Winning engineers take centre stage for award launch at Powerhouse Museum

The Sydney Division of Engineers Australia launched the Engineering Excellence Awards Sydney 2013 (EEAS) last week at the Powerhouse Museum in conjunction with the opening of an interactive exhibit of last year’s award-winning entries.

Powerhouse Museum Director Dr Dawn Casey launched the award program and exhibition in front of 160 representatives of the many and diverse fields of engineering. She acknowledged the contribution engineers make to society and highlighted the interesting career paths that existed for them.

“This exhibition is a great sample of the way in which we can communicate our message about the invaluable nature of the engineer’s role to a wider public,” said Dr Casey.

NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer Professor Mary O’Kane applauded the Engineers Australia Sydney Division’s Engineering Excellence Award program for promoting the profession, while getting more of the community interested in the work of engineers.

“Australia needs more engineers and even though we’ve had success, the universities tell me we need more applications. The awards are very good at helping get kids interested in doing engineering,” she said.

“The awards are also very important in helping the public understand the incredible, pivotal importance of engineers and engineering, in making our society work and our economy stronger. It helps flush out those really great stories that we can share with the community.”

Now in its 18th year of partnership with Engineers Australia, the Powerhouse Museum’s exhibition of the 2012 Engineering Excellence Award winning projects include a scale model of the Qantas Blast Fence Project by Woolacotts Consulting Engineers. Woolacotts was contracted to provide a highly specialised design for a brand new blast reflector fence at the Mascot Jet Base, the home of the new Airbus A380.

Scott Clemmett, structural engineer at Woolacotts, said winning the award and being part of the exhibition was a terrific boost for the company’s reputation and structural engineering in general.

“Winning this award brought about an increase of enthusiasm for everyone on the team. It was great to see our project receive wider recognition, but also for the profession of structural engineering to be recognised throughout the industry and the wider community in this way,” he said.

“The other great thing is that we know this award will help us attract the best young minds in the business.”

Other winning projects on display at the exhibition include: Halo, a wind-activated kinetic sculpture by Partridge; the Microrapid Integrated Rapid Blood Test Device by Atomo Diagnostics and Ide Group; 1 Bligh St Sydney by Arup, Enstruct Group and Cundall; and the Bridge Deck Structural Health Monitoring System by the NSW Roads & Maritime Services and National ICT Australia.

Entries are now open for the Engineering Excellence Awards Sydney 2013. All winning entries from this year will have the chance to be featured in the 2014 Engineering Exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum.

For more on last year’s winners, click here.