Media release
| 11 September 2023

Heritage Lanes among engineering excellence award winners

Queensland’s top engineers and engineering projects have been celebrated at the 2023 Engineers Australia Excellence Awards – People and Projects Queensland, held at Brisbane’s Emporium Hotel.  

The Engineers Australia Excellence Awards honour the best in engineering and highlight how engineers make a daily difference in our world,” said Engineers Australia General Manager Queensland Stacey Rawlings.  

“These awards give them a spotlight to showcase their accomplishments and to promote the importance of engineering. They also inspire and guide the next generation of engineers. Through these awards, we celebrate remarkable engineering achievements, set higher standards, and inspire the future direction of the profession.”

 

Looking up from the ground at a high rise building being built with two cranes next to an old clock tower
Queensland Project of the Year
Heritage Lanes at 80 Ann Street by AECOM

Heritage Lanes represents excellence in design, construction, and community impact, setting a new gold standard in Australia's building industry. It prioritises eco-friendly features like solar power, beehives, and community gardens, and preserves the site's historical aspects. This project also supports community through public events and information sessions. It embodies Engineers Australia's vision by promoting community well-being, work-life balance, and sustainable engineering. The design is future-ready and has introduced innovations such as automated facade panels and reusing heritage materials. Heritage Lanes stands out for its ethical commitments, including support for local Indigenous businesses and accessibility features. The ongoing partnership between Queensland-based charity Micah Projects also contributes to improving the health and safety of vulnerable community members.

Headshot of Emma Charlton wearing glasses and a black shirt
Queensland Professional Engineer of the Year
Emma Charlton

Emma Charlton serves as a Technical Director at AECOM and leads the Defence Environmental Services for ANZ. With over two decades in consulting engineering, she has worn many hats, from engineering to project management. Charlton is dedicated to promoting diversity and inclusion, helping guide AECOM in this mission. She also supports young autistic and neurodiverse adults through her board position at Australian Spatial Analytics. Holding a Mechanical Engineering degree and an MBA, Emma stands out for her commitment to societal benefits, especially in sustainability, and her extensive volunteer work. She's a true role model for engineers and the community.

Headshot of Chloe wearing a white shirt
Queensland Emerging Professional Engineer of the Year
Chloe Turrell

Chloe Turrell is passionate about learning from the human body to develop novel medical technologies that will change the way we approach medicine to advance our healthcare abilities. Working as a Senior Biomedical Engineer at WearOptimo, she is developing ways to integrate a wearable hydration sensor device with the skin for preventative measures in fields where dehydration can be a silent killer. Turrell believes in the power of diversity and is currently the National Operations Manager of not-for-profit, The Power of Engineering. She aims to remove stereotypes and empower young regional women with the knowledge to pursue a career in STEM.

Headshot of Wesley Johnston
Sir John Holland Civil Engineer of the Year
Wesley Johnston

Wesley is a recognised industry leader who is passionate about the face of the future of the engineering and construction profession. Within his own organisation he is focussed on mentoring and developing the progression of graduates and actively participates in schools careers programs and the Pathways Program for foreign engineers. He has championed the use of resourceful, innovative and elegant engineering solutions which has culminated in a number of awards including the Engineers Australia Bradfield Award, being named as one of Australia's most innovative engineers along with a number of safety and good design awards.

 

Headshot of Lara Harland
Environmental Engineer Achievement Award
Lara Harland

Lara Harland has more than 25 years of experience in the water supply, sewerage and environmental industry and has undertaken considerable work relating to Environmental Management Systems developed to ISO14001, including numerous internal, and second party audits and construction management plans. Lara has been very active in voluntary roles on the Environmental College Board and the Sustainable Engineering Society National Committee. She has been chair of both at different times. She has been the driving force in providing a sustainability awareness elearning course for all engineers, and in garnering the support of all Colleges to produce Engineers Australia’s Position Statement on Climate change.

Headshot of Dennis Walsh
Transport Australia society Transport Medal
Dennis Walsh

Throughout his working life, Mr Walsh has made an outstanding contribution to engineering in the field of road transportation, supporting road users safety and mobility  through resourceful and innovative solutions and methods. He pioneered, developed and led the implementation of legacy systems and processes such as: the first application of integrated micro and macro analytical traffic modelling; the development of the first computer-based crash analysis system (nationally and internationally) in 1993; the first Emergency Vehicle Priority initiative in Queensland, which was consequently followed by other states; the development of a national submission to Infrastructure Australia on the deployment of smarter motorway operations across all Australian motorways, on behalf of all Australian jurisdictions and in concert with a national team, which led to federal government funding  commitment and subsequently became a standard practice and more recently securing support for the Connected and Automated Vehicle Initiative (CAVI) and successfully negotiating with the Australian Communication and Media Authority bandwidth allocation for CAVI. 

View photographs of the event.

The Engineers Australia Excellence Awards seeks to recognise and reward outstanding achievement in engineering. Local winners will go on to represent their division at the national awards in Melbourne on Wednesday 29 November.