Awards

The NCWE recognises and honours outstanding achievement and dedication to the profession through awards such as:

Hall of Fame

The Hall of Fame honours individuals who have made outstanding and lasting contributions to the water engineering profession in Australia. These individuals have shaped the theory and practice of water engineering. The Hall of Fame not only seeks to acknowledge their contributions but also seeks to document their legacy to develop a sense of tradition and appreciation of the history of the profession.

For each individual in the Hall of Fame a brief biography has been prepared identifying major contributions and achievements and providing sources of further information.

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GN Alexander Medal

The GN Alexander Medal for Hydrology and Water Resources was created in 1987 and is dedicated to the memory of Mr Geoffrey Newman Alexander (1908-1975), in recognition of his contribution to Australian hydrology. 
 
The Award takes the form of a bronze inscribed medal(s) and/or certificate(s) which is/are conferred by Engineers Australia on the author(s) of the best paper in hydrology and/or water resources published in an Engineers Australia publication over the period from and including the previous Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium.  Such publications include the Proceedings of the previous Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, Proceedings from any intervening NCWE conferences and the Australian Journal of Water Resources.
 
The Award is presented at each Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium, held approximately at eighteen month intervals.  Responsibility for selecting the recipient rests with the National Committee on Water Engineering. It was first awarded in Canberra in February 1988.

Honour Roll:

  • 2009 - B. Berghout for "Incorporating Drought Management Planning in to the Determination of Yield", published in the Proceedings of the Water Down Under 2008 Conference, Adelaide, 15-17 April 2008.
  • 2008 -  D. Misivnas for "Leak Location in Single Pipelines Using Transient Reflections", Australian Journal of Water Resources, II (I), 53-64, 2007
  • 2006 - M.J. Boyd & N.D. Bodhinayake for "WBNM runoff parameters for South and Eastern Australia", Australian Journal of Water Resources, 10(1), 35-48, 2006
  • 2005 - I.D. Rutherford, A.R. Ladson & M.J. Stewardson for "Evaluating stream rehabilitation projects: Reasons not to, and approaches if you have to", Australian Journal of Water Resources, 8(1), 57-68, 2004.
  • 2003 - Bernadette A. Foley and Trevor Daniell for “Are Traditional Thinking and Decision-Making Techniques Adequate for Developing Sustainable Water Systems?”; and “A Sustainability Tool for Intrasectoral and Intersectoral Water Resources Decision Making”, published in the Proceedings of the 2002 Hydrology and Water Resources Symposium held in Melbourne in 20-23 May 2002.
  • 2002 - Mr A. Rahman, Mr P.E. Weinmann and Prof R.G. Mein for “The Probabilistic Nature of Initial Losses and its Impacts on Design Flood Estimates”
  • 2000 - Prof Ray Volker for “Exact Modelling of Groundwater Flow with Steep Gradients from a Strip Source or Sink”
  • 1998 - Dr George Kuczera for “A Genralised Expected Probability Approach to Design Flood Estimation”
  • 1997 - Dr R.J. Nathan, Dr J.L Crawford, Mr K.A. Austin, Dr L.N.N. Jayasuriya for “The Estimation of Monthly Yield in Ungauged Catchments Using a Lumped Conceptual Model”
  • 1996 - Mr Mark Crees (non IEAust co-authors Dr Keith Smettem & Mr Matthew Orr) for “Evaluation of the Potential of Artificial Soil Covers to Reduce Infiltration”
  • 1994 - Mr W.J.C. Meynink & Dr D.K. Brady for “Incorporating Uncertainty & Risk in Rainfall Basic Flood Estimates”
  • 1991 - Prof I.D. Moore & Mr M.F. Hutchinson for “Spatial Extension of Hydrologic Process Modelling”
  • 1991 - Prof Ray Volker & Dr Wayne Read for “Solutions for Water Table Shape and Seepage Face Location on Long Hillslopes Under Irrigation"
  • 1989 - Dr E.M. O’Loughlin for “Hydrology of Changing Landscapes”
  • 1988 - AssocProf  W.C. Boughton for "Hydrograph Analysis as a Basis for Rainfall-Runoff Modelling”

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Munro Orator

Emeritus Professor Crawford Munro died on 21 September, 1976 at the age of 72. No man had a greater impact on the development of hydrology and water resources in Australia in his time.

Crawford Munro was a Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of New South Wales for 16 years. Crawford Munro also served the Institution with distinction. He was a member of the Stormwater Standards Committee of the Institution which produced the first version of "Australian Rainfall and Runoff", and Chairman of the National Committee on Hydrology for 6 years.

The many symposia organised by these committees owed a lot to Crawford Munro, both for his organisational drive and for his many vigorous and often memorable contributions from the floor of the conference hall. It is therefore fitting that Crawford Munro be remembered at each Hydrology Symposium (held at approximately 18 months intervals) by a Memorial Oration delivered by an eminent speaker in the field of hydrology and water resources.

The lecturer, who is selected by the National Committee on Water Engineering in conjunction with the conference organising committee, is not limited to being an Australian or an engineer but rather a person eminent in the field of water resources in Australia. In recognition, a presentation is made of a gift to the value of $600 and a framed certificate at the conclusion of the Oration.

The Munro Oration is jointly sponsored by the Institution, the Canberra Hydrological Society and the South Australian Hydrology Society. It was first given in l978.

Munro Orators

  • 2009 -  Professor Graeme Dandy
  • 2008 -  Associate Professor Trevor Daniell
  • 2006 -  Mr Erwin Weinmann
  • 2005  - Dr Allan Goyen
  • 2003  - Mr Don Blackmore
  • 2002  - Associate Professor Ian Cordery
  • 2000  - Dr Kenneth J Langford
  • 1999  - Professor Russell Mein
  • 1997  - Professor Tom A McMahon
  • 1996  - Dr Emmett O'Loughlin
  • 1994  - Professor W D Williams
  • 1993  - Mr John A H Brown
  • 1991  - Professor David Pilgrim
  • 1989  - Associate Professor Walter C. Boughton
  • 1988  - Professor John R Burton
  • 1986  - Professor T G Chapman
  • 1985  - Mr D N Body
  • 1983  - Professor E.M. Laurenson
  • 1982  - Professor Sandford D Clark
  • 1980  - Dr John R Philip
  • 1979  - Mr K Lewis
  • 1978  - Professor H R Vallentine
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Henderson Oration

Established as The Hydraulics Oration in 1989, the Award was renamed The Henderson Oration in 1998 in recognition of Professor Frank Henderson's contribution to the knowledge and practice of hydraulic engineering in general but in Australian practice in particular.  Professor Henderson's book "Open Channel Hydraulics" is used as a standard text in almost all engineering schools in Australia and many others throughout the world.

The Award aims to recognise the contribution of the science of hydraulics to the practice of hydrology and water resources engineering in Australia. The address is given at each Hydraulics Conference, held approximately every 3 years. The conference organising committee, in consultation with the National Committee Chairman, proposes one or more candidates to the National Committee at least 12 months before the conference. The National Committee makes the final selection and the Chairman then sends a formal invitation to the selected Orator. The speaker should have made a significant contribution to hydraulics in Australia but need not be either an engineer or an Australian.

The Award is sponsored by the National Committee on Water Engineering and the Orator receives a framed certificate and an appropriate gift to the value of $500, usually presented at the conclusion of the Oration. The inaugural oration was held in Adelaide in 1998 by Dr Martin Lambert, an ex-PhD student of Professor Henderson, on Professor Henderson's behalf.

Honour Roll:

  • 2008 - Professor Enda O'Connell
  • 2004 - Professor Jorg Imberger
  • 2001 - Professor Colin Apelt
  • 1998  - Dr Martin Lambert (on behalf of Professor Henderson)

John Burton Cumec Trophy

Hydrological Games

In May 1975, the 8th Hydrology & Water Resources Symposium was held at the University of New England. As one of the principal organizers of the Symposium, John Burton devised and introduced the inaugural Hydrological Games, and constructed the "Cumec Trophy" to be presented to the winning team. In 2000, shortly after his death, the National Committee on Water Engineering renamed the trophy as the "John Burton Cumec Trophy" to honor the role he played in devising and introducing the Games.

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Student Scholarships

The National Committee on Water Engineering of Engineers Australia has created a Student Scholarship award to encourage young engineers to become members of Engineers Australia and to pursue a career in water engineering. The award includes registration at a NCWE sponsored conference and up to $1000 for travel and accommodation associated with attending the conference. The award also includes a certificate that will be presented during the conference. Up to three Scholarships are offered annually to final year engineering students.

The Scholarships are open to undergraduate students enrolled at an Australian University who are completing their final year of engineering studies in the year of the award, and who:

  • are Australian citizens, or permanent residents of Australia,
  • are specialising in water related subjects, and
  • are student members of Engineers Australia, or have a current application in for student membership.

Honour Roll:

  • 2004 - Katherine Daniell (Adelaide), David King (VUT) & Scott McMillan (UTS)
  • 2005 - Emily Barbour (Newcastle), Leah Strauch (Swinburne) & Sarah Webster (Adelaide)
  • 2006 - Jai Allison (Newcastle), Ashleigh Hackles (QUT) & Sarah Law (Melbourne)
  • 2007 - Matthew Burns (Monash), Bowen Hicks (Newcastle) & Conrad Wasko (UNSW)
  • 2008 - Elizabeth Hickman (Tasmania), James Pirozzi (Western Sydney) & Yafei Zhu (Monash)

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