Dr. Scott Menegon MIEAust CPEng NER structural engineer and senior lecturer at Swinburne University has been awarded the Batterham Medal from the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).

Brendan Hung GradIEAust took home the The Ezio Rizzardo Polymer Scholarship, which acknowledges the potential impact of an outstanding PhD candidate in polymer science or engineering.

Batterham Medal

The medal recognises Scott’s work to improve the design of multi-storey buildings across Australia, from hospitals to 60-storey apartment blocks.

Scott was chosen for his expertise in earthquake engineering. His research into reinforced and precast concrete is helping to better prepare Australia for earthquakes and has helped to inform Australian building standards.

Currently Scott is developing next-generation precast concrete cores as part of an innovative industry collaboration.

“One of my major goals and something that I'm passionate about is how we take our research outcomes from the university space over to the practitioners and implement them in a real-world design scenario – to me, this award is recognition that I’m achieving this goal,” Scott said.  

Sharing his passion is second nature to Scott, he’s delivered seminars and short courses to more than 2,000 practicing engineers over the last five years. He is also the current president of the Australian Earthquake Engineering Society and has been awarded Engineers Australia’s RW Chapman Medal twice (in 2019 and 2022).

The winner of the Batterham Medal has achieved substantial peer/industry recognition for their work in the past five years. The winner is chosen by the Batterham Medal Selection Committee, which includes a nominee of the Deans.

Robin Batterham AO is the inspiration for this award. His career spanned six decades and included roles such as the Chief Scientist of Australia, division Chief at CSIRO, President of ATSE, President of the Institution of Chemical Engineers and Kernot Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Melbourne School of Engineering. Mr. Batterham was awarded an Order of Australia in 2004 for his work.

Ezio Rizzardo Polymer Scholarship

ATSE described Graduate engineer Brendan Hung GradIEAust as a rising star in polymer science whose research spans biomedical science and engineering.

In the first year of his PHD at Monash University, Brendan is aiming to develop a new way to study digestive system disorders by capturing intricate human biology in a dish. He plans to engineer innovative hydrogels and combine them with microfabrication techniques to create a more accurate and reproducible model of human intestinal tissue.

Brendan’s model could then be used to study gastrointestinal diseases in closer detail and find new therapies to treat them.  

The Ezio Rizzardo Polymer Scholarship is awarded to a student working on polymer science or engineering with the potential to benefit Australia.

ATSE Fellow Dr. Ezio Rizzardo inspired this scholarship. His work on polymerization mechanisms and polymer synthesis has been recognised by numerous invitations to international conferences and by local awards. A number of his inventions are currently being used to produce commercial products in a strategic alliance with Du Pont.