aided River Management (CARM) Project (State Water Corporation and joint entrant, Water for Rivers)
For full details about all the award recipients, click here!
