Engineers Australia reveals the most innovative engineers for 2017

The flagship publication of Engineers Australia, create magazine, is profiling Australia's Most Innovative Engineers in its July edition.

More than 200 engineers either nominated themselves or were nominated by peers for inclusion in the list. These entries were examined by a panel of judges and 30 engineers were selected for the list in ten different categories. They were:

Building & Construction

• Wes Johnston, John Holland, QLD, Mobile Swing-stage Gantry
• Tony Lavorato, Aurecon, NSW, 5 Martin Place
• Vito Trantino, McConnell Dowell, VIC, Marine Engineering Innovation

Community

• Ana Deletic, University of NSW, NSW, Green-Blue Walls
• Gregory Kelly, Logan City Council, QLD, Flooded Roads Warning System
• Andrew Woods, Curtin University, WA, Deep-water 3D Imaging System

Consulting

• Raj Kurup, Environmental Engineers International Pty Ltd, WA, Anammox process implementation
• Stephen Logan, Aurecon, WA, Twin Duct HVAC System
• Thomas Miller, SMEC Australia Pty Ltd, NSW, Novel foundations near tunnels

Electronics & Communications

• Peter Abolfathi, HIA, NSW, Exoflex Hand Therapy Tool
• Madhu Bhaskaran, RMIT University, VIC, Stretchable oxide electronics
• Con Michael, Balconi Telecommunications, WA, The Balconi Smart Torch

General Industry

• Adam Mitchell, AM-A, VIC, Spanda artwork
• Craig Power, ISOL8 Pty Ltd, WA, iSOL8
• Simon St Hill, Green Thermal Energy Technologies, VIC, Heat Recovery Power Generator

Manufacturing & Automation

• Peter Atherton, AWS Clinical Waste, QLD, New clinical waste management
• Shan Kumar, Hickory Building Systems Pty Ltd, VIC, Hickory Building Systems
• Xiaoke Yi, University of Sydney, NSW, Healthier and safer Australia

Mining, Oil & Gas

• James Aitken, Ausenco, QLD, Goaf injection of coal rejects
• Ahmad Fleyfel, Conveyor Products & Solutions (CPS), WA, Conveyor Distributed Drive
• James Kam, Hitachi Construction Machinery, QLD, Sound Attenuation Package

Research & Academia

• Elizabeth Jens, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, CF USA, Interplanetary SmallSat Rocket
• Richard Kelso, The University of Adelaide, SA, Low-drag bicycle helmets
• Melissa Knothe Tate, University of New South Wales, NSW, Cell’s-eye view of human hips

Utilities

• Edgar Johnson, GHD, SA, Flow meter field calibration
• Vishy Karri, Expert 365, QLD, Plant Centric Irrigation Tools
• Sandra Kentish, University of Melbourne, VIC, Storing CO2 in Microalgae

Young Engineers

• Elliot Alfirevich, Wood & Grieve Engineers, WA, Lasers boost commuter comfort
• Dan Copelin, GHD, QLD, Virtual pipes
• Carrie Dearnley, BMT WBM Pty Ltd, QLD, Flood Decision Support System

Engineers Australia National President John McIntosh congratulated all the winners.

"Australian engineers are respected worldwide both for our ingenuity and persistence in making our solutions work," he said. "We are the home, after all, of world famous inventions such as WiFi and the black box flight recorder."

He was also pleased that a quarter of the finalists were female engineers. "Increasing the gender diversity of the engineering profession is crucial to our long-term sustainability," McIntosh said.

"I hope the women on this list inspire young women to be as creative and ingenious as them."

The judges were:

• Bronwyn Evans, CEO, Standards Australia
• John Immelman, former Managing Director, Endress+Hauser Australia
• John Wilson, Executive Dean, Swinburne University of Technology
• Alex Kingsbury, former Director of CSIRO's additive manufacturing centre, Lab 22
• Ian Opperman, NSW Chief Data Scientist
• James Trevelyan, Professor, University of Western Australia