2014 ATSE Clunies Ross Awards announced

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) Clunies Ross Awards Dinner was held this week at the Perth Convention Centre. The event celebrates Australia’s heroes in science and technology - those who have persisted with their ideas, often against the odds, to the point that their innovations have provided broad economic, social or environmental benefits.

Dr John Nutt was awarded for his ongoing contribution to the engineering profession and commitment to the advancement of the industry over the last 50 years. He helped lead and shape engineering consultancy Ove Arup and Partners; specialised in the design and analysis of high-rise buildings; pioneered the use of computers in engineering practice; worked on the design and analysis of the Sydney Opera House roof and helped oversee the construction and completion of the building; and headed a task force that reviewed the Australian Building Regulations for government.

Professor Kevin Galvin FTSE from the University of Newcastle has focused on mineral processing and the development of innovative, cost-saving and effective minerals industry technology. He invented the Reflux Classifier, which achieves the highest volume of minerals recovery of any comparable system worldwide. Currently in use in eight countries, it solves a range of previously intractable problems in coal and minerals processing and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits to the Australian economy.

Dr Ezio Rizzardo, Dr Graeme Moad and Dr San Thang from CSIRO have developed better ways of making polymers and plastics. The technologies they’ve been working on are now used in the creation of new and innovative products across cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, paints and electronic devices. Their work has already contributed significantly to the progression of polymer science in Australia.

Ravi Ravitharan, Peter Mutton and Graham Tew are the leaders behind the Institute of Railway Technology at Monash University. For over 40 years the group has played a significant role in technical innovations in railway engineering worldwide. Their research is offering major benefits to operators of heavy-haul and metro railway systems.

Winthrop Professors Eugene Ivanov and Michael Tobar are the leaders of the Frequency Standards and Metrology Research Group at the University of Western Australia. They invented the world’s lowest-noise oscillators, used to enable modern atomic clocks to keep time with unprecedented accuracy. Their inventions have been purchased for multiple applications, including fundamental research, meteorology, high-tech communications and defence.

ATSE is an independent body of more than 800 Australian scientists and engineers seeking to enhance Australia’s prosperity through technological innovation. Previous winners of the Clunies Ross Awards include Professor Ian Frazer, inventor of the cervical cancer vaccine; Nobel Laureate Dr Barry Marshall, who discovered the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers; and Dr Fiona Wood, the inventor of spray-on skin.