Conference

Climate Smart Engineering 2023

8.30 am — 6.00 pm AEDT, 29 — 30 November 2023
1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf, VIC, 3006
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
A message from CEO Romilly Madew AO FTSE HonFIEAust
Help us to shape CSE23
Romilly Madew AO

Welcome to Engineers Australia’s Climate Smart Engineering Conference, CSE23, our flagship event now in its third year. CSE23 will be held at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre on 29 and 30 November 2023.

Since its foundation in 2021, CSE has become a focal point for debate and knowledge sharing. Last year, CSE22 explored the ways engineers can navigate the complexities of achieving net zero emissions and drive the transition to a clean energy economy.

This year, a full technical program will support the plenary sessions. CSE23 has a Plenary Program Advisory Council, chaired by myself and a Technical Program Advisory Team chaired by Engineers Australia Chief Engineer Jane MacMaster and comprising the input of 19 Engineers Australia colleges and technical societies.

CSE23 will bring you the latest in world-leading views and engaging debate on solutions to address climate change, responding to extreme events, biodiversity loss, boosting the circular economy and upholding the principles of sustainable practices in engineering.

As creative problem solvers and systems thinkers, engineers are at the forefront of the fight against climate change. The profession stewards the delivery of mitigation and adaptation strategies to address the worst impacts of global warming and innovates to deploy new technologies for a clean fuel and energy future.  

We invite you to join us and help us continue this important work with us at CSE23.

Engineers Australia members can also claim up to 15 CPD hours for attending CSE23.

Contact information

If you have any questions about CSE23 or the arrangements, please email the secretariat at [email protected]

 

Our partners
Supporting partners
Charity partners
Proudly supporting
CSE is proud to be partnering with Greenfleet to take climate action and offset our carbon emissions through native reforestation. Since 2021, our partnership has enabled the planting of enough native trees to absorb more than 3300 tonnes of CO2-e.
Themes

Abstracts presented at CSE23 will explore these themes:

 

 

Abstract accepted?

Abstract paper submissions were due by 11.59 PM AEST on Sunday 23 July.

For more information about presentation types, view the submission guidelines and the speaker and author agreement.

Registration

Members can claim up to 15 CPD hours for attending CSE23.

Register now

 

Full conference

Day registration

Standard registration prices

 

 

Member

$1020

$510

Non-member

$1260

$630

Student

$425

$240

Late or onsite registration prices

 

 

Member

$1190

$595

Non-member

$1470

$735

Student

$425

$240

Note that full registration does not include tickets to the Engineers Australia Excellence Awards dinner. To register for the dinner, be sure to select this when you complete the online registration form.

Group discounts

We offer discounted registration for groups. Register online or for more information, contact [email protected]

Attendees Discount
5–9 10%
10–19 15%
20 or more 20%

Inclusions

Full registration includes:

  • In-person participation at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.  
  • Access to all plenaries and conference sessions within the program.
  • Access to the networking reception.
  • Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea each day.

Day registration includes:

  • In-person participation at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.  
  • Morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea on the day you are attending.
  • Access to the networking reception if it is being held on the day you have registered to attend.

Not included:

  • Tickets to the networking function if you haven't registered for the day it is being held. You may purchase a ticket at an additional cost.
  • Tickets to the Engineers Australia Excellence Awards dinner. You may purchase a ticket to the dinner separately or when you register.

If you have any questions about registration, contact [email protected]

 

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      • All registration fees are quoted in and will be charged in Australian dollars.
      • To view the current foreign exchange rates, please visit x-rates.com.
      • Registration fees are inclusive of Goods and Services Tax (GST).
      • Sharing of registrations is not permitted, a separate registration is required for each individual.
      • A student is defined as a holder of a student identification card from an accredited engineering institution.
      • A copy of your student identification card must be supplied at the time of registration. Without this copy, the full registration fee will be charged.
      Terms and conditions

      Listed below are the terms and conditions for this event.

      1. The following refund terms will apply for cancellation of an event registration:
        • Cancellation more than 60 days before the event will incur a AU$50 cancellation fee.
        • Cancellation between 30 and 60 days before will incur a AU$100 cancellation fee.
        • Cancellation within 30 days of the event will not be refunded.
        • Transfer of event registration will be permitted if you notify us with at least five business days’ notice of the event. Any difference in fees will need to be paid if the substitute registrant is not entitled to the same event registration rate. No refunds will be provided for transfers to a lower event fee item.
      2. Engineers Australia reserves the right to alter, amend or cancel any or all of the elements in the event program.
      3. Where a payment has been made, there will be no refund for those who do not attend.
      4. By attending, or registering to attend an event, you agree to Engineers Australia's Terms and ConditionsPrivacy Policy and Terms of Access.
      Speakers

      CSE23 has an exciting line-up of expert speakers from across the profession, government and industry.

      Master of ceremonies

      Headshot of Arron Wood AM
      Arron Wood AM
      Sustainable business expert and former Deputy Lord Mayor, City of Melbourne

      Arron Wood is a sustainable business expert and former Deputy Lord Mayor for the City of Melbourne, and is a News Ltd Telstra Micro Business Award winner.

      At the pulse of what makes Melbourne an incredible city, Arron is Chair of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute and currently serves on the South East Water Board, and previously Chaired the Melbourne Ecocity World Summit Advisory Board and was a member of the Fisherman’s Bend Ministerial Advisory Committee.

      In 2020 Arron was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to local government, to the environment and to the community of Melbourne.

      Plenary speakers

      Headshot of Simone Costello
      Simone Costello
      Graduate Process Engineer (Water), Arup

      Simone joined Arup in February 2022 as a Graduate Process Engineer in the water team after graduating from the University of Melbourne with a Master of Chemical Engineering.

      Her interests in water and sustainability led her to an industry project at Melbourne Water, and then onto Arup where she has since been involved in various projects in water and wastewater treatment, and increasing investigating water for hydrogen production. She brings curiosity and a drive to solve engineering challenges, especially through collaboration.

      Headshot of Dr Alan Finkel AC
      Dr Alan Finkel AC
      Former Chief Scientist of Australia, Chair of Stile Education, Adviser to government and companies on clean energy technologies

      Dr Alan Finkel AC is a neuroscientist, engineer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Career highlights include 23 years running US company Axon Instruments and eight years as Chancellor of Monash University. Alan was Australia’s Chief Scientist from 2016 to 2020, during which time he led the National Electricity Market Review, the development of the National Hydrogen Strategy and the panel that advised the Australian Government on the Low Emissions Technology Roadmap.

      As Special Adviser to the Australian Government on Low Emissions Technologies in 2021 and 2022, he brokered bilateral low emissions technology partnerships between Australia and each of seven key countries and chaired the Australian Government-hosted Sydney Energy Forum.

      He is currently Chair of Stile Education and a corporate adviser on climate change technologies. His book, Powering up: unleashing the clean energy supply chain, was published in June.

      Headshot of Peter Halliday
      Peter Halliday
      CEO, Siemens Australia and New Zealand

      Peter Halliday is the CEO of Siemens Australia and New Zealand. In a career spanning 25 years at Siemens, Peter has held senior roles in Australia, Asia, and Europe. Prior to relocating back to his home country of Australia, Peter was the global head of Siemens’ Building Performance and Sustainability and involved in some of the world’s most important building infrastructure projects.

      Peter joined Siemens Australia as CEO in 2022, a milestone 150th anniversary year for Siemens in the region and he is passionate about the role that technology with purpose and sustainability will play in Australia’s next 150 years. 

      Headshot of Ruby Heard
      Ruby Heard CPEng
      Director, Alinga Energy Consulting

      Ruby Heard is a versatile and ambitious entrepreneur and electrical engineer with global experience and an affinity for sustainability. She began her career with Arup designing electrical and lighting systems for iconic buildings in Melbourne. In 2015 she transferred to San Francisco to follow her passion into the renewable energy sector, designing complex solar arrays and microgrids for Google campuses.

      In 2018 Ruby volunteered with Engineers Without Borders on a six-month expedition to support the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees energy team in Ethiopia. On her return to Australia Ruby founded Alinga Energy Consulting. Alinga is a socially conscious engineering consultancy that provides specialist energy services to the commercial, government and NGO sectors within Australia and internationally. Her company has a particular focus on areas where energy accessibility and affordability issues prevent or limit the availability of reliable power.

      With indigenous heritage originating from the Jaru people of the Kimberley, Ruby is especially driven to find solutions for Indigenous communities. In 2019 Ruby was recognised by Engineers Australia in their 100 Engineers Making a Difference list and was awarded Young Professional Engineer of the Year in Victoria.

      Headshot of Eytan Lenko
      Eytan Lenko
      Chief Executive Officer, Boundless Earth

      Eytan Lenko is the CEO of Boundless Earth (Boundless), a non-profit backed by Mike Cannon-Brookes, with the mission of ensuring that Australia is on-track to becoming a renewable energy superpower by 2030. Boundless levers philanthropy, investment and advocacy to accelerate progress on a strategic topic at a time. Boundless has already pushed forward on electric vehicles, home electrification and climate jobs.

      Eytan has an entrepreneurial tech and software engineering background. Eytan co-founded Outware Mobile and grew it to become the recognised Australian leader in mobile software development when it was acquired in 2017.

      Eytan is currently Deputy-Chair of the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network and former Chair of the internationally-recognised climate solutions think-tank Beyond Zero Emissions. Eytan is also a direct investor and advisor to a number of ambitious cleantech companies.

      Headshot of Amy Lezala Zahr FIEAust EngExec
      Amy Lezala Zahr FIEAust EngExec
      Chief Engineer – Rail, Department of Transport and Planning

      Amy has spent her career in rail and has worked in maintenance, design and delivery. She started out in materials and fire engineering, then worked in RAMS and through life engineering. Amy has been in engineering governance for more than five years, bringing together her learned experiences.

      Across her career, Amy has focussed on a ‘whole of life, whole of system’ view. She has a passion for sustainability and finding the balance for people, planet and profit.

      Headshot of Dr Larry Marshall
      Dr Larry Marshall
      Former CEO of CSIRO

      Dr Larry Marshall is Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AMCHAM) Board, sits on the Australian Government’s Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group and is a member of the Council of the Australia National University. He was Chief Executive of CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, from January 2015 to June 2023. CSIRO solves the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology, playing a pivotal role in Australia’s response to challenges including catastrophic flooding and bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

      Larry is a scientist, technology innovator, published author and business leader with a wealth of experience in creating new value and impact with science. He has a PhD in Physics and has been honoured as a Federation Fellow, an AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Fellow, and an ATSE (Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering) Fellow and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).

      He has led six companies in biotechnology, telecommunications, semiconductors and venture capital. He has 100 publications and conference papers, holds 20 patents and has served on 20 boards of high-tech companies operating in the US, Australia and China.

      He is the author of the 2023 book, Invention to Innovation: How Scientists Can Drive Our Economy, which charts a course for Australia to gain more economic benefit from its world-class research. He is a passionate supporter of Australian innovation, and the power of science and technology to drive Australia’s economic recovery and resilience to future challenges.

      Headshot of Lisa McLean
      Lisa McLean
      Chief Executive Officer, Circular Australia

      Lisa is a circular economy and zero-carbon business transformation leader. She has been successfully advising industry and governments in developing new policy frameworks and regulations that bring about market change to enable the circular zero-carbon economy over the past 14 years.

      This work has covered the energy, water, waste and mobility sectors in the UK and Australia. Lisa established and led the Open Cities Alliance, a peak industry association with unique membership from government to private sector and research organisations. Open Cities advocates for the circular economy, prosumer rights and new local utility and mobility precinct approaches.

      In Australia, Lisa initiated and established the Australian Solar Thermal Association (AUSTELA), advised electric mobility providers, and worked with Flow Systems from a start-up sustainable water utility to its major role in shaping a new sustainable water and now multi-utility market.

      Starting her career as a political journalist working in the national press gallery, Lisa moved to advising ministers and premiers on education and climate policy, before heading to the UK to help establish the Clinton Climate Initiative.

      Headshot of Dr Damian Oliver
      Dr Damian Oliver
      Assistant Secretary, Workforce Futures Branch, Jobs and Skills Australia, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

      Damian Oliver is Assistant Secretary (Workforce Futures) at Jobs and Skills Australia. His team examines the current and future supply and demand for labour and skills across Australia to identify options for resolving workforce challenges, through innovative data techniques and extensive collaboration with stakeholders. Most recently he has led the JSA Clean Energy Workforce Capacity Study. He has worked on skills and labour market issues in research and policy roles for twenty years.

      Headshot of Kane Thornton in blue suit
      Kane Thornton
      Chief Executive, Clean Energy Council

      Kane Thornton is Chief Executive of the Clean Energy Council, the peak body for the renewable energy and energy storage industry in Australia.

      Kane has almost 20 years experience in energy policy and leadership in the development of the renewable energy industry. He has been at the forefront of the development of the clean energy sector into a global clean energy superpower, influencing and driving the politics, policies and initiatives that have been critical to the industry's growth.

      Kane has broad management and leadership experience having previously worked for IBM, Hydro Tasmania and DFAT based in Japan. He has held a range of advisory and board roles with government and non-government organisations in the climate change and energy sector including as the Chair of leading national community organisation Renew and the Deputy Chair of Sustainability Victoria.

      Kane is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has a Masters in Social Science and Bachelor of Information Technology. He grew up in regional Victoria, is an enthusiastic road cyclist and father of two teenagers.

      Headshot of Professor John Thwaites AM
      Professor John Thwaites AM
      Chair, Monash Sustainable Development Institute and Chair, Climateworks Centre

      John Thwaites is a Professorial Fellow, Monash University, Chair of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Chair of the Climateworks Centre and Chair of The McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership.

      John is Chair of the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group to the Australian Minister for Environment, the Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP. He is a Co-Chair of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations to provide expert advice and support to the development and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. He is also the Chair of the SDSN Association, which operates the SDSN network around the world.

      John was appointed Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the environment and to the people and Parliament of Victoria in the 2021 Australia Day Honours.

      John was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1999 until his retirement in 2007. During this period, he held various Ministerial portfolios including Minister of Health, Minister of Environment and was Victoria’s first Minister for Climate Change. In these portfolios he was responsible for major reforms in social policy, health, environment and water. Prior to being elected to Parliament, he was a barrister and Mayor of South Melbourne.

      He has degrees in Law (Honours) and Science from Monash University. He is a Fellow Australian Institute of Company Directors.

      Dr Margie Warrell
      Dr Margie Warrell
      Best-selling author of Stop Playing Safe

      Dr Margie Warrell is a bestselling author, leadership advisor and global authority on courageous leadership. Margie has walked the path of ‘courage over comfort’ many times since her childhood growing up in rural Victoria. A Senior Partner in the leadership advisory practice at Korn Ferry, Margie has lived and worked around the world and draws on her diverse background in business, psychology and coaching to help leaders navigate the complex challenges and risks in todays increasingly uncertain and volatile world. The titles of Margie’s Live Brave podcast and bestselling books – such as Stop Playing Safe, Find Your Courage and You’ve Got This! – speak to her passion for people to think bigger and lead braver lives.

      A Women’s Economic Forum honouree, Margie sits on the board of Forbes School of Business and Technology. Her doctoral dissertation in women’s leadership informs her work advancing women to leadership roles. Currently living in Washington D.C., Margie is married to an engineer who also hails from Victoria.

      Headshot of Zoe Whitton
      Zoe Whitton
      Managing Director and Head of Impact, Pollination

      Zoe Whitton is Head of Impact at Pollination Group, a specialist climate change investment and advisory firm. Zoe assists companies and investors to navigate the impacts of climate change and to build new businesses and products which are transition aligned.

      She previously led the award-winning APAC ESG Research team at Citi, advising institutional investors globally on climate change and sustainable development. Earlier in her career Zoe covered ESG and climate change at Credit Suisse and at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and served as a youth delegate to the UNFCCC. She serves on the boards of the Investor Group on Climate Change and the Centre for Policy Development, and on the Steering Committee of the Australian Climate Governance Initiative. She is also member of the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute’s Technical Advisory Group, and the Sydney Environment Institute’s Advisory Group.

      Zoe has won numerous awards for her research and work on climate finance and risk, and regularly contributes to the wider conversation on sustainable finance by commentating in the Australian and international press along with various publications.

      Headshot of Paul Williams
      Paul Williams
      Managing Director of Mining and Energy, WSP 

      Paul Williams leads the Mining and Energy business for WSP. As a business, WSP sees the importance of collaboration across mining and energy sectors to drive innovation and shared learnings on the path to decarbonisation. 

      Paul has more than 25 years’ experience working across Australia, Asia, America and Europe in business design, change management, large project implementation and review and asset acquisition.

      Paul has worked with clients, stakeholders and communities to enhance the world’s infrastructure across developing and growing cities, improving the resiliency of our communities and decarbonising the economy.

      Paul champions WSP’s Inclusion and Diversity committee and is passionate about bringing change to gender gaps in the workplace and supporting more women into leadership roles. 
       

      Headshot of Nick Fleming
      Dr Nick Fleming FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      National President and Board Chair, Engineers Australia

      Nick is an experienced non-executive director. In addition to Engineers Australia, he is member of the board of South Gippsland Water and an advisory board member with Infrastructure CoLab. He is managing director of advisory firm, Innergise Pty Ltd, and a faculty member with the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. He is an active thought leader, speaker and author, recognised for his expertise in strategy, innovation and complex problem solving. 

      His 30-year professional career spans the infrastructure, natural resources, water, mining, energy, defence, social welfare and education sectors in Australia, NZ, the Americas, Asia and the UK. Prior to establishing his own advisory firm, Nick was the Director of Business Innovation at Jacobs Group (Australia). He previously held global roles at SKM including Chief Sustainability Officer and Technology and Innovation Manager, also sitting on Board committees leading strategy and corporate social responsibility.

      Headshot of Romilly Madew
      Romilly Madew AO FTSE HonFIEAust EngExec
      Chief Executive Officer, Engineers Australia

      Prior to joining Engineers Australia, Romilly was CEO of Infrastructure Australia overseeing the organisation's critical role in helping governments prioritise projects and reforms that best serve our communities. She served as CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia for 13 years. In acknowledgment of her contribution to Australia’s sustainable building movement, Romily was awarded an Order of Australia in 2019. 

      She is currently a Member of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering Infrastructure Forum, Member of Placemaking NSW Advisory Committee, Director of Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Independent Chair of the Currawong State Park Advisory Board (NSW), Federal Government appointee on the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group and G20 EMPOWER – Empowerment and Progression of Women's Economic Representation, Member of the National Women in Transport CEO Advisory Group, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers Enabling Better Infrastructure Steering Group (UK) and Director of Minerva Network (supporting Australia’s elite sportswomen). 

      Headshot of Jane MacMaster
      Jane MacMaster FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Chief Engineer, Engineers Australia

      Jane MacMaster has worked as an aerospace, mechanical and systems engineer in Australia and internationally, focusing primarily on supersonic flight vehicle design, operations research and rapid prototyping in the defence sector. She has qualifications in Engineering (Mechanical) and postgraduate qualifications in International Relations.  

      Jane has previously worked as a senior advisor within the strategy unit of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and as a management consultant in the financial services sector. Most recently she was Founder and Director of Ponder Enterprises, where she used her engineering skillset to address complex societal challenges. Jane also developed a conceptual model and practical techniques for complex problem solving which she taught at universities and to staff from Commonwealth and state and territory government departments.  

       

      Technical speakers

      Headshot of Shaw Abrey
      Shaw Abrey
      Senior Civil/Environmental Engineer and Ecologist, McGregor Coxall

      Shaw is a Senior Water Engineer and Ecologist with a strong passion for Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), sustainable water management, waterway health, and urban channel naturalisation. Driven by the premise that the natural world is our greatest asset, Shaw uses his skillsets to combat pressing issues around water management and biodiversity, championing research-led and alternative solutions that push the boundaries of traditional engineering.

      Shaw has a comprehensive understanding of urban hydrology, which formed the basis of his university thesis study comparing urban peak flows from the Rational Method with a linear reservoir model (ARR19). He is currently leading the Australia-India Water Security Initiative (AIWASI), a project with the core objective of transitioning disadvantaged communities toward water-sensitive states.

      Headshot of Ahmed Al Kindi
      Ahmed Al Kindi
      Control Systems Engineer, GPA Engineering

      Ahmed Al Kindi is a driven and enthusiastic professional with a contagious passion for industrial automation and control engineering. He obtained a Mechatronics Engineering degree from the University of Adelaide and has since built a solid foundation in PLC, HMI and SCADA design.

      Always seeking to expand his knowledge and skill set, Ahmed proactively integrates control systems with IIOT and IT technologies to remain at the forefront of the industry. Currently serving as a Control Systems Engineer at GPA Engineering, a top-tier consultancy based in South Australia, Ahmed is committed to delivering exceptional results and driving innovation in his field.

      Headshot of Maisara Al Rais
      Maisara Al Rais
      Digital Engineering Lead, WSP

      Maisara is a Digital Engineering Lead with extensive hands-on experience in digital engineering and construction management for multi-discipline projects from pre-investment to handover and O&M stages. Maisara successfully delivered several 4D,5D/ and 7D BIM projects with clients and contractors, supporting the digital transformation in many organisations and projects, with practical knowledge of the related standards – ISO 19650, ISO 19115 and ISO 16739. Maisara has a long experience using data analytics to support data-driven decisions in project management and connecting the asset data with the designed models.

      Maisara is completing a Master of Data Science at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and has a Master of Construction Management from the UNSW, Postgraduate Diploma in Construction Project Management from the UNSW, Bachelor of Architecture from the Alexandria University, Graduate Diploma of Project Management from the American University in Cairo, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Project Management. 

      Headshot of Jason Amiri MIEAust CPEng
      Jason Amiri MIEAust CPEng
      Senior Engineering Manager, Nacap

      Jason Amiri has around 25 years of experience working for renowned global companies as a mechanical, pipeline and facilities engineering and construction projects specialist. He has extensive expertise in renewable energy and the application of green hydrogen, having developed and implemented sustainable energy solutions over the years.

      With a thorough understanding of the latest technology and trends in this rapidly evolving industry and strong leadership skills, Jason is well-positioned to provide valuable advice in the green hydrogen sector. His guidance will contribute to the advancement of a more sustainable energy future.

      Headshot of Ahmad Amiruddin
      Ahmad Amiruddin
      PhD Candidate, Monash University

      Ahmad is a PhD student in Resources Engineering at Monash University. He has a Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Systems from the University of Edinburgh, UK and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Hasanuddin University, Indonesia.

      Ahmad has been working in the Directorate General of Electricity, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Indonesia since 2009-now. He has worked for several companies including Siemens (2007-2009), Schneider Electric (2007) and LG Philips Indonesia (2004-2007).

      His PhD study is funded by Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP). His research interest is energy storage and the integration of renewable energy in Indonesia.

      Headshot of Henry Andresen
      Henry Andresen
      Sustainability Engineer, Stantec

      Henry is a Sustainability Engineer/Consultant who is driven to provide effective and realistic climate focused solutions across all aspects of a project. Henry advises on environmentally sustainable design (ESD) decisions for a wide array of building projects and has experience in delivering on building compliance with NCC Section J, Green Star Buildings, Communities, Design and As-Built and Interiors ratings, Life Cycle Assessments and Climate Change Risk Assessments and Adaptation Plans. Henry has ESD consultancy experience across multiple sectors of the industry, including residential, commercial office, hospitals, student accommodation and education facilities.

      Henry joined the Sydney Sustainability Team at Stantec in 2021 and has completed his Bachelor of Environmental Engineering with honours in 2022.

      Headshot of Mehrdad Arashpour FIEAust
      Mehrdad Arashpour FIEAust
      Associate Professor, Monash University

      Associate Professor Mehrdad Arashpour is an internationally recognised researcher and educator in the field of construction and civil infrastructure with a focus on automation and information technologies. His research explores generation of building and infrastructure digital twins; infrastructure computer vision and pattern recognition; intelligent automation of design and construction tasks; and integration of project information into visualisation and mixed reality models. He is one of 13 worldwide members of the Working Commission on Off-site Construction (W121) and Infrastructure Task Group (TG91), established by the International Council for Building (CIB).

      Headshot of Dr Gill Armstrong
      Dr Gill Armstrong
      Senior Project Manager, Climateworks Centre, Monash University

      Gill works in Climateworks’ Cities team, leading research and policy projects to decarbonise Australia’s buildings sector, including residential and non-residential, new and existing builds. Her background spans more than 10 years’ experience as a registered architect (UK) and Chartered Architectural Technologist. Gill’s PhD focused on conversion and regulation of vacant office buildings in Australian CBDs.

      Gill is collaborating with researchers at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to produce a Sustainable Temporary Adaptive Reuse (STAR) toolkit in a project funded by a City of Sydney Knowledge Exchange Grant (2022-2024). She is co-editor and contributor to the research publication, Resilient Building Retrofits (2022).

      Headshot of Associate Professor Wahidul Biswas
      Associate Professor Wahidul Biswas
      Deputy Director of the Sustainable Engineering Group, Curtin University

      Associate Professor Wahidul Biswas is the Deputy Director of Sustainable Engineering Group, Curtin University and a Co-Leader of Research Program 3 of HILT CRC (Heavy Industries Low Emission Technologies, Cooperative Research Centres, Australia). Wahidul was trained as a mechanical engineer, researching the performance of diesel engine using biogas fuel. He has gradually diversified his research to engineering for sustainable development, an interdisciplinary field. He has a Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a PhD in Sustainable Futures from the University of Technology, Sydney.

      Wahidul teaches and coordinates a core undergraduate Engineering unit, Engineering for Sustainable Development at Curtin University. He has so far carried out extensive life cycle assessment, climate change and sustainability related research on Australian agricultural, alternative fuels, building and construction, manufacturing, mining and water sectors for the Department of Climate Change, the Grains Research and Development Commission and Department of Agriculture and Food, Wester Australia, University of Western Australia, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Meat and Livestock Australia, Worley Parsons and Water Corporation, Enterprise Connect and Recom Engineering, Cedar Woods, Earth Care, and Department of State Development, Cockburn Cement Ltd, Waste Authority WA and Woodside Energy Group Ltd.

      Headshot of Edward Bond MIEAust NER
      Edward Bond MIEAust NER
      Principal, Robert Bird Group

      Ed is a structural engineer working out of the Melbourne office who brings a holistic design philosophy to his projects. Following successful delivery across global centres such as Melbourne, London and Dubai he has developed a well-rounded approach to engineering. His career spanning 20 years has given Ed the confidence to tackle projects covering a diverse sector spectrum. This experience varies in scale from intricate heritage refurbishments up to multi-billion mixed-use precincts.

      As an advocate of sustainable design, his wide knowledge base allows Ed to identify where the most appropriate low carbon intervention can be made. Ed’s a supporter of introducing material optimisation principles from a project’s inception and sees value in tracking embodied carbon throughout the design journey.

      Headshot of Dr Peter Brady MIEAust CPEng NER
      Dr Peter Brady MIEAust CPEng NER
      Principal Application Engineer, MathWorks

      Dr Peter Brady is a Principal Application Engineer at MathWorks where he leverages maths to accelerate his customer’s projects. He works across the engineering spectrum with a focus on maths, statistics, optimisation, machine and deep learning as well as cloud scale out. Prior to joining MathWorks Peter worked for several civil and defence contractors delivering projects in surface water, hydraulics and hydrology as well as fluid dynamics and submarine cavitation inception. His prior research work includes free surface hydraulic simulation, thermodynamics and nanofluidics.

      Peter has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelors in Civil Engineering both from UTS and is a Chartered Practicing Engineer in the fields of Mechanical Engineering and Leadership and Management as well as a Certified Professional with the Australian Computer Society. He is the immediate past Chair of Sydney Division Water Engineering Panel and has chaired a number of Engineers Australia conferences.

      Headshot of Nigel Burdon MIEAust CPEng NER
      Nigel Burdon MIEAust CPEng NER
      Technical Director – Building Structures, AECOM

      Nigel's career covers a diverse range of structural engineering roles giving him a broad range of expertise in complex and technically challenging projects. His work has encompassed complex long-span steel design, offshore engineering and complex architecturally driven building projects in the transport, sports and leisure, commercial public, and education sectors. 

      Nigel’s timber experience includes a variety of non-standard timber projects including the two-storey curved plywood structure for the Factory of the Future at Swinburne University which was a recipient of a National Timber Award and the 5 GreenStar Melton Library.

      Headshot of Sally Busch
      Sally Busch
      Climate Resilience Engineer, Ausgrid

      Sally is Ausgrid’s Climate Resilience Engineer and is leading Ausgrid’s Climate Resilience Network and Non-Network Solution development program. They have a background in Asset Management and have extensive experience in developing new engineering processes and asset modelling methodologies for complex assets.

      Headshot of Yale Carden
      Yale Carden
      Founder and Managing Director, GeoExchange Australia

      Yale is the Founder and Managing Director of GeoExchange Australia and an Honorary Fellow with the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC), University of Wollongong. He has more than 25 years of experience in the sustainability sector, the majority of which have been specifically in renewable thermal energy and heat pump systems. His commercial and academic work has him advising the public and private sector across the Asia Pacific.

      Headshot of Thomas Cernev
      Thomas Cernev
      Research Affiliate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge

      Tom Cernev is an engineer at Shoal Group in Adelaide with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Theoretical Physics from the University of Adelaide and a Master’s in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge.

      Tom is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, the South Australian Chair of the Sustainable Engineering Society for Engineers Australia, and a contributing paper author for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

      Headshot of Stuart Cassie FIEAust CPEng EngExec
      Stuart Cassie FIEAust CPEng EngExec
      Director, Tracey, Brunstrom & Hammond

      Stuart has more than 20 years' leadership experience in complex infrastructure assets, holding senior global operational roles in Tier 1 engineering and professional services organisations and a government utility. He has acted as a consultant providing delivery and advisory services to assist large, complex infrastructure owners and developers evaluate, manage and deliver major capital projects and portfolios of sustaining capital projects for ongoing operations.

      Stuart has been an advisor to executives across sectors and jurisdictions including government infrastructure, energy and resources, oil and gas, and utilities in Australia, Europe, Africa, Middle East and North America.

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      Amanda Chancellor
      ResMed

      Amanda leads Product Sustainability at ResMed, where they are focused on improving the environmental sustainability of all ResMed's products and packaging across their life cycle. Amanda has a Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney and a Diploma of Languages (Spanish). She has worked at ResMed for five years in roles covering both sustainability and product development.

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      Renny Chivunga
      Senior Engineer - Water, Aurecon

      Renny Chivunga is an engineer, pilot, model, sailor and board member. Her experience includes research, planning, treatment, operations and circular economy. She sits on the Advisory board for the University of Newcastle Chemical Engineering Department.

      Renny was a finalist for the Women in Industry Mentor of the Year Award and is Australian Water Association NSW Mentor of The Year. She appears on a few achievers making a difference list. She can be spotted in “The Great Gatsby” and both the ABC and City of Newcastle have told her story. She also tutors engineering complexity to students in Newcastle and Singapore.

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      Dr Fangjie (Sam) Chen
      Materials Regional Research Leader, Arup

      Dr Fangjie Chen has extensive expertise in concrete sustainability and durability. He has developed innovative and sustainable solutions to decarbonise concrete for major infrastructure projects across Australasia region.

      His hands-on experience in material design, testing, characterisation and production also allows him to utilise innovative recycled and waste materials to improve concrete structure performance in service, which provides valuable new and unique sustainability outcomes for major engineering programs.

      Headshot of Chris Coath MIEAust CPEng NER
      Chris Coath MIEAust CPEng NER
      Senior Principal Transport Planner | Practice Leader - Parking Strategy and Implementation, Stantec Australia

      Chris is the Practice Leader - Parking Strategy and Implementation, Australia at Stantec. He works daily in developing best practice car parking strategies for cities and activity centres across Australia. His work ensures competing activity centre demands of all modes are balanced to achieve resource efficiency, urban design, place making and economic prosperity objectives. More broadly, his skills encompass all major transport planning and traffic engineering areas. He is a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Engineers Australia.

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      Matt Colton FIEAust
      Trustee, Institution of Civil Engineers and Director, MCE

      Matt is a Chartered Civil Engineer, Fellow of Engineers Australia and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). He is a Trustee of ICE and a member of ICE’s Council representing Asia Pacific members. 

      Matt is a Director of Management • Commercial • Engineering (MCE), a leading Australian linear infrastructure advisory business based in NSW, VIC and QLD.  MCE’s team comprise of industry leading delivery directors, program managers, engineering and design managers, systems and safety assurance, schedulers and planners, safety professionals and risk specialists promoting delivering sustainable linear infrastructure for transportation, water, utilities, and energy industries across Australia. 

      Matt is presenting the recently updated PAS2080 highlights on behalf of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

      Headshot of Melanie Collett FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Melanie Collett FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Director of Technical Excellence, Australia and New Zealand, AECOM

      Melanie is the Director of Technical Excellence for the Australia and New Zealand region of AECOM. In this role, she is responsible for the implementation of Technical Excellence across all business lines in the region. By focusing on the teams delivering technical solutions, Melanie provides the leadership required to make technical excellence a priority. Her leadership is instrumental in developing a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence at AECOM.

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      Damian Connelly
      METS Engineering Group

      Damian is a consulting engineer with extensive experience in the gold, copper, lead, zinc, uranium and iron ore industries with particular emphasis on gold. Experience has been gained in plant operations feasibility studies, detailed design, construction and commissioning, and all unit operations. He is an internationally recognised specialist in mineral processing having worked in North and South America, South East Asia, Africa and Europe.

      Damian has spent the last 30-plus years working as a consultant metallurgist for mining, banking and engineering companies has provided a broad range of experience. Damian is a Registered Expert Witness and has been engaged on many cases.

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      Simone Costello
      Graduate Process Engineer (Water), Arup

      Simone joined Arup in February 2022 as a Graduate Process Engineer in the water team after graduating from the University of Melbourne with a Master of Chemical Engineering.

      Her interests in water and sustainability led her to an industry project at Melbourne Water, and then onto Arup where she has since been involved in various projects in water and wastewater treatment, and increasing investigating water for hydrogen production. She brings curiosity and a drive to solve engineering challenges, especially through collaboration.

      Headshot of Jonathan Couldrick FIEAust CPEng NER
      Jonathan Couldrick FIEAust CPEng NER
      Associate Professor, Australian National University

      Honorary Associate Professor within the College of Engineering, Computing and Cybernietics looking at common areas of needs to align defence, industry and academia to solve Australia’s future needs. Jonathan sits on the Joint Board for Aerospace Engineering that manages the collaborative strategy between Engineers Australia and the Royal Aeronautical Society (Australian Division).

      His day job is as AIR MSP Portfolio Manager for Nova Systems Australia leading a high performance team of 150 members working primarily in defence. As the Project Director, Jonathan is responsible for developing and executing the program strategy for effective opportunity generation, project management and delivery of services and products. The program is a portfolio of projects that covers numerous platforms across Australian Defence in the fixed wing domain. The projects combine technical skills with an in-depth understanding of what is required to deliver and sustain capability.

      Headshot of Jared Crossley MIEAust CPEng NER
      Jared Crossley MIEAust CPEng NER
      Senior Civil Engineer, AECOM

      Jared Crossley is a Civil Engineer at AECOM in Sydney with a strong background in urban road design and multi-disciplinary projects in and around the road environment. Jared grew up, studied, and began his career with AECOM in Durban, South Africa, before spending time abroad in the United Kingdom and now in Australia.

      Jared is AECOM’s Design Manager on the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Evacuation Road Resilience Program and is inspired by the unique sustainability focus of the Program, which is on improving the running of the road network in an evacuation event as opposed to day-to-day.

      Headshot of Miles Dacre CPEng
      Miles Dacre CPEng
      Advanced Materials Segment Leader, AECOM

      Miles has more than 35 years of experience in the concrete deterioration, durability design and asset management and remediation industry. His expertise also includes specialising in concrete repair techniques and site implementation practices.

      He has been assisting clients with the assessment, analysis and development maintenance programs across a large portfolio of assets. He has been involved in the field of asset deterioration since 1986, particularly the assessment of structures, how they deteriorate, their future performance and assisting asset owners to define repair and rehabilitation strategies and manage the risks to their operations.

      Headshot of Stacey Daniel FIEAust CPEng NER
      Stacey Daniel FIEAust CPEng NER
      Director, Board Presence

      Stacey is an experienced Non-Executive Director, Board Consultant and Chartered Professional Engineer. She is the founder of Board Presence, author of Fly to the Boardroom: Your Essential Guide to Getting on a Board and was recognised as one of the Australia’s Innovative Engineers in 2020.

      Stacey is as an entrepreneur, educator and engineer who develops, reviews and advises on sustainable solutions and strategies for public, private and not-for-profit organisations. She also facilitates and delivers programs to build professional capability, improve performance and support those; aspiring to, sitting on and working with, boards and committees.

      Stacey is passionate about professional practice, effective decision making and positive outcomes for regeneration.

      Headshot of Parth Dave MIEAust CPEng NER
      Parth Dave MIEAust CPEng NER
      Manager – Power Solutions, Engineering and Asset Management, KPMG

      Parth is a Manager in the Engineering team at KPMG. He is a Chartered engineer (Mechanical and Electrical) that has broad experience within the power and energy sector. His diverse experience spans from project development of utility scale renewables, network studies and the design of overhead transmission lines.

      He has worked on projects across Australia from commissioning power stations in the Pilbara, developing utility scale BESS projects to designing transmission lines to connect large scale renewables across Australia in the National Electricity Market (NEM), South West Interconnected System (SWIS) and North West Interconnected System (NWIS).

      Headshot of Graham Davies FIEAust CPEng
      Graham Davies FIEAust CPEng
      Associate Principal and Energy Lead SA, Arup

      Graham has global experience in energy (renewables, thermal, storage, hydrogen), resources and manufacturing from concept through to commissioning, and operations. He has a keen focus on innovation and has three commercialised patents.

      Graham has had extensive involvement with Engineers Australia including SA President, National Chair of the Sustainable Engineering Society and member of the Energy Advisory Panel. He was also a key author of Engineers Australia's climate and sustainability policies and also Implementing Sustainability Principles and Practice (ISP&P) guidelines. He has published and presented on issues of sustainability, energy, technology and economics.

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      Adam Davis
      ANZ Technical Practice Lead - Sustainability and Resilience, AECOM

      Adam has more than 26 years’ industry experience in sustainability and resilience, using his skills and strengths to help asset and critical infrastructure owners and operators cope, recover and prosper from major shocks and stresses, in particular changing climate conditions. He has completed climate adaptation and resilience projects at local, regional, state, national and international scales, looking at hazards, risk, vulnerability and resilience.

      Adam is AECOM’s project director on the Resilient Reefs initiative which has been developed to build the resilience of UNESCO World Heritage listed coral reefs to the globally significant threat of climate change, while also building the reef communities’ ability to adapt to a future of uncertainty.

      Headshot Dr Erik Denneman CPEng
      Dr Erik Denneman CPEng
      Global Technical Manager, Puma Energy

      Dr Erik Denneman is the Global Technical Manager for Puma Bitumen. He leads Puma Bitumen’s R&D program focused on developing ever more sustainable bituminous binders. His team is further responsible for rigorous quality control across Puma’s global supply network. Prior to joining Puma Erik was Director of Technology and Leadership at the Australian Flexible Pavement Association. Erik is a Chartered Professional Engineer based in Melbourne and has previously worked in the Netherlands, the US and South Africa.

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      Graeme Dick
      Manager Strategic Infrastructure Projects, GWMWater

      Graeme is a civil and environmental engineer with more than 20 years of experience in consulting, local government and water utility businesses. Working in regional Victoria for the past 17 years, Graeme has delivered several significant rural water supply projects and is now involved in renewable energy and carbon emission reduction projects.

      Graeme is passionate about finding sustainable, practical ways to enhance quality of life in rural areas.

      Headshot of Trevor Distin
      Trevor Distin
      Group Technical and Marketing Manager, COLAS

      Joined the COLAS Australia Group in 2016 as the Group Technical and Marketing Manager having held a similar role with COLAS in Southern Africa. Prior to that he held positions as National Technology Manager for Boral Asphalt, Executive Director of Southern African Bitumen Association and Bitumen Technical Services Manager for Mobil Oil South Africa. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the development, manufacture and construction of bituminous materials.

      Currently serves on the Austroads Asphalt, Binders and Bitumen Surfacing’s working groups and AfPA’s National Technology Leadership Committee and Asphalt, Binders, Surfacings and Sustainability sub committees. Holds a Masters Diploma in Civil Engineering and Bachelors of Commerce.

      Headshot of Phi Bang Do CPEng NER
      Phi Bang Do CPEng NER
      Associate Director, McGregor Coxall

      Specialising in climate adaptation and nature-based solutions, Phi Bang Do is a Chartered Civil Engineer and International Professional Engineer (APEC IntPE) with more than ten years’ experience in managing multi-disciplinary projects of different scales from master planning to detail design. His technical expertise varies from urban drainage planning and designing with Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) principles to flood risk assessment with hydraulic modelling analysis demonstrating leadership in project management to deliver high quality projects on-time and on-budget.

      Over the past decade, Mr Do has overseen and delivered the sustainable engineering scopes on several international award-winning projects across the globe, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

      Headshot of Anthony Douglas
      Anthony Douglas
      Senior Consultant, Ramboll Australia

      Anthony is a chemical engineer currently working in the role of Senior Consultant for Ramboll Australia’s Energy division. Anthony has more than 20 years’ experience in various process engineering, project engineering and project management roles.

      Anthony was recently a Senior Process Engineer with HRL Technology Group and previously, Phoenix Energy’s Project Engineer during the development of the 460,000 tonne per year Kwinana Waste to Energy Project, now known as Avertas Energy.

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      Luke Elsen
      Sustainability and Resilience Consultant, AECOM

      Luke is a civil engineer working as a sustainability and resilience consultant to embed sustainability in projects using his knowledge of environmental science and engineering design principles. Luke’s interdisciplinary approach, combining engineering principles with environmental sciences, enables him to address complex challenges related to infrastructure and sustainability. He has worked closely with clients to challenge and improve carbon accounting practices across the industry to ease implementation and deliver emission reductions.

      His holistic worldview and understanding of the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of technical challenges guides his advocacy for engineering approaches that contribute to mitigating climate change impacts and promoting a more sustainable future.

      Headshot of Hamed Esfahani
      Hamed Esfahani
      Principal Civil Engineer, Stantec

      As a well-established civil engineer, Hamed has a passion for delivering quality design outcomes in civil projects with the community in mind. He has more than 15 years' experience as a civil engineer expert in various aspects of civil infrastructure projects from preliminary and detailed design to construction.

      Hamed is an expert in identifying client’s requirements, designing and delivering complex projects. As a technical team leader in Stantec, he has managed civil design/engineer team to deliver multidisciplinary civil infrastructure, highways and urban development projects.

      Headshot of Charles Edward Esson FIEAust CPEng
      Charles Esson FIEAust CPEng
      AIEglobal

      Charles Esson is an engineer with an active 43 year career, using his real time programming experience to develop fresh fruit sorting equipment that dominated the Australian market for 25 years, with many systems exported overseas. Charles is now primarily involved in low and medium voltage power engineering. His academic qualifications include professional engineering, an honours degree in computer science and a graduate certificates in power engineering. He is currently undertaking a Masters in power engineering at UOW.

      Charles is currently employed by AIEglobal as principle power engineer. AIEglobal also offer real time programming services for Beckoff Automation products. Recent work in developing distribution designs for high rise buildings has led Charles to the realisation that with the introduction of large volumes of electric cars, the distribution system is facing a serious issue. This has led to the development of the AIEglobal Charger Management Systems and consideration of the impact this load will have on the National Grid.

      Headshot of Farid Fazel Mojtahedi
      Farid Fazel Mojtahedi
      Phd Researcher, University of Melbourne

      Farid Mojtahedi is a PhD candidate in the infrastructure engineering department at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on leveraging deep learning (DL) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to develop an advanced early warning system for geohazards.

      With a decade of work experience in various roles, Farid brings a diverse skill set to his academic pursuits. Notably, he successfully established a startup approximately six years ago, showcasing his entrepreneurial drive and innovation. Through his academic and professional endeavors, Farid is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of geohazard detection and mitigation for the betterment of society.

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      Dr Jessica Feldman
      Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Dr Jessica Feldman is an early career researcher, who is working as part of the UniSQ NO WASTE Pilot Precinct. She is helping to establish sustainable local economies to convert waste streams not currently recovered into value-added products. To do this, Jessica is developing a circular economy model that can be used for a variety of materials including glass, plastics and paperboard to determine optimal pathways for waste and instruct redesign of supply ecosystems.

      She is a specialist in use of food bioactives for nutraceutical applications and is a member of the UniSQ Food and Packaging Valorisation research team.

      Headshot of Wayne Fitzsimmons OAM FIEAust
      Wayne Fitzsimmons OAM FIEAust
      Chairman, Pearcey Foundation

      Wayne Fitzsimmons OAM FIEAust FACS is Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation, which promotes the ICT sector in Australia to Australia – the Australia 4.0 initiative is conducted under the auspices of the Pearcey Foundation.

      Wayne is an experienced executive and entrepreneur who has worked extensively in the US, UK, as well as Australia and is a director of several small privately owned early stage hi-tech companies in Australia including iPro, Cohda Wireless and Mooroolbark Group. Wayne holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Engineering from the University of Queensland.

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      Dr Matt Flynn
      Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Matt Flynn completed his PhD at Monash University, investigating the structure-reactivity relationship of main-group organometallic compounds. Since then, he has transitioned into researching sustainability in polymers, having worked as a research fellow at LIKAT in Germany working on biobased polymers, and now at the University of Southern Queensland as part of the NO WASTE pilot precinct. Here he is working on developing new methods of utilising plastic waste, with a specific focus on operationally simple processes, particularly for use in regional community.

      Headshot of Peter Geoghegan MIEAust CPEng NER
      Peter Geoghegan MIEAust CPEng NER
      Director and Founder, Geotron Engineering Consultants

      Peter Geoghegan is the Director and Founder of Geotron, an engineering consultancy that specialises in designing building structures  and infrastructure by delivering practical yet innovative design solutions to create a better built environment, coupled with personal service and exceptional ethics. As a professional structural engineer, Peter has more than 30 years’ experience within the construction industry including 24 years as a consulting engineer working with both small and large multi-national businesses.

      Prior to founding Geotron in 2015, Peter previously held senior management roles ranging from Associate Director to Global Engineering Manager responsible for Australia, China, Asia and the Middle East within a group listed top ASX 200 engineering company. Peter’s diverse experience varies from both large and small-scale developments on award winning projects both nationally and internationally. His expertise includes working with local and large multi-national companies for public health buildings, sport facilities, commercial, low and high rise residential, community and infrastructure, and industrial facilities.

      Geotron was announced in March 2023 at the national Consult Australia awards as winner of the 2022 "Small Firm of the Year" and winner of "Small Business Excellence" and a Highly Commended for "Technological Innovation" where Geotron has been developing an intuitive digital application for the Built Environment.

      Headshot of Anne Gibbs FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Anne Gibbs FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      CEO, Asset Management Council

      Anne is a Technical Advisor to Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and has developed global disaster resilient infrastructure programs across various infrastructure sectors. Anne has experience in providing engineering disaster aid in the Pacific region and Africa and has worked in South America and Eastern Europe undertaking financial and operational performance improvements for governments and is currently CEO of the Asset Management Council in Australia.

      Anne holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Graduate Diploma in Municipal Engineering and Management, Masters in Business Administration and Doctorate in Business Management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

      Headshot of James Ghent MIEAust CPEng
      James Ghent MIEAust CPEng
      Sustainability Engineer, Arup

      A sustainability engineer and climate change professional who focuses on the use of nature-based solutions to deliver more value to the most vulnerable communities. Currently the natural infrastructure specialist in Peru, James is delivering and supporting the Peruvian government on their journey to a more resilient and sustainable future.

      Using the gifts provided by our planet natural infrastructure can teach us a lot about how we can ensure future generations can enjoy the one planet we have been provided.

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      Dr Andrew Gunn
      Lecturer, Monash University

      Andrew Gunn is a Lecturer in Physical Geography in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University. His research is focused on the physical processes that create planetary surfaces, specialising in deserts and Mars. He also conducts research on climate and weather as a renewable energy resource.

      Andrew was trained at the University of Melbourne (BS in Applied Mathematics), the University of Tasmania (Honours in Physical Oceanography), the University of Pennsylvania (PhD in Earth Science) and Stanford University (Postdoc in Geological Sciences).

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      Finn Gurry
      Senior Transport Modeller, AECOM

      Finn Gurry is Senior Transport modeller in AECOM’s Infrastructure Advisory group, joining AECOM in November 2019. In his career he has been involved in multiple types of projects, from cost-benefit analyses, to model development, forecasting, and assisting in the integration of a Land Use Transport Interaction (LUTI) model. Finn is interested in solving problems through software, and through project work, past experience and his studies, Finn has experience with Cube, R, SQL, SPSS, QGIS, ArcGIS, Python, VBA, Java and C++.

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      Charlotte Guthleben
      Senior Consultant, Sustainability and Climate Change, Aurecon

      Charlotte is a senior consultant in Aurecon’s Sustainability and Climate Change team with a focus on decarbonisation strategy and renewable energy. Combining her technical engineering background and analytical mindset, Charlotte helps to make the complex simple and produce projects with impact.

      Charlotte has an in-depth understanding of energy markets and renewable energy applications. She has been heavily involved in work across the energy sector, including strategic advice for the development of renewable energy zones, economic assessment of multi-billion-dollar transmission networks, and decarbonisation strategy both for clients and to meet Aurecon's own net zero.

      Headshot of Graeme Harding MIEAust CPEng
      Graeme Harding MIEAust CPEng
      Technical Director - Process Engineering, Beca

      Graeme has more than 20 years of international process experience, including design and implementation of large-scale heavy industrial projects and turnkey energy saving projects. Graeme has worked on projects with a large variety of processes, from gas turbines and reactors through to wash press filters, refrigeration and refining systems. He has established a track record of award-winning energy saving projects within the pulp and paper and food industries.

      Graeme leads Beca’s Industrial Decarbonisation team, guiding some of the industry's largest food and beverage manufacturers to transition.

      Headshot of Jonathon Horsfall MIEAust
      Jonathon Horsfall MIEAust
      Project Engineer, GWMWater

      Jonathon has more than 7 years’ experience at GWMWater. He has planned, managed and delivered a number of larger key projects across the GWMWater region. Recent key projects he has been involved in consist of work with water and wastewater treatment plants, rural pump stations, bridges and trunk main duplications, demonstrating an extensive portfolio of engineering experience.

      Jonathon’s motivation to pursue a career within the water sector was realised well before he attended university; with a country upbringing he wanted to remain local and provide services back to the communities that he grew up in.

      Headshot of Daniel Hugo MIEAust
      Daniel Hugo MIEAust
      Senior Engineer, CSIRO

      Daniel Hugo has 16 years' experience as an electronics engineer, currently with CSIRO's Data61 business unit. He has collaborated with colleagues to develop novel sensors, telemetry systems and online analytics platforms to enable CSIRO's research projects in the in agriculture, aquaculture, coastal science and built environment domains.

      Headshot of Dusan Ilic FIEAust CPEng
      Dr Dusan Ilic FIEAust CPEng
      University of Newcastle

      Dr Ilic is a Fellow, Chartered engineer and research academic at the University of Newcastle, located at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources, with almost 20 years’ experience of consultancy and applied research.

      Over the last five years, using a foundation of bulk solids handling and particle science, Dr Ilic has established and grown multi-disciplinary research programmes including characterising agroforestry residues, environmental and workplace health exposures, integrating low cost sensors and LiDAR into dust emissions management, engineering design, modelling and simulation of granular materials in minerals processing and materials handling systems.

      Headshot of Lyndal Isakhan
      Lyndal Isakhan
      Sustainability and Environment Manager, ACCIONA Construction

      Lyndal has a 20-year career in sustainability and environmental management, in the design and construction of major infrastructure. She is the Regional Sustainability Lead at ACCIONA Construction focused on embedding the aspirations of the business’ Sustainability Master Plan 2025 into project start-up and delivery.

      Lyndal is a contributor to the national ISC Circular Economy Working group and on the Steering Committee for the Not-for-Profit Wellness in Infrastructure Committee.

      “Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about educating teams to look beyond traditional ways of working, embedding sustainability into all facets of decision making across infrastructure development and more recently focussed on ACCIONA’s regenerative journey towards decarbonisation and going beyond Net Zero”.

      Headshot of Quentin Jackson
      Quentin Jackson
      Aurecon

      Quentin is Aurecon’s Australian leader for sustainability providing leadership and management to the sustainability team, as well as technical expertise and advice on sustainability projects. He has a passion for working with diverse teams to deliver projects that achieve practical sustainable outcomes without costing the earth (both environmentally and financially).

      He is involved in shaping the built and infrastructure environment from strategy to construction, to post-occupancy evaluation and asset optimisation. He is frequently involved in constructing sustainability rating tools such as Green Star, ISC and has helped develop standards to create a positive change for our environment

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      Thomas Jacquier
      Systems Engineer, Shoal Group

      Thomas Jacquier is a Systems Engineer at Shoal with experience in requirements and interface management, asset management, and modelling and simulation. He is a first-class honours Graduate in Mechatronics Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Adelaide.

      While at Shoal, Thomas has managed interfaces across design stakeholders and geographical locations on a complex rail engineering project, led requirements elicitation workshops with senior project stakeholders, managed requirements through design review gates ensuring traceability and the provision of verification activities, and supported the development of a model-based framework for asset management. He also has experience using MATLAB to conduct data analysis and develop models of aerospace flight vehicle and radar systems.

      Thomas is an INCOSE Associate Systems Engineering Professional.

      Headshot of Dr Indunil Jayatilake MIEAust
      Dr Indunil Jayatilake MIEAust
      Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, TAFE Queensland

      Indunil has been working in the higher educational sector for the past 25 years, with eight years of experience with TAFE Queensland in the associate degree in civil engineering course, as a lecturer, senior lecturer and course coordinator. She has completed her Bachelors, Masters and PhD in civil, environmental and structural engineering. She has more than 35 years’ experience in industry, teaching and research. She has published her research in refereed journals and presented her work at international conferences.

      Indunil is currently working as a senior lecturer in civil engineering at TAFE Queensland. She is also collaborating with industry and researchers at Queensland University of Technology in the environmental engineering space.

      Headshot of Prof Raymond Johnson FIEAust
      Prof Raymond L Johnson Jr FIEAust
      Professor of Well Engineering and Production Technology, University of Queensland

      Prof Raymond L Johnson Jr is currently Professor of Well Engineering and Production Technology at the University of Queensland, Centre for Natural Gas and General Manager of Technical Services for Novus Fuels. He has a PhD in mining engineering, a MSc in petroleum engineering, a Graduate Diploma in Information Technology and a BA in Chemistry.

      Prof Johnson is a Life Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), technical co-chair of the upcoming 2023 SPE Unconventional Reservoir Symposium in Brisbane, past Queensland SPE Section chair, twice co-Chair of the SPE Unconventional Reservoir Conference Asia Pacific, 2019 co-Chair and 2021 Advisor of the URTeC Asia Pacific Conference, and twice SPE Regional Technical Award Recipient (Production Operations and Management and Information).

      Prof Johnson has served in numerous technical and management positions in service, operating and consulting companies in the United States and Australia. Prof Johnson is a Fellow of Engineers Australia.

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      Harry Jupp
      Senior Associate Engineer, WSP

      Harry currently works in the role of Senior Associate Engineer at WSP, in its Melbourne office, working in its Earth and Environment division. In this role, Harry provides lead designer and project manager services for a range of projects in the renewables, mining, water, and geo-environmental industries.

      Harry is furthering his studies by completing a MSc in Renewable Energy Development and is passionate about the role pumped hydro energy storage has to play in Australia's energy transition and how we can make use of available space to integrate this technology.

      Headshot of Kavinga Karunasekara TMIEAust
      Kavinga Karunasekara TMIEAust
      Sustainability Projects Officer, Wellington Shire Council

      A chemical and process engineer from University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka and MBA holder from University of Colombo, Kavinga has 13 years' of expertise in the field of sustainability in Australia, Germany, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

      With considerable background in environmental management systems, life cycle assessments, project management, waste management in various sectors including conglomerates, hospitality, apparel, agriculture, consulting, chemical sales industries and now in local government.

      Headshot of Rob Kilgour FIEAust CPEng
      Rob Kilgour FIEAust CPEng
      Technical Executive - Materials Performance, WSP

      A strategy-driven business leader and advisor, Rob has more than 20 years’ experience delivering results using technical and commercial knowledge in materials performance, energy management, buildings, and infrastructure development to contribute to climate change adaptation and the energy transition across Australasia, the Middle East and UK.

      Rob has an established track record for providing clear, pragmatic advice, insights and solutions to complex problems founded upon a diverse array of experience covering the entire built environment asset life cycle. He is a curious and future focussed thought leader with a commitment to lifelong learning, professional development and continuous improvement.

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      Andrew Kindness
      Sustainability and Environmental Advisor, Cairns Southern Access Corridor Stage 3: Edmonton to Gordonvale Project

      Andrew Kindness is a dedicated Sustainability and Environmental Advisor with a strong background in Environmental Sustainability and experience in infrastructure construction, including projects such as the Sydney Metro TSE Mega Project and Blue Mountains Heritage Station Upgrades.

      Currently leading sustainability efforts for the E2G project in Cairns, Andrew excels in environmental compliance and infrastructure sustainability, fostering positive outcomes through stakeholder relationships, proactive environmental management and driving innovation.

      Headshot of Joanne Knight-Smith
      Joanne Knight-Smith
      Principal Human Factors Specialist, HF Integration Pty Ltd

      Joanne is a Principal Human Factors Consultant with more than 10 years' experience in providing human factors support to high-risk industries. Her experience expands across oil and gas, new energy, rail, mining and construction industries focusing on practical application of human factors in both project phases and operations.

      Joanne's recent experience includes early integration of human factors in hydrogen, battery and carbon capture projects that has identified new challenges for human reliability in fast paced new energy projects.

      Headshot of Maria Koutsimpiris
      Maria Koutsimpiris
      Project Controls Manager, Level Crossing Removal Project - Southern Program Alliance

      Maria is a commercially focused senior leader with more than 20 years’ experience in complex, capital intensive multinationals, leading large cross-functional teams on multi-year, billion-dollar projects. She transitioned to infrastructure construction in July 2021, where she commenced as Regional Project Controls Manager for ACCIONA and is now the Project Controls Manager for Level Crossing Removal Project – Southern Program Alliance.

      Maria is the Chair of the National Committee for Women in Engineering and Non-Executive Director with ANCAP Safety and the Highett Community Bank. She has an MBA from Melbourne Business School and BEng/BSc from The University of Melbourne.

      Headshot of Lara Kruk
      Lara Kruk
      APAC Substations Technical Director, Jacobs

      Lara has 20 years’ experience in transmission/utilities having worked on projects across Australia, NZ, the UK, Iraq and Libya and has undertaken a diverse range of technical and management roles. Lara is the Jacobs APAC Substations Technical Director, working as a Principal Protection Engineer on substation projects, she ensures technical development and knowledge sharing as part of her role as the Community of Practice (CoP) Lead for Electrical Switchyards and Substations and the Global Practice Lead for Protection and Control.

      Lara has extensive experience in electrical design as both designer and owner’s engineer on various multi-disciplinary projects including brownfield substation extension and equipment replacements, large transmission network augmentations, greenfield terminal stations for renewable energy connections such as wind, solar and battery energy storage systems and HVDC interconnectors. Lara has a keen interest in innovative solutions and has led the implementation of a client’s first digitised substation using IEC 61850 and has developed a toolbox for sustainable solutions for substations and renewables.

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      Dr Joanne Lackenby MIEAust CPEng NER
      Consultant, Frazer-Nash Consultancy

      Dr Joanne Lackenby (Jo) has 15 years’ experience in the Australian nuclear sector, the majority at the OPAL research reactor at ANSTO. Here she specialised in nuclear safety, licensing and regulation, and was also involved in the repatriation of radioactive waste from reprocessing. She recently joined Frazer-Nash Consultancy where she continues to provide nuclear expertise, including in radioactive waste management.

      Jo is a TEDxSydney speaker and has a mission to increase public understanding of the potential of peaceful nuclear technologies in Australia. She is the past President of the Australian Nuclear Association Inc. Jo holds degrees in environmental and geotechnical engineering.

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      Rhonda Lenardon MIEAust CPEng NER
      KPMG

      Rhonda has more than 20 years’ experience in the environmental field in both consulting and in-house management roles. Rhonda has worked in most sectors, including government, real estate, defence, manufacturing and mining across Australia and New Zealand. This experience has included in-house environmental manager roles in national facility management, mining, investment management and development organisations and has included work in environment, sustainability and WHS.

      Rhonda joined KPMG in 2022 and focuses on embedding ESG into KPMG and client processes.

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      Nicole Liang
      Senior Pavements Engineer, Arcadis

      Nicole has worked as a civil engineer in Australia for public and private clients focusing on pavements for roads, intermodals and ports. She has been involved in the design stage as an engineering consultant and in the maintenance stage as a technical advisor. She has a Bachelors in Engineering (Civil with Architecture) and a Masters in Data Analytics.

      Nicole is interested in making design decisions that are informed by whole of life assessments, and has been investigating the incorporation of sustainable materials and practices into the pavement design process, and how it can extend to other assets.

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      Richard Lovett MIEAust CPEng
      Senior Process Engineer, Arup

      Richard brings 15 years of experience in municipal wastewater treatment planning with a focus on solids treatment and reuse, biogas handling and renewable energy generation, and water recycling.

      His experience covers project phases from strategic options assessment / planning, design (concept to detailed), tender assessment, construction and commissioning. He was also a key contributor to Melbourne Water’s 2021 Pricing Submission.

      Richard is excited by the potential in the water industry for resource recovery and energy generation in support of decarbonisation and the circular economy.

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      Ken Lunty
      Technical Director and National Lead – Sustainability, Arcadis

      Ken has almost 20 years of sustainability experience advising the private and public sector. His career started with Hyder Consulting focusing on carbon management and climate change adaptation strategy. In 2013, Ken joined a small consultancy specialising in sustainability strategy, life cycle thinking and value creation across the built environment, manufacturing, food and FMCG sectors. As part of the leadership team, the business grew to one of Australia’s largest dedicated sustainability consultancies.

      At Arcadis, his focus is moving from the “what” to the “how” for a sustainable future. He is devoted to weaving sustainability into design and engineering processes. Ken’s motivation is to work alongside engineers and designers to realise positive sustainability impact through clear visualisation and storytelling.

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      Anna Luong
      Graduate Civil Engineer, AECOM

      Anna Luong is a Graduate Civil Engineer at AECOM in Sydney with experience in delivering civil infrastructure projects across both the public and private sectors. She has assisted in the design of local infrastructure, public domain, precinct development, road, rail drainage and light rail projects.

      Anna balanced her university studies with her municipal council role of being the project lead for multiple programs of civil infrastructure projects, providing support for other major projects, becoming a finalist in an international design competition, and completing an additional Diploma of Financial Planning. She continues this passion for learning and solving problems by contributing to the design of multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects, proactively looking for ways to embed sustainability not only into the project design, but also into delivery, ongoing operation and maintenance.

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      Rigo Manahan
      Process Engineer, Arup

      Rigo Manahan is a Process Engineer at Arup with a passion for water and wastewater treatment planning, design and sustainability. Over his four years of professional experience, he has been fortunate to play key roles in projects shaping Australia’s future resilience and sustainability in water.

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      Dr Nasir Mahmood
      RMIT University

      Nasir Mahmood is a Vice-Chancellor Senior Research Fellow at RMIT University. He obtained his PhD from Peking University in 2015. His research interest involves the development of advanced materials for a sustainable society. He is one of the highly cited researchers by Clarivate and among the list of Best Materials Scientists and Chemists by Research.com. He has an excellent track record in publishing high-quality publications, more than 145 with citations, more than 12,000 and an H-index of 55. He also holds six patents/applications and is the author of 10 books/book chapters, commercialisation, attracting research funding and media attention, managing editorial responsibilities and organising conferences.

      His research has been highlighted in more than 1000 media blogs, magazines, television, and radio in many different languages across the world, reaching over 400 million people. He has been awarded several prestigious awards including the Beijing Science and Technology Award 2018 by the Municipal Government of Beijing, China, RMIT Vice-Chancellor Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019-2022) and RMIT Vice-Chancellor Senior Research Fellowship (2022-2026).

      Headshot of Thomas Manley FIEAust CPEng
      Thomas Manley FIEAust CPEng
      Federal Government Lead / Systems Engineering Advisor, Decision Analysis Services (DAS) / Systems Engineering Society Australia (SESA)

      Thomas is Technical Director of System Engineering Society Australia's (SESA), a technical society of Engineers Australia and the local chapter of International Council On Systems Engineering (INCOSE). He has more than 20 years of experience in the Federal Government market, predominantly providing value for Defence, ATO and Home Affairs. This includes time working for Boeing Australia, Thales, Optus and Downer, including five years as Optus' Chief Architect for the Managed Network Services contract at ATO.

      Thomas was a founding member of the SESA Telecommunications Working Group, and is now a Co-Chair of the INCOSE ICT (previously Telecommunications) Working Group. Before stepping into the role of Technical Director, he was SESA's Telecommunications and Cyber Security Domain Lead. He authored "Reconciling Enterprise Architecture and Systems Engineering", published in Professional Projects International's (PPI) Systems Engineering Newsjournal (SyEN) in May 2021, and was Lead Author of "Defining Critical Communications Networks: Modelling Networks as Systems", published in INCOSE's INSIGHT Magazine in June 2020. He contributed to Engineers Australia's submission in response to the government's National EV Strategy consultation paper.

      Thomas is a Chartered Professional Engineering (CPEng) and is a Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP). He is also Decision Analysis Services' (DAS) Federal Government Lead.

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      Dr Robyn Mansfield
      Associate Director, McGregor Coxall

      Robyn holds a PhD in Sustainable Development from Monash University. She is committed to amplifying marginalised voices in urban planning, especially in communities facing hardships. With degrees in International and Community Development, Disaster Design and Development, and Landscape Architecture, she brings a diverse background in local and state government, consultancy, academia, and private practice.

      Robyn's expertise lies in urban resilience, disaster risk reduction, community participation, livelihoods, informal settlement revitalisation, and post-disaster reconstruction. Having worked extensively worldwide, she focuses on children's participation, believing it to be crucial for achieving a sustainable and just planet through radical and innovative action.

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      Dr Peter McArdle
      Chief Engineer, Engineers Without Borders Australia

      Peter has a deep understanding of international humanitarian action with experience across the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific His experience includes climate and environment policy, public health, emergency operations, and the protection of infrastructure in armed conflict with the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, NGOs and social enterprise. For his work preparing for and responding to global crises, Peter was Awarded the International Service Medal for ‘exemplary service’ by Australian Red Cross.

      Constantly curious and intrigued by balancing diverse perspectives and knowledge, complexity and creative problem solving, Peter holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies and a PhD in Sociology exploring the social impacts of community conflict and resilience in the face of water scarcity.

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      Gary McCullough
      Senior Project Leader, City of Canning

      Gary is the service lead for major project and has been the senior leader for the Canning City Centre Regeneration Program responsible for planning and delivery of $70 million in urban infrastructure for the City of Canning. A key focus is to lead the in-house and consultant teams to ensure we promote best practice urban design, working with all levels of government and the private sector to ensure maximum investment attraction to deliver on the future 2050 vision for the City Centre.

      Gary is an experienced project leader with a demonstrated history of delivering master planning projects in both the private and government sectors. Skilled in urban and strategic planning with a BA (Hons) in Town Planning specialising in urban planning and project delivery.

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      Dr Anumitra Mirti
      Senior Associate – Sustainability, Beca

      Dr Anumitra Mirti has more than 20 years of experience in sustainability, climate resilience, project management, research and strategic environment and land use planning spanning academia, private industry and government agencies.

      At Beca, Anu is driving sustainability and climate resilience across the organisation’s project work both nationally in Australia and internationally. Anu is also a sustainable leaders' mentor for the Cambridge University’s Institute of Sustainable Leadership Program.

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      Adrian Moscoso
      Principal Critical Risk and Safety Engineer, Pilbara Minerals

      Adrian Moscoso is a safety and risk engineer with more than 15 years of experience leading health and safety initiatives across diverse industries, including consulting, construction, open-cut and underground mining, processing, and oil and gas. With a Master's in Fire Safety Engineering and a Master of Science in Occupational Hygiene Practice, Adrian excels at designing and implementing safety management systems and risk management strategies. He has a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and delivering successful safety outcomes.

      Adrian's expertise in occupational hygiene and fire safety engineering gives him a unique perspective on promoting workplace health and safety.

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      Dr Timothy Mote
      Climate Risk and Resilience, Arup

      Tim is a Climate Risk and Resilience Specialist supporting the planning, design, and construction of infrastructure in the face of climate and natural disasters. Throughout his career, he has supported large multi-disciplinary teams undertaking the planning, design, construction, safe operation, and maintenance of large infrastructure projects including dams, hydro power schemes, pipelines, highways, railways, tunnels, bridges, energy facilities (on and offshore) throughout East Asia, Australasia, the Pacific, North America and South America.

      Tim has recently led several multi-disciplinary projects considering the impact of climate change and natural disaster to increase infrastructure resilience. He combines extensive practical engineering geology experience with specialist natural hazard, geohazard, seismic hazard, risk management and resilience skills. Tim was selected as one of the Top 50 Innovative Engineers in Australia in 2016 for his work on real-time risk assessment following natural disasters.

      Headshot of Tim Mumford FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Tim Mumford FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      General Manager Digital and Innovation, Beca

      Tim maintains Chartered and EngExec status, underpinned by 20 years’ experience in digital and sustainability across capital intensive industries, such as transport and infrastructure. Tim’s focus in on the value of digitisation: stemming from a rich experience in digital engineering, government policy and digital assets management.

      Headshot of Jawahar Kumar Murugiah MIEAust CPEng NER
      Jawahar Kumar Murugiah MIEAust CPEng NER
      Lead Engineer - Instrumentation, Control Automation, Petroleum Development Oman

      Jawahar Kumar is a Lead Instrumentation control and automation engineer in petroleum development Oman, with 20 years of experience in capital green field and challenging brown field critical infrastructure projects. He is Chartered Professional Engineer, certified in Functional Safety, PMI PMP and ISA/IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Expert. He is ISA 84 and 99 - Cybersecurity standards working committee member and panellist in technical conferences.

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      Ali Nami
      Principal, TBH

      Ali is a construction project planner with 18 years of varied experience in planning projects in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and South East Asia in a variety of industries, including energy transmission and generation, transport, water, resource and major engineering and infrastructure projects as well as ICT projects and commercial and residential developments.

      Ali brings a range of experience in all facets of project planning, forensic planning and dispute resolution. These days Ali brings his experience in managing risks and resolving disputes with respect to time and cost and applies it at the front end helping his clients deliver complex major infrastructure and energy projects.

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      Prof Guillermo Narsilio
      Deputy Head of Department (Infrastructure Engineering), University of Melbourne

      Prof Guillermo Narsilio is Deputy Head of the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne (2020–today) and Chair of the ISSMGE Technical Committee 308 on Energy Geotechnics. He is a former member of the ARC College of Experts (2018–2021). Dr Narsilio is also a past Chair of the Australian Geomechanics Society (Victoria Chapter, 2019–2020) and a former Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow.

      Dr Narsilio received his PhD in Geotechnical Engineering (2006) and his Masters in Mathematics (2006) and in Geotechnical Engineering (2003) from Georgia Institute of Technology (US). He obtained his Civil Engineering degree from the National University of Cordoba (Argentina) in 2001. He undertook his postdoctoral experience at the University of Melbourne where he is now a Professor. His research interests include numerical modelling, multi-scale porous material characterisation and performance and the (sustainable) energy industry; with emphasis on basic and applied shallow and deep geothermal energy systems and the use of AI. ​

      Headshot of Quang Ngyuen MIEAust NER
      Quang Ngyuen MIEAust NER
      Digital Environment P/L

      Quang is a Certified Practicing Engineer who has a varied background across power generation, manufacturing and building construction. He has more than 20 years’ experience in leading specialised teams, strong understanding, and applied knowledge of commercial engineering projects.

      Quang has a passion for smart technology and mentoring engineers. He has a Master of Engineering Science and a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical).

      Headshot of Arne Nilsen FIEAust CPEng
      Arne Nilsen FIEAust CPEng
      Aurecon

      Arne Nilsen is a leader of Aurecon’s ports, coastal and industrial systems engineering practices, with responsibility for technical leadership in these fields across the group. His specialisations include marine and industrial structures, moving structures and large machines, structural dynamics and fatigue, marine facilities for bulk liquids and gas projects, public ferry infrastructure and coastal engineering.

      Arne has recently been responsible for leading multi-disciplinary study and design teams for developments and assessments in the majority of Australasia’s major industrial and commercial ports. A focus on resilience and adaptability of existing and new maritime infrastructure in the face of extreme environmental events such as flooding, storm surge and cyclonic waves; and climate change induced sea level rise has been a feature of his recent work.

      Headshot of Hadi Nourizadeh
      Hadi Nourizadeh
      Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Hadi Nourizadeh is an esteemed scholar and Research Fellow at the Centre for Future Materials (CFM) at the University of Southern Queensland. He has a wide range of expertise in geotechnical, mining, and construction engineering-related projects, with specific proficiency in ground control systems and related engineered materials. Hadi's research interests are aligned with designing reinforcing elements for different geotechnical and thermal conditions, as well as the development of engineered bonding materials such as cementitious grouts and polyester resins.

      He has a strong passion for the application of waste materials to produce sustainable products for the construction and mining industries and has been actively involved in several research projects focused on this area. In addition to his research work, Hadi is an enthusiastic advocate for science and technology and is committed to inspiring the next generation of researchers and innovators. He has a proven track record of excellence in teaching and mentoring undergraduate and postgraduate students.

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      Dr Saad Odeh
      Senior Program Convenor, Sydney Institute of Business and Technology and Western Sydney University

      Dr Saad Odeh is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). He works as a Senior Program Convenor for Engineering and IT programs at the Sydney Institute of Business and Technology, as well as a Senior Lecturer in Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer at Western Sydney University's Sydney city campus. He holds a PhD in Solar Thermal Engineering from the University of New South Wales in Australia.

      Dr Saad is a member of Engineers Australia , the Australian Building Sustainability Association (ABSA), and a Reviewer Board Member of Energies and Sustainability Journals. He has previously worked as an Associate Professor at various national and international universities and has published numerous papers in the field of renewable energy and energy sustainability, as well as holding two patents.

      Headshot of Joy Ayankop Oke MIEAust
      Joy Ayankop Oke MIEAust
      PhD Candidate, La Trobe University

      Joy Ayankop Oke Joy Oke is a PhD Candidate at La Trobe University, Melbourne Campus, Bundoora. She is researching waste utilisation in the construction of green civil engineering structures, and she commenced her research in March 2022. Joy is passionate about the engineering profession and had always wanted to be identified amongst the engineers and so to achieve this, she bagged a Bachelors (Hons) in Civil Engineering in 2003 and a Masters in Highway and Traffic Engineering in 2016.

      Between 2003 and 2013 when she commenced her masters, she worked in the civil engineering industry in different capacities ranging from design engineer to project engineer. She steadily climbed up her career ladder to be the Head of the Engineering Unit on a World Bank Assisted Project in Lagos State, Nigeria. She is a member of various prestigious professional engineering organisations which include the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Engineers Australia.

      Headshot of Dr Keelan O'Neill
      Dr Keelan O'Neill
      Research Fellow, UWA

      Keelan is a Research Fellow in the UWA Fluid Science and Resources Research Group. Keelan’s research focusses on analysing sustainable hydrogen supply chains. This includes developing a web-based tool for modelling the costs and emissions of hydrogen pathways.

      Keelan also works on detailed techno-economic studies of hydrogen production scenarios. He previously worked on the development of geophysical sensors (primarily using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)) for downhole logging applications (at both UWA and NMR Services Australia). He completed his PhD in chemical engineering at UWA.

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      Nee Nee Ong FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Senior Electrical Engineer, GHD

      Nee Nee Ong is a graduate of UWA with Masters in Business Administration and Bachelor of Engineering. With more than 25 years’ experience, she currently works as a project manager and lead electrical engineer managing interdisciplinary teams for the delivery of projects and providing electrical design work.

      Nee Nee currently holds positions with Engineers Australia; as Congress member, Co-Chair of the Electrical College Board, Chair of WA Division College of Leadership and Management and member of the Accreditation Board.

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      Dr Graham Palmer
      Post-doc researcher, Monash University

      Graham Palmer is a researcher with an industry background as an engineer and researcher in manufacturing, HVAC and electronics. He has published in the area of biophysical economics, renewable energy, life-cycle analysis, and energy-economic modelling.

      Graham obtained his PhD in energy-return-on-investment (EROI) of electricity supply. His current research is life cycle assessment of green hydrogen and ammonia.

      Headshot of Lara Parsons MIEAust
      Lara Parsons MIEAust
      Senior Associate Infrastructure Delivery and Strategic Advisory, Jacobs

      Lara is a senior engineering and sustainability advisor with extensive experience planning, developing, and delivering remote and urban infrastructure across Australia’s resources and transportation sectors. As an advisor, her focus is on facilitating knowledge sharing and co-design amongst all project stakeholders to help inform resilient, sustainable, and fit-for-purpose solutions.

      Lara is skilled at coordinating and communicating multi-disciplinary intent to technical and non-technical stakeholders to ensure successful engineering outcomes are conveyed and accessible to all.

      Headshot of Alex Petty MIEAust CPEng NER
      Alex Petty MIEAust CPEng NER
      Geotechnical Services Lead – WA/NT, Stantec

      Alex Petty has more than 17 years of professional experience working as a geotechnical engineer across the UK, Australia South America and New Zealand and is a Chartered engineer with Engineers Australia. Alex has worked across a wide variety of sectors primarily in the civil space and more recently across the mining industry.

      Alex has a significant level of experience in a wide range of geotechnical applications including geological mapping, geotechnical investigations soil and rock stability assessments and pavement design. Alex takes a keen interest in progressing the geotechnical field with innovation and increased sustainability.

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      Adrian Piani FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      ACT Chief Engineer, ACT Government

      Adrian Piani is an Environmental Engineer with more than 20 years’ experience, predominately in the water resources, environmental and infrastructure sectors.

      In 2019 he joined the ACT Government as the inaugural ACT Chief Engineer where he provides strategic advice to government on infrastructure projects and supports the engineering cohort through the ACT Government Engineering Workforce Plan. He is a Chartered Fellow and Engineer Executive of Engineers Australia.

      Adrian is a proud Canberran and is passionate about the role that infrastructure plays in supporting our wellbeing and quality of life.

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      Aravind Raju
      Graduate Consultant, enX

      Aravind is a young and passionate renewable energy engineer with a key focus on energy policymaking. He graduated with a degree in renewable energy engineering from the UNSW Sydney. In his honours year, he investigated the current output of perovskite-betavoltaic devices and their applications in low-power sensors.

      As an engineer at YOYO Energy and Clipsal Solar, Aravind helped design and organise the installation of AS/NZS compliant residential solar systems. Currently at enX, he helps consult on distributed energy resource (DER) opportunities in Australia. These include behind-the meter interoperability, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and home energy efficiency.

      Headshot of Jothe Ramesh
      Jothe Ramesh
      Level Crossing Removal Project Technical Advisory Services, AECOM GHD TA

      Jothe Ramesh is an AECOM project manager and specialises in delivering complex multi-million-dollar projects and managing large, multi-disciplinary teams across environment and infrastructure. Jothe is currently the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) Technical Advisory Services Team Interface Manager and the Engagement Lead for the Materials Knowledge Exchange (MAKE). 

      Headshot of Sergio Saludes Requena MIEAust CPEng
      Sergio Saludes Requena MIEAust CPEng
      Associate Director – Structures, AECOM

      Sergio is a Chartered Structural Engineer and Design Team Leader at AECOM with more than 15 years of global professional experience designing and constructing major civil infrastructure and development projects within the construction industry. As a Design Team Leader, his project experience covers tunnels, buildings, metro rail systems, bridges and highways.

      Sergio’s key strengths are problem-solving, interdisciplinary coordination and collaboration skills to produce efficient and integrated designs during the project lifecycle. Sergio has been involved in North East Link, Rail Network Alliance, Western Harbour Tunnel, West Gate Tunnel, MetroNet and Barangaroo Crown Sydney Hotel Resort.

      Headshot of Dr Hossein Rizeei
      Dr Hossein Rizeei
      Geospatial Lead in BioUrbanism, McGregorCoxall

      Dr Hossein is a highly qualified senior geospatial scientist with more than 16 years of relevant experience in three countries. Hossein was nominated as one of Australia’s top five best-performance early career researchers in management and named as one of 40 rising research stars in The Australian’s Research 2021 Special Report.

      He has designed, developed and tested several geospatial-based methodologies to assess urban planning, natural hazards prediction and design metrics using GIS technologies, advanced remote sensing image processing and AI. His interests in developing interactive dashboards, spatial digital twins, 3D geospatial modelling, web-GIS and feature detection/extraction, in various applications.

      Throughout his career, Hossein has acquired various leadership skills including team management and planning, GIS advisory and review, and business planning and development. In addition to lecturing at universities, he has also published numerous ISI papers, book chapters and conference papers in these fields.

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      Bill Robinson
      Digital Water Lead – Australasia, Arup

      Bill Robinson is a Senior Civil Engineer who is experienced in strategic planning, water resources infrastructure design, resilience and digital transformation. He is the Australasian Digital Water Lead for Arup and has helped the firm to deliver digital water projects for the City of Melbourne, DEECA, DPE and DFAT.

      Bill believes that emerging technology has a central role to play in tackling complex global issues brought on by climate change. Working smarter with the goals of spending less, using more with what we have and utilising data for decision making are critical to the future of water scarcity in Australia. Bill’s passion for digital innovation, has seen him work with IBM to develop a discussion paper over the course of several years on the role that Blockchain technology could play in water trading markets. He is committed to shaping a better world by investing his time and efforts into projects and organisations committed to sustainable development and social equity.

      He is the current President of Yarra Pools, an organisation setup to improve the Yarra’s (Birrarung) health with the long term vision to make it swimmable. Bill brings first-hand experience in project management, product development, digital transformation, innovation consulting, design and project engineering, facilitating workshops and sustainable development.

      Headshot of Liliana Ructtinger
      Liliana Ructtinger
      McGregor Coxall

      Liliana is a social researcher with extensive experience in the government, research and development, and technology sectors in Australia and the US. Through her tertiary qualifications in psychology, sociology and urban planning, Liliana developed a passion for the evidence-based design of healthy and sustainable built environments.

      Liliana is experienced in working with interdisciplinary teams and building collaborative research partnerships with universities and industry. She strives to bring project insights to life, reaching their full impact through the translation of research findings to practice. Liliana is experienced in the development and delivery of organisational research strategy and in proactively identify emerging research opportunities.

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      Katie Said
      Leadsun Australia

      Graduating from university with a degree in marketing and design, Katie began her marcomms career with Leadsun Australia early 2022. What intrigues Katie the most about Leadsun, and what she is proud to be a part of, is its attitude and commitment in making positive changes towards a sustainable, safe and smart future, both internally and externally.

      Katie's knowledge of how design can influence behaviours, emotions, and attitudes, coupled with my passion for gender equity, lends itself to this topic of public lighting for safe, inclusive and accessible active recreation.

      Headshot of Aya Salih
      Aya Salih
      Senior Environmental Consultant, Bajwa EnviroConsult

      Aya is a Senior Environmental Consultant working in the environmental/waste management industry. As an experienced environmental engineer and scientist, Aya has overseen and been involved in projects covering aspects from design, project management, auditing, construction, operation, environmental assessments/monitoring and aftercare management. Aya has also undertaken extensive research in biogas production from organic waste prior to consulting and is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Environmental Law.

      Joining Bajwa EnviroConsult at its inception in early 2022, Aya has led and delivered many projects including providing operational support and advisory services for one of Victoria's largest landfills and involving a large infrastructure major roads project.

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      Kavya Santhosh
      ENcome Energy performance

      Qualified electronics and energy engineer with experience in renewables industry, Kavya has a Masters in Electronics and Energy Engineering and describes as an innovative and out of box thinker.

      Kavya believes in the quote "Your attitude, not your aptitude determines your altitude". Having the right attitude towards work does leaps and bound for one's professional career.

      Kavya is qualified as Professional Engineer through Engineers Australia.

      Headshor of Kala Senathirajah MIEAust CPEng
      Kala Senathirajah MIEAust CPEng
      Deputy Chair Environmental Engineering College, Engineers Australia and Customer Lead – Relationship Manager, Bureau of Meteorology

      Kala Senathirajah is a water industry engineer with more than20 years’ experience throughout the water supply cycle, spanning all stages of the asset life cycle. Experienced in strategy development, risk management, environmental management, water quality, water resources management and hydrology, she has a proven track record in collaborating, leading and managing multi-disciplinary teams of diverse backgrounds in variety of environmental settings.

      Kala is also an esteemed researcher whose work has made significant contributions to the field of water management and environmental conservation environmental. Through her studies on (micro)plastic pollution and its impacts, she has shed light on the pervasive presence of microplastics and the urgent need for effective solutions.

      Kala is actively involved with the development of the UN global instrument to end plastic pollution.

      Headshot of Dr Tristan Shelly
      Dr Tristan Shelly
      Senior Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Dr Shelley is a specialist in advanced composites manufacturing technologies and targeted sustainable manufacturing methodologies. He also assists in the strategic direction of industry focused R&D programs including bid development and project management, with $58 million in grants awarded within the last 18 months.

      Dr Shelley has extensive experience leading industrial collaborative grant funded programs to deliver industrially relevant technological solutions. Dr Shelley specialisation focuses on advanced manufacturing of composite materials, and his focus has recently also been directed toward design of products using problematic ‘waste’ materials.

      Headshot of Alex Shin MIEAust CPEng NER
      Alex Shin MIEAust CPEng NER
      Principal Engineer, MathWorks

      Alex Shin is the Principal Application Engineer at MathWorks, a company specialised in providing support to simulation, verification, and deployment projects, especially for commercial purposes. With his extensive experience, he has been actively involved in defining the process for simulation and testing, and implementing Model-Based Design tools in large organisations. Alex holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of New South Wales.

      Headshot of Dr Sundar Shrestha
      Dr Sundar Shrestha
      Electrical Engineer - Traction Power, Arup

      Dr Sundar Shrestha is an accomplished electrical engineer specialised in railway traction power system. With an extensive working experience in various Australian rail projects, from concept to construction, he brings a diverse background encompassing both industry experience and academic research.

      With a passion for sustainable transportation solutions, Sundar is dedicated to making design decision that improve the efficiency, safety, and reliability of railway systems. He also manages research and foresight works that leads toward innovative solution in rail industry. He extends his expertise to design and deliver renewable energy projects beyond the rail sector.

      Headshot of DR Lucas Skoufa FIEAust CPEng
      Dr Lucas Skoufa FIEAust CPEng
      Research Manager (P/T), Royal Australian Navy

      Lucas Skoufa is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and Chartered Engineer who has an interesting background covering military (naval), energy / power generation and university roles. He has worked at several locations in Australia and previously served as a full-time Marine Engineering Officer (sea and shore postings) in the Royal Australian Navy. Currently he is working as a Reservist Officer with the Royal Australian Navy and posted to a Research Manager role.

      Since 2005 Lucas’s interests have been in decarbonising power generation, hard-to-abate sectors (e.g. using hydrogen and other low/zero-carbon fuels) and decentralised/community-based power systems. He sees that the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is achievable and requires a suite of low/zero-carbon energy technologies, a focus on energy efficiency and consumer education / knowledge on how they are part of the current energy and emissions transition.

      Lucas completed his PhD on the strategic behaviours of electricity generation firms, has a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Business (Economics) and a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical).

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      Mayuran Sivapalan
      Managing Director, Adaptus

      Mayuran Sivapalan is the Managing Director of Adaptus, a boutique management consulting firm that works with leaders in business and society to solve complex sustainability challenges, improve ESG performance, and respond to the risks and opportunities of climate change. With degrees in environmental engineering and investment finance, he has spent the past 18 years using approaches from the risk and decision sciences to help multinational organisations and government agencies identify and deliver win-win projects that optimise financial return with environmental and social outcomes.

      Mayuran currently leads the Modelling and Decision Support function for the Australian Government on the world’s largest climate adaptation R&D program, helping advance technologies to save Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from the impacts of climate change. He has previously held senior leadership, advisory and project management roles with global engineering and advisory firms in the resources, energy and infrastructure sectors across Australia, the US and Middle East.

      Headshot of Evan Smith CPEng
      Evan Smith CPEng
      National Sustainability Manager for Sustainable Construction, Holcim

      Evan Smith has more 20 years’ of environmental and sustainability experience within the rail, road, infrastructure, construction and mining sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and is also a Chartered Engineer. Evan was pivotal in the delivery of Australia’s first Australia's first Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for Ready-mix Concrete and Australia’s first carbon neutral ready-mix concrete.

      Headshot of Jeremy Smith FIEAust CPEng
      Jeremy Smith FIEAust CPEng
      Senior Lecturer, ANU

      Jeremy Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Engineering at the School of Engineering at the Australian National University (ANU). Jeremy is the current Chair of the Organising Committee of the Engineers Australia Humanitarian Engineering Community of Practice. He has a long association with humanitarian engineering in Australia including volunteer and staff roles at Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB-A) and leading education and research initiatives at the ANU in partnership with a range of for-purpose organisations.

      At the ANU he conveners the Humanitarian Engineering program and teaches into the Systems Engineering and Environmental Engineering programs.

      Headshot of Dr  Shan E Hyder Soomro
      Dr Shan E Hyder Soomro
      Postdoctoral Fellow, China Three Gorges University

      Dr Soomro was born in small town Daulatpur Saffan, District: Shaheed Banazirabad, Sindh Pakistan. He received his Masters in (MS-Hydraulics and Irrigation Engineering) from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro and Doctoral degree in (Hydrology and Water Resources) from Zhengzhou University China. From July 2022 to up till now, he has been a Postdoctoral Research fellow. His main research direction is climate change, flood forecasting, rivers and lakes, hydrological modelling, urban flood, and climate change effect on fish ecology.

      Headshot of Jose Sosa
      Jose Sosa
      University of Melbourne

      Jose Sosa is an electrical engineer, with experience in the energy and transport sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. His expertise in this field was gotten through his work in development organisations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme and the Interamerican Development Bank.

      Currently, he is pursuing a Masters in Energy Systems from the University of Melbourne, while also actively contributing to a Climate Research Accelerator (CRX) project.

      Headshot of Bandula Subasinghe MIEAust CPEng NER
      Bandula Subasinghe MIEAust CPEng NER
      Senior Electrical Engineer/Project Manager, Arup

      Bandula Subasinghe is a Chartered Professional Engineer with more than 17 years’ experience in electrical design, design management and project management on educational, art and culture, healthcare, pharmaceutical and commercial building projects in Australia, the US and Sri Lanka. She is currently working at Arup Sydney as a Lead Electrical Engineer and Project Manager.

      Bandula is passionate about delivering emerging sustainability strategies for buildings and focusing on sustainable outcomes, decarbonisation and electrification. Her extensive technical skills include electrification of buildings, whole of life carbon approaches, climate resilience, energy and sustainability masterplans and building services electrical design.

      Headshot of DR Farzaneh Tahmoorian
      Dr Farzaneh Tahmoorian
      Central Queensland University

      Dr Farzaneh Tahmoorian has worked as a site engineer and project manager in many construction projects. She obtained her Masters from the University of Technology Sydney, followed by her PhD in "Application of Waste Materials in Flexible Pavements" from Western Sydney University in Australia. Dr Tahmoorian is the Leader of the Civil Engineering and Built Environment Research Group at CQUniversity. She is an expert in road and pavement materials.

      Dr Tahmoorian has established and manages the CQU Pavement Lab, which is equipped with a wide range of laboratory equipment for testing asphalt mix, bitumen and other pavement materials. She has also developed the field testing facilities at Mackay Ooralea Campus for transitioning from laboratory to field conditions and involving the time-based performance monitoring of different projects.

      She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of Modernity in Road and Pavement Engineering and a regular reviewer of several international journals and also serves as Editor for the Journal of Engineering Solid Mechanics

      Headshot of Dr Scott Taylor
      Dr Scott Taylor
      Director Engineering and Innovation, Major Road Projects Victoria

      Dr Scott Taylor is recognised and progressive leader with extensive experience in engineering across the government and private sectors. He currently leads the Engineering Team at Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV), as Director Engineering and Innovation with his role overseeing all engineering and technical aspects of the projects within the MRPV portfolio, as well as supporting and facilitating an innovative culture both within MRPV and across industry.

      Scott is also a member of Engineers Australia's Professional Standards Committee, which establishes competency requirements and Chartership standards, and has been a past Committee Member of the Victorian Division of Engineering Australia. Scott also has a strong research background, having obtained a PhD in 2004 in the area of structural dynamics and computational methodologies.

      Headshot of Matthew Tendam
      Matthew Tendam
      Aurecon

      Matthew is an Associate Environmental Engineer and a Certified Environmental Practitioner - Site Contamination Specialist (CEnvP-SC) with more than 22 years of professional experience. He has implemented innovative and traditional assessment and remedial techniques at sites where soil, groundwater, sediments, soil vapour/landfill gas and surface water have been impacted with a wide range of anthropogenic chemicals.

      Matthew has managed sites regulated under a wide range of local, state and federal environmental regulations and guidelines in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam. Where remediation has been required Matthew has been responsible for the evaluation, design, implementation and long-term operational optimisation of soil, groundwater and soil vapour remediation solutions. The overall objective of the assessment and remediation works is to restore or regenerate one or more beneficial uses for land and water.

      Matthew has a depth of experience on delivering environmental considerations to multi-disciplinary engineering and advisory projects to restore environmental values of land and water. He has delivered on projects across a range of industries including infrastructure, resources, defence, energy, water and mining. This depth of experience allows him to tailor environmental inputs to the specific project and industry. 

      Headshot of Dharmit Thakore
      Dharmit Thakore
      Moonish Ent Pty Ltd

      Dharmit has more than 21 years' experience in management and design in engineering fields. He prides himself on always looking for best in others and challenges himself to achieve more from life. He has published two books, Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software and Intermediate Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software.

      Headshot of Harry Thawley
      Harry Thawley
      Australian National University

      Harry Thawley is a final year undergraduate student at the Australian National University, currently completing a Bachelor of Engineering (Research and Development) (Honours) with a major in Renewable Energy Systems.

      His research interests are in resilience of systems, grid-integration of renewable energy, solar cells, and optoelectronics. In these fields, he has completed projects in tailoring optoelectronic properties of perovskite by surface-modification for solar cell applications, and characterising resilience in renewable energy grids. Harry continues to build on this research, working alongside Australian National University’s 100% Renewable Energy Group in his honours research – optimising renewable energy grids for resilience.

      Headshot of Cyril Thomas GradIEAust
      Cyril Thomas GradIEAust
      Graduate Electrical Engineer, University of Queensland

      Cyril is a graduate of the University of Queensland with a Bachelor (Honours) and a Masters in Electrical Engineering. Over the span of his career he has collaborated across various roles, both in academia and industry. He is excited about the energy transition and is passionate about using innovative practices to achieve sustainability within the energy sector.

      Headshot of Andrew Thompson
      Andrew Thompson
      Associate Director and Sustainability Team Lead, AECOM

      Andrew is an Associate Director and Sustainability Team Lead for AECOM’s Buildings and Places division in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. 

      He has built a career in sustainable buildings working in Melbourne, London and Perth, and in 20 years in the industry, participated in committees and working groups for industry bodies such as the Green Building Council of Australia, the Property Council of Australia and the Urban Development Institute of Australia.

      He has had the privilege of leading sustainability teams on iconic projects, such as the world’s most sustainable retail centre, the Burwood Brickworks by Frasers and the redevelopment of the Queen Victoria Market with the City of Melbourne. He is now working on city-shaping projects with AECOM, such as the 600 Collins St office tower by Hines and Victoria’s first all-electric Hospital at Melton.

      Headshot of Prof Wendy Timms
      Prof Wendy Timms
      Professor of Environmental Engineering, Deakin University

      Professor Timms is a Chartered Engineer (Civil, Environmental) and hydrogeologist with more than 30 years of professional experience in government, consulting engineering and research. She is Professor of Environmental Engineering at Deakin University, teaching and leading research in carbon storage in porous earth, water-energy nexus, groundwater hydrology and environmental tracers. Her research is funded by the Australian Research Council, the CO2CRC and the Victorian government.

      Prior to this, Wendy was at UNSW School of Mineral Resources and Energy, affiliated with the Connected Waters Initiative and Australian Centre for Sustainable Mining Practices. She was a founding Chief Investigator in the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. She has published more than 60 journal papers,100 technical reports and contributes regularly to independent expert reviews. She is a former Vice President of International Association of Hydrogeologists (Australasia-Pacific).

      Headshot of Gavin Treseder
      Gavin Treseder
      Associate Director, Engineering, Assets and Project Delivery, KPMG

      Gavin Treseder has a strong background in reliability engineering and asset resilience. Normally you'll find him developing bespoke, predictive models and implementing asset management strategies for ageing equipment fleets across asset intensive industries. More recently, he's been embedded with power clients helping them prepare for the energy transition with robust, defensible investments for an uncertain future.

      Headshot of Shalini Trikha FIEAust CPEng NER
      Shalini Trikha FIEAust CPEng NER
      Technical Manager, ecologiQ

      Shalini currently leads the Technical Stream within ecologiQ as Technical Manager. She is passionate about developing sustainable engineering solutions with recycled materials across infrastructure projects, including at Greater Western Water.

      Shalini leads technical reforms, innovations and research partnerships to increase use of reused and recycled materials across Victoria’s Big Build. She has been successful in embedding this approach as the ‘new normal’ in infrastructure delivery through collaboration across government and industry.

      Headshot of Marco van Winden CPEng
      Marco van Winden CPEng
      AECOM

      Marco is a talented Technical Director in the Water Infrastructure team at AECOM and has an extensive background leading critical planning studies, significant engineering projects and multi-disciplinary project teams. Marco leads planning and engineering design teams for public infrastructure projects, including water pipelines, treatment systems and transportation projects.

      His 30 years' of professional experience has predominantly been in Australia and New Zealand, with projects in the Pacific Islands, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and China. Marco is also a Dad and a believer in the anthropogenic change this planet has experienced since the advent of the industrial age.

      Headshot of Grant Viljoen
      Grant Viljoen
      Practice Lead (VSA) – Sustainability and Resilience, AECOM

      Grant is a Practice Lead in AECOM's Sustainability and Resilience team with 14 years’ experience providing advice on sustainability, resilience, and climate change in both the private and public sectors. With a deep understanding of environmental and sustainability policy, strategy and implementation, Grant is well-equipped to navigate the complex interplay between environmental, social, and economic challenges.

      Grant is actively supporting major infrastructure projects in Victoria with a primary goal of creating sustainable and resilient urban environments by integrating these principles into design and engineering processes. He has been involved in North East Link, Melbourne Airport Rail and Metro Tunnel Project.

      Headshot of Christian Virgil
      Christian Virgil
      College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago

      Christian Casey-Lee Virgil is an Industrial Engineering doctoral candidate in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago and a member of the National Technical Committee for Occupational Health and Safety. His research interests are climate change, sustainable development, public health and occupational safety.

      His diverse academic background and interest in climate change guided him to participate in the McGill-University of the West Indies Queen Elizabeth Scholars Climate Resiliency Program at McGill University. His research under the program examined approaches to using mangroves and seagrass beds as a coastal protection strategy in Trinidad and Tobago. He is currently developing the framework for establishing a Living Laboratory to solve climate change issues affecting Trinidad and Tobago.

      Headshot of Nalaka Vitharana MIEAust
      Nalaka Vitharana MIEAust
      Executive Manager Infrastructure, GWMWater

      Nalaka has 30 years’ experience in the water industry across three states in policy development, regulation, strategic and infrastructure planning. He has held pivotal roles in infrastructure, institutional and community change projects in large metropolitan and regional environments and has an extensive history of creating successful, enabling environments and delivering practical, sustainable outcomes.

      Nalaka’s motivation to pursue a career in the water sector was developed through his appreciation of the difference access to water makes, not just to people’s health but also the social change it drives and the opportunities it creates.

      Headshot of Dr Changlong Wang
      Dr Changlong Wang
      Research Fellow, Monash University

      Dr Changlong Wang is a research fellow at Monash University, specialising in energy system modelling. His contributions to the development of the Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool have played a crucial role in supporting the Australian Government Hydrogen Hub establishment and facilitating major investments. Dr Wang actively participates in international collaborations, such as the IEA's Hydrogen Implement Agreement Task 41.

      Headshot of Andrew Whyte
      Dr Andrew Whyte FIEAust CPEng NER
      Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Curtin University

      Having worked in industrial and academic environments in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Dr Andrew Whyte BSc PhD FICE FIEAust CPEng NER, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Curtin University Australia and Professor (visiting) of the University of Aberdeen, has gained a wide-ranging knowledge of construction management, design team integration, whole-life assessment of structures and asset development using local technologies, sustainable methods and low-cost means.

      Headshot of Rachel Williams
      Rachel Williams
      Coordinator Sustainability Development, City of Canning

      Rachel Williams is Coordinator Sustainability Development at the City of Canning. Rachel has 22 years of experience working in the environmental management and sustainability fields. Rachel's team work to inspire a culture of sustainability across the City of Canning and its community, which includes working towards climate resilience.

      Rachel has qualifications in civil and environmental engineering.

      Headshot of David Wilson
      David Wilson
      Founder and CTO, Green Frog Systems

      David Wilson is the founder and CTO of Green Frog Systems– one of Australia's first solar lighting companies, clean energy advocate and entrepreneur known for his sustainable technology innovation. David has been instrumental in driving the adoption of solar powered infrastructure through engineering driven solutions tailored to address complex challenges.

      With a focus on high reliability solar lighting, David's company revolutionised the industry, offering sustainable alternatives to mains power. His visionary approach has established him as a thought leader in the clean energy sector partnering with industry colleagues, policymakers, and academics, to boost renewable technology research and mentor upcoming innovators in the field.

      Headshot of Ellen Worthington MIEAust
      Ellen Worthington MIEAust
      Manager, Integrated Sustainability, Aurecon

      Ellen is an award-winning sustainability leader whose expertise lies in the road and rail industries. She is passionate about driving industry-wide sustainable change and helping clients achieve better project and organisational outcomes from a sustainability and resilience perspective.

      Ellen values the delivery of verifiable sustainability and resilience outcomes in planning, design and delivery. She leads teams of sustainability professionals and technical specialists and is responsible for ensuring effective integration of sustainability and climate resilience risks, opportunities and requirements into projects.

      Headshot of Iain Wylie MIEAust
      Iain Wylie MIEAust
      Product Manager, Oceaneering

      Iain Wylie has more than 13 years of multi-faceted subsea experience including roles as a ROV pilot, tooling technician, design engineer, project engineer and project manager.

      A Bachelor’s in Science in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology provided a foundation in mission design, systems engineering, inter-disciplinary collaboration and technical rigor. He specialises in rapid product development as a part of the Engineering Solutions service. As a Product Manager in Oceaneering’s Offshore Project Group, he’s focused on new product development and technology innovation enabling the energy transition.

      Headshot of Jiayu Yao
      Jiayu Yao
      University of Melbourne

      Ms Jiayu Yao is a PhD candidate at the Department of Infrastructure Engineering, the University of Melbourne. She completed her master’s degree majoring in environmental engineering at the University of Melbourne in 2021, and then she joined the water group at the University of Melbourne as a graduate research student.

      Her major research interests include resilient water distribution system design under future changes considering the water-energy nexus and greenhouse emission (GHG) reduction. She is currently working on the design of water distribution systems under long-term uncertainty, considering behind-the-meter solar as an alternative energy supply for pump operation.

      Headshot of Soobok Yoon
      Soobok Yoon
      PhD Student, Monash University
      • BS, Semiconductor Physics, Korea Universit
      • MS, Applied Physics, Korea University
      • KAT-CERN Researcher, Republic of Korea and Switzerland: Future Circular Collider (FCC) Project
      • Master of Sustainable Energy, University of Queensland, Australia
      • PhD, Monash University, Australia: Smart Charging Algorithm
      Headshot of Dr Ellen Zhao
      Dr Ellen Zhao
      University of Wollongong

      Dr Ellen Zhao is an Honorary Fellow in the School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering at University of Wollongong. Ellen obtained her bachelor degree in Civil Engineering and PhD in Methods of Using Modified Wire Mesh Composite to Strengthen Concrete with Different Strengths. Ellen’s research interests include cementitious materials, the Australian structural standards such as Concrete Structures AS 3600-2018 and Steel Structures AS 4100-2020 as well as FRP design guidance.

      Ellen is a member of Engineers Australia and a committee member of Civil and Structural Engineering Panel, Engineers Australia Sydney Division. Ellen was the recipient of UOW CERL (COVID-impacted Emerging Research Leaders) fellowship. Furthermore, Ellen made sustained and significant contributions to teaching a range of subjects cross each year while collaborating with different schools. Ellen was the recipient of Vice-Chancellors Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award 2022.

      Program

      Wednesday 29 November

        8.30–8.50 am
      Opening and Welcome to Country
      Headshot of Arron Wood AM
      Arron Wood AM
      Sustainable business expert and former Deputy Lord Mayor, City of Melbourne

      Arron Wood is a sustainable business expert and former Deputy Lord Mayor for the City of Melbourne, and is a News Ltd Telstra Micro Business Award winner.

      At the pulse of what makes Melbourne an incredible city, Arron is Chair of the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute and currently serves on the South East Water Board, and previously Chaired the Melbourne Ecocity World Summit Advisory Board and was a member of the Fisherman’s Bend Ministerial Advisory Committee.

      In 2020 Arron was made a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to local government, to the environment and to the community of Melbourne.

        8.50–9.20 am
      The time to lead with courage is now

      There is no singular pathway or roadmap to creating a more sustainable world. Forging new ground and finding smarter solutions requires courage and taking smart risks, not just safe ones. Courage to lead the change ahead of policy makers. Courage to set a bold vision with a big why and take action amid the unknowns. And courage to accelerate learning so we can adapt and iterate and move forward faster, together.

      This session will help you identify where your fear of getting it wrong is keeping you from making it right. Margie will help you reset your mindset so you can step up and lead the change that the world needs.

      Dr Margie Warrell
      Dr Margie Warrell
      Best-selling author of Stop Playing Safe

      Dr Margie Warrell is a bestselling author, leadership advisor and global authority on courageous leadership. Margie has walked the path of ‘courage over comfort’ many times since her childhood growing up in rural Victoria. A Senior Partner in the leadership advisory practice at Korn Ferry, Margie has lived and worked around the world and draws on her diverse background in business, psychology and coaching to help leaders navigate the complex challenges and risks in todays increasingly uncertain and volatile world. The titles of Margie’s Live Brave podcast and bestselling books – such as Stop Playing Safe, Find Your Courage and You’ve Got This! – speak to her passion for people to think bigger and lead braver lives.

      A Women’s Economic Forum honouree, Margie sits on the board of Forbes School of Business and Technology. Her doctoral dissertation in women’s leadership informs her work advancing women to leadership roles. Currently living in Washington D.C., Margie is married to an engineer who also hails from Victoria.

        9.20–9.50 am
      Navigating transition and transformation in all parts of our economies

      The next few decades are likely to be dominated by transitions. Across our energy, food, transport and industrial systems, the business models, technologies and approaches which support us today will have to transform purposefully to keep us safe from climate change, and to minimise it. The change in finance across the past decade is an example of this transformation in action, with the sector going from a barrier to a facilitator of transition. This session will propose that we need to drive similar transformations in other parts of our economies to reach our transition goals and will outline major priorities for change. 

      Headshot of Zoe Whitton
      Zoe Whitton
      Managing Director and Head of Impact, Pollination

      Zoe Whitton is Head of Impact at Pollination Group, a specialist climate change investment and advisory firm. Zoe assists companies and investors to navigate the impacts of climate change and to build new businesses and products which are transition aligned.

      She previously led the award-winning APAC ESG Research team at Citi, advising institutional investors globally on climate change and sustainable development. Earlier in her career Zoe covered ESG and climate change at Credit Suisse and at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and served as a youth delegate to the UNFCCC. She serves on the boards of the Investor Group on Climate Change and the Centre for Policy Development, and on the Steering Committee of the Australian Climate Governance Initiative. She is also member of the Australian Sustainable Finance Institute’s Technical Advisory Group, and the Sydney Environment Institute’s Advisory Group.

      Zoe has won numerous awards for her research and work on climate finance and risk, and regularly contributes to the wider conversation on sustainable finance by commentating in the Australian and international press along with various publications.

        9.50–10.20 am
      The crucial role of technology and innovation on the path to net zero

      Join Larry Marshall in conversation with Romilly Madew as they explore the challenges facing engineers in realising real world solutions for mitigating climate change and achieving net zero.  

      Larry founded Australia’s first renewable energy venture capital fund in 2012, and more recently took a large national enterprise with close to 10,000 people and 55 sites across Australia, 83 per cent of the way to net zero, at the same time as achieving the first growth in 30 years.

      Based on this real-world experience, he will reflect on what engineers, business leaders and government should be considering when it comes to technology and climate change, the barriers that are holding innovation back, and draw on examples where this is happening well. 

      Headshot of Dr Larry Marshall
      Dr Larry Marshall
      Former CEO of CSIRO

      Dr Larry Marshall is Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia (AMCHAM) Board, sits on the Australian Government’s Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group and is a member of the Council of the Australia National University. He was Chief Executive of CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, from January 2015 to June 2023. CSIRO solves the greatest challenges through innovative science and technology, playing a pivotal role in Australia’s response to challenges including catastrophic flooding and bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic.

      Larry is a scientist, technology innovator, published author and business leader with a wealth of experience in creating new value and impact with science. He has a PhD in Physics and has been honoured as a Federation Fellow, an AIP (Australian Institute of Physics) Fellow, and an ATSE (Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering) Fellow and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).

      He has led six companies in biotechnology, telecommunications, semiconductors and venture capital. He has 100 publications and conference papers, holds 20 patents and has served on 20 boards of high-tech companies operating in the US, Australia and China.

      He is the author of the 2023 book, Invention to Innovation: How Scientists Can Drive Our Economy, which charts a course for Australia to gain more economic benefit from its world-class research. He is a passionate supporter of Australian innovation, and the power of science and technology to drive Australia’s economic recovery and resilience to future challenges.

      Headshot of Romilly Madew
      Romilly Madew AO FTSE HonFIEAust EngExec
      Chief Executive Officer, Engineers Australia

      Prior to joining Engineers Australia, Romilly was CEO of Infrastructure Australia overseeing the organisation's critical role in helping governments prioritise projects and reforms that best serve our communities. She served as CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia for 13 years. In acknowledgment of her contribution to Australia’s sustainable building movement, Romily was awarded an Order of Australia in 2019. 

      She is currently a Member of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering Infrastructure Forum, Member of Placemaking NSW Advisory Committee, Director of Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Independent Chair of the Currawong State Park Advisory Board (NSW), Federal Government appointee on the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group and G20 EMPOWER – Empowerment and Progression of Women's Economic Representation, Member of the National Women in Transport CEO Advisory Group, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers Enabling Better Infrastructure Steering Group (UK) and Director of Minerva Network (supporting Australia’s elite sportswomen). 

        10.20–10.30 am
      Partner presentation
        10.30–11.00 am
      Morning tea
        11.00–11.10 am
      Beyond 1%: how can digitalisation help Australia punch above its weight in the global net zero race?

       The rapid deployment of digitalisation technologies and skills into our industrial, energy and infrastructure sectors is critical to support climate goals and to make businesses more competitive. It is also essential to allow Australia to take a leading role in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions: beyond the 1 per cent of emissions we are responsible for today.

      Headshot of Peter Halliday
      Peter Halliday
      CEO, Siemens Australia and New Zealand

      Peter Halliday is the CEO of Siemens Australia and New Zealand. In a career spanning 25 years at Siemens, Peter has held senior roles in Australia, Asia, and Europe. Prior to relocating back to his home country of Australia, Peter was the global head of Siemens’ Building Performance and Sustainability and involved in some of the world’s most important building infrastructure projects.

      Peter joined Siemens Australia as CEO in 2022, a milestone 150th anniversary year for Siemens in the region and he is passionate about the role that technology with purpose and sustainability will play in Australia’s next 150 years. 

        11.10–11.40 am
      The circular economy as an accelerator

      Lisa will explore how Australia is driving the evolution to a circular economy and outline the advantages for businesses who embed circularity as a core principle, referencing engineering case studies. 

      Headshot of Lisa McLean
      Lisa McLean
      Chief Executive Officer, Circular Australia

      Lisa is a circular economy and zero-carbon business transformation leader. She has been successfully advising industry and governments in developing new policy frameworks and regulations that bring about market change to enable the circular zero-carbon economy over the past 14 years.

      This work has covered the energy, water, waste and mobility sectors in the UK and Australia. Lisa established and led the Open Cities Alliance, a peak industry association with unique membership from government to private sector and research organisations. Open Cities advocates for the circular economy, prosumer rights and new local utility and mobility precinct approaches.

      In Australia, Lisa initiated and established the Australian Solar Thermal Association (AUSTELA), advised electric mobility providers, and worked with Flow Systems from a start-up sustainable water utility to its major role in shaping a new sustainable water and now multi-utility market.

      Starting her career as a political journalist working in the national press gallery, Lisa moved to advising ministers and premiers on education and climate policy, before heading to the UK to help establish the Clinton Climate Initiative.

      Explore the biggest opportunities for circular economy intervention in circular design, built environment and innovation. Are we on track for a more circular economy by 2030?

      Headshot of Professor John Thwaites AM
      Professor John Thwaites AM
      Chair, Monash Sustainable Development Institute and Chair, Climateworks Centre

      John Thwaites is a Professorial Fellow, Monash University, Chair of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Chair of the Climateworks Centre and Chair of The McKinnon Institute for Political Leadership.

      John is Chair of the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group to the Australian Minister for Environment, the Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP. He is a Co-Chair of the Leadership Council of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) launched by the Secretary General of the United Nations to provide expert advice and support to the development and implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. He is also the Chair of the SDSN Association, which operates the SDSN network around the world.

      John was appointed Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the environment and to the people and Parliament of Victoria in the 2021 Australia Day Honours.

      John was Deputy Premier of Victoria from 1999 until his retirement in 2007. During this period, he held various Ministerial portfolios including Minister of Health, Minister of Environment and was Victoria’s first Minister for Climate Change. In these portfolios he was responsible for major reforms in social policy, health, environment and water. Prior to being elected to Parliament, he was a barrister and Mayor of South Melbourne.

      He has degrees in Law (Honours) and Science from Monash University. He is a Fellow Australian Institute of Company Directors.

        11.40 am – 12.30 pm
      How can organisations overcome the engineering skills shortage that might inhibit progress? 
      Panel discussion

      Australia is facing its third engineering skills shortage in the last twenty years, exacerbated by the demands of the infrastructure pipeline, recent border closures, and the new national priorities of the clean energy transition and net zero objectives. Without action, the shortage is likely to continue; governments, industry, engineering education institutions, schools and professional bodies need to work together as a priority and with urgency to ensure we have sufficient engineers. 

      Join this panel of experts and stakeholders for an in-depth discussion on the ways forward for addressing the current, emerging and future engineering skill gaps, with a focus on education, recruitment and retention, skilled migrant participation and demand forecasting.

      Headshot of Kane Thornton in blue suit
      Kane Thornton
      Chief Executive, Clean Energy Council

      Kane Thornton is Chief Executive of the Clean Energy Council, the peak body for the renewable energy and energy storage industry in Australia.

      Kane has almost 20 years experience in energy policy and leadership in the development of the renewable energy industry. He has been at the forefront of the development of the clean energy sector into a global clean energy superpower, influencing and driving the politics, policies and initiatives that have been critical to the industry's growth.

      Kane has broad management and leadership experience having previously worked for IBM, Hydro Tasmania and DFAT based in Japan. He has held a range of advisory and board roles with government and non-government organisations in the climate change and energy sector including as the Chair of leading national community organisation Renew and the Deputy Chair of Sustainability Victoria.

      Kane is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, has a Masters in Social Science and Bachelor of Information Technology. He grew up in regional Victoria, is an enthusiastic road cyclist and father of two teenagers.

      Headshot of Dr Damian Oliver
      Dr Damian Oliver
      Assistant Secretary, Workforce Futures Branch, Jobs and Skills Australia, Department of Employment and Workplace Relations

      Damian Oliver is Assistant Secretary (Workforce Futures) at Jobs and Skills Australia. His team examines the current and future supply and demand for labour and skills across Australia to identify options for resolving workforce challenges, through innovative data techniques and extensive collaboration with stakeholders. Most recently he has led the JSA Clean Energy Workforce Capacity Study. He has worked on skills and labour market issues in research and policy roles for twenty years.

      Headshot of Amy Lezala Zahr FIEAust EngExec
      Amy Lezala Zahr FIEAust EngExec
      Chief Engineer – Rail, Department of Transport and Planning

      Amy has spent her career in rail and has worked in maintenance, design and delivery. She started out in materials and fire engineering, then worked in RAMS and through life engineering. Amy has been in engineering governance for more than five years, bringing together her learned experiences.

      Across her career, Amy has focussed on a ‘whole of life, whole of system’ view. She has a passion for sustainability and finding the balance for people, planet and profit.

      Headshot of Paul Williams
      Paul Williams
      Managing Director of Mining and Energy, WSP 

      Paul Williams leads the Mining and Energy business for WSP. As a business, WSP sees the importance of collaboration across mining and energy sectors to drive innovation and shared learnings on the path to decarbonisation. 

      Paul has more than 25 years’ experience working across Australia, Asia, America and Europe in business design, change management, large project implementation and review and asset acquisition.

      Paul has worked with clients, stakeholders and communities to enhance the world’s infrastructure across developing and growing cities, improving the resiliency of our communities and decarbonising the economy.

      Paul champions WSP’s Inclusion and Diversity committee and is passionate about bringing change to gender gaps in the workplace and supporting more women into leadership roles. 
       

      Headshot of Jane MacMaster
      Jane MacMaster FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Chief Engineer, Engineers Australia

      Jane MacMaster has worked as an aerospace, mechanical and systems engineer in Australia and internationally, focusing primarily on supersonic flight vehicle design, operations research and rapid prototyping in the defence sector. She has qualifications in Engineering (Mechanical) and postgraduate qualifications in International Relations.  

      Jane has previously worked as a senior advisor within the strategy unit of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and as a management consultant in the financial services sector. Most recently she was Founder and Director of Ponder Enterprises, where she used her engineering skillset to address complex societal challenges. Jane also developed a conceptual model and practical techniques for complex problem solving which she taught at universities and to staff from Commonwealth and state and territory government departments.  

        1.30-1.50 pm
      Building climate smart resilience for a changing world through city-level technologies
      Headshot of Dr Robyn Mansfield
      Dr Robyn Mansfield
      Associate Director, McGregor Coxall

      Robyn holds a PhD in Sustainable Development from Monash University. She is committed to amplifying marginalised voices in urban planning, especially in communities facing hardships. With degrees in International and Community Development, Disaster Design and Development, and Landscape Architecture, she brings a diverse background in local and state government, consultancy, academia, and private practice.

      Robyn's expertise lies in urban resilience, disaster risk reduction, community participation, livelihoods, informal settlement revitalisation, and post-disaster reconstruction. Having worked extensively worldwide, she focuses on children's participation, believing it to be crucial for achieving a sustainable and just planet through radical and innovative action.

      Headshot of Dr Hossein Rizeei
      Dr Hossein Rizeei
      Geospatial Lead in BioUrbanism, McGregorCoxall

      Dr Hossein is a highly qualified senior geospatial scientist with more than 16 years of relevant experience in three countries. Hossein was nominated as one of Australia’s top five best-performance early career researchers in management and named as one of 40 rising research stars in The Australian’s Research 2021 Special Report.

      He has designed, developed and tested several geospatial-based methodologies to assess urban planning, natural hazards prediction and design metrics using GIS technologies, advanced remote sensing image processing and AI. His interests in developing interactive dashboards, spatial digital twins, 3D geospatial modelling, web-GIS and feature detection/extraction, in various applications.

      Throughout his career, Hossein has acquired various leadership skills including team management and planning, GIS advisory and review, and business planning and development. In addition to lecturing at universities, he has also published numerous ISI papers, book chapters and conference papers in these fields.

        1.50-2.10 pm
      Implementing climate smart delivery through digital engineering capabilities
      Headshot of Maisara Al Rais
      Maisara Al Rais
      Digital Engineering Lead, WSP

      Maisara is a Digital Engineering Lead with extensive hands-on experience in digital engineering and construction management for multi-discipline projects from pre-investment to handover and O&M stages. Maisara successfully delivered several 4D,5D/ and 7D BIM projects with clients and contractors, supporting the digital transformation in many organisations and projects, with practical knowledge of the related standards – ISO 19650, ISO 19115 and ISO 16739. Maisara has a long experience using data analytics to support data-driven decisions in project management and connecting the asset data with the designed models.

      Maisara is completing a Master of Data Science at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and has a Master of Construction Management from the UNSW, Postgraduate Diploma in Construction Project Management from the UNSW, Bachelor of Architecture from the Alexandria University, Graduate Diploma of Project Management from the American University in Cairo, and is a member of the Australian Institute of Project Management. 

        2.10-2.30 pm
      Measuring, tracking and reducing embodied carbon in structures
      Headshot of Edward Bond MIEAust NER
      Edward Bond MIEAust NER
      Principal, Robert Bird Group

      Ed is a structural engineer working out of the Melbourne office who brings a holistic design philosophy to his projects. Following successful delivery across global centres such as Melbourne, London and Dubai he has developed a well-rounded approach to engineering. His career spanning 20 years has given Ed the confidence to tackle projects covering a diverse sector spectrum. This experience varies in scale from intricate heritage refurbishments up to multi-billion mixed-use precincts.

      As an advocate of sustainable design, his wide knowledge base allows Ed to identify where the most appropriate low carbon intervention can be made. Ed’s a supporter of introducing material optimisation principles from a project’s inception and sees value in tracking embodied carbon throughout the design journey.

        2.30-2.50 pm
      Building the future: T3 Collingwood and the innovative approach to sustainable hybrid timber buildings
      Headshot of Andrew Thompson
      Andrew Thompson
      Associate Director and Sustainability Team Lead, AECOM

      Andrew is an Associate Director and Sustainability Team Lead for AECOM’s Buildings and Places division in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. 

      He has built a career in sustainable buildings working in Melbourne, London and Perth, and in 20 years in the industry, participated in committees and working groups for industry bodies such as the Green Building Council of Australia, the Property Council of Australia and the Urban Development Institute of Australia.

      He has had the privilege of leading sustainability teams on iconic projects, such as the world’s most sustainable retail centre, the Burwood Brickworks by Frasers and the redevelopment of the Queen Victoria Market with the City of Melbourne. He is now working on city-shaping projects with AECOM, such as the 600 Collins St office tower by Hines and Victoria’s first all-electric Hospital at Melton.

      Headshot of Nigel Burdon MIEAust CPEng NER
      Nigel Burdon MIEAust CPEng NER
      Technical Director – Building Structures, AECOM

      Nigel's career covers a diverse range of structural engineering roles giving him a broad range of expertise in complex and technically challenging projects. His work has encompassed complex long-span steel design, offshore engineering and complex architecturally driven building projects in the transport, sports and leisure, commercial public, and education sectors. 

      Nigel’s timber experience includes a variety of non-standard timber projects including the two-storey curved plywood structure for the Factory of the Future at Swinburne University which was a recipient of a National Timber Award and the 5 GreenStar Melton Library.

        2.50-3.10 pm
      A smart building semantic platform to enable data re-use in energy analytics applications: the data clearing house
      Headshot of Daniel Hugo MIEAust
      Daniel Hugo MIEAust
      Senior Engineer, CSIRO

      Daniel Hugo has 16 years' experience as an electronics engineer, currently with CSIRO's Data61 business unit. He has collaborated with colleagues to develop novel sensors, telemetry systems and online analytics platforms to enable CSIRO's research projects in the in agriculture, aquaculture, coastal science and built environment domains.

        3.10-3.30 pm
      Leveraging AI-based optimisation for efficient energy consumption in smart buildings
      Navy headshot
      Xingyan Li
      Monash University

      Xingyan Li is an enthusiastic and driven Bachelor of Computer Science student and undergraduate research fellow at Monash University who is dedicated to advancing research and innovation within the computer science domain.

      Demonstrating exceptional adaptability, Xingyan has expanded his academic horizons through exchange programs at prestigious institutions such as Penn State University and Purdue University in the United States. In the initial two years of his undergraduate studies, Xingyan has taken the first steps in research by contributing to two presentations at international research conferences.

      With a humble and determined approach, Xingyan continues to pursue his passion for computer science research, fostering growth and collaboration in the academic community.

        3.30-4.00 pm
      Afternoon tea
        4.00-4.20 pm
      Leveraging AI and LiDAR technology for climate smart engineering: maximising solar energy potential
      Headshot of Dr Hossein Rizeei
      Dr Hossein Rizeei
      Geospatial Lead in BioUrbanism, McGregorCoxall

      Dr Hossein is a highly qualified senior geospatial scientist with more than 16 years of relevant experience in three countries. Hossein was nominated as one of Australia’s top five best-performance early career researchers in management and named as one of 40 rising research stars in The Australian’s Research 2021 Special Report.

      He has designed, developed and tested several geospatial-based methodologies to assess urban planning, natural hazards prediction and design metrics using GIS technologies, advanced remote sensing image processing and AI. His interests in developing interactive dashboards, spatial digital twins, 3D geospatial modelling, web-GIS and feature detection/extraction, in various applications.

      Throughout his career, Hossein has acquired various leadership skills including team management and planning, GIS advisory and review, and business planning and development. In addition to lecturing at universities, he has also published numerous ISI papers, book chapters and conference papers in these fields.

      Headshot of Dr Robyn Mansfield
      Dr Robyn Mansfield
      Associate Director, McGregor Coxall

      Robyn holds a PhD in Sustainable Development from Monash University. She is committed to amplifying marginalised voices in urban planning, especially in communities facing hardships. With degrees in International and Community Development, Disaster Design and Development, and Landscape Architecture, she brings a diverse background in local and state government, consultancy, academia, and private practice.

      Robyn's expertise lies in urban resilience, disaster risk reduction, community participation, livelihoods, informal settlement revitalisation, and post-disaster reconstruction. Having worked extensively worldwide, she focuses on children's participation, believing it to be crucial for achieving a sustainable and just planet through radical and innovative action.

      Headshot of Liliana Ructtinger
      Liliana Ructtinger
      McGregor Coxall

      Liliana is a social researcher with extensive experience in the government, research and development, and technology sectors in Australia and the US. Through her tertiary qualifications in psychology, sociology and urban planning, Liliana developed a passion for the evidence-based design of healthy and sustainable built environments.

      Liliana is experienced in working with interdisciplinary teams and building collaborative research partnerships with universities and industry. She strives to bring project insights to life, reaching their full impact through the translation of research findings to practice. Liliana is experienced in the development and delivery of organisational research strategy and in proactively identify emerging research opportunities.

        4.20-4.40 pm
      PV/thermal hybrid system for residential hot water system
      Headshot of Dr Saad Odeh
      Dr Saad Odeh
      Senior Program Convenor, Sydney Institute of Business and Technology and Western Sydney University

      Dr Saad Odeh is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). He works as a Senior Program Convenor for Engineering and IT programs at the Sydney Institute of Business and Technology, as well as a Senior Lecturer in Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer at Western Sydney University's Sydney city campus. He holds a PhD in Solar Thermal Engineering from the University of New South Wales in Australia.

      Dr Saad is a member of Engineers Australia , the Australian Building Sustainability Association (ABSA), and a Reviewer Board Member of Energies and Sustainability Journals. He has previously worked as an Associate Professor at various national and international universities and has published numerous papers in the field of renewable energy and energy sustainability, as well as holding two patents.

      Headshot of Ilyas Aden
      Ilyas Aden
      Western Sydney University

      Ilyas is a diligent mechanical engineering student at Western Sydney University. He has submitted recently his graduation research project on Solar PV/ Thermal systems to the School of Engineering, Design and Built Environment – Sydney City Campus.

      Ilyas is currently working as a Technical Support Engineer (AlphaESS) and has a background in the renewable energy sector specialising in solar, battery and virtual power plant (VPP) solutions.

        4.40-5.00 pm
      Decarbonisation of buildings to meet net zero carbon emission targets
      Headshot of Bandula Subasinghe MIEAust CPEng NER
      Bandula Subasinghe MIEAust CPEng NER
      Senior Electrical Engineer/Project Manager, Arup

      Bandula Subasinghe is a Chartered Professional Engineer with more than 17 years’ experience in electrical design, design management and project management on educational, art and culture, healthcare, pharmaceutical and commercial building projects in Australia, the US and Sri Lanka. She is currently working at Arup Sydney as a Lead Electrical Engineer and Project Manager.

      Bandula is passionate about delivering emerging sustainability strategies for buildings and focusing on sustainable outcomes, decarbonisation and electrification. Her extensive technical skills include electrification of buildings, whole of life carbon approaches, climate resilience, energy and sustainability masterplans and building services electrical design.

        1.30-1.45 pm
      Climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategy for our plastic and microplastics pollution disaster
      Headshor of Kala Senathirajah MIEAust CPEng
      Kala Senathirajah MIEAust CPEng
      Deputy Chair Environmental Engineering College, Engineers Australia and Customer Lead – Relationship Manager, Bureau of Meteorology

      Kala Senathirajah is a water industry engineer with more than20 years’ experience throughout the water supply cycle, spanning all stages of the asset life cycle. Experienced in strategy development, risk management, environmental management, water quality, water resources management and hydrology, she has a proven track record in collaborating, leading and managing multi-disciplinary teams of diverse backgrounds in variety of environmental settings.

      Kala is also an esteemed researcher whose work has made significant contributions to the field of water management and environmental conservation environmental. Through her studies on (micro)plastic pollution and its impacts, she has shed light on the pervasive presence of microplastics and the urgent need for effective solutions.

      Kala is actively involved with the development of the UN global instrument to end plastic pollution.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Sustainable durability engineering and its application on major project design and construction in Victoria
      Headshot of Miles Dacre CPEng
      Miles Dacre CPEng
      Advanced Materials Segment Leader, AECOM

      Miles has more than 35 years of experience in the concrete deterioration, durability design and asset management and remediation industry. His expertise also includes specialising in concrete repair techniques and site implementation practices.

      He has been assisting clients with the assessment, analysis and development maintenance programs across a large portfolio of assets. He has been involved in the field of asset deterioration since 1986, particularly the assessment of structures, how they deteriorate, their future performance and assisting asset owners to define repair and rehabilitation strategies and manage the risks to their operations.

      Navy headshot
      Dr Amy Spark
      Principal Engineer, AECOM

      Amy is a principal engineer at AECOM in the Asset Management and Materials team

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Renovation pathways show how existing homes can reach zero carbon cost-effectively
      Headshot of Dr Gill Armstrong
      Dr Gill Armstrong
      Senior Project Manager, Climateworks Centre, Monash University

      Gill works in Climateworks’ Cities team, leading research and policy projects to decarbonise Australia’s buildings sector, including residential and non-residential, new and existing builds. Her background spans more than 10 years’ experience as a registered architect (UK) and Chartered Architectural Technologist. Gill’s PhD focused on conversion and regulation of vacant office buildings in Australian CBDs.

      Gill is collaborating with researchers at University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to produce a Sustainable Temporary Adaptive Reuse (STAR) toolkit in a project funded by a City of Sydney Knowledge Exchange Grant (2022-2024). She is co-editor and contributor to the research publication, Resilient Building Retrofits (2022).

        2.15-2.30 pm
      Cross-sector synergies towards decarbonisation for commercial landmark in Hong Kong
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      Hayton Chan
      Climate and Sustainability Group, Arup

      Hayton Chan is interested in decarbonisation, sustainable building system design, building energy simulation and green building certification. She has participated in a variety of commercial projects in Hong Kong. Her experiences cover decarbonisation, building physics analysis, high performance building system design and green building assessment.

      Hayton is also responsible for sustainable design and building assessments and involved in promoting sustainability and energy efficiency through integrated design methods and analysis.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      Reducing carbon emissions from concrete through the use of ultra high performance fibre reinforced concrete
      Headshot of Dr Scott Taylor
      Dr Scott Taylor
      Director Engineering and Innovation, Major Road Projects Victoria

      Dr Scott Taylor is recognised and progressive leader with extensive experience in engineering across the government and private sectors. He currently leads the Engineering Team at Major Road Projects Victoria (MRPV), as Director Engineering and Innovation with his role overseeing all engineering and technical aspects of the projects within the MRPV portfolio, as well as supporting and facilitating an innovative culture both within MRPV and across industry.

      Scott is also a member of Engineers Australia's Professional Standards Committee, which establishes competency requirements and Chartership standards, and has been a past Committee Member of the Victorian Division of Engineering Australia. Scott also has a strong research background, having obtained a PhD in 2004 in the area of structural dynamics and computational methodologies.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Nanocatalyst development and improvement for CO2 conversion
      Navy headshot
      Pradeep Murthy
      PhD candidate, University of Sydney

      Pradeep is a highly driven chemical engineering and physics PhD candidate researching nano-scale catalyst materials to accelerate CO2 conversion towards generating clean and renewable fuels and chemicals as a viable counter to climate change.

      Pradeep is excited to work as a researcher/process engineer in the future to utilise their technical skills to directly solve the greatest issues facing our planet, especially in the fields of catalysis, renewable energy and fuels, nanotechnology, carbon-zero and sustainability.

        3.00-3.15 pm
      Concept design of a centralised organic waste processing facility in Funafuti, Tuvalu
      Headshot of Dusan Ilic FIEAust CPEng
      Dr Dusan Ilic FIEAust CPEng
      University of Newcastle

      Dr Ilic is a Fellow, Chartered engineer and research academic at the University of Newcastle, located at the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources, with almost 20 years’ experience of consultancy and applied research.

      Over the last five years, using a foundation of bulk solids handling and particle science, Dr Ilic has established and grown multi-disciplinary research programmes including characterising agroforestry residues, environmental and workplace health exposures, integrating low cost sensors and LiDAR into dust emissions management, engineering design, modelling and simulation of granular materials in minerals processing and materials handling systems.

        3.15-3.30 pm
      Challenges in the supply chain for Australia’s transition to a renewable powerhouse
      Headshot of Ali Nami
      Ali Nami
      Principal, TBH

      Ali is a construction project planner with 18 years of varied experience in planning projects in Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East and South East Asia in a variety of industries, including energy transmission and generation, transport, water, resource and major engineering and infrastructure projects as well as ICT projects and commercial and residential developments.

      Ali brings a range of experience in all facets of project planning, forensic planning and dispute resolution. These days Ali brings his experience in managing risks and resolving disputes with respect to time and cost and applies it at the front end helping his clients deliver complex major infrastructure and energy projects.

        3.30-4.00 pm
      Afternoon tea
        4.00-4.15 pm
      Smart solar lighting for social, economic and environmental benefits
      Headshot of Katie Said
      Katie Said
      Leadsun Australia

      Graduating from university with a degree in marketing and design, Katie began her marcomms career with Leadsun Australia early 2022. What intrigues Katie the most about Leadsun, and what she is proud to be a part of, is its attitude and commitment in making positive changes towards a sustainable, safe and smart future, both internally and externally.

      Katie's knowledge of how design can influence behaviours, emotions, and attitudes, coupled with my passion for gender equity, lends itself to this topic of public lighting for safe, inclusive and accessible active recreation.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      Real estate and the S in ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance)
      Headshot of Rhonda Lenardon MIEAust CPEng NER
      Rhonda Lenardon MIEAust CPEng NER
      KPMG

      Rhonda has more than 20 years’ experience in the environmental field in both consulting and in-house management roles. Rhonda has worked in most sectors, including government, real estate, defence, manufacturing and mining across Australia and New Zealand. This experience has included in-house environmental manager roles in national facility management, mining, investment management and development organisations and has included work in environment, sustainability and WHS.

      Rhonda joined KPMG in 2022 and focuses on embedding ESG into KPMG and client processes.

        4.30-4.45 pm
      Parking sustainably
      Headshot of Chris Coath MIEAust CPEng NER
      Chris Coath MIEAust CPEng NER
      Senior Principal Transport Planner | Practice Leader - Parking Strategy and Implementation, Stantec Australia

      Chris is the Practice Leader - Parking Strategy and Implementation, Australia at Stantec. He works daily in developing best practice car parking strategies for cities and activity centres across Australia. His work ensures competing activity centre demands of all modes are balanced to achieve resource efficiency, urban design, place making and economic prosperity objectives. More broadly, his skills encompass all major transport planning and traffic engineering areas. He is a Chartered Engineer with the Institute of Engineers Australia.

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Everyone cares about the environment...until it's time to pay for it
      Headshot of Matthew Tendam
      Matthew Tendam
      Aurecon

      Matthew is an Associate Environmental Engineer and a Certified Environmental Practitioner - Site Contamination Specialist (CEnvP-SC) with more than 22 years of professional experience. He has implemented innovative and traditional assessment and remedial techniques at sites where soil, groundwater, sediments, soil vapour/landfill gas and surface water have been impacted with a wide range of anthropogenic chemicals.

      Matthew has managed sites regulated under a wide range of local, state and federal environmental regulations and guidelines in the US, Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam. Where remediation has been required Matthew has been responsible for the evaluation, design, implementation and long-term operational optimisation of soil, groundwater and soil vapour remediation solutions. The overall objective of the assessment and remediation works is to restore or regenerate one or more beneficial uses for land and water.

      Matthew has a depth of experience on delivering environmental considerations to multi-disciplinary engineering and advisory projects to restore environmental values of land and water. He has delivered on projects across a range of industries including infrastructure, resources, defence, energy, water and mining. This depth of experience allows him to tailor environmental inputs to the specific project and industry. 

        1.30-1.45 pm
      Improving flood resilience in the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley: working on TfNSW's Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley flood evacuation road resilience program
      Headshot of Jared Crossley MIEAust CPEng NER
      Jared Crossley MIEAust CPEng NER
      Senior Civil Engineer, AECOM

      Jared Crossley is a Civil Engineer at AECOM in Sydney with a strong background in urban road design and multi-disciplinary projects in and around the road environment. Jared grew up, studied, and began his career with AECOM in Durban, South Africa, before spending time abroad in the United Kingdom and now in Australia.

      Jared is AECOM’s Design Manager on the Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley Flood Evacuation Road Resilience Program and is inspired by the unique sustainability focus of the Program, which is on improving the running of the road network in an evacuation event as opposed to day-to-day.

      Headshot of Anna Luong
      Anna Luong
      Graduate Civil Engineer, AECOM

      Anna Luong is a Graduate Civil Engineer at AECOM in Sydney with experience in delivering civil infrastructure projects across both the public and private sectors. She has assisted in the design of local infrastructure, public domain, precinct development, road, rail drainage and light rail projects.

      Anna balanced her university studies with her municipal council role of being the project lead for multiple programs of civil infrastructure projects, providing support for other major projects, becoming a finalist in an international design competition, and completing an additional Diploma of Financial Planning. She continues this passion for learning and solving problems by contributing to the design of multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects, proactively looking for ways to embed sustainability not only into the project design, but also into delivery, ongoing operation and maintenance.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Creating water-sensitive cities in disadvantaged communities: Australia-India water security initiative
      Headshot of Shaw Abrey
      Shaw Abrey
      Senior Civil/Environmental Engineer and Ecologist, McGregor Coxall

      Shaw is a Senior Water Engineer and Ecologist with a strong passion for Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD), sustainable water management, waterway health, and urban channel naturalisation. Driven by the premise that the natural world is our greatest asset, Shaw uses his skillsets to combat pressing issues around water management and biodiversity, championing research-led and alternative solutions that push the boundaries of traditional engineering.

      Shaw has a comprehensive understanding of urban hydrology, which formed the basis of his university thesis study comparing urban peak flows from the Rational Method with a linear reservoir model (ARR19). He is currently leading the Australia-India Water Security Initiative (AIWASI), a project with the core objective of transitioning disadvantaged communities toward water-sensitive states.

        2.00-2.15 pm
      How nature-based solutions to a wastewater problem improves climate resilience
      Headshot of Liam Owen MIEAust CPEng NER
      Liam Owen MIEAust CPEng NER
      Unitywater

      Liam Owen is a civil engineer with more than 10 years' experience working as an asset management consultant and planning engineer for the renewal of water infrastructure. He recently started a new role at Unitywater as Senior Environmental Sustainability Advisor, providing leadership, strategy and technical guidance on the water utility's environmental sustainability commitments. This includes driving the company's goals to achieve net zero carbon emissions and net zero nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) discharges to waterways by 2050.

        2.15-2.30 pm
      Behind-the-meter solar integration: a potential way to improve water distribution systems resilience for changing future
      Headshot of Jiayu Yao
      Jiayu Yao
      University of Melbourne

      Ms Jiayu Yao is a PhD candidate at the Department of Infrastructure Engineering, the University of Melbourne. She completed her master’s degree majoring in environmental engineering at the University of Melbourne in 2021, and then she joined the water group at the University of Melbourne as a graduate research student.

      Her major research interests include resilient water distribution system design under future changes considering the water-energy nexus and greenhouse emission (GHG) reduction. She is currently working on the design of water distribution systems under long-term uncertainty, considering behind-the-meter solar as an alternative energy supply for pump operation.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      Managing the effects of climate variability: cleaner water for Northern Mallee communities
      Headshot of Nalaka Vitharana MIEAust
      Nalaka Vitharana MIEAust
      Executive Manager Infrastructure, GWMWater

      Nalaka has 30 years’ experience in the water industry across three states in policy development, regulation, strategic and infrastructure planning. He has held pivotal roles in infrastructure, institutional and community change projects in large metropolitan and regional environments and has an extensive history of creating successful, enabling environments and delivering practical, sustainable outcomes.

      Nalaka’s motivation to pursue a career in the water sector was developed through his appreciation of the difference access to water makes, not just to people’s health but also the social change it drives and the opportunities it creates.

      Headshot of Jonathon Horsfall MIEAust
      Jonathon Horsfall MIEAust
      Project Engineer, GWMWater

      Jonathon has more than 7 years’ experience at GWMWater. He has planned, managed and delivered a number of larger key projects across the GWMWater region. Recent key projects he has been involved in consist of work with water and wastewater treatment plants, rural pump stations, bridges and trunk main duplications, demonstrating an extensive portfolio of engineering experience.

      Jonathon’s motivation to pursue a career within the water sector was realised well before he attended university; with a country upbringing he wanted to remain local and provide services back to the communities that he grew up in.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Future water supplies: considering reliability and resilience together
      Navy headshot
      Wayne Middleton
      Arup
        3.00-3.15 pm
      The future of water infrastructure services in an impacted world
      Headshot of Marco van Winden CPEng
      Marco van Winden CPEng
      AECOM

      Marco is a talented Technical Director in the Water Infrastructure team at AECOM and has an extensive background leading critical planning studies, significant engineering projects and multi-disciplinary project teams. Marco leads planning and engineering design teams for public infrastructure projects, including water pipelines, treatment systems and transportation projects.

      His 30 years' of professional experience has predominantly been in Australia and New Zealand, with projects in the Pacific Islands, Singapore, Papua New Guinea and China. Marco is also a Dad and a believer in the anthropogenic change this planet has experienced since the advent of the industrial age.

        3.15-3.30 pm
      Wharf Street Next Generation Community Park: unlocking the potential of a fenced off stormwater basin
      Headshot of Rachel Williams
      Rachel Williams
      Coordinator Sustainability Development, City of Canning

      Rachel Williams is Coordinator Sustainability Development at the City of Canning. Rachel has 22 years of experience working in the environmental management and sustainability fields. Rachel's team work to inspire a culture of sustainability across the City of Canning and its community, which includes working towards climate resilience.

      Rachel has qualifications in civil and environmental engineering.

      Headshot of Gary McCullough
      Gary McCullough
      Senior Project Leader, City of Canning

      Gary is the service lead for major project and has been the senior leader for the Canning City Centre Regeneration Program responsible for planning and delivery of $70 million in urban infrastructure for the City of Canning. A key focus is to lead the in-house and consultant teams to ensure we promote best practice urban design, working with all levels of government and the private sector to ensure maximum investment attraction to deliver on the future 2050 vision for the City Centre.

      Gary is an experienced project leader with a demonstrated history of delivering master planning projects in both the private and government sectors. Skilled in urban and strategic planning with a BA (Hons) in Town Planning specialising in urban planning and project delivery.

        1.30-1.45 pm
      Pathways to achieving a lower carbon and more sustainable asphalt
      Headshot of Trevor Distin
      Trevor Distin
      Group Technical and Marketing Manager, COLAS

      Joined the COLAS Australia Group in 2016 as the Group Technical and Marketing Manager having held a similar role with COLAS in Southern Africa. Prior to that he held positions as National Technology Manager for Boral Asphalt, Executive Director of Southern African Bitumen Association and Bitumen Technical Services Manager for Mobil Oil South Africa. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the development, manufacture and construction of bituminous materials.

      Currently serves on the Austroads Asphalt, Binders and Bitumen Surfacing’s working groups and AfPA’s National Technology Leadership Committee and Asphalt, Binders, Surfacings and Sustainability sub committees. Holds a Masters Diploma in Civil Engineering and Bachelors of Commerce.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Enhancing sustainability in pavement engineering: innovations in materials and life cycle analysis
      Headshot of DR Farzaneh Tahmoorian
      Dr Farzaneh Tahmoorian
      Central Queensland University

      Dr Farzaneh Tahmoorian has worked as a site engineer and project manager in many construction projects. She obtained her Masters from the University of Technology Sydney, followed by her PhD in "Application of Waste Materials in Flexible Pavements" from Western Sydney University in Australia. Dr Tahmoorian is the Leader of the Civil Engineering and Built Environment Research Group at CQUniversity. She is an expert in road and pavement materials.

      Dr Tahmoorian has established and manages the CQU Pavement Lab, which is equipped with a wide range of laboratory equipment for testing asphalt mix, bitumen and other pavement materials. She has also developed the field testing facilities at Mackay Ooralea Campus for transitioning from laboratory to field conditions and involving the time-based performance monitoring of different projects.

      She is the Editor-in-Chief of the Australian Journal of Modernity in Road and Pavement Engineering and a regular reviewer of several international journals and also serves as Editor for the Journal of Engineering Solid Mechanics

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Bitumen rubber asphalt application: achieving optimal performance for Australia
      Headshot of Andrew Whyte
      Dr Andrew Whyte FIEAust CPEng NER
      Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Curtin University

      Having worked in industrial and academic environments in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Dr Andrew Whyte BSc PhD FICE FIEAust CPEng NER, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Curtin University Australia and Professor (visiting) of the University of Aberdeen, has gained a wide-ranging knowledge of construction management, design team integration, whole-life assessment of structures and asset development using local technologies, sustainable methods and low-cost means.

      Navy headshot
      Johannes Lodewikus van Heerden CPEng NER
      Fulton Hogan Ltd Infrastructure Services - Western Australia

      Johannes is Charted Professional Engineer and PhD Scholar in the School of Civil and Mechanical Engineering of Curtin University. He has more than twenty-five years’ experience in the analysis, design, specification and contract administration of complex engineering projects within the built environment.

      His experience covers the full range of roads project, ranging from gravel rural roads to multi-lane freeways where he has undertaken the roles of project leader, principal design specialist and contract engineer. He also participated in research projects at Pretoria and Stellenbosch Universities in South Africa and published several peer-reviewed international conference papers and accredited journal articles.

        2.15-2.30 pm
      Lime kiln dust waste as a supplementary cementitious material for producing green bricks using ground granulated blast furnace slag and waste tire chip aggregates
      Headshot of Joy Ayankop Oke MIEAust
      Joy Ayankop Oke MIEAust
      PhD Candidate, La Trobe University

      Joy Ayankop Oke Joy Oke is a PhD Candidate at La Trobe University, Melbourne Campus, Bundoora. She is researching waste utilisation in the construction of green civil engineering structures, and she commenced her research in March 2022. Joy is passionate about the engineering profession and had always wanted to be identified amongst the engineers and so to achieve this, she bagged a Bachelors (Hons) in Civil Engineering in 2003 and a Masters in Highway and Traffic Engineering in 2016.

      Between 2003 and 2013 when she commenced her masters, she worked in the civil engineering industry in different capacities ranging from design engineer to project engineer. She steadily climbed up her career ladder to be the Head of the Engineering Unit on a World Bank Assisted Project in Lagos State, Nigeria. She is a member of various prestigious professional engineering organisations which include the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and Engineers Australia.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      Paving the way: carbon reduction and sustainable practices on North Queensland’s largest road project
      Headshot of Andrew Kindness
      Andrew Kindness
      Sustainability and Environmental Advisor, Cairns Southern Access Corridor Stage 3: Edmonton to Gordonvale Project

      Andrew Kindness is a dedicated Sustainability and Environmental Advisor with a strong background in Environmental Sustainability and experience in infrastructure construction, including projects such as the Sydney Metro TSE Mega Project and Blue Mountains Heritage Station Upgrades.

      Currently leading sustainability efforts for the E2G project in Cairns, Andrew excels in environmental compliance and infrastructure sustainability, fostering positive outcomes through stakeholder relationships, proactive environmental management and driving innovation.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Decarbonisation pathways for concrete: major projects concrete technical program
      Headshot of Dr Fangjie (Sam) Chen
      Dr Fangjie (Sam) Chen
      Materials Regional Research Leader, Arup

      Dr Fangjie Chen has extensive expertise in concrete sustainability and durability. He has developed innovative and sustainable solutions to decarbonise concrete for major infrastructure projects across Australasia region.

      His hands-on experience in material design, testing, characterisation and production also allows him to utilise innovative recycled and waste materials to improve concrete structure performance in service, which provides valuable new and unique sustainability outcomes for major engineering programs.

      Headshot of Shalini Trikha FIEAust CPEng NER
      Shalini Trikha FIEAust CPEng NER
      Technical Manager, ecologiQ

      Shalini currently leads the Technical Stream within ecologiQ as Technical Manager. She is passionate about developing sustainable engineering solutions with recycled materials across infrastructure projects, including at Greater Western Water.

      Shalini leads technical reforms, innovations and research partnerships to increase use of reused and recycled materials across Victoria’s Big Build. She has been successful in embedding this approach as the ‘new normal’ in infrastructure delivery through collaboration across government and industry.

        3.00-3.15 pm
      Development of new eco-friendly grout products using waste materials for sustainable mining and construction
      Headshot of Hadi Nourizadeh
      Hadi Nourizadeh
      Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Hadi Nourizadeh is an esteemed scholar and Research Fellow at the Centre for Future Materials (CFM) at the University of Southern Queensland. He has a wide range of expertise in geotechnical, mining, and construction engineering-related projects, with specific proficiency in ground control systems and related engineered materials. Hadi's research interests are aligned with designing reinforcing elements for different geotechnical and thermal conditions, as well as the development of engineered bonding materials such as cementitious grouts and polyester resins.

      He has a strong passion for the application of waste materials to produce sustainable products for the construction and mining industries and has been actively involved in several research projects focused on this area. In addition to his research work, Hadi is an enthusiastic advocate for science and technology and is committed to inspiring the next generation of researchers and innovators. He has a proven track record of excellence in teaching and mentoring undergraduate and postgraduate students.

      Headshot of Dr Tristan Shelly
      Dr Tristan Shelly
      Senior Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Dr Shelley is a specialist in advanced composites manufacturing technologies and targeted sustainable manufacturing methodologies. He also assists in the strategic direction of industry focused R&D programs including bid development and project management, with $58 million in grants awarded within the last 18 months.

      Dr Shelley has extensive experience leading industrial collaborative grant funded programs to deliver industrially relevant technological solutions. Dr Shelley specialisation focuses on advanced manufacturing of composite materials, and his focus has recently also been directed toward design of products using problematic ‘waste’ materials.

        3.30-4.00 pm
      Afternoon tea
        4.00-4.15 pm
      Circular economy in solar PV industry
      Headshot of Kavya Santhosh
      Kavya Santhosh
      ENcome Energy performance

      Qualified electronics and energy engineer with experience in renewables industry, Kavya has a Masters in Electronics and Energy Engineering and describes as an innovative and out of box thinker.

      Kavya believes in the quote "Your attitude, not your aptitude determines your altitude". Having the right attitude towards work does leaps and bound for one's professional career.

      Kavya is qualified as Professional Engineer through Engineers Australia.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      Engineering sustainability for circular and green economy
      Headshot of Associate Professor Wahidul Biswas
      Associate Professor Wahidul Biswas
      Deputy Director of the Sustainable Engineering Group, Curtin University

      Associate Professor Wahidul Biswas is the Deputy Director of Sustainable Engineering Group, Curtin University and a Co-Leader of Research Program 3 of HILT CRC (Heavy Industries Low Emission Technologies, Cooperative Research Centres, Australia). Wahidul was trained as a mechanical engineer, researching the performance of diesel engine using biogas fuel. He has gradually diversified his research to engineering for sustainable development, an interdisciplinary field. He has a Masters in Environmental Technology from Imperial College London and a PhD in Sustainable Futures from the University of Technology, Sydney.

      Wahidul teaches and coordinates a core undergraduate Engineering unit, Engineering for Sustainable Development at Curtin University. He has so far carried out extensive life cycle assessment, climate change and sustainability related research on Australian agricultural, alternative fuels, building and construction, manufacturing, mining and water sectors for the Department of Climate Change, the Grains Research and Development Commission and Department of Agriculture and Food, Wester Australia, University of Western Australia, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Meat and Livestock Australia, Worley Parsons and Water Corporation, Enterprise Connect and Recom Engineering, Cedar Woods, Earth Care, and Department of State Development, Cockburn Cement Ltd, Waste Authority WA and Woodside Energy Group Ltd.

        4.30-4.45 pm
      Leading net zero transition in infrastructure delivery in Australia
      Headshot of Dr Anumitra Mirti
      Dr Anumitra Mirti
      Senior Associate – Sustainability, Beca

      Dr Anumitra Mirti has more than 20 years of experience in sustainability, climate resilience, project management, research and strategic environment and land use planning spanning academia, private industry and government agencies.

      At Beca, Anu is driving sustainability and climate resilience across the organisation’s project work both nationally in Australia and internationally. Anu is also a sustainable leaders' mentor for the Cambridge University’s Institute of Sustainable Leadership Program.

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Regenerative approach to decarbonising infrastructure projects
      Headshot of Maria Koutsimpiris
      Maria Koutsimpiris
      Project Controls Manager, Level Crossing Removal Project - Southern Program Alliance

      Maria is a commercially focused senior leader with more than 20 years’ experience in complex, capital intensive multinationals, leading large cross-functional teams on multi-year, billion-dollar projects. She transitioned to infrastructure construction in July 2021, where she commenced as Regional Project Controls Manager for ACCIONA and is now the Project Controls Manager for Level Crossing Removal Project – Southern Program Alliance.

      Maria is the Chair of the National Committee for Women in Engineering and Non-Executive Director with ANCAP Safety and the Highett Community Bank. She has an MBA from Melbourne Business School and BEng/BSc from The University of Melbourne.

      Headshot of Lyndal Isakhan
      Lyndal Isakhan
      Sustainability and Environment Manager, ACCIONA Construction

      Lyndal has a 20-year career in sustainability and environmental management, in the design and construction of major infrastructure. She is the Regional Sustainability Lead at ACCIONA Construction focused on embedding the aspirations of the business’ Sustainability Master Plan 2025 into project start-up and delivery.

      Lyndal is a contributor to the national ISC Circular Economy Working group and on the Steering Committee for the Not-for-Profit Wellness in Infrastructure Committee.

      “Throughout my career, I’ve been passionate about educating teams to look beyond traditional ways of working, embedding sustainability into all facets of decision making across infrastructure development and more recently focussed on ACCIONA’s regenerative journey towards decarbonisation and going beyond Net Zero”.

        5.00-5.15 pm
      Creating climate resilient urban parks with sustainable wetland systems
      Headshot of Phi Bang Do CPEng NER
      Phi Bang Do CPEng NER
      Associate Director, McGregor Coxall

      Specialising in climate adaptation and nature-based solutions, Phi Bang Do is a Chartered Civil Engineer and International Professional Engineer (APEC IntPE) with more than ten years’ experience in managing multi-disciplinary projects of different scales from master planning to detail design. His technical expertise varies from urban drainage planning and designing with Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) principles to flood risk assessment with hydraulic modelling analysis demonstrating leadership in project management to deliver high quality projects on-time and on-budget.

      Over the past decade, Mr Do has overseen and delivered the sustainable engineering scopes on several international award-winning projects across the globe, especially in the Asia-Pacific region.

        1.30-1.45 pm
      How decarbonisation of the Pilbara could see Western Australia replicate the National Electricity Market by 2050
      Headshot of Parth Dave MIEAust CPEng NER
      Parth Dave MIEAust CPEng NER
      Manager – Power Solutions, Engineering and Asset Management, KPMG

      Parth is a Manager in the Engineering team at KPMG. He is a Chartered engineer (Mechanical and Electrical) that has broad experience within the power and energy sector. His diverse experience spans from project development of utility scale renewables, network studies and the design of overhead transmission lines.

      He has worked on projects across Australia from commissioning power stations in the Pilbara, developing utility scale BESS projects to designing transmission lines to connect large scale renewables across Australia in the National Electricity Market (NEM), South West Interconnected System (SWIS) and North West Interconnected System (NWIS).

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Promoting climate smart engineering in oil and gas
      Headshot of Iain Wylie MIEAust
      Iain Wylie MIEAust
      Product Manager, Oceaneering

      Iain Wylie has more than 13 years of multi-faceted subsea experience including roles as a ROV pilot, tooling technician, design engineer, project engineer and project manager.

      A Bachelor’s in Science in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Nuclear and Radiological Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology provided a foundation in mission design, systems engineering, inter-disciplinary collaboration and technical rigor. He specialises in rapid product development as a part of the Engineering Solutions service. As a Product Manager in Oceaneering’s Offshore Project Group, he’s focused on new product development and technology innovation enabling the energy transition.

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Developing Australia's first “engine-off” mine site
      Navy headshot
      Ruth Kennedy
      Zenith Energy Operations
        2.15-2.30 pm
      The challenges of a reducing carbon footprint on the resource sector
      Headshot of Damian Connelly
      Damian Connelly
      METS Engineering Group

      Damian is a consulting engineer with extensive experience in the gold, copper, lead, zinc, uranium and iron ore industries with particular emphasis on gold. Experience has been gained in plant operations feasibility studies, detailed design, construction and commissioning, and all unit operations. He is an internationally recognised specialist in mineral processing having worked in North and South America, South East Asia, Africa and Europe.

      Damian has spent the last 30-plus years working as a consultant metallurgist for mining, banking and engineering companies has provided a broad range of experience. Damian is a Registered Expert Witness and has been engaged on many cases.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      Energy storage: Australia's key to a net zero future
      Headshot of Harry Jupp
      Harry Jupp
      Senior Associate Engineer, WSP

      Harry currently works in the role of Senior Associate Engineer at WSP, in its Melbourne office, working in its Earth and Environment division. In this role, Harry provides lead designer and project manager services for a range of projects in the renewables, mining, water, and geo-environmental industries.

      Harry is furthering his studies by completing a MSc in Renewable Energy Development and is passionate about the role pumped hydro energy storage has to play in Australia's energy transition and how we can make use of available space to integrate this technology.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Pumped hydro as an energy storage system in Australia
      Navy headshot
      Peter Vincent
      Greater Western Water

      Peter graduated from RMIT with a degree in Chemical Engineering. He has worked in utilities for the past eight years and formerly  worked in the gas sector as an asset performance engineer.

      In 2022, Peter moved across to the water sector as a asset management engineer. In 2023, Peter began studying a Masters of Engineering, Sustainable Energy at RMIT. 

        3.00-3.15 pm
      Optimal energy storage configuration for Indonesia
      Headshot of Ahmad Amiruddin
      Ahmad Amiruddin
      PhD Candidate, Monash University

      Ahmad is a PhD student in Resources Engineering at Monash University. He has a Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Systems from the University of Edinburgh, UK and a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering from Hasanuddin University, Indonesia.

      Ahmad has been working in the Directorate General of Electricity, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Indonesia since 2009-now. He has worked for several companies including Siemens (2007-2009), Schneider Electric (2007) and LG Philips Indonesia (2004-2007).

      His PhD study is funded by Indonesia Endowment Fund for Education (LPDP). His research interest is energy storage and the integration of renewable energy in Indonesia.

        4.00-4.15 pm
      Leading the gas transition: the skills required to meet the engineering challenges of electrification
      Headshot of Adrian Piani
      Adrian Piani FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      ACT Chief Engineer, ACT Government

      Adrian Piani is an Environmental Engineer with more than 20 years’ experience, predominately in the water resources, environmental and infrastructure sectors.

      In 2019 he joined the ACT Government as the inaugural ACT Chief Engineer where he provides strategic advice to government on infrastructure projects and supports the engineering cohort through the ACT Government Engineering Workforce Plan. He is a Chartered Fellow and Engineer Executive of Engineers Australia.

      Adrian is a proud Canberran and is passionate about the role that infrastructure plays in supporting our wellbeing and quality of life.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      What to leverage to reach net zero
      Headshot of Nee Nee Ong
      Nee Nee Ong FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Senior Electrical Engineer, GHD

      Nee Nee Ong is a graduate of UWA with Masters in Business Administration and Bachelor of Engineering. With more than 25 years’ experience, she currently works as a project manager and lead electrical engineer managing interdisciplinary teams for the delivery of projects and providing electrical design work.

      Nee Nee currently holds positions with Engineers Australia; as Congress member, Co-Chair of the Electrical College Board, Chair of WA Division College of Leadership and Management and member of the Accreditation Board.

        4.30-4.45 pm
      What will Australia’s electricity grid look like, post 2050?
      Headshot of Wayne Fitzsimmons OAM FIEAust
      Wayne Fitzsimmons OAM FIEAust
      Chairman, Pearcey Foundation

      Wayne Fitzsimmons OAM FIEAust FACS is Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation, which promotes the ICT sector in Australia to Australia – the Australia 4.0 initiative is conducted under the auspices of the Pearcey Foundation.

      Wayne is an experienced executive and entrepreneur who has worked extensively in the US, UK, as well as Australia and is a director of several small privately owned early stage hi-tech companies in Australia including iPro, Cohda Wireless and Mooroolbark Group. Wayne holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Engineering from the University of Queensland.

      Headshot of Jennifer George
      Jennifer George
      CEO, Strategic Commercialisation Australia

      Jennifer George is the CEO of Strategic Commercialisation Australia, a business development and consulting firm which evaluates and finds partners for deep tech companies – primarily in the renewables, medical device and smart city space. She is also the founder and convener of Nakoudu a digital networking Group designed to bring together interested partners, city councils and smart city entrepreneurs to enhance the growth and interoperability of cities. 

      Jennifer is a Director in Net Zero Stack a circular economy project company, the Chair IT268- Smart Cities and Communities for Standards Australia, and is on the board of the Churchill Club and a member of the Pearcey Foundation team. 

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Energy transition in the food and beverage manufacturing sector: a case study
      Headshot of Graeme Harding MIEAust CPEng
      Graeme Harding MIEAust CPEng
      Technical Director - Process Engineering, Beca

      Graeme has more than 20 years of international process experience, including design and implementation of large-scale heavy industrial projects and turnkey energy saving projects. Graeme has worked on projects with a large variety of processes, from gas turbines and reactors through to wash press filters, refrigeration and refining systems. He has established a track record of award-winning energy saving projects within the pulp and paper and food industries.

      Graeme leads Beca’s Industrial Decarbonisation team, guiding some of the industry's largest food and beverage manufacturers to transition.

        5.00-5.15 pm
      Achieving carbon neutrality in an island resort
      Headshot of Kavinga Karunasekara TMIEAust
      Kavinga Karunasekara TMIEAust
      Sustainability Projects Officer, Wellington Shire Council

      A chemical and process engineer from University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka and MBA holder from University of Colombo, Kavinga has 13 years' of expertise in the field of sustainability in Australia, Germany, Sri Lanka and Maldives.

      With considerable background in environmental management systems, life cycle assessments, project management, waste management in various sectors including conglomerates, hospitality, apparel, agriculture, consulting, chemical sales industries and now in local government.

        5.15-5.30 pm
      Geotechnical challenges of developing offshore wind in Australia
      Navy headshot
      Damon Sunderland
      Associate, Arup

      Damon is an Associate at Arup and leads their Australasian Offshore Wind Business. He graduated in New Zealand in 1994 as an engineering geologist and has more than 20 years of practical experience in offshore geoscience disciplines spanning geology, geophysics and geotechnics.

      Damon has been working at Arup in Perth since 2009, who provide consulting engineering, design and planning services. He has worked on offshore wind projects around the globe from Scotland to Japan and runs an Energy Team who are extremely busy with offshore wind commissions mainly in Australia and Asia for multiple developers, port authorities and governments.

      Having served more than 10 years for the SUT, Damon is also the Past Chair, Vice Chair and Secretary of the SUT OSIG committee (Offshore Site Investigation and Geotechnics).

        1.30-1.45 pm
      Pioneering the path to net zero emissions with engineering innovations in solar lighting and clean energy solutions
      Headshot of David Wilson
      David Wilson
      Founder and CTO, Green Frog Systems

      David Wilson is the founder and CTO of Green Frog Systems– one of Australia's first solar lighting companies, clean energy advocate and entrepreneur known for his sustainable technology innovation. David has been instrumental in driving the adoption of solar powered infrastructure through engineering driven solutions tailored to address complex challenges.

      With a focus on high reliability solar lighting, David's company revolutionised the industry, offering sustainable alternatives to mains power. His visionary approach has established him as a thought leader in the clean energy sector partnering with industry colleagues, policymakers, and academics, to boost renewable technology research and mentor upcoming innovators in the field.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Government investment in solar in large scale projects vs distributed installation
      Headshot of Dharmit Thakore
      Dharmit Thakore
      Moonish Ent Pty Ltd

      Dharmit has more than 21 years' experience in management and design in engineering fields. He prides himself on always looking for best in others and challenges himself to achieve more from life. He has published two books, Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software and Intermediate Finite Element Analysis using Open Source Software.

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Geothermal cities: transforming urban energy supply with innovative and cost-effective shallow geothermal systems
      Navy headshot
      Dr Asal Bidarmaghz
      Senior Lecturer, UNSW

      Dr Asal Bidarmaghz is a Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney. Asal specialises in the design and optimisation of geothermal systems and energy geo-structures for harnessing thermal energy through underground structures.

      Her research concerns the impacts of urbanisation on underground climate and urban geothermal potential with specific emphasis on sustainability and serviceability of underground structures, groundwater and energy resources. This is achieved through hydro-thermal and mechanical characterisation of urban subsurface and underground structures synergistically with above-ground built environment.

        2.15-2.30 pm
      Shallow geothermal energy: using the ground and geostructures to efficiently heat and cool buildings
      Headshot of Prof Guillermo Narsilio
      Prof Guillermo Narsilio
      Deputy Head of Department (Infrastructure Engineering), University of Melbourne

      Prof Guillermo Narsilio is Deputy Head of the Department of Infrastructure Engineering at the University of Melbourne (2020–today) and Chair of the ISSMGE Technical Committee 308 on Energy Geotechnics. He is a former member of the ARC College of Experts (2018–2021). Dr Narsilio is also a past Chair of the Australian Geomechanics Society (Victoria Chapter, 2019–2020) and a former Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow.

      Dr Narsilio received his PhD in Geotechnical Engineering (2006) and his Masters in Mathematics (2006) and in Geotechnical Engineering (2003) from Georgia Institute of Technology (US). He obtained his Civil Engineering degree from the National University of Cordoba (Argentina) in 2001. He undertook his postdoctoral experience at the University of Melbourne where he is now a Professor. His research interests include numerical modelling, multi-scale porous material characterisation and performance and the (sustainable) energy industry; with emphasis on basic and applied shallow and deep geothermal energy systems and the use of AI. ​

      Navy headshot
      Dr Asal Bidarmaghz
      Senior Lecturer, UNSW

      Dr Asal Bidarmaghz is a Senior Lecturer in Geotechnical Engineering in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, UNSW Sydney. Asal specialises in the design and optimisation of geothermal systems and energy geo-structures for harnessing thermal energy through underground structures.

      Her research concerns the impacts of urbanisation on underground climate and urban geothermal potential with specific emphasis on sustainability and serviceability of underground structures, groundwater and energy resources. This is achieved through hydro-thermal and mechanical characterisation of urban subsurface and underground structures synergistically with above-ground built environment.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      Spatial optimality and temporal variability in Australia's wind resource
      Headshot of Andrew Gunn
      Dr Andrew Gunn
      Lecturer, Monash University

      Andrew Gunn is a Lecturer in Physical Geography in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University. His research is focused on the physical processes that create planetary surfaces, specialising in deserts and Mars. He also conducts research on climate and weather as a renewable energy resource.

      Andrew was trained at the University of Melbourne (BS in Applied Mathematics), the University of Tasmania (Honours in Physical Oceanography), the University of Pennsylvania (PhD in Earth Science) and Stanford University (Postdoc in Geological Sciences).

        2.45-3.00 pm
      How to connect offshore wind generation in Australia: overcoming barriers to success
      Headshot of Charlotte Guthleben
      Charlotte Guthleben
      Senior Consultant, Sustainability and Climate Change, Aurecon

      Charlotte is a senior consultant in Aurecon’s Sustainability and Climate Change team with a focus on decarbonisation strategy and renewable energy. Combining her technical engineering background and analytical mindset, Charlotte helps to make the complex simple and produce projects with impact.

      Charlotte has an in-depth understanding of energy markets and renewable energy applications. She has been heavily involved in work across the energy sector, including strategic advice for the development of renewable energy zones, economic assessment of multi-billion-dollar transmission networks, and decarbonisation strategy both for clients and to meet Aurecon's own net zero.

      Navy headshot
      Paul Cann
      Aurecon

      Paul leads multi-disciplinary teams to design and deliver major renewable energy projects. He has extensive people and project management experience across the design and construction, transmission and grid connection, commissioning and operations, and maintenance project phases. This has been gained working on world-leading offshore wind projects in the UK and Europe, large Australian onshore wind farms and emerging battery technologies.

        4.00-4.15 pm
      Empowering the future generation of engineers: fostering student engagement and institutional collaboration in engineering education for a sustainable future
      Headshot of Dr Indunil Jayatilake MIEAust
      Dr Indunil Jayatilake MIEAust
      Senior Lecturer in Civil Engineering, TAFE Queensland

      Indunil has been working in the higher educational sector for the past 25 years, with eight years of experience with TAFE Queensland in the associate degree in civil engineering course, as a lecturer, senior lecturer and course coordinator. She has completed her Bachelors, Masters and PhD in civil, environmental and structural engineering. She has more than 35 years’ experience in industry, teaching and research. She has published her research in refereed journals and presented her work at international conferences.

      Indunil is currently working as a senior lecturer in civil engineering at TAFE Queensland. She is also collaborating with industry and researchers at Queensland University of Technology in the environmental engineering space.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      The Materials Knowledge Exchange (MAKE): a collaborative tool to foster innovative material adoption on major infrastructure projects
      Headshot of Jothe Ramesh
      Jothe Ramesh
      Level Crossing Removal Project Technical Advisory Services, AECOM GHD TA

      Jothe Ramesh is an AECOM project manager and specialises in delivering complex multi-million-dollar projects and managing large, multi-disciplinary teams across environment and infrastructure. Jothe is currently the Level Crossing Removal Project (LXRP) Technical Advisory Services Team Interface Manager and the Engagement Lead for the Materials Knowledge Exchange (MAKE). 

        4.30-4.45 pm
      Simplifying complexity in uncharted territory: combining multidisciplinary expert knowledge with geospatial data for natural asset discovery
      Headshot of Dr Hossein Rizeei
      Dr Hossein Rizeei
      Geospatial Lead in BioUrbanism, McGregorCoxall

      Dr Hossein is a highly qualified senior geospatial scientist with more than 16 years of relevant experience in three countries. Hossein was nominated as one of Australia’s top five best-performance early career researchers in management and named as one of 40 rising research stars in The Australian’s Research 2021 Special Report.

      He has designed, developed and tested several geospatial-based methodologies to assess urban planning, natural hazards prediction and design metrics using GIS technologies, advanced remote sensing image processing and AI. His interests in developing interactive dashboards, spatial digital twins, 3D geospatial modelling, web-GIS and feature detection/extraction, in various applications.

      Throughout his career, Hossein has acquired various leadership skills including team management and planning, GIS advisory and review, and business planning and development. In addition to lecturing at universities, he has also published numerous ISI papers, book chapters and conference papers in these fields.

      Navy headshot
      Manasi Sabnis
      Geospatial Analyst, McGregor Coxall

      Trained as an urban planner and architect, Manasi holds a Master's degree in Urbanism from the University of Sydney and a Bachelor's in Architecture from the University of Mumbai.

      Manasi works at the nexus of data science and urban design, with experience working in cross-disciplinary teams where she has supported urban planning research, evaluating and maintaining spatial datasets and application of geospatial technologies. A licensed architect in India, Manasi has assisted on large-scale mass housing and master planning projects throughout her career.

      Her commitment to ecological and equitable city planning stems from her experiences growing up in a city facing extreme adversities of unplanned urban sprawl. She is passionate about using her knowledge in geospatial systems in improving planning and design outcomes.

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Planetary boundaries and wiseGRIDs
      Headshot of Graham Davies FIEAust CPEng
      Graham Davies FIEAust CPEng
      Associate Principal and Energy Lead SA, Arup

      Graham has global experience in energy (renewables, thermal, storage, hydrogen), resources and manufacturing from concept through to commissioning, and operations. He has a keen focus on innovation and has three commercialised patents.

      Graham has had extensive involvement with Engineers Australia including SA President, National Chair of the Sustainable Engineering Society and member of the Energy Advisory Panel. He was also a key author of Engineers Australia's climate and sustainability policies and also Implementing Sustainability Principles and Practice (ISP&P) guidelines. He has published and presented on issues of sustainability, energy, technology and economics.

        5.00-5.15 pm
      Human factors in new energy: a systems thinking approach
      Headshot of Joanne Knight-Smith
      Joanne Knight-Smith
      Principal Human Factors Specialist, HF Integration Pty Ltd

      Joanne is a Principal Human Factors Consultant with more than 10 years' experience in providing human factors support to high-risk industries. Her experience expands across oil and gas, new energy, rail, mining and construction industries focusing on practical application of human factors in both project phases and operations.

      Joanne's recent experience includes early integration of human factors in hydrogen, battery and carbon capture projects that has identified new challenges for human reliability in fast paced new energy projects.

        5.15-5.30 pm
      An investigation into overnight energy consumption at the University of Wollongong
      Headshot of Henry Andresen
      Henry Andresen
      Sustainability Engineer, Stantec

      Henry is a Sustainability Engineer/Consultant who is driven to provide effective and realistic climate focused solutions across all aspects of a project. Henry advises on environmentally sustainable design (ESD) decisions for a wide array of building projects and has experience in delivering on building compliance with NCC Section J, Green Star Buildings, Communities, Design and As-Built and Interiors ratings, Life Cycle Assessments and Climate Change Risk Assessments and Adaptation Plans. Henry has ESD consultancy experience across multiple sectors of the industry, including residential, commercial office, hospitals, student accommodation and education facilities.

      Henry joined the Sydney Sustainability Team at Stantec in 2021 and has completed his Bachelor of Environmental Engineering with honours in 2022.

        5.00-6.00 pm
      Networking reception
      CSE23 exhibition space

      Meet and connect with fellow conference attendees during the CSE23 networking reception.

        6.30-11.30 pm
      Engineers Australia Excellence Awards gala dinner
      Palladium at Crown, Level 1 Crown Towers, Crown Melbourne, 8 Whiteman Street, Melbourne, VIC, 3006

      Celebrating the achievements of the engineering professionals and cutting-edge engineering projects driving Australia forward.

       

      Headshot of Romilly Madew
      Romilly Madew AO FTSE HonFIEAust EngExec
      Chief Executive Officer, Engineers Australia

      Prior to joining Engineers Australia, Romilly was CEO of Infrastructure Australia overseeing the organisation's critical role in helping governments prioritise projects and reforms that best serve our communities. She served as CEO of the Green Building Council of Australia for 13 years. In acknowledgment of her contribution to Australia’s sustainable building movement, Romily was awarded an Order of Australia in 2019. 

      She is currently a Member of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering Infrastructure Forum, Member of Placemaking NSW Advisory Committee, Director of Sydney Olympic Park Authority, Independent Chair of the Currawong State Park Advisory Board (NSW), Federal Government appointee on the Circular Economy Ministerial Advisory Group and G20 EMPOWER – Empowerment and Progression of Women's Economic Representation, Member of the National Women in Transport CEO Advisory Group, Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers Enabling Better Infrastructure Steering Group (UK) and Director of Minerva Network (supporting Australia’s elite sportswomen). 

      Headshot of Nick Fleming
      Dr Nick Fleming FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      National President and Board Chair, Engineers Australia

      Nick is an experienced non-executive director. In addition to Engineers Australia, he is member of the board of South Gippsland Water and an advisory board member with Infrastructure CoLab. He is managing director of advisory firm, Innergise Pty Ltd, and a faculty member with the Australia and New Zealand School of Government. He is an active thought leader, speaker and author, recognised for his expertise in strategy, innovation and complex problem solving. 

      His 30-year professional career spans the infrastructure, natural resources, water, mining, energy, defence, social welfare and education sectors in Australia, NZ, the Americas, Asia and the UK. Prior to establishing his own advisory firm, Nick was the Director of Business Innovation at Jacobs Group (Australia). He previously held global roles at SKM including Chief Sustainability Officer and Technology and Innovation Manager, also sitting on Board committees leading strategy and corporate social responsibility.

      Thursday 30 November

        8.30–8.45 am
      Welcome
        8.45–9.15 am
      The next generation’s hopes for the future

      Draw inspiration from a panel of Gen-Z graduate engineers and high school students sharing their vision for a climate-resilient future and how best to achieve net-zero. With the climate challenge set to dominate their professional careers, hear how this generation is harnessing their skills, ingenuity and voice to shape a greener, more sustainable tomorrow.  

      Headshot of Simone Costello
      Simone Costello
      Graduate Process Engineer (Water), Arup

      Simone joined Arup in February 2022 as a Graduate Process Engineer in the water team after graduating from the University of Melbourne with a Master of Chemical Engineering.

      Her interests in water and sustainability led her to an industry project at Melbourne Water, and then onto Arup where she has since been involved in various projects in water and wastewater treatment, and increasing investigating water for hydrogen production. She brings curiosity and a drive to solve engineering challenges, especially through collaboration.

        9.15–9.50 am
      Calling for engineers to work on the largest economic transition since the dawn of agriculture

      The battle for climate science to be understood and accepted has been won.  However, the battle to eliminate the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change has a long way to go.  The strategy is clear: use zero-emissions electricity, hydrogen and synthesised hydrogen compounds to replace the fossil fuels that are responsible for nearly three quarters of global emissions.  Engineers will design the technological solutions and their deployment.  Engineering education and practices must reflect this responsibility to minimise adverse impacts without shifting them elsewhere.   

      Headshot of Dr Alan Finkel AC
      Dr Alan Finkel AC
      Former Chief Scientist of Australia, Chair of Stile Education, Adviser to government and companies on clean energy technologies

      Dr Alan Finkel AC is a neuroscientist, engineer, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Career highlights include 23 years running US company Axon Instruments and eight years as Chancellor of Monash University. Alan was Australia’s Chief Scientist from 2016 to 2020, during which time he led the National Electricity Market Review, the development of the National Hydrogen Strategy and the panel that advised the Australian Government on the Low Emissions Technology Roadmap.

      As Special Adviser to the Australian Government on Low Emissions Technologies in 2021 and 2022, he brokered bilateral low emissions technology partnerships between Australia and each of seven key countries and chaired the Australian Government-hosted Sydney Energy Forum.

      He is currently Chair of Stile Education and a corporate adviser on climate change technologies. His book, Powering up: unleashing the clean energy supply chain, was published in June.

        9.50–10.20 am
      A just transition - embracing Indigenous approaches in the energy transition

      The clean energy transition offers the world an opportunity to reinvent energy systems and rebuild them around the concepts of environment, sustainability and equity. The decentralisation of energy generation gives us the ability to redistribute power, in all senses of the word. However, this is not guaranteed by renewable energy technologies. The underlying paradigms must also shift. Therefore, we ask not just for an energy transition, but for an energy transformation that embraces new approaches to all aspects of the energy delivery system. Indigenous values and knowledges have much to offer as we reimagine and create the energy system of the future.  

      Headshot of Ruby Heard
      Ruby Heard CPEng
      Director, Alinga Energy Consulting

      Ruby Heard is a versatile and ambitious entrepreneur and electrical engineer with global experience and an affinity for sustainability. She began her career with Arup designing electrical and lighting systems for iconic buildings in Melbourne. In 2015 she transferred to San Francisco to follow her passion into the renewable energy sector, designing complex solar arrays and microgrids for Google campuses.

      In 2018 Ruby volunteered with Engineers Without Borders on a six-month expedition to support the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees energy team in Ethiopia. On her return to Australia Ruby founded Alinga Energy Consulting. Alinga is a socially conscious engineering consultancy that provides specialist energy services to the commercial, government and NGO sectors within Australia and internationally. Her company has a particular focus on areas where energy accessibility and affordability issues prevent or limit the availability of reliable power.

      With indigenous heritage originating from the Jaru people of the Kimberley, Ruby is especially driven to find solutions for Indigenous communities. In 2019 Ruby was recognised by Engineers Australia in their 100 Engineers Making a Difference list and was awarded Young Professional Engineer of the Year in Victoria.

        10.20–10.30 am
      Partner presentation
        10.30–11.00 am
      Morning tea
        11.00–11.10 am
      Partner presentation
        11.10–11.40 am
      The engineering mindset – making change happen

      Join Eytan as he explores the challenges organisations face in decarbonising, and how, as engineers, we can be central to creating change-making organisations and deploying a systems approach to problems, especially at a time when it feels like ‘everyone is an engineer’. The session will look at what needs to be done, what levers can be pulled to make change happen and how to bring people on the journey.  

      Headshot of Eytan Lenko
      Eytan Lenko
      Chief Executive Officer, Boundless Earth

      Eytan Lenko is the CEO of Boundless Earth (Boundless), a non-profit backed by Mike Cannon-Brookes, with the mission of ensuring that Australia is on-track to becoming a renewable energy superpower by 2030. Boundless levers philanthropy, investment and advocacy to accelerate progress on a strategic topic at a time. Boundless has already pushed forward on electric vehicles, home electrification and climate jobs.

      Eytan has an entrepreneurial tech and software engineering background. Eytan co-founded Outware Mobile and grew it to become the recognised Australian leader in mobile software development when it was acquired in 2017.

      Eytan is currently Deputy-Chair of the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network and former Chair of the internationally-recognised climate solutions think-tank Beyond Zero Emissions. Eytan is also a direct investor and advisor to a number of ambitious cleantech companies.

        11.40 am – 12.30 pm
      Session to be announced
        1.30-1.45 pm
      Developing accessible, online greenhouse gas emission estimation tools to inform New Zealand's horizontal infrastructure
      Headshot of Luke Elsen
      Luke Elsen
      Sustainability and Resilience Consultant, AECOM

      Luke is a civil engineer working as a sustainability and resilience consultant to embed sustainability in projects using his knowledge of environmental science and engineering design principles. Luke’s interdisciplinary approach, combining engineering principles with environmental sciences, enables him to address complex challenges related to infrastructure and sustainability. He has worked closely with clients to challenge and improve carbon accounting practices across the industry to ease implementation and deliver emission reductions.

      His holistic worldview and understanding of the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of technical challenges guides his advocacy for engineering approaches that contribute to mitigating climate change impacts and promoting a more sustainable future.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Smart integrated water management to response the climate change: a case study
      Headshot of Hamed Esfahani
      Hamed Esfahani
      Principal Civil Engineer, Stantec

      As a well-established civil engineer, Hamed has a passion for delivering quality design outcomes in civil projects with the community in mind. He has more than 15 years' experience as a civil engineer expert in various aspects of civil infrastructure projects from preliminary and detailed design to construction.

      Hamed is an expert in identifying client’s requirements, designing and delivering complex projects. As a technical team leader in Stantec, he has managed civil design/engineer team to deliver multidisciplinary civil infrastructure, highways and urban development projects.

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Augmenting Australia’s carbon inventory management in wastewater treatment for better planning
      Headshot of Rigo Manahan
      Rigo Manahan
      Process Engineer, Arup

      Rigo Manahan is a Process Engineer at Arup with a passion for water and wastewater treatment planning, design and sustainability. Over his four years of professional experience, he has been fortunate to play key roles in projects shaping Australia’s future resilience and sustainability in water.

        2.15-2.30 pm
      A confluence of sustainability, circularity, and digital today, for tomorrow
      Headshot of Tim Mumford FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Tim Mumford FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      General Manager Digital and Innovation, Beca

      Tim maintains Chartered and EngExec status, underpinned by 20 years’ experience in digital and sustainability across capital intensive industries, such as transport and infrastructure. Tim’s focus in on the value of digitisation: stemming from a rich experience in digital engineering, government policy and digital assets management.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      How can adequate geotechnical input improve environmental outcomes through the lifecycle of a project?
      Headshot of Alex Petty MIEAust CPEng NER
      Alex Petty MIEAust CPEng NER
      Geotechnical Services Lead – WA/NT, Stantec

      Alex Petty has more than 17 years of professional experience working as a geotechnical engineer across the UK, Australia South America and New Zealand and is a Chartered engineer with Engineers Australia. Alex has worked across a wide variety of sectors primarily in the civil space and more recently across the mining industry.

      Alex has a significant level of experience in a wide range of geotechnical applications including geological mapping, geotechnical investigations soil and rock stability assessments and pavement design. Alex takes a keen interest in progressing the geotechnical field with innovation and increased sustainability.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Sustainable cement: its role in decarbonising Australia
      Headshot of DR Lucas Skoufa FIEAust CPEng
      Dr Lucas Skoufa FIEAust CPEng
      Research Manager (P/T), Royal Australian Navy

      Lucas Skoufa is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and Chartered Engineer who has an interesting background covering military (naval), energy / power generation and university roles. He has worked at several locations in Australia and previously served as a full-time Marine Engineering Officer (sea and shore postings) in the Royal Australian Navy. Currently he is working as a Reservist Officer with the Royal Australian Navy and posted to a Research Manager role.

      Since 2005 Lucas’s interests have been in decarbonising power generation, hard-to-abate sectors (e.g. using hydrogen and other low/zero-carbon fuels) and decentralised/community-based power systems. He sees that the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is achievable and requires a suite of low/zero-carbon energy technologies, a focus on energy efficiency and consumer education / knowledge on how they are part of the current energy and emissions transition.

      Lucas completed his PhD on the strategic behaviours of electricity generation firms, has a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Business (Economics) and a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical).

      Navy headshot
      Dr Steven Pudney FIEAust
      Southern Cross University
        3.00-3.15 pm
      Review on utilising ponded coal ash
      Headshot of Dr Ellen Zhao
      Dr Ellen Zhao
      University of Wollongong

      Dr Ellen Zhao is an Honorary Fellow in the School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering at University of Wollongong. Ellen obtained her bachelor degree in Civil Engineering and PhD in Methods of Using Modified Wire Mesh Composite to Strengthen Concrete with Different Strengths. Ellen’s research interests include cementitious materials, the Australian structural standards such as Concrete Structures AS 3600-2018 and Steel Structures AS 4100-2020 as well as FRP design guidance.

      Ellen is a member of Engineers Australia and a committee member of Civil and Structural Engineering Panel, Engineers Australia Sydney Division. Ellen was the recipient of UOW CERL (COVID-impacted Emerging Research Leaders) fellowship. Furthermore, Ellen made sustained and significant contributions to teaching a range of subjects cross each year while collaborating with different schools. Ellen was the recipient of Vice-Chancellors Outstanding Contribution to Teaching and Learning Award 2022.

        3.15-3.30 pm
      Storing atmospheric CO2 in roads by means of biogenic binder technology
      Headshot Dr Erik Denneman CPEng
      Dr Erik Denneman CPEng
      Global Technical Manager, Puma Energy

      Dr Erik Denneman is the Global Technical Manager for Puma Bitumen. He leads Puma Bitumen’s R&D program focused on developing ever more sustainable bituminous binders. His team is further responsible for rigorous quality control across Puma’s global supply network. Prior to joining Puma Erik was Director of Technology and Leadership at the Australian Flexible Pavement Association. Erik is a Chartered Professional Engineer based in Melbourne and has previously worked in the Netherlands, the US and South Africa.

        4.00-4.15 pm
      Why you should be simulating your carbon footprint
      Headshot of Dr Peter Brady MIEAust CPEng NER
      Dr Peter Brady MIEAust CPEng NER
      Principal Application Engineer, MathWorks

      Dr Peter Brady is a Principal Application Engineer at MathWorks where he leverages maths to accelerate his customer’s projects. He works across the engineering spectrum with a focus on maths, statistics, optimisation, machine and deep learning as well as cloud scale out. Prior to joining MathWorks Peter worked for several civil and defence contractors delivering projects in surface water, hydraulics and hydrology as well as fluid dynamics and submarine cavitation inception. His prior research work includes free surface hydraulic simulation, thermodynamics and nanofluidics.

      Peter has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering and a Bachelors in Civil Engineering both from UTS and is a Chartered Practicing Engineer in the fields of Mechanical Engineering and Leadership and Management as well as a Certified Professional with the Australian Computer Society. He is the immediate past Chair of Sydney Division Water Engineering Panel and has chaired a number of Engineers Australia conferences.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      Industrial internet of things for energy assets
      Headshot of Cyril Thomas GradIEAust
      Cyril Thomas GradIEAust
      Graduate Electrical Engineer, University of Queensland

      Cyril is a graduate of the University of Queensland with a Bachelor (Honours) and a Masters in Electrical Engineering. Over the span of his career he has collaborated across various roles, both in academia and industry. He is excited about the energy transition and is passionate about using innovative practices to achieve sustainability within the energy sector.

        4.30-4.45 pm
      Harnessing SCADA and IIoT data for sustainable engineering and business decision-making
      Headshot of Ahmed Al Kindi
      Ahmed Al Kindi
      Control Systems Engineer, GPA Engineering

      Ahmed Al Kindi is a driven and enthusiastic professional with a contagious passion for industrial automation and control engineering. He obtained a Mechatronics Engineering degree from the University of Adelaide and has since built a solid foundation in PLC, HMI and SCADA design.

      Always seeking to expand his knowledge and skill set, Ahmed proactively integrates control systems with IIOT and IT technologies to remain at the forefront of the industry. Currently serving as a Control Systems Engineer at GPA Engineering, a top-tier consultancy based in South Australia, Ahmed is committed to delivering exceptional results and driving innovation in his field.

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Explainability of artificial intelligence models in project waste management
      Headshot of Mehrdad Arashpour FIEAust
      Mehrdad Arashpour FIEAust
      Associate Professor, Monash University

      Associate Professor Mehrdad Arashpour is an internationally recognised researcher and educator in the field of construction and civil infrastructure with a focus on automation and information technologies. His research explores generation of building and infrastructure digital twins; infrastructure computer vision and pattern recognition; intelligent automation of design and construction tasks; and integration of project information into visualisation and mixed reality models. He is one of 13 worldwide members of the Working Commission on Off-site Construction (W121) and Infrastructure Task Group (TG91), established by the International Council for Building (CIB).

        5.00-5.15 pm
      A feasibility study of monitoring earthfill dam behaviour using remote sensing
      Headshot of Farid Fazel Mojtahedi
      Farid Fazel Mojtahedi
      Phd Researcher, University of Melbourne

      Farid Mojtahedi is a PhD candidate in the infrastructure engineering department at the University of Melbourne. His research focuses on leveraging deep learning (DL) and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to develop an advanced early warning system for geohazards.

      With a decade of work experience in various roles, Farid brings a diverse skill set to his academic pursuits. Notably, he successfully established a startup approximately six years ago, showcasing his entrepreneurial drive and innovation. Through his academic and professional endeavors, Farid is dedicated to pushing the boundaries of geohazard detection and mitigation for the betterment of society.

        5.15-5.30 pm
      Gmetrik: a digital platform for environmental and costing metrics
      Headshot of Peter Geoghegan MIEAust CPEng NER
      Peter Geoghegan MIEAust CPEng NER
      Director and Founder, Geotron Engineering Consultants

      Peter Geoghegan is the Director and Founder of Geotron, an engineering consultancy that specialises in designing building structures  and infrastructure by delivering practical yet innovative design solutions to create a better built environment, coupled with personal service and exceptional ethics. As a professional structural engineer, Peter has more than 30 years’ experience within the construction industry including 24 years as a consulting engineer working with both small and large multi-national businesses.

      Prior to founding Geotron in 2015, Peter previously held senior management roles ranging from Associate Director to Global Engineering Manager responsible for Australia, China, Asia and the Middle East within a group listed top ASX 200 engineering company. Peter’s diverse experience varies from both large and small-scale developments on award winning projects both nationally and internationally. His expertise includes working with local and large multi-national companies for public health buildings, sport facilities, commercial, low and high rise residential, community and infrastructure, and industrial facilities.

      Geotron was announced in March 2023 at the national Consult Australia awards as winner of the 2022 "Small Firm of the Year" and winner of "Small Business Excellence" and a Highly Commended for "Technological Innovation" where Geotron has been developing an intuitive digital application for the Built Environment.

        5.30-5.45 pm
      A blockchain enabled water platform to improve the accountability and transparency of the Australian water markets
      Headshot of Bill Robinson
      Bill Robinson
      Digital Water Lead – Australasia, Arup

      Bill Robinson is a Senior Civil Engineer who is experienced in strategic planning, water resources infrastructure design, resilience and digital transformation. He is the Australasian Digital Water Lead for Arup and has helped the firm to deliver digital water projects for the City of Melbourne, DEECA, DPE and DFAT.

      Bill believes that emerging technology has a central role to play in tackling complex global issues brought on by climate change. Working smarter with the goals of spending less, using more with what we have and utilising data for decision making are critical to the future of water scarcity in Australia. Bill’s passion for digital innovation, has seen him work with IBM to develop a discussion paper over the course of several years on the role that Blockchain technology could play in water trading markets. He is committed to shaping a better world by investing his time and efforts into projects and organisations committed to sustainable development and social equity.

      He is the current President of Yarra Pools, an organisation setup to improve the Yarra’s (Birrarung) health with the long term vision to make it swimmable. Bill brings first-hand experience in project management, product development, digital transformation, innovation consulting, design and project engineering, facilitating workshops and sustainable development.

        1.30-1.45 pm
      ‘Pilbara proof’ waterways: a socio-economic approach to defining design outcomes
      Headshot of Lara Parsons MIEAust
      Lara Parsons MIEAust
      Senior Associate Infrastructure Delivery and Strategic Advisory, Jacobs

      Lara is a senior engineering and sustainability advisor with extensive experience planning, developing, and delivering remote and urban infrastructure across Australia’s resources and transportation sectors. As an advisor, her focus is on facilitating knowledge sharing and co-design amongst all project stakeholders to help inform resilient, sustainable, and fit-for-purpose solutions.

      Lara is skilled at coordinating and communicating multi-disciplinary intent to technical and non-technical stakeholders to ensure successful engineering outcomes are conveyed and accessible to all.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Quantifying the flood and erosion susceptibility Kunhar River basin based on morphometric dynamics integrated with PCA approach
      Headshot of Dr  Shan E Hyder Soomro
      Dr Shan E Hyder Soomro
      Postdoctoral Fellow, China Three Gorges University

      Dr Soomro was born in small town Daulatpur Saffan, District: Shaheed Banazirabad, Sindh Pakistan. He received his Masters in (MS-Hydraulics and Irrigation Engineering) from Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, Jamshoro and Doctoral degree in (Hydrology and Water Resources) from Zhengzhou University China. From July 2022 to up till now, he has been a Postdoctoral Research fellow. His main research direction is climate change, flood forecasting, rivers and lakes, hydrological modelling, urban flood, and climate change effect on fish ecology.

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Biochar to store carbon and water: engineering biochar designed for climate resilience in agriculture and mine site regeneration
      Headshot of Prof Wendy Timms
      Prof Wendy Timms
      Professor of Environmental Engineering, Deakin University

      Professor Timms is a Chartered Engineer (Civil, Environmental) and hydrogeologist with more than 30 years of professional experience in government, consulting engineering and research. She is Professor of Environmental Engineering at Deakin University, teaching and leading research in carbon storage in porous earth, water-energy nexus, groundwater hydrology and environmental tracers. Her research is funded by the Australian Research Council, the CO2CRC and the Victorian government.

      Prior to this, Wendy was at UNSW School of Mineral Resources and Energy, affiliated with the Connected Waters Initiative and Australian Centre for Sustainable Mining Practices. She was a founding Chief Investigator in the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training. She has published more than 60 journal papers,100 technical reports and contributes regularly to independent expert reviews. She is a former Vice President of International Association of Hydrogeologists (Australasia-Pacific).

        2.15-2.30 pm
      International trends in aviation to reach the net zero target
      Headshot of Jonathan Couldrick FIEAust CPEng NER
      Jonathan Couldrick FIEAust CPEng NER
      Associate Professor, Australian National University

      Honorary Associate Professor within the College of Engineering, Computing and Cybernietics looking at common areas of needs to align defence, industry and academia to solve Australia’s future needs. Jonathan sits on the Joint Board for Aerospace Engineering that manages the collaborative strategy between Engineers Australia and the Royal Aeronautical Society (Australian Division).

      His day job is as AIR MSP Portfolio Manager for Nova Systems Australia leading a high performance team of 150 members working primarily in defence. As the Project Director, Jonathan is responsible for developing and executing the program strategy for effective opportunity generation, project management and delivery of services and products. The program is a portfolio of projects that covers numerous platforms across Australian Defence in the fixed wing domain. The projects combine technical skills with an in-depth understanding of what is required to deliver and sustain capability.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      The implementation of subterranean barriers with mine pre-drainage to reduce coal mine methane emissions from open-cut and underground metallurgical-coal mines
      Headshot of Prof Raymond Johnson FIEAust
      Prof Raymond L Johnson Jr FIEAust
      Professor of Well Engineering and Production Technology, University of Queensland

      Prof Raymond L Johnson Jr is currently Professor of Well Engineering and Production Technology at the University of Queensland, Centre for Natural Gas and General Manager of Technical Services for Novus Fuels. He has a PhD in mining engineering, a MSc in petroleum engineering, a Graduate Diploma in Information Technology and a BA in Chemistry.

      Prof Johnson is a Life Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), technical co-chair of the upcoming 2023 SPE Unconventional Reservoir Symposium in Brisbane, past Queensland SPE Section chair, twice co-Chair of the SPE Unconventional Reservoir Conference Asia Pacific, 2019 co-Chair and 2021 Advisor of the URTeC Asia Pacific Conference, and twice SPE Regional Technical Award Recipient (Production Operations and Management and Information).

      Prof Johnson has served in numerous technical and management positions in service, operating and consulting companies in the United States and Australia. Prof Johnson is a Fellow of Engineers Australia.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Australian agriculture and mining: a winning combination for carbon sequestration
      Navy headshot
      Harold Burnett
      Managing Director, AgSeq

      Harold has spent more than a decade leading project and ops teams at a large mining organisation with experience in driving operational excellence and implementation of transformational technology.

      He is a Co-Founder of Foxglove Capital and MD of AgSeq where he is focused on aligning the mining and agricultural sectors to achieve net zero.

        4.00-4.15 pm
      A systems perspective of the transition to EVs in Australia
      Headshot of Thomas Manley FIEAust CPEng
      Thomas Manley FIEAust CPEng
      Federal Government Lead / Systems Engineering Advisor, Decision Analysis Services (DAS) / Systems Engineering Society Australia (SESA)

      Thomas is Technical Director of System Engineering Society Australia's (SESA), a technical society of Engineers Australia and the local chapter of International Council On Systems Engineering (INCOSE). He has more than 20 years of experience in the Federal Government market, predominantly providing value for Defence, ATO and Home Affairs. This includes time working for Boeing Australia, Thales, Optus and Downer, including five years as Optus' Chief Architect for the Managed Network Services contract at ATO.

      Thomas was a founding member of the SESA Telecommunications Working Group, and is now a Co-Chair of the INCOSE ICT (previously Telecommunications) Working Group. Before stepping into the role of Technical Director, he was SESA's Telecommunications and Cyber Security Domain Lead. He authored "Reconciling Enterprise Architecture and Systems Engineering", published in Professional Projects International's (PPI) Systems Engineering Newsjournal (SyEN) in May 2021, and was Lead Author of "Defining Critical Communications Networks: Modelling Networks as Systems", published in INCOSE's INSIGHT Magazine in June 2020. He contributed to Engineers Australia's submission in response to the government's National EV Strategy consultation paper.

      Thomas is a Chartered Professional Engineering (CPEng) and is a Certified Systems Engineering Professional (CSEP). He is also Decision Analysis Services' (DAS) Federal Government Lead.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      Techno-economic optimisation and evaluation of EV charging profiles for grid-scale network studies
      Navy headshot
      Dr Muhammad Ali
      Application Engineer, MathWorks

      Dr Muhammad Ali is an Application Engineer at MathWorks and works closely with Simulink and Simscape customers to understand their business objectives and ensure that they are getting the most value out of our products or services.

      Ali has a background in battery management systems, aircraft electrification and microgrids. He did his PhD at UNSW Australia, where he got the opportunity to work on dispatchable inverter control techniques for microgrids, and testing off-the-shelf PV inverters while working on an ARENA funded project.

        4.30-4.45 pm
      Car charging demand management for apartment blocks
      Headshot of Charles Edward Esson FIEAust CPEng
      Charles Esson FIEAust CPEng
      AIEglobal

      Charles Esson is an engineer with an active 43 year career, using his real time programming experience to develop fresh fruit sorting equipment that dominated the Australian market for 25 years, with many systems exported overseas. Charles is now primarily involved in low and medium voltage power engineering. His academic qualifications include professional engineering, an honours degree in computer science and a graduate certificates in power engineering. He is currently undertaking a Masters in power engineering at UOW.

      Charles is currently employed by AIEglobal as principle power engineer. AIEglobal also offer real time programming services for Beckoff Automation products. Recent work in developing distribution designs for high rise buildings has led Charles to the realisation that with the introduction of large volumes of electric cars, the distribution system is facing a serious issue. This has led to the development of the AIEglobal Charger Management Systems and consideration of the impact this load will have on the National Grid.

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Developing a spatial index of electric vehicle solar charging potential
      Headshot of Jose Sosa
      Jose Sosa
      University of Melbourne

      Jose Sosa is an electrical engineer, with experience in the energy and transport sector in Latin America and the Caribbean. His expertise in this field was gotten through his work in development organisations, such as the United Nations Environment Programme and the Interamerican Development Bank.

      Currently, he is pursuing a Masters in Energy Systems from the University of Melbourne, while also actively contributing to a Climate Research Accelerator (CRX) project.

        5.00-5.15 pm
      A hybrid diesel-electric power and propulsion system for commercial vessels
      Navy headshot
      Dr Dmitry Miller CPEng
      Product Manager - Power Systems, Ampcontrol CSM
        5.15-5.30 pm
      Decarbonising traction energy in freight trains through battery-electric and partial electrification
      Headshot of Dr Sundar Shrestha
      Dr Sundar Shrestha
      Electrical Engineer - Traction Power, Arup

      Dr Sundar Shrestha is an accomplished electrical engineer specialised in railway traction power system. With an extensive working experience in various Australian rail projects, from concept to construction, he brings a diverse background encompassing both industry experience and academic research.

      With a passion for sustainable transportation solutions, Sundar is dedicated to making design decision that improve the efficiency, safety, and reliability of railway systems. He also manages research and foresight works that leads toward innovative solution in rail industry. He extends his expertise to design and deliver renewable energy projects beyond the rail sector.

        5.30-5.45 pm
      Grid-to-Vehicle (G2V) algorithm with voltage control: a case study based on Monash microgrid
      Headshot of Soobok Yoon
      Soobok Yoon
      PhD Student, Monash University
      • BS, Semiconductor Physics, Korea Universit
      • MS, Applied Physics, Korea University
      • KAT-CERN Researcher, Republic of Korea and Switzerland: Future Circular Collider (FCC) Project
      • Master of Sustainable Energy, University of Queensland, Australia
      • PhD, Monash University, Australia: Smart Charging Algorithm
        5.45-6.00 pm
      An application of a Victorian transport emissions model
      Headshot of Finn Gurry
      Finn Gurry
      Senior Transport Modeller, AECOM

      Finn Gurry is Senior Transport modeller in AECOM’s Infrastructure Advisory group, joining AECOM in November 2019. In his career he has been involved in multiple types of projects, from cost-benefit analyses, to model development, forecasting, and assisting in the integration of a Land Use Transport Interaction (LUTI) model. Finn is interested in solving problems through software, and through project work, past experience and his studies, Finn has experience with Cube, R, SQL, SPSS, QGIS, ArcGIS, Python, VBA, Java and C++.

        1.30-1.45 pm
      A resilient future through intelligent infrastructure
      Headshot of Arne Nilsen FIEAust CPEng
      Arne Nilsen FIEAust CPEng
      Aurecon

      Arne Nilsen is a leader of Aurecon’s ports, coastal and industrial systems engineering practices, with responsibility for technical leadership in these fields across the group. His specialisations include marine and industrial structures, moving structures and large machines, structural dynamics and fatigue, marine facilities for bulk liquids and gas projects, public ferry infrastructure and coastal engineering.

      Arne has recently been responsible for leading multi-disciplinary study and design teams for developments and assessments in the majority of Australasia’s major industrial and commercial ports. A focus on resilience and adaptability of existing and new maritime infrastructure in the face of extreme environmental events such as flooding, storm surge and cyclonic waves; and climate change induced sea level rise has been a feature of his recent work.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Role of nature-based solutions in achieving asset resilience
      Headshot of Adam Davis
      Adam Davis
      ANZ Technical Practice Lead - Sustainability and Resilience, AECOM

      Adam has more than 26 years’ industry experience in sustainability and resilience, using his skills and strengths to help asset and critical infrastructure owners and operators cope, recover and prosper from major shocks and stresses, in particular changing climate conditions. He has completed climate adaptation and resilience projects at local, regional, state, national and international scales, looking at hazards, risk, vulnerability and resilience.

      Adam is AECOM’s project director on the Resilient Reefs initiative which has been developed to build the resilience of UNESCO World Heritage listed coral reefs to the globally significant threat of climate change, while also building the reef communities’ ability to adapt to a future of uncertainty.

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Sustaining super structures: using climate smart engineering for asset regeneration
      Headshot of Scott Collins CPEng
      Scott Collins CPEng
      Technical Director, Aurecon

      Scott is a Technical Director and the Ports, Marine and Coastal Practice Lead for the Queensland team. Scott is a highly experienced project manager with a track record as a trusted advisor to key clients and leading high performing teams to deliver and solve complex problems and projects for clients. Scott’s technical background is as a coastal, port and maritime engineer who has worked on diverse port and resources projects over the last 16 years at Aurecon.

      Scott has experience in the study, design and modelling of coastal, marine and hydraulic processes and structures. Scott has worked on a variety of projects ranging from port expansion feasibility studies, infrastructure immunity assessments, dredging studies, wave load assessments, physical modelling, port layout design, met-ocean studies, breakwater design and coastal process studies. Scott has a proven history of tackling coastal climate resilience projects, complex port and resources challenges and creating innovative and value adding solutions for clients.

        2.15-2.30 pm
      Future proofing existing infrastructure
      Headshot of Anne Gibbs FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Anne Gibbs FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      CEO, Asset Management Council

      Anne is a Technical Advisor to Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and has developed global disaster resilient infrastructure programs across various infrastructure sectors. Anne has experience in providing engineering disaster aid in the Pacific region and Africa and has worked in South America and Eastern Europe undertaking financial and operational performance improvements for governments and is currently CEO of the Asset Management Council in Australia.

      Anne holds a Bachelor of Civil Engineering, Graduate Diploma in Municipal Engineering and Management, Masters in Business Administration and Doctorate in Business Management and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      Economic assessment of climate change adaptation for roads
      Headshot of Dr Timothy Mote
      Dr Timothy Mote
      Climate Risk and Resilience, Arup

      Tim is a Climate Risk and Resilience Specialist supporting the planning, design, and construction of infrastructure in the face of climate and natural disasters. Throughout his career, he has supported large multi-disciplinary teams undertaking the planning, design, construction, safe operation, and maintenance of large infrastructure projects including dams, hydro power schemes, pipelines, highways, railways, tunnels, bridges, energy facilities (on and offshore) throughout East Asia, Australasia, the Pacific, North America and South America.

      Tim has recently led several multi-disciplinary projects considering the impact of climate change and natural disaster to increase infrastructure resilience. He combines extensive practical engineering geology experience with specialist natural hazard, geohazard, seismic hazard, risk management and resilience skills. Tim was selected as one of the Top 50 Innovative Engineers in Australia in 2016 for his work on real-time risk assessment following natural disasters.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Building resilience through engineering: mitigating climate change impacts on infrastructure
      Headshot of Mayuran Sivapalan
      Mayuran Sivapalan
      Managing Director, Adaptus

      Mayuran Sivapalan is the Managing Director of Adaptus, a boutique management consulting firm that works with leaders in business and society to solve complex sustainability challenges, improve ESG performance, and respond to the risks and opportunities of climate change. With degrees in environmental engineering and investment finance, he has spent the past 18 years using approaches from the risk and decision sciences to help multinational organisations and government agencies identify and deliver win-win projects that optimise financial return with environmental and social outcomes.

      Mayuran currently leads the Modelling and Decision Support function for the Australian Government on the world’s largest climate adaptation R&D program, helping advance technologies to save Australia’s Great Barrier Reef from the impacts of climate change. He has previously held senior leadership, advisory and project management roles with global engineering and advisory firms in the resources, energy and infrastructure sectors across Australia, the US and Middle East.

      Headshot of Stuart Cassie FIEAust CPEng EngExec
      Stuart Cassie FIEAust CPEng EngExec
      Director, Tracey, Brunstrom & Hammond

      Stuart has more than 20 years' leadership experience in complex infrastructure assets, holding senior global operational roles in Tier 1 engineering and professional services organisations and a government utility. He has acted as a consultant providing delivery and advisory services to assist large, complex infrastructure owners and developers evaluate, manage and deliver major capital projects and portfolios of sustaining capital projects for ongoing operations.

      Stuart has been an advisor to executives across sectors and jurisdictions including government infrastructure, energy and resources, oil and gas, and utilities in Australia, Europe, Africa, Middle East and North America.

        3.00-3.15 pm
      A complex systems approach to design for resilience
      Headshot of Thomas Jacquier
      Thomas Jacquier
      Systems Engineer, Shoal Group

      Thomas Jacquier is a Systems Engineer at Shoal with experience in requirements and interface management, asset management, and modelling and simulation. He is a first-class honours Graduate in Mechatronics Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Adelaide.

      While at Shoal, Thomas has managed interfaces across design stakeholders and geographical locations on a complex rail engineering project, led requirements elicitation workshops with senior project stakeholders, managed requirements through design review gates ensuring traceability and the provision of verification activities, and supported the development of a model-based framework for asset management. He also has experience using MATLAB to conduct data analysis and develop models of aerospace flight vehicle and radar systems.

      Thomas is an INCOSE Associate Systems Engineering Professional.

        3.15-3.30 pm
      Progressive sediment management using natural infrastructure interventions in Andean coastal environments
      Headshot of James Ghent MIEAust CPEng
      James Ghent MIEAust CPEng
      Sustainability Engineer, Arup

      A sustainability engineer and climate change professional who focuses on the use of nature-based solutions to deliver more value to the most vulnerable communities. Currently the natural infrastructure specialist in Peru, James is delivering and supporting the Peruvian government on their journey to a more resilient and sustainable future.

      Using the gifts provided by our planet natural infrastructure can teach us a lot about how we can ensure future generations can enjoy the one planet we have been provided.

        3.30-3.45 pm
      Using nature-based solutions to protect coastlines in Trinidad and Tobago
      Headshot of Christian Virgil
      Christian Virgil
      College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago

      Christian Casey-Lee Virgil is an Industrial Engineering doctoral candidate in the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. He is also a Senior Lecturer at the College of Science, Technology and Applied Arts of Trinidad and Tobago and a member of the National Technical Committee for Occupational Health and Safety. His research interests are climate change, sustainable development, public health and occupational safety.

      His diverse academic background and interest in climate change guided him to participate in the McGill-University of the West Indies Queen Elizabeth Scholars Climate Resiliency Program at McGill University. His research under the program examined approaches to using mangroves and seagrass beds as a coastal protection strategy in Trinidad and Tobago. He is currently developing the framework for establishing a Living Laboratory to solve climate change issues affecting Trinidad and Tobago.

        4.00-4.15 pm
      Building resilient communities with socio-technical engineering: case studies from Engineers Without Borders Australia in the Asia-Pacific region
      Headshot of Dr Peter McArdle
      Dr Peter McArdle
      Chief Engineer, Engineers Without Borders Australia

      Peter has a deep understanding of international humanitarian action with experience across the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific His experience includes climate and environment policy, public health, emergency operations, and the protection of infrastructure in armed conflict with the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement, NGOs and social enterprise. For his work preparing for and responding to global crises, Peter was Awarded the International Service Medal for ‘exemplary service’ by Australian Red Cross.

      Constantly curious and intrigued by balancing diverse perspectives and knowledge, complexity and creative problem solving, Peter holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil), a Master of Peace and Conflict Studies and a PhD in Sociology exploring the social impacts of community conflict and resilience in the face of water scarcity.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      Allowing communities to co-engineer network responses to a changing climate
      Headshot of Sally Busch
      Sally Busch
      Climate Resilience Engineer, Ausgrid

      Sally is Ausgrid’s Climate Resilience Engineer and is leading Ausgrid’s Climate Resilience Network and Non-Network Solution development program. They have a background in Asset Management and have extensive experience in developing new engineering processes and asset modelling methodologies for complex assets.

        4.30-4.45 pm
      Local community: the missing piece in Australia’s energy transition jigsaw
      Headshot of DR Lucas Skoufa FIEAust CPEng
      Dr Lucas Skoufa FIEAust CPEng
      Research Manager (P/T), Royal Australian Navy

      Lucas Skoufa is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and Chartered Engineer who has an interesting background covering military (naval), energy / power generation and university roles. He has worked at several locations in Australia and previously served as a full-time Marine Engineering Officer (sea and shore postings) in the Royal Australian Navy. Currently he is working as a Reservist Officer with the Royal Australian Navy and posted to a Research Manager role.

      Since 2005 Lucas’s interests have been in decarbonising power generation, hard-to-abate sectors (e.g. using hydrogen and other low/zero-carbon fuels) and decentralised/community-based power systems. He sees that the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is achievable and requires a suite of low/zero-carbon energy technologies, a focus on energy efficiency and consumer education / knowledge on how they are part of the current energy and emissions transition.

      Lucas completed his PhD on the strategic behaviours of electricity generation firms, has a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Business (Economics) and a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical).

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Building Australia’s humanitarian engineering capability for resilience and social impact
      Headshot of Jeremy Smith FIEAust CPEng
      Jeremy Smith FIEAust CPEng
      Senior Lecturer, ANU

      Jeremy Smith is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Engineering at the School of Engineering at the Australian National University (ANU). Jeremy is the current Chair of the Organising Committee of the Engineers Australia Humanitarian Engineering Community of Practice. He has a long association with humanitarian engineering in Australia including volunteer and staff roles at Engineers Without Borders Australia (EWB-A) and leading education and research initiatives at the ANU in partnership with a range of for-purpose organisations.

      At the ANU he conveners the Humanitarian Engineering program and teaches into the Systems Engineering and Environmental Engineering programs.

        5.00-5.15 pm
      Beyond planetary boundaries: creating resilient institutions
      Headshot of Thomas Cernev
      Thomas Cernev
      Research Affiliate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, University of Cambridge

      Tom Cernev is an engineer at Shoal Group in Adelaide with degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Theoretical Physics from the University of Adelaide and a Master’s in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University of Cambridge.

      Tom is a Research Affiliate at the Centre for the Study of Existential Risk at the University of Cambridge, the South Australian Chair of the Sustainable Engineering Society for Engineers Australia, and a contributing paper author for the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.

        5.15-5.30 pm
      Future ready infrastructure: learnings from recent extreme events
      Headshot of Rob Kilgour FIEAust CPEng
      Rob Kilgour FIEAust CPEng
      Technical Executive - Materials Performance, WSP

      A strategy-driven business leader and advisor, Rob has more than 20 years’ experience delivering results using technical and commercial knowledge in materials performance, energy management, buildings, and infrastructure development to contribute to climate change adaptation and the energy transition across Australasia, the Middle East and UK.

      Rob has an established track record for providing clear, pragmatic advice, insights and solutions to complex problems founded upon a diverse array of experience covering the entire built environment asset life cycle. He is a curious and future focussed thought leader with a commitment to lifelong learning, professional development and continuous improvement.

        5.30-5.45 pm
      de-HIVE: network of sustainable workspaces and professional services
      Headshot of Quang Ngyuen MIEAust NER
      Quang Ngyuen MIEAust NER
      Digital Environment P/L

      Quang is a Certified Practicing Engineer who has a varied background across power generation, manufacturing and building construction. He has more than 20 years’ experience in leading specialised teams, strong understanding, and applied knowledge of commercial engineering projects.

      Quang has a passion for smart technology and mentoring engineers. He has a Master of Engineering Science and a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical).

      Headshot of DR Lucas Skoufa FIEAust CPEng
      Dr Lucas Skoufa FIEAust CPEng
      Research Manager (P/T), Royal Australian Navy

      Lucas Skoufa is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and Chartered Engineer who has an interesting background covering military (naval), energy / power generation and university roles. He has worked at several locations in Australia and previously served as a full-time Marine Engineering Officer (sea and shore postings) in the Royal Australian Navy. Currently he is working as a Reservist Officer with the Royal Australian Navy and posted to a Research Manager role.

      Since 2005 Lucas’s interests have been in decarbonising power generation, hard-to-abate sectors (e.g. using hydrogen and other low/zero-carbon fuels) and decentralised/community-based power systems. He sees that the goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions is achievable and requires a suite of low/zero-carbon energy technologies, a focus on energy efficiency and consumer education / knowledge on how they are part of the current energy and emissions transition.

      Lucas completed his PhD on the strategic behaviours of electricity generation firms, has a Master of Business Administration, a Bachelor of Business (Economics) and a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical).

        5.45-6.00 pm
      Community-centred outcomes for the Sunbury Gap Road Bridge
      Headshot of Sergio Saludes Requena MIEAust CPEng
      Sergio Saludes Requena MIEAust CPEng
      Associate Director – Structures, AECOM

      Sergio is a Chartered Structural Engineer and Design Team Leader at AECOM with more than 15 years of global professional experience designing and constructing major civil infrastructure and development projects within the construction industry. As a Design Team Leader, his project experience covers tunnels, buildings, metro rail systems, bridges and highways.

      Sergio’s key strengths are problem-solving, interdisciplinary coordination and collaboration skills to produce efficient and integrated designs during the project lifecycle. Sergio has been involved in North East Link, Rail Network Alliance, Western Harbour Tunnel, West Gate Tunnel, MetroNet and Barangaroo Crown Sydney Hotel Resort.

      Headshot of Grant Viljoen
      Grant Viljoen
      Practice Lead (VSA) – Sustainability and Resilience, AECOM

      Grant is a Practice Lead in AECOM's Sustainability and Resilience team with 14 years’ experience providing advice on sustainability, resilience, and climate change in both the private and public sectors. With a deep understanding of environmental and sustainability policy, strategy and implementation, Grant is well-equipped to navigate the complex interplay between environmental, social, and economic challenges.

      Grant is actively supporting major infrastructure projects in Victoria with a primary goal of creating sustainable and resilient urban environments by integrating these principles into design and engineering processes. He has been involved in North East Link, Melbourne Airport Rail and Metro Tunnel Project.

        1.30-1.45 pm
      Technical requirements for the safety of hydrogen transportation and storage
      Headshot of Jason Amiri MIEAust CPEng
      Jason Amiri MIEAust CPEng
      Senior Engineering Manager, Nacap

      Jason Amiri has around 25 years of experience working for renowned global companies as a mechanical, pipeline and facilities engineering and construction projects specialist. He has extensive expertise in renewable energy and the application of green hydrogen, having developed and implemented sustainable energy solutions over the years.

      With a thorough understanding of the latest technology and trends in this rapidly evolving industry and strong leadership skills, Jason is well-positioned to provide valuable advice in the green hydrogen sector. His guidance will contribute to the advancement of a more sustainable energy future.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Water for hydrogen: will there be enough to support the energy transition?
      Headshot of Simone Costello
      Simone Costello
      Graduate Process Engineer (Water), Arup

      Simone joined Arup in February 2022 as a Graduate Process Engineer in the water team after graduating from the University of Melbourne with a Master of Chemical Engineering.

      Her interests in water and sustainability led her to an industry project at Melbourne Water, and then onto Arup where she has since been involved in various projects in water and wastewater treatment, and increasing investigating water for hydrogen production. She brings curiosity and a drive to solve engineering challenges, especially through collaboration.

        2.00-2.15 pm
      H2Pathways: techno-economic analysis of sustainable hydrogen supply chain paths
      Headshot of Dr Keelan O'Neill
      Dr Keelan O'Neill
      Research Fellow, UWA

      Keelan is a Research Fellow in the UWA Fluid Science and Resources Research Group. Keelan’s research focusses on analysing sustainable hydrogen supply chains. This includes developing a web-based tool for modelling the costs and emissions of hydrogen pathways.

      Keelan also works on detailed techno-economic studies of hydrogen production scenarios. He previously worked on the development of geophysical sensors (primarily using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)) for downhole logging applications (at both UWA and NMR Services Australia). He completed his PhD in chemical engineering at UWA.

        2.15-2.30 pm
      Least-cost system design and operation: a comparative study of PEM, alkaline and solid oxide electrolysers
      Headshot of Dr Changlong Wang
      Dr Changlong Wang
      Research Fellow, Monash University

      Dr Changlong Wang is a research fellow at Monash University, specialising in energy system modelling. His contributions to the development of the Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool have played a crucial role in supporting the Australian Government Hydrogen Hub establishment and facilitating major investments. Dr Wang actively participates in international collaborations, such as the IEA's Hydrogen Implement Agreement Task 41.

      Headshot of Dr Graham Palmer
      Dr Graham Palmer
      Post-doc researcher, Monash University

      Graham Palmer is a researcher with an industry background as an engineer and researcher in manufacturing, HVAC and electronics. He has published in the area of biophysical economics, renewable energy, life-cycle analysis, and energy-economic modelling.

      Graham obtained his PhD in energy-return-on-investment (EROI) of electricity supply. His current research is life cycle assessment of green hydrogen and ammonia.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      Catalysts requirements to produce low-cost hydrogen from untreated waste/seawater
      Headshot of Dr Nasir Mahmood
      Dr Nasir Mahmood
      RMIT University

      Nasir Mahmood is a Vice-Chancellor Senior Research Fellow at RMIT University. He obtained his PhD from Peking University in 2015. His research interest involves the development of advanced materials for a sustainable society. He is one of the highly cited researchers by Clarivate and among the list of Best Materials Scientists and Chemists by Research.com. He has an excellent track record in publishing high-quality publications, more than 145 with citations, more than 12,000 and an H-index of 55. He also holds six patents/applications and is the author of 10 books/book chapters, commercialisation, attracting research funding and media attention, managing editorial responsibilities and organising conferences.

      His research has been highlighted in more than 1000 media blogs, magazines, television, and radio in many different languages across the world, reaching over 400 million people. He has been awarded several prestigious awards including the Beijing Science and Technology Award 2018 by the Municipal Government of Beijing, China, RMIT Vice-Chancellor Postdoctoral Fellowship (2019-2022) and RMIT Vice-Chancellor Senior Research Fellowship (2022-2026).

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Life cycle assessment of conventional and green ammonia production via grid power
      Headshot of Dr Graham Palmer
      Dr Graham Palmer
      Post-doc researcher, Monash University

      Graham Palmer is a researcher with an industry background as an engineer and researcher in manufacturing, HVAC and electronics. He has published in the area of biophysical economics, renewable energy, life-cycle analysis, and energy-economic modelling.

      Graham obtained his PhD in energy-return-on-investment (EROI) of electricity supply. His current research is life cycle assessment of green hydrogen and ammonia.

      Headshot of Dr Changlong Wang
      Dr Changlong Wang
      Research Fellow, Monash University

      Dr Changlong Wang is a research fellow at Monash University, specialising in energy system modelling. His contributions to the development of the Hydrogen Economic Fairways Tool have played a crucial role in supporting the Australian Government Hydrogen Hub establishment and facilitating major investments. Dr Wang actively participates in international collaborations, such as the IEA's Hydrogen Implement Agreement Task 41.

        4.00-4.15 pm
      Sustainable solutions for energy infrastructure
      Headshot of Lara Kruk
      Lara Kruk
      APAC Substations Technical Director, Jacobs

      Lara has 20 years’ experience in transmission/utilities having worked on projects across Australia, NZ, the UK, Iraq and Libya and has undertaken a diverse range of technical and management roles. Lara is the Jacobs APAC Substations Technical Director, working as a Principal Protection Engineer on substation projects, she ensures technical development and knowledge sharing as part of her role as the Community of Practice (CoP) Lead for Electrical Switchyards and Substations and the Global Practice Lead for Protection and Control.

      Lara has extensive experience in electrical design as both designer and owner’s engineer on various multi-disciplinary projects including brownfield substation extension and equipment replacements, large transmission network augmentations, greenfield terminal stations for renewable energy connections such as wind, solar and battery energy storage systems and HVDC interconnectors. Lara has a keen interest in innovative solutions and has led the implementation of a client’s first digitised substation using IEC 61850 and has developed a toolbox for sustainable solutions for substations and renewables.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      With distributed power comes interoperability
      Headshot of Aravind Raju
      Aravind Raju
      Graduate Consultant, enX

      Aravind is a young and passionate renewable energy engineer with a key focus on energy policymaking. He graduated with a degree in renewable energy engineering from the UNSW Sydney. In his honours year, he investigated the current output of perovskite-betavoltaic devices and their applications in low-power sensors.

      As an engineer at YOYO Energy and Clipsal Solar, Aravind helped design and organise the installation of AS/NZS compliant residential solar systems. Currently at enX, he helps consult on distributed energy resource (DER) opportunities in Australia. These include behind-the meter interoperability, vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and home energy efficiency.

        4.30-4.45 pm
      Security-constrained integrated system planning with multi speed allocation offrequency response services
      Navy headshot
      Saeede Nazari Goldar
      PhD student, Monash University

      Saeede is an engineer and a second year PhD student at Monash university. Their research explores the techno-economic aspects of the integrated generation, storage and transmission expansion planning of power systems. Saeede is particularly focused on modelling the system security dynamics into the long-term integrated system planning problem as well as studying the adequacy and economic feasibility of the resulting system.

      Prior to arriving at Monash, Saeede completed a Masters of Control System Engineering from Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran and worked for various industries within Australia and overseas. In 2022 they were the recipient of the Zema Energy Studies Scholarship.

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Utilisation of advanced simulation to test quantitative risk analysis inputs for alternative energy carriers
      Navy headshot
      Julian Annett Chee
      Process Safety Engineer, Gexcon

      Julian is a Process Safety Engineer at Gexcon. Gexcon develop software solutions to protect people, assets and the environment, as well as providing process safety consulting services. He has experience performing risk assessments for hydrogen equipment, including Hazardous Area Classification, QRA and CFD studies.

        5.00-5.15 pm
      Everything, everywhere, all at once: lessons learned from the supply chain, labour market and contractual crunches of the rapid energy expansion races of the past, and how we can use them to enable Australia's energy transition
      Headshot of John Carr FIEAust CPEng
      John Carr FIEAust CPEng
      Turner & Townsend

      John Carr is a highly accomplished, value-focused and versatile Associate Director with more than 20 years of experience in energy, infrastructure and resource sectors, specialising in project development, access and approvals, feasibility and execution. He has delivered significant development projects and has capability in origination, commercial negotiation, due diligence, feasibility, where he brought projects to financial closure/final investment decision.

      John leads multi-disciplinary mega project teams for delivery of major renewable development, energy, gas and complex civil infrastructure projects. He aspire to lead teams in the development and delivery of transformational renewable energy projects by enabling individuals to realise their potential and by partnering with stakeholders on the project lifecycle journey

        5.15-5.30 pm
      To be announced
        5.30-5.45 pm
      Integrating energy supply and demand to enhance the business case for high efficiency heat pumps
      Headshot of Yale Carden
      Yale Carden
      Founder and Managing Director, GeoExchange Australia

      Yale is the Founder and Managing Director of GeoExchange Australia and an Honorary Fellow with the Sustainable Buildings Research Centre (SBRC), University of Wollongong. He has more than 25 years of experience in the sustainability sector, the majority of which have been specifically in renewable thermal energy and heat pump systems. His commercial and academic work has him advising the public and private sector across the Asia Pacific.

        5.45-6.00 pm
      Resilience optimisation of a 100% renewable Australian energy grid
      Headshot of Harry Thawley
      Harry Thawley
      Australian National University

      Harry Thawley is a final year undergraduate student at the Australian National University, currently completing a Bachelor of Engineering (Research and Development) (Honours) with a major in Renewable Energy Systems.

      His research interests are in resilience of systems, grid-integration of renewable energy, solar cells, and optoelectronics. In these fields, he has completed projects in tailoring optoelectronic properties of perovskite by surface-modification for solar cell applications, and characterising resilience in renewable energy grids. Harry continues to build on this research, working alongside Australian National University’s 100% Renewable Energy Group in his honours research – optimising renewable energy grids for resilience.

        1.30-1.45 pm
      Climate mitigation integrated in design: creating positive impact through carbon accountability
      Headshot of Ken Lunty
      Ken Lunty
      Technical Director and National Lead – Sustainability, Arcadis

      Ken has almost 20 years of sustainability experience advising the private and public sector. His career started with Hyder Consulting focusing on carbon management and climate change adaptation strategy. In 2013, Ken joined a small consultancy specialising in sustainability strategy, life cycle thinking and value creation across the built environment, manufacturing, food and FMCG sectors. As part of the leadership team, the business grew to one of Australia’s largest dedicated sustainability consultancies.

      At Arcadis, his focus is moving from the “what” to the “how” for a sustainable future. He is devoted to weaving sustainability into design and engineering processes. Ken’s motivation is to work alongside engineers and designers to realise positive sustainability impact through clear visualisation and storytelling.

      Headshot of Nicole Liang
      Nicole Liang
      Senior Pavements Engineer, Arcadis

      Nicole has worked as a civil engineer in Australia for public and private clients focusing on pavements for roads, intermodals and ports. She has been involved in the design stage as an engineering consultant and in the maintenance stage as a technical advisor. She has a Bachelors in Engineering (Civil with Architecture) and a Masters in Data Analytics.

      Nicole is interested in making design decisions that are informed by whole of life assessments, and has been investigating the incorporation of sustainable materials and practices into the pavement design process, and how it can extend to other assets.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Realising meaningful sustainability outcomes during design of infrastructure
      Headshot of Ellen Worthington MIEAust
      Ellen Worthington MIEAust
      Manager, Integrated Sustainability, Aurecon

      Ellen is an award-winning sustainability leader whose expertise lies in the road and rail industries. She is passionate about driving industry-wide sustainable change and helping clients achieve better project and organisational outcomes from a sustainability and resilience perspective.

      Ellen values the delivery of verifiable sustainability and resilience outcomes in planning, design and delivery. She leads teams of sustainability professionals and technical specialists and is responsible for ensuring effective integration of sustainability and climate resilience risks, opportunities and requirements into projects.

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Partnering for multiple benefits: Horsham SmartWater Agriculture and Integrated Water Management Project
      Headshot of Graeme Dick
      Graeme Dick
      Manager Strategic Infrastructure Projects, GWMWater

      Graeme is a civil and environmental engineer with more than 20 years of experience in consulting, local government and water utility businesses. Working in regional Victoria for the past 17 years, Graeme has delivered several significant rural water supply projects and is now involved in renewable energy and carbon emission reduction projects.

      Graeme is passionate about finding sustainable, practical ways to enhance quality of life in rural areas.

        2.15-2.30 pm
      How digital engineering technologies are driving sustainable innovation for emissions reductions
      Headshot of Alex Shin MIEAust CPEng NER
      Alex Shin MIEAust CPEng NER
      Principal Engineer, MathWorks

      Alex Shin is the Principal Application Engineer at MathWorks, a company specialised in providing support to simulation, verification, and deployment projects, especially for commercial purposes. With his extensive experience, he has been actively involved in defining the process for simulation and testing, and implementing Model-Based Design tools in large organisations. Alex holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechatronics Engineering from the University of New South Wales.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      Eliminating the dark side of safety barriers in GHGE reduction vision and mission
      Headshot of Jawahar Kumar Murugiah MIEAust CPEng NER
      Jawahar Kumar Murugiah MIEAust CPEng NER
      Lead Engineer - Instrumentation, Control Automation, Petroleum Development Oman

      Jawahar Kumar is a Lead Instrumentation control and automation engineer in petroleum development Oman, with 20 years of experience in capital green field and challenging brown field critical infrastructure projects. He is Chartered Professional Engineer, certified in Functional Safety, PMI PMP and ISA/IEC 62443 Cybersecurity Expert. He is ISA 84 and 99 - Cybersecurity standards working committee member and panellist in technical conferences.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Integrating occupational hygiene into smoke control measures to reduce smoke inhalation exposure risks during bushfires
      Headshot of Adrian Moscoso
      Adrian Moscoso
      Principal Critical Risk and Safety Engineer, Pilbara Minerals

      Adrian Moscoso is a safety and risk engineer with more than 15 years of experience leading health and safety initiatives across diverse industries, including consulting, construction, open-cut and underground mining, processing, and oil and gas. With a Master's in Fire Safety Engineering and a Master of Science in Occupational Hygiene Practice, Adrian excels at designing and implementing safety management systems and risk management strategies. He has a proven track record of leading cross-functional teams and delivering successful safety outcomes.

      Adrian's expertise in occupational hygiene and fire safety engineering gives him a unique perspective on promoting workplace health and safety.

        4.00-4.15 pm
      Australia’s first environmental product declaration process certification
      Headshot of Evan Smith CPEng
      Evan Smith CPEng
      National Sustainability Manager for Sustainable Construction, Holcim

      Evan Smith has more 20 years’ of environmental and sustainability experience within the rail, road, infrastructure, construction and mining sectors. He holds a Bachelor of Environmental Engineering and is also a Chartered Engineer. Evan was pivotal in the delivery of Australia’s first Australia's first Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for Ready-mix Concrete and Australia’s first carbon neutral ready-mix concrete.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      How mandating the use of sustainability and safety in design procedures can fast-track the implementation of sustainability in engineering projects
      Headshot of Melanie Collett FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Melanie Collett FIEAust CPEng EngExec NER
      Director of Technical Excellence, Australia and New Zealand, AECOM

      Melanie is the Director of Technical Excellence for the Australia and New Zealand region of AECOM. In this role, she is responsible for the implementation of Technical Excellence across all business lines in the region. By focusing on the teams delivering technical solutions, Melanie provides the leadership required to make technical excellence a priority. Her leadership is instrumental in developing a culture of continuous learning and technical excellence at AECOM.

        4.30-4.45 pm
      The journey to net-zero: taking advantage of easy wins
      Headshot of Renny Chivunga
      Renny Chivunga
      Senior Engineer - Water, Aurecon

      Renny Chivunga is an engineer, pilot, model, sailor and board member. Her experience includes research, planning, treatment, operations and circular economy. She sits on the Advisory board for the University of Newcastle Chemical Engineering Department.

      Renny was a finalist for the Women in Industry Mentor of the Year Award and is Australian Water Association NSW Mentor of The Year. She appears on a few achievers making a difference list. She can be spotted in “The Great Gatsby” and both the ABC and City of Newcastle have told her story. She also tutors engineering complexity to students in Newcastle and Singapore.

        4.45-5.00 pm
      PAS2080: managing carbon emissions and reducing the environmental impact of infrastructure projects
      Headshot of Matt Colton
      Matt Colton FIEAust
      Trustee, Institution of Civil Engineers and Director, MCE

      Matt is a Chartered Civil Engineer, Fellow of Engineers Australia and the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). He is a Trustee of ICE and a member of ICE’s Council representing Asia Pacific members. 

      Matt is a Director of Management • Commercial • Engineering (MCE), a leading Australian linear infrastructure advisory business based in NSW, VIC and QLD.  MCE’s team comprise of industry leading delivery directors, program managers, engineering and design managers, systems and safety assurance, schedulers and planners, safety professionals and risk specialists promoting delivering sustainable linear infrastructure for transportation, water, utilities, and energy industries across Australia. 

      Matt is presenting the recently updated PAS2080 highlights on behalf of the Institution of Civil Engineers.

        5.00-5.15 pm
      Greenwashing: make sure you’re not part of the problem
      Headshot of Gavin Treseder
      Gavin Treseder
      Associate Director, Engineering, Assets and Project Delivery, KPMG

      Gavin Treseder has a strong background in reliability engineering and asset resilience. Normally you'll find him developing bespoke, predictive models and implementing asset management strategies for ageing equipment fleets across asset intensive industries. More recently, he's been embedded with power clients helping them prepare for the energy transition with robust, defensible investments for an uncertain future.

        5.15-5.30 pm
      Engineering boards and committees for successful climate leadership and regenerative outcomes
      Headshot of Stacey Daniel FIEAust CPEng NER
      Stacey Daniel FIEAust CPEng NER
      Director, Board Presence

      Stacey is an experienced Non-Executive Director, Board Consultant and Chartered Professional Engineer. She is the founder of Board Presence, author of Fly to the Boardroom: Your Essential Guide to Getting on a Board and was recognised as one of the Australia’s Innovative Engineers in 2020.

      Stacey is as an entrepreneur, educator and engineer who develops, reviews and advises on sustainable solutions and strategies for public, private and not-for-profit organisations. She also facilitates and delivers programs to build professional capability, improve performance and support those; aspiring to, sitting on and working with, boards and committees.

      Stacey is passionate about professional practice, effective decision making and positive outcomes for regeneration.

        1.30-1.45 pm
      The role of engineered landfills in transitioning towards a climate smart future
      Headshot of Aya Salih
      Aya Salih
      Senior Environmental Consultant, Bajwa EnviroConsult

      Aya is a Senior Environmental Consultant working in the environmental/waste management industry. As an experienced environmental engineer and scientist, Aya has overseen and been involved in projects covering aspects from design, project management, auditing, construction, operation, environmental assessments/monitoring and aftercare management. Aya has also undertaken extensive research in biogas production from organic waste prior to consulting and is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Environmental Law.

      Joining Bajwa EnviroConsult at its inception in early 2022, Aya has led and delivered many projects including providing operational support and advisory services for one of Victoria's largest landfills and involving a large infrastructure major roads project.

        1.45-2.00 pm
      Renewable biogas via anaerobic digestion: avoiding the pitfalls
      Headshot of Richard Lovett MIEAust CPEng
      Richard Lovett MIEAust CPEng
      Senior Process Engineer, Arup

      Richard brings 15 years of experience in municipal wastewater treatment planning with a focus on solids treatment and reuse, biogas handling and renewable energy generation, and water recycling.

      His experience covers project phases from strategic options assessment / planning, design (concept to detailed), tender assessment, construction and commissioning. He was also a key contributor to Melbourne Water’s 2021 Pricing Submission.

      Richard is excited by the potential in the water industry for resource recovery and energy generation in support of decarbonisation and the circular economy.

      Navy headshot
      Tung Ngyuen
      Arup

      Tung graduated as a chemical engineer in 1991 and spent two years as an academic researcher in hydrocarbons before began his water process engineering career in the power and semi-conductor industries in Singapore. He lived in Singapore for six years where he worked for a local contractor followed by an international consulting firm undertaking process design, project delivery and commissioning of water and wastewater treatment plants.

      Tung returned to Melbourne in 1999 and worked at Melbourne Water as Water Treatment Asset Engineer for two years before beginning his consulting career with KBR, WorleyParsons, AECOM and now Arup.

      Tung’s treatment process experience has covered a wide range of industries including; seawater desalination, power plant, semiconductor, mining, industrial and municipal. In the last five years, Tung leverage his chemical engineering background to expand his knowledge and experience into waste to energy and green hydrogen field. Tung brings a wealth of design, plant operational experience from working on complex and high profile projects

        2.00-2.15 pm
      Bamboo and palm oil waste applications within partition-walling: assessing whole-cost elemental alternatives for high-rise developments in Singapore and Malaysia
      Headshot of Andrew Whyte
      Dr Andrew Whyte FIEAust CPEng NER
      Associate Professor of Civil Engineering, Curtin University

      Having worked in industrial and academic environments in Europe and the Asia-Pacific, Dr Andrew Whyte BSc PhD FICE FIEAust CPEng NER, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Curtin University Australia and Professor (visiting) of the University of Aberdeen, has gained a wide-ranging knowledge of construction management, design team integration, whole-life assessment of structures and asset development using local technologies, sustainable methods and low-cost means.

        2.15-2.30 pm
      The role of waste to energy in the circular economy
      Headshot of Anthony Douglas
      Anthony Douglas
      Senior Consultant, Ramboll Australia

      Anthony is a chemical engineer currently working in the role of Senior Consultant for Ramboll Australia’s Energy division. Anthony has more than 20 years’ experience in various process engineering, project engineering and project management roles.

      Anthony was recently a Senior Process Engineer with HRL Technology Group and previously, Phoenix Energy’s Project Engineer during the development of the 460,000 tonne per year Kwinana Waste to Energy Project, now known as Avertas Energy.

        2.30-2.45 pm
      A circular economy systems approach to the problem of ‘waste’ for regional communities and beyond
      Headshot of Dr Tristan Shelly
      Dr Tristan Shelly
      Senior Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Dr Shelley is a specialist in advanced composites manufacturing technologies and targeted sustainable manufacturing methodologies. He also assists in the strategic direction of industry focused R&D programs including bid development and project management, with $58 million in grants awarded within the last 18 months.

      Dr Shelley has extensive experience leading industrial collaborative grant funded programs to deliver industrially relevant technological solutions. Dr Shelley specialisation focuses on advanced manufacturing of composite materials, and his focus has recently also been directed toward design of products using problematic ‘waste’ materials.

        2.45-3.00 pm
      Carbon negative production of biochar from organic waste using pyrolysis
        3.00-3.15 pm
      Design and simulation of grid forming inverter using PSCAD
      Navy headshot
      Anjana Nanayakkara
      University of Queensland

      Anjana completed a Bachelor and Master of Electrical Engineering Student at University of Queensland and an industry placement for their master's thesis at HATCH.

      Anjana is currently studying and working part time at HATCH. They have a passion for renewable energy and power system studies.

        4.00-4.15 pm
      Processing end-of-life coated paper products for use as structural materials
      Headshot of Dr Matt Flynn
      Dr Matt Flynn
      Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Matt Flynn completed his PhD at Monash University, investigating the structure-reactivity relationship of main-group organometallic compounds. Since then, he has transitioned into researching sustainability in polymers, having worked as a research fellow at LIKAT in Germany working on biobased polymers, and now at the University of Southern Queensland as part of the NO WASTE pilot precinct. Here he is working on developing new methods of utilising plastic waste, with a specific focus on operationally simple processes, particularly for use in regional community.

      Headshot of Dr Tristan Shelly
      Dr Tristan Shelly
      Senior Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Dr Shelley is a specialist in advanced composites manufacturing technologies and targeted sustainable manufacturing methodologies. He also assists in the strategic direction of industry focused R&D programs including bid development and project management, with $58 million in grants awarded within the last 18 months.

      Dr Shelley has extensive experience leading industrial collaborative grant funded programs to deliver industrially relevant technological solutions. Dr Shelley specialisation focuses on advanced manufacturing of composite materials, and his focus has recently also been directed toward design of products using problematic ‘waste’ materials.

        4.15-4.30 pm
      Timber: from nature to nurture and back again
      Headshot of Quentin Jackson
      Quentin Jackson
      Aurecon

      Quentin is Aurecon’s Australian leader for sustainability providing leadership and management to the sustainability team, as well as technical expertise and advice on sustainability projects. He has a passion for working with diverse teams to deliver projects that achieve practical sustainable outcomes without costing the earth (both environmentally and financially).

      He is involved in shaping the built and infrastructure environment from strategy to construction, to post-occupancy evaluation and asset optimisation. He is frequently involved in constructing sustainability rating tools such as Green Star, ISC and has helped develop standards to create a positive change for our environment

        4.30-4.45 pm
      Creating business opportunities using data: an analysis of Queensland’s glass waste
      Headshot of Dr Jessica Feldman
      Dr Jessica Feldman
      Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Dr Jessica Feldman is an early career researcher, who is working as part of the UniSQ NO WASTE Pilot Precinct. She is helping to establish sustainable local economies to convert waste streams not currently recovered into value-added products. To do this, Jessica is developing a circular economy model that can be used for a variety of materials including glass, plastics and paperboard to determine optimal pathways for waste and instruct redesign of supply ecosystems.

      She is a specialist in use of food bioactives for nutraceutical applications and is a member of the UniSQ Food and Packaging Valorisation research team.

      Headshot of Dr Tristan Shelly
      Dr Tristan Shelly
      Senior Research Fellow, University of Southern Queensland

      Dr Shelley is a specialist in advanced composites manufacturing technologies and targeted sustainable manufacturing methodologies. He also assists in the strategic direction of industry focused R&D programs including bid development and project management, with $58 million in grants awarded within the last 18 months.

      Dr Shelley has extensive experience leading industrial collaborative grant funded programs to deliver industrially relevant technological solutions. Dr Shelley specialisation focuses on advanced manufacturing of composite materials, and his focus has recently also been directed toward design of products using problematic ‘waste’ materials.

        4.45-5.00 pm
      Circularity in the medical device industry
      Headshot of Amanda Chancellor
      Amanda Chancellor
      ResMed

      Amanda leads Product Sustainability at ResMed, where they are focused on improving the environmental sustainability of all ResMed's products and packaging across their life cycle. Amanda has a Bachelor of Biomedical Engineering (First Class Honours) from the University of Sydney and a Diploma of Languages (Spanish). She has worked at ResMed for five years in roles covering both sustainability and product development.

        5.00-5.15 pm
      A circular economy for radioactive waste
      Headshot of Jo Lackenby MIEAust CPEng NER
      Dr Joanne Lackenby MIEAust CPEng NER
      Consultant, Frazer-Nash Consultancy

      Dr Joanne Lackenby (Jo) has 15 years’ experience in the Australian nuclear sector, the majority at the OPAL research reactor at ANSTO. Here she specialised in nuclear safety, licensing and regulation, and was also involved in the repatriation of radioactive waste from reprocessing. She recently joined Frazer-Nash Consultancy where she continues to provide nuclear expertise, including in radioactive waste management.

      Jo is a TEDxSydney speaker and has a mission to increase public understanding of the potential of peaceful nuclear technologies in Australia. She is the past President of the Australian Nuclear Association Inc. Jo holds degrees in environmental and geotechnical engineering.

      Social

      Enhance your CSE23 experience. Explore our social program. 

      Tours 

      Elevate your CSE23 experience with a site tour.

      We’ve secured tours of two exciting sustainability initiatives: the Toyota Hydrogen Centre and ReWaste, Yarra Valley Water.

      Expand your knowledge and engage with industry leaders, experts and professionals in unique and interactive settings.

      Limited spaces available. Secure yours today.

       

        Tuesday 28 November
      Toyota Hydrogen Centre
      Gate 7 – 494 Grieve Parade, Altona North, VIC

      Discover Victoria’s first integrated hydrogen site, featuring an electrolyser, commercial-grade Hydrogen refuelling station and an education centre with live demonstrations.

      During this visit, you’ll learn about the potential of hydrogen as a clean energy source and its role in powering vehicles like the Toyota Mirai Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle. This tour will showcase hydrogen as a viable fuel source for transport and energy storage.

      Secure your place today and witness the future of sustainable mobility, as Toyota takes a leading role in the transition to a decarbonised future.

      Pricing

      $55 inc. GST

      Requirements
      • Closed-toe comfortable shoes

      Your contact details, and car registration number for self-drive attendees, will be provided to Toyota as part of their site access requirements. 

      Bus tours depart from the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre at the stated start time. Self-drive attendees must be at the venue by the stated start time. 

      Tour 1

      Bus: 9.00–111.45am
      Self-drive: 9.50–11.00 am

      Tour 2

      Bus: 11.45 am – 2.30 pm
      Self-drive: 12.30–1.45 pm

      Book now

        Tuesday 28 November
      ReWaste, Yarra Valley Water
      525 Craigieburn Road E, Wollert, VIC

      Witness the future of sustainable energy at Yarra Valley Water’s cutting-edge ReWaste plant. Operational since 2017, the facility is a pioneer in the Australian water industry.

      This tour will provide a first-hand experience on how commercial food water is harnessed into renewal energy to power essential sanitation services.

      Situated beside Yarra Valley Water’s Aurora Sewage treatment plant, this facility not only meets its own energy needs but also exports excess energy to the grid.

      Secure your place and discover how this waste-to-energy initiative benefits Victoria by reducing landfill and greenhouse gas emissions and why it is a win for business, communities and our planet.

      Pricing

      $55 inc. GST

      Requirements
      • Closed-toe shoes
      • High-vis vest (not supplied, please bring your own)

      Bus tours depart from the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre at the stated start time. Self-drive attendees must be at the venue by the stated start time. 

      Tour 1

      Bus: 9.15 am – 12.45 pm
      Self-drive: 9.50–11.00 am

      Tour 2

      Bus: 12.30–4.00 pm
      Self-drive: 1.45–3.00 pm

      Book now

      5.00–6.00 pm, Wednesday 29 November, Exhibition Hall
      Networking

      Exchange ideas and build lasting connections at a networking reception designed to facilitate meaningful conversations and provide a platform for you to expand your professional network.

      Whether you're looking to collaborate on future projects, seek career advice or simply share your experiences, this is the place to connect with like-minded professionals from a variety of industries.

      6.30–11.30 pm, Wednesday 29 November, Palladium at Crown
      Engineers Australia Excellence Awards gala dinner

      Join us as we celebrate the achievements of the engineering professionals and cutting-edge engineering projects driving Australia forward.

      At this prestigious gala dinner, we’ll be announcing the national winners of the Excellence Awards 2023

      8.30 am – 5.00 pm, 29–30 November, Room 206
      Chartered Lounge

      We understand the time and effort you put into achieving Chartered, which is why we have an exclusive offer for you.

      The Chartered Lounge at CSE23 is a dedicated space for you to relax and connect with fellow Chartered engineers over tea, coffee and light refreshments. While there, you’ll also have the opportunity to meet and network with the Engineers Australia executive team and board who will be regular visitors to the lounge.

      We look forward to welcoming you to the Chartered Lounge. Come along to Room 206 opposite the registration desk, and simply let us know your full name to gain access.

      Location

      The Climate Smart Engineering Conference (CSE23) will be held in Melbourne, Australia at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).

      Find us
       

      Our chosen venue is a leading sustainable event destination with environmental sustainability at its heart. MCEC is a signatory to the Net Zero Carbon Events Pledge, as announced at the Global Climate Summit COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland 2021. The pledge commits the industry to achieve net zero by 2050, in line with the targets laid on in the Paris Climate Acord. However, at MCEC, they are going one better, with a commitment to achieve net zero by 2030. Discover more about MCEC's sustainability targets, strategy and key achievements.

      Discounted dining

      Get 10 per cent off your bill when you dine at participating South Wharf bars and restaurants just by showing your CSE23 ticket!

      Transport

      When attending CSE23 please consider sustainable transport options such as walking or utilising convenient public transport options available on the doorstep of the venue rather than driving. Visit Public Transport Victoria to find out about Melbourne's public transport options.

      Accommodation

      We’ve secured preferential pricing for you at a selection of nearby hotels.

      Access preferential pricing

      These hotels have been carefully selected for convenience and sustainability credentials. 

      Book your hotel

       

      7 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf VIC 3006 (0.49 km from MCEC)
      Novotel Melbourne South Wharf
      test hotel 3
      • Direct access into MCEC
      • Complimentary wifi
      • 24-hour access to onsite fitness centre
      • Pillow menu

      Sustainability practices

      • No single use plastic amenities
      • Eco-friendly amenities, cleaning products and paper
      • Paper, glass, carboard and plastic recycling
      • Energy efficient lighting
      • Hot water, heating and air conditioning networks insulated against heat loss
      • Sustainably and responsibly sourced produce
      • Cooking oil collected and recycled

       

      2 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf VIC 3006 (0.38 km from MCEC)
      Pan Pacific Melbourne Hotel
      test hotel 2
      • Direct access into MCEC
      • Complimentary wifi
      • Complimentary newspapers
      • 24-hour access to onsite fitness centre

      Sustainability practices

      • No plastic bottles – filtered hot, cold and sparkling water available in lobby
      • Energy efficient lighting – LED and sensor lights
      • Recycling – 70 per cent of hotel waste recycled including all fluorescent tubes, light bulbs, batteries and electronic devices
      • Soap Aid – participation in the environmental impact reduction program, with 1664 kg of soap bars collected from guest rooms
      • Sustainable sourcing – local products used whenever possible

       

      550 Flinders Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 (0.46 km from MCEC)
      Brady Apartment Hotel Melbourne
      test hotel 4
      • Complimentary wifi
      • Work desk
      • Full equipped kitchenette or kitchen

      Sustainability practices

      • Water wise – water saving shower heads and taps, instant hot water systems, rainwater filled industrial fire water tanks
      • Energy wise – sensor lights, energy saving light bulbs, card-controlled room electricity, Otis ReGen elevators
      • Recycling – glass, hard plastics and paper
      • Urban Skincare co. amenities – post-consumer recycled plastic, EcoPure in all tubes to assist with biological breakdown of plastic

       

      509 Flinders Lane, Melbourne VIC 3000 (0.58 km from MCEC)
      Quincy Hotel Melbourne
      Quincy Hotel Melbourne
      • Complimentary wifi
      • Rooftop swimming pool

      Sustainability practices

      • No single use plastics
      • Green hotel cleans
      • Soap-Aid partnership – eliminating single-use amenities
      • Recycling at property level and through strategic partnerships
      • Commitment to driving efficiencies and lowering footprint
      1 Queen Street, Melbourne VIC 3000 (0.87 km from MCEC)
      Vibe Hotel Melbourne
      Vibe Hotel Melbourne
      • Complimentary wifi
      • Work desk
      • Gym and swimming pool

      Sustainability practices

      • No single use plastics
      • Green hotel cleans
      • Soap-Aid partnership – eliminating single-use amenities
      • Recycling at property level and through strategic partnerships
      • Commitment to driving efficiencies and lowering footprint
      About Melbourne and Victoria

      Set on the shores of picturesque Port Phillip Bay is Melbourne; the city where creativity and innovation come together to deliver great events, exciting places to explore and cutting-edge advancements that are globally acclaimed.

      Melbourne is easy to navigate and perfect to explore on foot or via our extensive transport network. It invites delegates to discover its creative culture, expressed in its food, fashion, events, arts and music scene.

      For those wanting to explore further afield, the unique natural beauty of regional Victoria is just a short trip away. Inspiring day trips are waiting to be enjoyed just over an hour from the city centre. Discover some of Victoria’s rugged and dramatic coastlines, incredible food and boutique wineries, wellbeing experiences and charming regional villages that will really make for a memorable visit.

      Melbourne is a convention city. Find out what you can do and experience in Melbourne pre- and post- CSE23 at Melbourne Convention Bureau.

       

      Discover the secrets of Melbourne

      While you're in Melbourne for CSE23, why not take the opportunity to fully explore one of the world's most liveable cities?

      Enjoy Australia's shopping capital, sample our world-class cuisine or take a day trip or two.

       

      Explore the beauty of Victoria

      Sponsorship

      Sponsor Climate Smart Engineering (CSE23) and take advantage of the unique opportunities to explore new markets and strengthen your brand presence at this national event.

      All sponsorship packages are designed especially for CSE23. Choose one that best matches the marketing strategy of your company.

      Exhibition booths are also available to showcase your products and business to CSE23 delegates during the conference. 

      For information on sponsorship and exhibition opportunities or tailored packages, please contact:

      Amanda Rodgers
      National Manager, Corporate Engagement
      03 9321 1716
      [email protected]

      Meg Purdy
      Manager, Corporate Engagement
      07 3226 3008
      [email protected]

       

      Our partners
      Supporting partners
      Charity partners