Dr Trevor Bird

 Principal, Antengenuity & CSIRO Fellow

Trevor Bird gained his PhD from the University of Melbourne in 1977. He worked in the UK and returned to Australia to lecture at James Cook University of North Queensland before joining CSIRO in 1983. Dr Bird has published 300 papers and 7 book chapters – including a chapter in the fourth edition of the Antenna Engineering Handbook, the standard reference on antennas since the 1960s. He holds 12 patents and his projects have earned tens of millions of dollars for CSIRO. He is a Fellow of four learned societies, including an honorary Fellowship of the Institution of Engineers, Australia. Dr Bird has been awarded three CSIRO Medals, an IEEE Third Millennium Medal, a Centenary Medal for service to Australian society in telecommunications, five best paper awards, was named 2003 Professional Engineer of the Year by the Sydney Division of Engineers Australia and recently he was awarded the M.A. Sargeant Medal for 2012. He was made a CSIRO Fellow in 2007 and recently commenced a Post-retirement Fellowship. He is an Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University, Guest Professor of Shanghai Jiao Tong University and President-elect of the IEEE Antennas & Propagation Society.

Presentation topic

From Wireless to Astronomy: lessons from an engineering career

The wireless revolution in progress has produced dramatic changes in our work and social activities. The speaker, Dr Bird, was fortunate to have witnessed first-hand some of the wireless research that caused some of these changes. In the 1980’s and early 1990’s he participated in a project that aimed to achieve the then ten times the current data rate for indoor wireless local area networks. His research in antennas and propagation for WLANs anticipated later research by a CSIRO team that resulted in a patented approach that is now incorporated in most wireless chips in use today.

Earlier Dr Bird was involved in second generation satellite system design. Today the satellite industry doesn’t think twice about computerised design and optimisation of antennas, but the speaker and his team at CSIRO were some of the pioneers in the use of CAD. When Dr Bird commenced work in antenna design for on-board satellites, the industry spent a large amount of time and money on cut-and-try design that included an extensive prototype build and test phase. Now the antennas are fully designed by computer and the main function of the test phase is only to verify the fabricated flight hardware. On the ground too, for the pay TV industry, Dr Bird and his team used computer-based methods for antenna design that led to the first multibeam antenna that transmits to or receives signals from geostationary satellites. This innovation means a single antenna can replace many single dishes: they are now used in major installations in several countries overseas.  Radio astronomy has a record of providing significant downstream benefits in other areas such as communications and signal processing. Conversely, applying multibeam techniques from satellites to radio astronomy, Dr Bird developed a feed system for CSIRO’s Parkes radio telescope, which led to the first sighting of a double pulsar. Observatories such as Jodrell Bank and Arecibo also have multibeam feed systems designed by the speaker.

The most prestigious publication in the antenna research field is the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation. Dr Bird was the first person from outside of the United States to be chosen Editor in Chief of this journal – a position he held for six years.

Dr Bird will recount the stories behind these achievements, along with others, and on how he got into engineering from a farming background in country Victoria and where it took him in a forty year career in engineering. As well as some technical aspects, he will relate the experience of innovation in Australia and the importance of overseas collaboration for success.

Presentation locations and dates

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Sydney
Thursday 24th May 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
Level 3
8 Thomas St, Chatswood

Hobart
Tuesday 5th June 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
Royal Engineers Building
2 Davey St
Hobart

Melbourne
Wednesday 6th June 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineering House
Level 2
21 Bedford St
North Melbourne

Canberra
Tuesday 19th June 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineering House
11 National Circuit
Barton ACT 2600

Wollongong
Tuesday 7th August 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
University of Wollongong
Foyer - University Hall
Building 11
Northfields Avenue, Wollongong

Newcastle
Thursday 9th August 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
122 Parry St
Newcastle West
NSW 2302 

Adelaide
Monday 13th August 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
Level 11
108 King William St
Adelaide

Darwin
Thursday 16th August 2012
5:00pm start
Engineers Australia
14 Shepherd St
Darwin

Brisbane
Monday 8th October 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
Engineering House
447 Upper Edward St
Brisbane

Townsville
Tuesday 9th October 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
James Cook University
Building DA003
Room 002 - Humanities Block

Cairns
Tuesday 9th October 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
James Cook University
Room B1.108
This presentation will be streamed live from Townsville

More Regional locations to be confirmed.

Rear Admiral Rowan Moffitt

Head, Future Submarine Program, Department of Defence

Rear Admiral Rowan Moffitt has been Head of Australia’s Future Submarine Program since February 2009. Born and schooled in Sydney, Admiral Moffitt graduated from the Royal Australian Naval College, Jervis Bay, at the end of 1975.  A surface warfare officer and specialist navigator, he completed a number of sea and shore postings before commissioning the frigate HMAS NEWCASTLE as Commanding Officer in mid-1993.  A tour as the Fleet Operations Officer followed, after which he undertook a year of full time study to achieve a Master of Business Administration.   Command of the destroyer HMAS BRISBANE preceded his promotion to Commodore and posting to Navy Headquarters as Director General Navy Capability Management at the end of 1999.   In mid-2001 he took command of the Australian Defence Force Warfare Centre located on the RAAF Base at Williamtown. Promoted to Rear Admiral in mid-2002, he served as the Deputy Chief of Navy, Maritime Commander Australia and Deputy Chief of Joint Operations before undertaking a study into submarine workforce sustainability in 2008, a period which gave him very useful preparation for his role as Head of the Future Submarine Program.

Presentation topic

FUTURE SUBMARINES - FEW EASY CHOICES

The Government’s intention to double the size of Australia’s submarine force is a bold, game-changing rebalancing of Australia’s military order of battle. There will be few easy choices, especially since we are starting from a submarine capability that is challenged and has been delivering below expectation. 

The Defence White Paper 2009 plan to assemble new submarines in South Australia will be a long, expensive undertaking with significant risk.  For the Future Submarines Program to succeed there needs to be a national determination and willingness to work through the challenges we will inevitably confront.  Scoping the undertaking realistically will be essential, as will setting a clear vision of what we want to achieve and why.  A key part of that will be a clear understanding of what we need from industry and academia – especially in the engineering disciplines.

 

Presentation locations and dates

Newcastle
Wednesday 20th June 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
122 Parry St
Newcastle West
NSW 2302

Adelaide
Tuesday 10th July 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
Level 11
108 King William St
Adelaide

Peel
Wednesday 1st August 2012
5.30pm for 6.00pm start
Jakovich Centre
4 McGrath Road
Henderson WA

Melbourne
Tuesday 4th September 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineering House
Level 2
21 Bedford St
North Melbourne

Sydney
Tuesday 2nd October 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
Level 3
8 Thomas St, Chatswood

Brisbane
Monday 30th October 2012
5:30pm for 6:00pm start
Engineers Australia
Engineering House
447 Upper Edward St
Brisbane