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Queensland University of Technology GPO Box 2434 Brisbane QLD 4001www.qut.edu.au
QU
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QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards – Celebrating 20 years 19 91 – 2 011
I N S P I R E
QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards – Celebrating 20 years 19 91 – 2 011
I N S P I R EAcknowledgements
Produced by QUT Marketing and Communication Department for QUT Alumni and Development Office.
Text Sandra Hutchinson
Art direction and design Mia Berkovits
Photography Sonja de Sterke
Additional photography Chris Budgeon, Melbourne (David Moffatt) and
Peter Rossi, Highlights Photography, Cairns (Pia-Angela Francini)
ISBN 978-1-921897-05-4
QUT is committed to sustainability. Printed on Envirocare 100% Recycled
by Cornerstone Press Pty Ltd, Brisbane
© QUT 2011 17753 CRICOS No. 00213J
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Contents“Nothing great
was ever achieved without
enthusiasm”R a l p h Wa l d o E m e r s o n
1 8 0 3 – 1 8 8 2
Foreword ......................................................... 6
QUT, a leading university ............................... 7
Chancellor's Outstanding Alumni ................. 9
Dr Mick Adams ........................................................................ 11
Allan Brackin ...........................................................................13
Dr Cristina Cifuentes ..............................................................15
Pia-Angela Francini.................................................................17
Dr Dale Gilbert PSM .................................................................19
Dr Amaya Gillespie .................................................................21
Jan Hannant ............................................................................23
Professor Robert Hess ............................................................24
Stephen Lawrence ..................................................................25
Zimi Meka ................................................................................27
Geoff Mitchell AO ....................................................................29
David Moffatt ..........................................................................31
Kevin Perkins ...........................................................................33
Dr William Robinson AO .........................................................35
Dr Chris Sarra ..........................................................................37
Heather Waldron .....................................................................39
Professor Harvey Whiteford AM .............................................41
Dr David Wyatt ........................................................................43
2011 Outstanding Alumnus — Colin Jensen ........................45
Award winners .............................................. 47
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QUT, a leading university
QUT has a long tradition of recognising exceptional achievement.
Following its inception as a university in 1990, QUT established its Outstanding Alumni Awards program in 1991, to acknowledge the contribution of QUT graduates and those of its predecessor institutions. The program recognises exceptional service covering professional, academic and research achievement as well as significant contributions to the community.
An initiative of the QUT Alumni Board, the first awards included faculty recognition for extraordinary achievement and the selection of an overall alumni award winner, the Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus. Over the years, the awards have developed to include recognition for the Outstanding Young Alumnus, as well as Special Excellence and Excellence in Research awards, all of which are selected by the Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumni Awards Judging Panel.
Over time, the awards have grown in prestige and popularity and are regarded as QUT’s most significant alumni initiative. The award presentation ceremony attracts a large audience comprising alumni and their families, QUT staff, students and industry partners, philanthropic donors, politicians and government officials.
The awards play a critical role in helping the University engage with the community to demonstrate its learning, teaching and research excellence.
It is particularly pleasing to note that many of the winners continue their association with QUT, lending professional expertise to the governance of the University by serving on QUT Council, on the Alumni Board and supporting the academic and research development program in faculties and institutes. Also, many have provided significant and much welcomed philanthropic support to a variety of projects and programs.
QUT is deeply honoured to have the privilege to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of so many distinguished graduates who reflect and exemplify the outcomes QUT seeks for all its students.
Major General (Ret’d) Peter Arnison AC, CVO Chancellor Professor Peter Coaldrake AO Vice-Chancellor
QUT is a highly successful Australian university with global connections and a distinctive reputation for quality courses, outstanding teaching and high-impact research.
QUT enrols some 42 000 students. Our courses are in high demand and graduates enjoy excellent job and career outcomes. academic programs from bachelor
degree to Phd are offered in engineering, architecture and design, business, creative industries, education,
health, law, and science and technology. Some 20 per cent of total enrolments are at postgraduate level, and 16 per cent of students come from overseas.
QUT is recognised nationally and internationally for the relevance of its teaching and research to industry, the professions and the broader community. The University’s "real-world" positioning is also underpinned by close relationships with employers
and professional bodies which provide students with a unique balance of theory and practical skills.
The quality of QUT's teaching has been reflected in the University's consistent positioning at the top of national awards for teaching excellence and innovation, and the relevance of its courses is underpinned by national and international professional accreditation. during the past decade, QUT has greatly
expanded its research and international profile. In 2010 the University was ranked at world standard or above in 75 per cent of its research, assessed under the Australian Government’s Excellence in Research for Australia assessment framework (ERA).
QUT hosts two federally funded cooperative research centres (wound management
and engineering asset management) and is a participant in another seven. it has established
Queensland’s first Confucius institute and hosts the australian-Canadian Prostate Cancer research
alliance, the arC Centre of excellence for Creative industries and innovation, the syngenta Centre for
sugarcane Biofuel development, the microsoft eresearch Centre, aussun research lab and the
australian research Centre for aerospace automation. Very importantly, QUT also established several years ago the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation (IHBI), which brings together 400 researchers across the relevant fields in world-class premises.
Based in Brisbane, QUT has campuses at gardens Point and Kelvin grove in the inner city, and at
Caboolture, north of the city. The Gardens Point campus will be transformed over the next year as a new $230 million Science and Technology Precinct takes shape. at Kelvin grove, a modern urban village development is integrating the campus with the community,
bringing together residential, educational, retail, health and recreational facilities.
Foreword 7
Chancellor's Outstanding Alumni
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s2010Mick Adams
F a c u l t y o f H e a l t h / P h D / C l a s s o f 2 0 0 7
education has made a profound difference to mick adams’ life.
as an indigenous child growing up in the northern Territory,
dr adams admits he did everything he could to get away
from school. at 15 he left.
“yeah i was a bit of a rough head back then,” he says. “i was
getting in trouble and i wasn’t living the best life.”
But at 28 dr adams, who was working as a house painter,
enrolled to undertake an associate diploma in social work.
This led to securing a job with the department of social security
working with aboriginal people throughout the northern
Territory.
with a passion to improve the health outcomes of indigenous
people, dr adams got a taste for studying and went on to
complete three other degrees before starting his Phd at QUT.
His ground-breaking research looked at indigenous male sexual
and reproductive health and built on his more than 30 years
experience in liaison, training policy and senior management
roles in the northern Territory.
dr adams has a vast amount of knowledge and practical
experience within indigenous communities. “i have worked
closely with indigenous communities and they have come
to trust me,” he says. “They know the work i am doing is
important and have helped me achieve some really positive
outcomes.”
He says his decision to focus on male health needs came
about from a meeting with a group of indigenous women
while doing a scoping study on aboriginal mental health.
“when i was sitting there talking about mental health and how
do we try and address it, we got to talking about their men.
They said too many of our men are dying at an early age, or
going to prison because they are angry and not looking after
themselves. The women said that if we don’t look after our
men we are not going to have any future. without our men
we don’t have husbands, fathers or leaders. so they said i
should go and work with the men.
“i’ve taken control of my health and i know how to reach men.
you have to ask them to think about why they want to live a
long and healthy life. once they can find a reason, such as
seeing their grandchildren grow up, it has a positive effect on
their life and they start to take charge of keeping themselves
healthy. most men say that they want to be positive leaders
in their communities and want a safe and secure life for
their families.”
since completing his Phd at QUT, dr adams has continued
his work with indigenous communities. He still holds
positions at QUT as national indigenous Coordinator for
palliative care and as a fellow continuing his research into
men’s health issues.
The motto i use is “i strive for the best, anything less will not
do", he says. “Because i know when i first started studying
at 28 i had limited reading and writing skills. i thought i was a
bit of a dummy, i knew i had the ability but didn’t think i had
the brains. so i took the opportunity that presented itself
and made the most of it.
“i always try to lead by example. my previous life, that was
my past and i don’t want people to suffer and live the
way i did.”
“I strive for the best, anything less will not do.”
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s1999Allan Brackin
F a c u l t y o f B u i l t E n v i r o n m e n t a n d E n g i n e e r i n g / B A p p S c ( S u r v e y i n g ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 8 1
allan Brackin has made a name for himself in the
business world.
at just 26, the QiT applied science and surveying graduate
took a $30 000 gamble and started his own business. within
two decades he had turned aag Technology services Pty ltd
into one of the biggest australian-owned iT companies listed
on the australian stock exchange. after mergers with Volante
limited and then iPeX, mr Brackin was heading a company
employing more than 1000 staff.
How does a surveying graduate get into the iT business
world?
mr Brackin’s passion for rugby league and a “lull in the
surveying industry in Brisbane” when he graduated, steered
him into a sales position.
while studying at QiT, mr Brackin was a first grade rugby
league player for souths. when he finished studying, rather
than give away his sporting interest and head to the country
in search of a surveying job, he took a position selling
surveying instruments for a Brisbane firm.
a couple of years later he started his own business in the
same industry.
“surveying then became very computerised, and that is how
i became involved in the iT industry,” he says. “To be honest,
surveying was a great help for me because surveying is very
meticulous, it is an exact science, you can’t be wrong. so i
guess in my early business days, i was very process driven,
i made sure the money was collected. even though i was
entrepreneurial, i had that skill of attention to detail.”
mr Brackin says one of his mottos in life “is you have got to
take your opportunities. i was not flamboyant, i guess i just
wanted to get ahead. i was very driven to be successful in
that area, although i never dreamed it would be that big.”
at the end of 2004 the father of four retired from full-time
work to spend more time with his family and pursue the
pastimes he hadn’t had time to enjoy such as tennis, squash,
golf and mountain trekking. But he also kept his hand in
the business world taking on a number of commercial and
community Board positions.
“i have a passion for business and i believe i can really help
younger guys grow their businesses. Today i am involved
in five companies and three of those are very much about
mentoring the Ceos, but in all five i think i play a pretty
important role in helping them run and grow their business.”
mr Brackin credits his business success to a few key
philosophies. “i always believed in controlled profitable
growth. we never grew and lost money. a lot of
entrepreneurs go out there and make big revenues and try
and grow their business pretty quickly and a lot of them go
broke because they can’t control the business. But we
never did that.
“one of the other reasons i had success was having
outstanding business partners and staff and sharing the
rewards and success with them. you can try and keep it all
to yourself and get mega rich but one of the most enjoyable
things for me was sharing the rewards and success with
my partners and our staff.
“i also believe you have to have a win-win attitude. if you can
go through life, if you can look for a win-win solution, there
will be benefits for everyone.”
“...one of the most enjoyable things for me was sharing the rewards and success with my partners and our staff.”
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DS2001Cristina Cifuentes
F a c u l t y o f S c i e n c e a n d Te c h n o l o g y / B A p p S c ( C o m p u t i n g ) , H o n s , P h D / C l a s s o f 1 9 8 9 , 1 9 9 0 a n d 1 9 9 4
in her free time Cristina Cifuentes enjoys stirring things up
in the kitchen but it is behind the keyboard that she has
risen to great success.
The Us-born iT professional, who grew up in Colombia, has
proved to be a leader in the world of information technology
research and application, breaking new ground in the
technically difficult area of computer science.
dr Cifuentes’ interest in iT began with a love of mathematics.
“i was good at maths and i thought what can i do with it? at
the time computers were still a very new area, and i guess i
was just drawn to them,” she says.
so after starting a Bachelor of engineering and Computer
science degree in Colombia, dr Cifuentes and her whole
family migrated to australia where she completed her
undergraduate degree at QUT.
she then went on to gain an Honours degree before
embarking on a Phd which focused on the area of reverse
engineering and decompilation – which looks at recovering
source code from programs for which the source code has
either been lost or is unavailable.
in 1994 dr Cifuentes’ Phd thesis was so innovative that
she was overwhelmed with offers to collaborate on further
research projects and went on to be granted an australian
research Council grant – an outstanding feat for a new
researcher.
“i have basically been involved in research my whole
career,” she says. “i have worked on different projects in
different roles.”
for the past 11 years dr Cifuentes has worked for the same
company, originally sun microsystems, last year acquired by
oracle, as part of their research laboratories, oracle labs.
“at the moment i am working on a project that is developing
technology that will became an internal product,” she
says. “what is so great about this project is that i have been
involved from the beginning, the conception of the idea, the
development of a prototype and, very soon, in what will
become an internal product at oracle.”
in simple terms dr Cifuentes’ work is looking for a quick
and efficient way to find computer errors, or bugs, in
software. while bug-checkers are not a novel idea, developing
techniques that make them run in a practical timeframe
and are precise is novel.
dr Cifuentes and her team have developed a bug-checker
that removes the easy-to-find bugs quickly, freeing up time
to pinpoint the harder-to-find bugs.
“i am very focused on my work but i also like cooking,
scrapbooking and playing with my seven-year-old son,”
she says.
“i think my success has probably been due to my
determination. i also always try to be fair with everyone. in
my role now i have a team to manage. i have achieved a lot
but i am not just fixated on the technical side of sitting behind
a computer, it is also about people.”
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F a c u l t y o f B u i l t E n v i r o n m e n t a n d E n g i n e e r i n g / B E n g ( M e c h ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 9 4
Pia-Angela Franciniwhile trading a career as a global engineering executive
for the life of an emerging artist may seem extraordinary to
some, for Pia-angela francini it’s been a natural and rewarding
juxtaposition.
mrs francini was once responsible for more than 22 000
employees at one of the world’s largest global engineering
firms and rose through the ranks to become, by age 30, an
international leader in the oil and gas industry.
after graduating from QUT with a Bachelor of mechanical
engineering in 1994 mrs francini joined schlumberger.
“i started in australia but very quickly worked in various parts of
the world as a field engineer, and then manager, in some really
extreme environments, both off-shore and on land,” she recalls.
from there a brilliant corporate career took off, as the woman,
who would later be named one of australia’s most influential
female engineers, stepped up through a range of international
executive roles.
from business development and operations management
to human resources, marketing and workplace health and
safety services, Pia francini distinguished herself at every
professional turn.
she oversaw the development of more than 100 research and
development programs in new oil and gas technologies, holding
several patents, and was globally recognised when she was
awarded the Us Key women in energy "Visionary" award
in 2004.
at 34, as Ceo of schlumberger australasia based in Perth,
mrs francini was responsible for growing the company’s
operations in australia, Papua new guinea, Timor and
new Zealand.
Today, in a new phase of her life’s journey, mrs francini is
using her wealth of experience in business, finance and
engineering to pursue what many may consider a new
interest, but to her is a long-held passion.
mrs francini is focusing on her creative talents.
“i was very successful in the engineering and business side
of the world and was fortunate to do very well at a very
young age. But now i am re-connecting with my artistic and
creative side,” she says. i actually did best at music and the
arts in school, so i see this new stage as a great adventure, a
realisation of my childhood dreams.”
working and living in Cairns, and learning from a local
production company, the engineering dynamo is now setting
up her own sound studio, with plans to tap into both the right
and left side of her amazing brain to explore a range of digital
creative pursuits including animation, writing ebooks, and
music composition.
The recalibration of direction is also allowing time for a
fulfilling focus on family. “i am taking one day at a time now,
making each of those days count and doing what feels right,”
she says. if i can enhance the human experience through my
art, by drawing on my knowledge of technology, then that
would be very rewarding too.”
mrs francini is also strongly involved within the QUT
community as a QUT Council member and as an adjunct
professor and Ceo in residence, working with the Business
school and faculty of Built environment and engineering.
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F a c u l t y o f B u i l t E n v i r o n m e n t a n d E n g i n e e r i n g / A s s o c D i p M e c h a n i c a l E n g / C l a s s o f 1 9 7 1
Today we can breathe a little easier thanks to the work of
dr dale gilbert.
although the mechanical engineering graduate from QiT
began his career in an industry not generally renowned for its
environmental sustainability, dr gilbert has gone on to make a
significant contribution to improving air quality and the health
of the environment.
“while i was undertaking my studies part-time i was working
in the area of tyre design engineering at the olympic Tyre
and rubber Company in Brisbane,” he says. “it was at this
company that i gained my love of research and innovation. in
my early career at olympic Tyre and rubber, it was one of the
most progressive companies in australia.”
However, dr gilbert said the general lack of knowledge about
the health effects of working with chemicals and solvents,
and the effects of airborne pollution saw his career take a
“healthier” turn.
“while working with the Queensland department of Public
works, i started to look at air quality issues in buildings and
specifically the notion of ‘sick building syndrome’,” he says.
This interest in air quality and pollution continued and
dr gilbert, through a world Health organisation fellowship,
went on to lead and encourage national initiatives to address
poor indoor air quality and its impact on human health.
He has since been very involved in a number of QUT
projects through the University’s international laboratory for
air Quality and Health, which looks at monitoring indoor and
outdoor pollution levels and the health effects of ultra-fine
particles.
“i have been involved in some breakthrough research which
has led to the introduction of healthier buildings,” dr gilbert
says. “for example, a lot of the work i have been involved
with is now part of the green star ratings, which reduces
pollution in buildings and focuses on health and safety issues.”
mr gilbert says he is passionate about reducing pollution.
“There is pollution everywhere and my work was very much
looking at minimising pollution levels whether it is at home,
on the way to work, or at schools,” he says.
while mr gilbert’s research area remains very much a topic
of interest among scientists today, he has now retired from
that line of work and focuses on looking at technologies and
innovation that can make a difference to global warming
and climate change.
“i am not a gloom and doom merchant, in fact i am a super
optimist and confident that we will solve this problem,” he
says. “There are plenty of innovations and research being
done that can and are making a difference to reducing
greenhouse gases.”
“I am not a gloom and doom merchant, in fact I am a super optimist and confident that we will solve this problem.”
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s2006Amaya Gillespie
F a c u l t y o f E d u c a t i o n / D i p E d ( S e c - P h y s i c a l E d ) a n d B E d ( I n - S e r v i c e ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 8 2 a n d 1 9 8 7
F a c u l t y o f H e a l t h / G r a d D i p H l t h S c ( H l t h E d ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 8 6
Zambia is one of the world’s poorest countries and sits in the
heart of the region most affected by HiV and aids. one in
eight adults in Zambia live with HiV, and more than one million
children have been orphaned by the disease. for global health
campaigner amaya gillespie, this is her daily challenge, and it
is the community she and her family call home.
The Unaids coordinator, who has been stationed in Zambia
for three years, is on a mission to reduce HiV infections,
increase treatment rates and improve the health outcomes
of its people.
it’s a big challenge,” she says. But with more than one million
Zambians living with HiV, it’s a challenge she can’t ignore. and
the good news is dr gillespie’s work and that of the United
nations is making a difference.
“it’s been more than 25 years that we have really known about
HiV,” she says. “Today it is a more sophisticated area of work
than when we started. in those 25 years there has been a
huge international push on the boundaries of what were
previously taboo topics. in particular, the plight of women
and young girls has been drawn into sharp focus.
“what we have seen in the past two decades is a 25 per cent
reduction in new infections, which means that the prevention
message is getting out. Prevention is much, much harder than
treatment. People get behind the medical model and some
would even say that we can treat our way out of this disease –
but it is expensive and it overlooks the opportunity of
preventing infections in the first place.”
dr gillespie’s belief in the importance of health education and
promotion has taken her all over the world. The QUT education
graduate, who has worked with the Un for much of her career,
says she has always been drawn to adolescent health.
“when i started it was cutting edge,” she says. “it was the
beginning of education systems taking seriously issues
like alcohol abuse, tobacco use and HiV. it was seen as
something quite risky and there were a lot of battles to be
fought about these issues.”
The absence of reliable data and the lack of understanding
of the health problems affecting young people fuelled
dr gillespie’s interest in research. “Just because some
behaviours are illegal, does not mean they should be ignored,”
she says. “By studying the behaviours doesn’t mean we
condone them, we are trying to work out how to reduce the
behaviours and the harm or the impact of the behaviour.”
dr gillespie’s career has included positions with the United
nation’s Children’s fund (UniCef). in 1999 she moved to
new york to manage UniCef’s HiV/aids programs as a
senior adviser for HiV Prevention and young People. five
years later she was seconded to geneva as the director
for the Un secretary-general’s study on Violence
against Children.
“working with people and how they think and what motivates
certain behaviours and how to prevent the most harmful
of these has always been my area of interest,” she says.
“People say prevention is not rocket science, but i say it is
much harder.”
living by the motto coined by mark Twain that “supposing
is good, but finding out is better,” dr gillespie has been able
to travel the world to experience first hand diverse cultures
and deal with a wide range of challenges. and she intends
to continue to push for public health solutions.
“People say prevention is not rocket science, but I say it is much harder.”
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s1991Jan Hannant
F a c u l t y o f E d u c a t i o n / C e r t Te a c h ( S e c - H o m e E c o n o m i c s ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 5 5
as Jan Hannant reflects on her life, it is easy to see why she
was awarded the inaugural QUT Chancellor’s outstanding
alumni award.
ms Hannant spent much of her life as an educator, starting
off as a teacher before being promoted to some of the highest
ranks within the Queensland education system.
although only a teen herself, ms Hannant began her teaching
career as a secondary school teacher. “in those days you could
get a junior teacher’s scholarship so you could train to teach
after completing junior school,” she says. “so i started teaching
very young and then i did my senior studies at night, because
i wanted my senior certificate.”
in the early 1960s ms Hannant transferred as a lecturer to
the Kelvin grove Teachers College, which was run by the
education department. it wasn’t an easy job for someone so
young, which is why she packed up and spent a year travelling
in the UK and europe. “in that year i really matured and when
i returned, i came back to the teachers college and i happily
settled,” she says.
But by then ms Hannant had caught the travelling bug and
applied and was granted study leave to go the United states,
where she completed a master of science degree. on her
return home, she visited a teaching friend in africa, where
she toured schools in malawi, mozambique, Zimbabwe
and Zambia.
with a wealth of education and life experience behind her,
when ms Hannant arrived back in australia she was recruited
to work as an inspector with the education department, a
position she held for more than a decade.
following a restructure, ms Hannant was offered the
prestigious position of regional director of the south-west
region based in roma. as the regional director ms Hannant
introduced a principal swap program with new Zealand. “i
discovered that at many of the very small rural schools we
had young teachers who had been classroom teachers
in metropolitan schools and all of a sudden they found
themselves as the principal and only teacher at these small
rural schools, which were the centre of the community,”
she says.
“what we managed to do was connect with small rural schools
north of auckland and arrange for our teaching principals,
who wished to, to work alongside the principals in these
new Zealand schools. That really helped a great deal in the
professional development of these young people.”
another initiative started by ms Hannant was the introduction
of a reading program called reading recovery, designed to
identify year 1 students who were having difficulty reading.
The program, also adopted from new Zealand, took young
students out of the classroom and gave them one-on-one
help to become effective readers.
“That was the best thing i have ever done because those small
children who were struggling with reading, all of a sudden
within a short period of time became very effective readers
and i had letters from parents that said it changed their
children’s lives.”
ms Hannant retired in 1997 and today focuses much of her
time researching history.
“my motto is ‘be proactive’. actively seek opportunities and
make the most of them,” she says. “i suppose i had a little
personal project that i would travel at every opportunity. so i
have taken what opportunities i could.”
252003Robert Hess 2005
F a c u l t y o f H e a l t h / D i p A p p S c ( O p t o m e t r y ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 7 0 F a c u l t y o f B u i l t E n v i r o n m e n t a n d E n g i n e e r i n g / B E n g / B A p p S c ( E l e c t S y s t e m s & C o m p ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 9 2
robert Hess likes nothing better than a challenge.
as one of the world’s leading vision scientists, Professor
Hess says one should not underrate the potential career
benefits obtained by early rejections.
Professor Hess believes in the groucho marx adage “i don’t
want to belong to any club that will accept me as a member”.
His research path has gone from QiT to Cambridge (via
Birmingham and melbourne). He founded and is the current
director of the mcgill University’s Vision research Centre in
montreal.
after graduating from QiT with a diploma of applied science
(optometry), Professor Hess wanted to be involved in
research and applied to do a Phd at the University of nsw.
“fortunately i got knocked back, which made me even more
determined to pursue a research career,” he says. Professor
Hess headed for the United Kingdom, where he completed
a master of science degree in neuropsychology at the
University of aston in Birmingham, working on a novel
approach to avert seizures in patients with epilepsy.
Two years later, a stint at the University of melbourne
where he did his Phd in vision perception, led him to the
prestigious Physiological laboratory in Cambridge. There
he went from visiting researcher (a meres senior scholar) to
staff (a wellcome senior lecturer) in five years.
His contributions to research while at Cambridge were
honoured by a number of prestigious medals including the
Champness in 1983 and the edgridge-green in 1989. He
was then recruited to a chair position in ophthalmology at
Canada’s top university, mcgill University in montreal.
“i was settled at Cambridge and was really enjoying the research
environment when i got a call offering me the chance to come
to mcgill, assemble my own team, create my own research
environment and do the work i wanted to do,” he says.
Professor Hess, acclaimed for his originality and influence on
the understanding of visual processing, has now been at mcgill
for more than two decades and continues to make a significant
contribution within the field of ophthalmology. He has published
more than 300 papers, edited two books and holds a number
of patents.
His work, which has a particular focus on the condition known
as amblyopia (lazy eye), has gone a long way to unraveling
the neural mysteries of the condition which affect about
five per cent of all children.
His latest work has turned the clinical treatment of amblyopia
on its head. He has developed a novel means of treating a
condition in adults that was considered untreatable after the
age of 10. furthermore, even in the younger group this no
longer involves the patching of children’s eyes but the more
enjoyable use of specially designed, ipod-based video games.
Professor Hess is currently heavily involved in mri brain
imaging as well as different forms of electrical and magnetic
brain stimulation as a means of improving vision in normal
adults and restoring vision in adults with amblyopia. His recent
discovery is that just 10 minutes of non-invasive and painless
repetitive magnetic brain stimulation in adults can restore vision
in the amblyopic eye, even in middle age. This will likely form
the basis of a future new therapy.
“The work that i am doing is making a difference to the lives of
people who have amblyopia. it’s a complex problem, but one
we should be able to solve,” he says.
You might not know the name Stephen Lawrence but
chances are if you have used Google, you’ve clicked on
his work.
Dr Lawrence is one of the world’s leading computer
programmers and for the past 10 years has been a senior
research scientist at Google – having developed the
top-ranked search engine Google Desktop Search and
Citeseer.
But it was as a young boy that Dr Lawrence’s fascination
with computers first started.
His parents Colin and Barbara Lawrence, who still live in
their home town of Bundaberg, remember their son was
“always mad about computers”.
“He, like most young boys at the time, loved computer
games. So the first computer he had was one of those
Ataris,” his mum says. “At school he was also interested
in computers and began writing programs while still at
primary school. I think he knew all along he would go into
computing. He didn’t really have any other ideas in his
mind, apart from a fascination with electronics.”
So when Dr Lawrence finished school he did what came
naturally, a double degree in engineering, and electronic
systems and computing at QUT. As a graduate with First
Class Honours he then went on to complete a PhD, before
being offered a position which took him half way around
the world to the nEC Research Institute at Princeton,
new Jersey. He resided in new York, a city which he
grew to love, commuting each day to work.
Stephen LawrenceMrs Lawrence says it was family reasons that saw her
son take the leap to Google. “He and his wife decided
new York was not the best place in which to bring up a
family. So they packed up and headed for California.”
“He has worked very hard to achieve what he has.
Obviously he had the ability to start with but he worked
very hard as well. Before he had children he worked
terribly long hours. He was at Google all hours of the
day and night. But since he became a father and a family
man he has settled down a lot, and he keeps much more
regular hours now.”
Dr Lawrence’s academic achievements have seen him
recognised with a host of awards and honours including
the Technology nJ Internet Innovator Award and nEC
Research Institute awards for Impact, Excellence and
Best Patent. In 2002 he was made an AAAS Fellow in
recognition of his fundamental research on the structure
of the world wide web, characterisation of web search
engines and the role of the web in changing scholarly
communication.
Today Dr Lawrence, with wife Gennette and their two
children, Marissa and Matthew, enjoy spending their
spare time as a family.
“They go on holidays during the summer vacation break
and Steve has just taken up golfing,” Mrs Lawrence says.
“We’re really very proud of him. He has achieved a lot,
and has a good life to show for it.”
“Fortunately I got knocked back which made me even more determined to pursue a research career.”
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s2008Zimi Meka
F a c u l t y o f B u i l t E n v i r o n m e n t a n d E n g i n e e r i n g / B E n g ( M e c h ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 8 1
as the Ceo of a leading global engineering and project
management company servicing the resources and energy
sectors, it would be understandable for Zimi meka to be
single-mindedly focused on company growth and profits.
However, he is not.
mr meka, the ausenco co-founder who graduated from QUT
with a mechanical engineering degree in the 1980s, believes
in the importance of all ausenco people living the core values
of the company. and he leads by example.
from a handful of people in a small office in Toowong in
Brisbane, to the global organisation it is today with 2700
people in 32 offices in 20 countries and many remote project
sites, ausenco’s growth has been characterised by its strong
leadership, a values-based culture and a desire to continually
raise the bar.
“financial success is obviously very important – it helps our
company grow, our clients’ projects to be successful and
it provides opportunities for our shareholders, our people
and our business partners – but we also believe in making
a safe and positive contribution to the communities and the
environments in which we work,” mr meka says.
“firstly we need to be vigilant about ensuring safety in all we
do. it is a core value and something we focus on every day.
we believe zero harm is achievable and we will continue to
strive for this goal.
“we also know our people are our strength. This is another
of our core values and, as a business that sells the skills
of our people, our continual focus is on hiring, developing
and encouraging our people to seek breakthrough results in
everything they do.
“from the largest copper-processing plant in africa to
high-altitude pipeline and heap-leaching projects in south
america, ports and marine terminals and materials-handling
projects in almost every continent in the world, and wind
farms in western australia and in the russian sea, our people
continue to deliver sustainable solutions for our clients.”
mr meka is also a champion of giving back to the
communities in which ausenco operates.
“The ausenco team is very generous and very active in
making a positive difference in their local communities,”
mr meka says.
“whether it is through participation in fundraising bike rides,
walks or runs; donations to help victims of natural disasters;
donation of goods and uniforms for children at orphanages
near mumbai and in Colombia; building schools and/or other
facilities near client projects in remote locations; or giving
time to numerous other causes, the ausenco team has a
strong sense of community.”
mr meka has been instrumental in establishing the ausenco
foundation to support many of these initiatives. He was
nominated as one of engineers australia’s 2010 Top 100
influential engineers in australia, and plans to continue to
lead ausenco in its next phase of growth.
“with a world-class team, our strong culture and the
opportunities in the markets in which we operate, i am
confident we can achieve our goals,” he says.
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s2002Geoff Mitchell AO
F a c u l t y o f S c i e n c e a n d Te c h n o l o g y / D i p I n d u s t r i a l C h e m i s t r y / C l a s s o f 1 9 6 7
if geoff mitchell has learnt anything in his 20 years as the chief
of the largest cane grower in Queensland, Bundaberg sugar, it
is: don’t panic.
in an industry dominated by volatility, governed by the
changing price of sugar in the international trade market,
mr mitchell says when it seems everything is coming down
or swelling up around you, the first thing you want to do is
panic – when in fact it is the last thing you should do.
“when you’re in the role of a chief executive officer and all of
a sudden you are responsible for everything, it is very easy
to get stressed,” he says.
But the once leader in the australian sugar industry and
long-serving chairman of the australian sugar milling Council
says panicking only causes more troubles.
so you would think retirement would be a welcomed break.
an end to the fast-paced, high-pressure life mr mitchell
once lived. no. in fact retirement had done little to slow
mr mitchell down.
“essentially my focus is now on health, wellbeing and
supporting family and friends,” he says. “i ride twice a week
with mates, each time up to 40 kilometres and i also walk up
mt Coot-tha once a week.”
and while some may see it as reliving his youth, for
mr mitchell it is more like doing all the things he wanted to
do but never had time for.
as an evening student, mr mitchell graduated from the then
QiT with a diploma in industrial Chemistry in 1967, and the
skills to make him a valuable contributor to the sugar industry.
He then continued his working life in sydney and melbourne,
before being headhunted by the company that was later to
become Bundaberg sugar.
mr mitchell worked his way up the management ranks,
becoming actively involved in all aspects of sugar production,
from cane growing and sugar milling, through to distilling,
refining, marketing and research.
“The industry definitely changed a lot in those years,” he says.
“we went through changes in environmental, industrial relations
and sugar-industry-specific regulations and we learnt that a
business would be left behind if it didn’t adopt marketing and
brand awareness, and target international benchmarks.”
a modest mr mitchell said while he never intentionally set out
to achieve great things, he credits his success largely to the
people around him. “i’ve always said you only see ahead when
standing on the shoulders of great men,” he says.
in fact, in his 2002 outstanding alumnus award speech,
mr mitchell said: “This award does not just recognise me, but
rather a large group of people who were students and lecturers
in that period almost 40 years ago. it really is the great people
around me who have helped me to achieve.”
so while mr mitchell, who has been married for 43 years,
has two daughters and one grandchild, may have hung up
his business suits, given away his 12 to 14 hour days, and
is pleased to no longer be an international frequent flyer, he
still wakes up every morning invigorated to be a contributing
member of society.
“Just because you are retired doesn’t mean you should lose
your productivity. you can’t just stop, and i have no intention
of doing that.”
“I have always said you only see ahead when standing on the shoulders of great men.”
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s2000David Moffatt
F a c u l t y o f B u s i n e s s / B B u s ( M a n a g e m e n t ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 8 4
david moffatt is a man of extremes.
He is an extremely talented businessman, he enjoys extreme
sports and he is extremely committed to raising money for
charity.
and while his professional life, which includes holding top
positions with general electric australia and Telstra, may be
impressive, it is mr moffatt’s “adventure philanthropy” which
he says is far more interesting.
To celebrate his fiftieth birthday last year, in a somewhat
unconventional way, mr moffatt decided to ride 900
kilometres on a mountain bike from Cairns to Cape york, then
hop into a sea kayak and paddle from Cape york to Papua
new guinea. finally he finished the adventure by running the
Kokoda Track.
But this epic journey was not just about his love for adventure.
mr moffatt was raising money for the lost Battlefield Trust by
taking part in the Cape Tribulation to Kokoda adventure epic.
mr moffatt is one of a handful of men who helped in the
discovery, and continues to work on, the preservation of
the battlefield which lies along the Kokoda Track.
The lost battlefield, above eora Creek, is believed to be where
australia won the final Battle of the Kokoda campaign. The
battle lasted five days and claimed 79 australians and at least
69 Japanese.
“Prior to the adventure, i was training up to six hours a day. we
completed the entire event in 11 days. so in terms of extreme
adventure it is right up there,” he says. “in my private life,
what i have been able to do is combine my passion for health
and fitness with a penchant for raising awareness and money
for community causes.”
mr moffatt supports a range of non-profit organisations which
benefit autism, road safety, education and cancer causes, to
name a few.
He has taken part in events for charity including the iditarod
Trail alaska, the shanghai to Beijing road bike ride, the Pure
Tasmania Challenge, as well as the giant steps multi-day
bike ride.
“fortunately i have not been touched by these diseases
personally but i have been indirectly. many people ask
for help and i have been able to help some of them,” he
says. “my interest is in building sustainable communities,
which means building the capacity through community
organisations for the community to sustain itself.”
mr moffatt says community organisations have a role to
play in ensuring their own success and sustaining their own
futures. He says rather than relying solely on governments,
community organisations need to be self-sustaining.
“and this is what i have been trying to do, helping some of
these community organisations with my business knowledge
and through my passion for adventure philanthropy,” he says.
as a man who lives by the motto to “do interesting things
with interesting people and add value”, david enjoys an
action-packed life. i get a huge amount of support and i don’t
think that anything i have done is in particular extraordinary,”
he says.
and according to mr moffatt there is still plenty to do. “in my
professional career i am not done yet. i probably have two
‘careers’ left in me. Privately i am very interested in continuing
to build community capacity.”
1993 33Kevin Perkins
F a c u l t y o f B u s i n e s s / B B u s ( M a n a g e m e n t ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 7 6
as the largest shareholder of the Collins foods group –
owners of KfC Queensland and the sizzler chain of
restaurants in australia, the Us and asia – Kevin Perkins
admits to taking plenty of risks in business. But his success
is helped by his sensibility not to gamble.
“i guess i live by the motto ‘never give up’,” he says.
“Persistence is incredibly important in business and in life.
i’m not averse to taking risks, but i am not a gambler. i look
at it as taking strategic risks.”
Business has been good to the QiT graduate, who made his
way into the initially Us-based food company after completing
a mBa at California state University in los angeles in 1979.
“i was offered a job in la by what was then Collins foods
international. They had a relatively small KfC operation in
australia. They had always had an american running the
business and they were looking for an aussie who they could
train up in the head office and send back to australia to run
the australian business.”
at the time Collins foods international operated about
40 KfC outlets in australia.
armed with the Collins foods international “secret recipe”
for business success, mr Perkins returned to australia in
the early 1980s as the Queensland director of marketing
and operations. after a stint in sydney, he was appointed
managing director of the australia arm of the business.
it was in the mid-80s that Collins bought out the Bonanza
steak House chain and introduced sizzler. and while these
were good times for business in australia, within a decade
the parent company would suffer as a result of the United
states recession, opening up the opportunity for mr Perkins
and a team of business partners to buy out the Us-based
company and bring its headquarters to australia.
“Basically the Us public company put the company on the
market and, with the help of our australian private equity
partner, Pacific equity Partners (PeP), we put in a bid and we
ended up buying the total enterprise,” he says.
Today Collins foods group owns KfC Queensland’s 119 stores,
sizzler australia’s 29 restaurants, sizzler asia’s 58 restaurants
which are franchised, and sizzler Usa's 29 companies and
149 franchised restaurants.
“we as a company pride ourselves on being a people-orientated
company,” he says. “when you look at our business, people
think we are in the food business, when really we are a
people-based business. we say we’re in the people business
serving food, not in the food business serving people.”
and the people who work for Collins foods group, most
of whom are young causals, are keen to serve up more than
just good food and service. They are also happy to dig deep
for charity.
in the past two years, employees, supported by Collins foods
group, have donated almost one million dollars to charity.
“what we do is allow people to donate pre-tax through their
salary. we use the slogan ‘a dollar will do and 50 cents is fine’
and we match the employee contributions up to $100 000
each year.
“everyone told us we’d be lucky if we got five or 10 per cent
of our people to sign up and today we have around 25 per cent
who contribute. our workforce is predominately casual which
says a lot about the generosity and social responsibility of this
generation X and y.”
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William Robinson AO
F a c u l t y o f E d u c a t i o n / C e r t Te a c h a n d D i p A r t Te a c h i n g / C l a s s o f 1 9 5 4 a n d 1 9 6 2
C r e a t i v e I n d u s t r i e s / D i p D r a w i n g & P a i n t i n g / C l a s s o f 1 9 6 7
william robinson is renowned as one of australia’s greatest
living landscape painters, but his talents extend far beyond
the trees.
in fact he has won a swag of awards, and has twice taken
out the nation’s highly regarded archibald Prize, first in
1987 with Equestrian self portrait and then in 1995 with
Self portrait with stunned mullet. He has also twice won the
wynne Prize for landscape painting with The rainforest in
1990 and Creation Landscape: earth and sea in 1996.
although gaining critical fame only in his middle age,
dr robinson has spent much of his life in front of the canvas.
He completed his formal art education at the Central
Technical College in 1962, but this by no means resulted in
a rapid rise to fame. That took some time. for more than
30 years dr robinson taught art at QUT and its predecessor
institutions, while working on his masterpieces in his
spare time.
for the past three decades dr robinson has produced
original, contemporary and often thought-provoking works.
But it wasn’t until the 1980s that he really transformed his
first-hand observations into a daring, colourful display of the
world around him.
“i think there is a tradition in australia of painting the wild
west, the inland and, although some painters have painted
the rainforest, there have been a whole host of great artists
in australia who painted australia as the golden fleece
as it were, pastoral landscape and then the deep interior
landscapes. i painted the rainforests because that’s where
we lived. it was my landscape.”
dr robinson’s environment has been dominant in his works,
but it is his wife shirley who is perhaps his greatest muse. she
features prominently in many of his paintings and he credits
her with being his “greatest success”. “she’s like a column that
i lean on and rely on,” he says. “she must be very tired of me
asking her opinion in everything i do.”
while dr robinson’s landscape works have drawn him great
praise, he is also highly regarded for his work in farmyard,
seascape, self-portraiture and still life genres.
His favourite work is Creation landscape: The ancient trees
(1997). “i think it is the most intense of my creation landscapes,”
he says.
dr robinson’s philosophy is to always have faith. “Because of
the things that have happened in my life i would say you have
to have some faith to hold on to and then you’ve got to make
up your mind to survive,” he says. “The greatest virtue you
can have is kindness. i try to be kind but sometimes i am also
pretty awful. The art world is a difficult world to live in but i have
survived it for more than four decades.”
dr robinson says his future art work is likely to focus on still life.
“That’s mostly because of circumstances of life and age,” he says.
“i can’t walk in the bush as much as i used to. i think still life, as
i go on, will take over from the landscapes.”
in recognition of dr robinson’s great talent, in 2009 the
University established the william robinson gallery at old
government House, on the grounds of the gardens Point
campus. He was also awarded an honorary doctorate from
QUT in 1998.
“ I painted the rainforests because that’s where we lived. It was my landscape.”
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F a c u l t y o f E d u c a t i o n / D i p E d ( S e c - P h y s i c a l E d ) , B E d ( I n - S e r v i c e ) a n d M E d / C l a s s o f 1 9 8 7 , 1 9 9 1 a n d 1 9 9 7
Chris sarra is one of australia’s leading indigenous educators
and his “stronger and smarter” philosophy has improved
educational opportunities for aboriginal and Torres strait
islander students across the country.
as a child who experienced first hand the challenges of being
an indigenous student, dr sarra admits “there was this tide
of low expectation”.
“when i was at school, yes i probably should have and could
have pushed myself harder,” dr sarra says.“ But there was
really no one there pushing me.”
That is a different story today for many indigenous kids,
whose schools are learning the “stronger and smarter” way.
dr sarra is the director of the stronger smarter institute,
which started out as a partnership between QUT and
education Queensland, and has secured funding from the
Telstra foundation and sidney myer foundation.
The institute is arming principals and educational leaders
with the beliefs and capacity to make a profound change in
indigenous education.
“The stronger smarter philosophy is about acknowledging
and embracing a positive sense of indigenous student identity,
acknowledging and embracing indigenous leadership and
having high-expectation relationships with high-expectation
classrooms,” dr sarra says.
“There is no place to hide for any educator with stifled
perceptions of indigenous children. There is no place for
excuses anymore.”
dr sarra has taken the lessons and great success he learnt
as principal of the once-troubled Cherbourg state school and
is transforming the way schools teach indigenous children
across australia.
at Cherbourg dr sarra instilled in his students the belief
and the willpower that they could be something great. The
outcome was a staggering 94 per cent drop in unexplained
school absenteeism.
“Kids wanted to be at school, they wanted to achieve and they
now had a belief that they could succeed,” he says. “school
is a place where you get power, where you learn how to play
and win the game of life. we want to teach these young kids
to have high expectations.”
dr sarra completed a diploma of Teaching in Physical
education, a Bachelor of education and a master of education
in school guidance and Counselling at QUT. He also has a
Phd in Psychology.
His dedication, commitment and achievements saw him
named Queenslander of the year in 2004 and he was also
nominated as australian of the year in 2009.
But it is not the accolades that push the father of three to
make a difference in the world. He says if he wasn’t living up
to his own rhetoric, he’d feel like he had no integrity.
“my motto is simple ‘did you give your best today?’. i am the
only one who knows the answer to that and i have to be
content that i have done my best,” he says.
“That is all anyone can do, is their best. That is all i expected
of my students, it is all i expect of myself.”
“School is a place where you get power, where you learn how to play and win the game of life.”
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F a c u l t y o f H e a l t h / D i p A p p S c ( O p t o m e t r y ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 6 8
Heather waldron had a vision to make a difference in
optometry and being a woman was not going to stop her.
at a time when women focused on careers in teaching and
nursing, mrs waldron entered the male-dominated profession
of optometry.
“when i joined the profession there wouldn’t have been any
more than 10 per cent of practitioners who were women,”
she says.
But that didn’t stop the somewhat sheltered young QiT
graduate, who came from an all-girl family and attended an
all-girls boarding school, from breaking through the glass
ceiling to become one of australia’s most respected
optometrists.
after graduating at 20 and still a year too young to work as an
optometrist without supervision, mrs waldron was appointed
as a lecturer at QiT. “This way i could get into optometry right
away without fulfilling the requirement of being 21,” she says.
The following year mrs waldron entered private practice
working for a large optometry firm, fraser edmiston. Through
their industrial division, she provided on-site consultations at
factories and shipyards and recalls this as a great experience,
always being treated with respect by the patients and her
colleagues.
“in my whole career i can probably only think of one occasion
when a patient refused to be treated by a woman, and i
always enjoyed the support and encouragement of my male
colleagues,” she says.
But that said, there were times when achieving equality was
somewhat of a struggle.
“when i first joined the optometry council, the meetings were
held at the Cricketers Club and that was one of the places
women weren’t allowed. women could go to the cricket but
they couldn’t go to the hallowed halls of the club. so i had to
be smuggled in. The men would form a bit of an honour
guard and i would quietly slip into the room. it was all a bit
of a joke really.”
in 1976 mrs waldron joined waldrons optometrists, her
husband’s family business. it was here that she was
instrumental in developing the firm into a highly successful
group practice in south-east Queensland.
mrs waldron’s contribution to optometry extends beyond
the walls of her own practice. she has held positions on
numerous professional organisations and provided advice to
government. she was australia’s first optometric consultant
to medicare and to the department of Veterans’ affairs. in
1994 she was named as the first recipient of the Queensland
optometrist of the year award by the australian optometrical
association.
in the wider community, she has been an advocate for
women and girls.
“Through my involvement with Zonta, i have worked towards
the advancement of the status of women locally and
internationally,” she says. “i am particularly supportive of
providing role models for young women in the professions
and i continue to take mentoring roles in a wide range of
pursuits, as well as within my own profession.”
“my motto is ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto
you’. and i guess i see that as treating everyone as equal.”
41
20
YE
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UT
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TS
TA
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AL
UM
nI
AW
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DS1997Harvey Whiteford AM
F a c u l t y o f H e a l t h / M P H / C l a s s o f 1 9 9 3
Harvey whiteford is not trying to save the world but he is
trying to leave it a better place.
The medically trained doctor, who started his career
in pediatrics, has spent almost four decades working to
improve mental health services at a state, national and
international level.
Psychiatry was not an easy career choice when he was a
young doctor. “But the thing i didn’t like about some areas
of medicine was they talked about the diagnosis instead of
focusing on the patient,” he says. “in mental health you had
a chance to combine biology, neurochemistry and psychology
with who the person really is, in their social environment.
“even though the person is not well mentally, you need
to get to know the person, not just their blood results and
their x-ray results. i felt i had more interaction with the patient,
which suited me better than procedural medicine.”
after moving from pediatrics and then spending five years
training in psychiatric units at Brisbane hospitals, dr whiteford
became interested in research. He won a government
scholarship and went to stanford University as a Postdoctoral
fellow. when he returned to Queensland he set up what is
now the Queensland Centre for mental Health research.
in the late 1980s he was promoted to director of psychiatric
services with Queensland Health. in this position, dr
whiteford had direct responsibility for the administration
of three psychiatric hospitals, 1200 beds, 14 community
psychiatry services and the Health department's forensic
psychiatry services. it was in this position that dr whiteford
really started his campaign for mental health reform. it was
also during this time that he gained his masters of Public
Health from QUT.
“Basically my masters degree gave me the skills to do the
administration side of public health,” he says. “i rationalised
it by saying okay i am not seeing many patients but if i can
make the system better, that could benefit a lot more patients
than i would ever be able to benefit by seeing them one at a
time as a clinician sitting in an office.”
a stint as the federal director of mental health gave
dr whiteford responsibility for the australian government’s
initiatives in mental health.
dr whiteford was then headhunted by the world Bank,
as the first mental health appointment, a position created
to develop the bank’s capacity to respond to the rising
contribution mental health and substance abuse was making
to the world burden of disease.
in 2001 dr whiteford, who had run a state service, federal
service and an international program, decided he wanted to
return to research and now works as the Kratzmann Professor
of Psychiatry and Population Health at the University of
Queensland.
reflecting on his career, dr whiteford says while there have
been huge improvements in the way mental health care is
delivered, there is still a long way to go.
“yes i think we have come a long way,” he says. “i think we
have better treatments, more people working in the area and
less stigma. many people have come out and said yes i have
had depression, i’ve attempted suicide, i’ve been really down.
it is accepted that mental health is an important part of health.
But i think the quality of services is still less than you would
get if you had a physical illness. i think we’ve still got a long
way to go.”
“ If I can make the system better, then that could benefit a lot more patients than I would ever be able to benefit by seeing them one at a time as a clinician sitting in an office.”
43
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ye
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UT
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Tan
din
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mn
i a
wa
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s1996David Wyatt
F a c u l t y o f S c i e n c e a n d Te c h n o l o g y / B A p p S c ( M e d Te c h n o l o g y ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 7 2
david wyatt has made an invaluable contribution to the
medical world.
as one of the pioneers in the development of diagnostic tests
for infectious diseases, dr wyatt’s breakthrough research in
the areas of mosquito-borne viruses continues to be used
in pathology labs across the world.
His work in the field of immunology and diagnostic testing
for diseases like ross river fever and dengue fever was
commercialised when he co-founded two successful
asX-listed biotechnology companies, agenix ltd and
PanBio ltd.
But dr wyatt, who has worked as a lecturer at QUT and a
scientist and manager in private pathology, medical research
and the biotechnology industry, is quick to point out that while
his individual contribution has played an important role, many
of his successes have relied on a collaborative effort.
“when i was working to develop these new diagnostic
techniques, i was the first in australia to do a lot of it, so all
sorts of people wanted to collaborate and work with me,” he
says. “and one of the things to come out of that was the
establishment of QUT’s first major research centre,
the Centre for applied immunology.
“i was pleased to return to QUT in 2004 as Professor
of Biobusiness and innovation and to play a role in the
establishment of the institute of Health and Biomedical
innovation.”
dr wyatt says his drive to “make a difference” was spurred
by his disadvantaged background.
“i lived in a poor suburb and my father died when i was 10, so
we really struggled,” he says. “i had a real interest in doing
something socially useful. i didn’t really know what, and the
medical field just attracted me.”
Today this same socially responsible attitude is still a central
focus in dr wyatt’s life.
while dr wyatt has moved out of the scientific field, he has
taken up a new challenge, which is to live a sustainable life.
“my wife and i live in an eco village on the gold Coast. we
live in a zero-carbon house in a zero-carbon village,” he
says. “i am aware of how much things have changed in my
lifetime. we have made all this wonderful technological and
social progress but we’ve seen vast environmental damage
including to the fish in the sea and what has happened with
the forests and the animals. it just does not seem sustainable
and it doesn’t add up, so something dramatic has to happen.”
living by the motto of “variety is the spice of life,” dr wyatt is
not a man who rests on his laurels.
“To me ‘variety is the spice of life’ is all about the need to keep
exploring, to move out of your comfort zone and, coming
from a life science background, i really understand the
importance of biodiversity in our world,” he says. “much of
my work has been international. i have travelled a lot and i
have learnt to respect, tolerate and appreciate a wide variety
of cultures.”
45
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s2011Colin Jensen
“I consider I have had a blessed career, excellent opportunities to learn more about the way things work, the way the world is and the way people work together.”
Colin Jensen is one of Queensland’s most senior public
servants and his career is built on delivering outcomes that
have led to the growth, development and prosperity of
the state.
He has held top positions within the Queensland government,
has led national and international efforts in intelligent transport
systems and is now chief executive officer of the largest
local government in australia, Brisbane City Council. and
while mr Jensen admits his career has been “blessed with
opportunities”, it is his forward-thinking, problem-solving
approach that has helped the QUT civil engineering graduate
rise to the top.
in his role as Coordinator-general and director-general of
the department of infrastructure and Planning, mr Jensen
was responsible for overseeing the delivery of the largest
infrastructure building program in Queensland’s history.
Presiding over the largest capital program of any australian
government – $18.2 billion – mr Jensen directed major
developments, infrastructure planning, and urban growth
and land use in Queensland.
Today, instead of focusing on the building, expansion and
growth of Queensland, mr Jensen is, in part, directing his
efforts to the rebuilding of Brisbane following the devastating
January 2011 floods. He has a damages bill of more than
$400 million to manage and a large and diverse
organisation to lead.
and when it comes to making the big calls during a crisis,
mr Jensen says he “values those around me”. “There are a lot
of competent and clever people providing me with advice,” he
says. “The challenge is to see the big picture in terms of how
does all that advice fit together and then look for the correct
decision amongst all of that.”
mr Jensen is not just about growth and the building of public
infrastructure. He is also committed to sustainability and
improving people’s quality of life. He has appreciated being
involved in various initiatives to increase the amount of
open space and protected environmental areas throughout
Queensland as well as improving public transport.
Brisbane City Council is also leading the charge against
climate change including offsetting all of its carbon emissions.
Council already uses 100 per cent green power, has reduced
its greenhouse gas emissions below its own target and is
well on its way to planting two million trees across the city.
“i have chosen to make my career almost exclusively in the
service of the public, and for me that means the decisions
you make now have to be for the long-term benefit of the
community,” he says.
mr Jensen has been named one of australia’s top 100 most
influential engineers by Civil Engineers Australia magazine for
four years running, he is a fellow of engineers australia and
was a recipient of the young Transport achiever award in 1999.
“i never really planned where my career was going … but that
doesn’t mean i ended up somewhere i didn’t want to go,”
he says. “i consider i have had a blessed career, excellent
opportunities to learn more about the way things work, the
way the world is and the way people work together. equally
i have worked with some truly amazing people who have
achieved great things.”
F a c u l t y o f B u i l t E n v i r o n m e n t a n d E n g i n e e r i n g / B E ( C i v ) / C l a s s o f 1 9 8 6
“Do not go
where the path may lead,
go instead
where there is no path
and leave a trail”R a l p h Wa l d o E m e r s o n
1 8 0 3 – 1 8 8 2
Award winners
49
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s1991
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Jan Hannant
Faculty AwardsMark Raymond Built environment and engineering
Jan Hannant education
Marcia Cowle Health
Malcolm Thatcher information Technology
1993
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Heather Waldron
Faculty AwardsJohn Frey arts
Ian Oelrichs Built environment and engineering
Kerry Daly Business
Ken Jarman education
Heather Waldron Health
Professor The Hon Michael Lavarch law
Dr Martin neilson science
1994
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Dr David Wyatt
Faculty AwardsTracey Curro arts
Bernadette Archibald Business
Greg nunn Built environment and engineering
Elizabeth Ee Lee Lim Health
Clyde Torkington information Technology
Sally Pitkin law
Dr David Wyatt science19
95
1997
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Professor Harvey Whiteford AM
Special Excellence AwardProfessional Excellence Allan Gillespie Shane Thompson
Faculty AwardsThe Hon Peter Beattie arts
Allan Gillespie Built environment and engineering
John George Business
Kathleen newcombe education
Professor Harvey Whiteford am Health
Christopher Curtis information Technology
Dr Paula Gerber law
1996Chancellor’s Outstanding
Alumnus
Kevin Perkins
Faculty AwardsWesley Enoch arts
Peter Williams Built environment and engineering
Kevin Perkins Business
Mary Burgess law
Professor The Hon Michael Lavarch law
Ian Chant science
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Alan Key
Faculty AwardsJanet Donald arts
Bet Gaunt Business
Dr Robin Sullivan education
Leo Hartley Health
Alan Key information Technology
Professor Gerard Carney law
Craig Schloman science
51
20
ye
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UT
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Tan
din
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wa
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s1998
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Dr Dale Gilbert
Special Excellence AwardProfessional Excellence nuno D'Aquino
Faculty AwardsTracey Carrodus arts
Dr Dale Gilbert Psm Built environment and engineering
Leonard Scanlan Business
Colin Waldron Health
Associate Professor James McGovern information Technology
Professor Brian Fitzgerald law
nuno D'Aquino science
1999
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
David Moffatt
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Contribution to the Community Dr Mary Magee oam
Professional Excellence noel Robinson
Faculty AwardsRobert Tannion arts
noel Robinson Built environment and engineering
David Moffatt Business
Vicki Wilson oam education
Glynis nunn-Cearns oam Health
Brett Hooker information Technology
Jane Macdonnell law
Dr Mary Magee oam science
2000
2001
2002
2003
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Professor Robert Hess
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Contribution to the Community Megan Mcnicholl oam
Excellence in Globalising Indigenous Arts and Culture Award Jenny Fraser
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Sharon Gillett
Faculty AwardsGabriel Poole Built environment and engineering
Peter Howes Business
Jim Rudder Creative industries
Megan Mcnicholl oam education
Professor Robert Hess Health
Kevin Cocks Humanities and Human services
Michael Clarke information Technology
Michael Baumann fm law
Stewart Bell science
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Geoff Mitchell AO
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Promoting Creativity/Innovation John Mendoza
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Chris Layton Dr James Bradfield Moody
Faculty AwardsRobert Bird Built environment and engineering
Carolyn Barker am Business
Venero Armanno Creative industries
Jane Andersen education
John Mendoza Health
Gary Morgan information Technology
Dr Ken Levy rfd law
Jennifer Peut QUT Carseldine
Geoff Mitchell ao science
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Dr Cristina Cifuentes
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Contribution to the Community Dr Jean Calder aC
Professional Excellence Anne Wallace
Faculty AwardsJim McKnoulty Built environment and engineering
John Martin Business
Anne Wallace Creative industries
Dr Jean Calder aC education
Judith Magub Health
Dr Cristina Cifuentes information Technology
Paul Chartrand law
Keith Harrison science
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Allan Brackin
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Contribution to the Community Joseph Kwan mH
Professional Excellence Deborah Mailman
Faculty AwardsDeborah Mailman arts
Allan Brackin Built environment and engineering
Rosemary Vilgan Business
Ian Healy education
Judith Gay Health
Dr Adrian McCullagh information Technology
The Hon Timothy Carmody sC law
Walter Robb science
53
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oU
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Tan
din
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s2004
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Dr Chris Sarra
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Service to the International Community Rodney Cocks Csm
Aline Matta
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Sarah-Jane Clarke
Faculty AwardsShane Thompson Built environment and engineering
Sarah-Jane Clarke Business
Dr Derek Wilding Creative industries
Dr Chris Sarra education
Ian Kent Health
Sandra Angus Humanities and Human services
Paul Kenny information Technology
Susan Francis law
Simon Critchley science
2005
53
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s
2007
2008
2009
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Dr William Robinson AO
Special Excellence AwardsGyton Grantley Sir Brian Bell Csm, KBe, Cst.J
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Dr Tom Ward Tammy Williams
Faculty AwardsKirsti Simpson Built environment and engineering
nicole Hollows Business
natalie Weir Creative industries
Dr William Robinson ao education
Dr Shaun Larkin Health
Lieutenant Colonel David Freeman KsJ, frgs law
Mario Pennisi science and Technology
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Zimi Meka
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Contribution to the Community in Healthcare Margaret Vider
Excellence in Early Career Fashion Entrepreneurship Gail Reid
Excellence in Medical Research Professor Alan Cowman
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Dr Michael Bonning
Faculty AwardsZimi Meka Built environment and engineering
Susan Kelly Business
Sean Mee Creative industries
Rhonda Davidson-Irwin education
Margaret Vider Health
Gordon Moyes information Technology
Senator The Hon Joe Ludwig law
Professor Alan Cowman science
2006
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Dr Amaya Gillespie
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Contribution to the Community Lawrence Truce
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Stephanie Jarvie
Professional Excellence Jason Pourpouras
Faculty AwardsMike Wilke Built environment and engineering
David Pradella Business
Peter Alwast Creative industries
Dr Joseph Pagelio education
Dr Amaya Gillespie Health
Dr Gregston Terrill Humanities and Human services
Greg Davies information Technology
Michael Bowers law
Paul nitz science
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Dr Stephen Lawrence
Special Excellence AwardOutstanding Young Alumnus Award Aaron Chippendale
Faculty AwardsMark Henry Built environment and engineering
Paul Taaffe Business
Yolande Brown Creative industries
Sharon Galleguillos education
Jennifer Muller Psm Health
Beverley Watkinson Humanities and Human services
Dr Stephen Lawrence information Technology
neil Laurie law
Bill Taylor science
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Pia-Angela Francini
Special Excellence AwardsExcellence in Educational Innovation and Leadership Lynne Hinton
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Alen-Igor O'Hran
Professional Excellence in Health Dr Peter Keller
Faculty AwardsPia-Angela Francini Built environment and engineering
Stuart Parkyn Business
David Kidd Creative industries
Lynne Hinton education
Dr Peter Keller Health
Caitlin O’Brien Humanities and Human services
Campbell Webb information Technology
Michael Wadley law
Rhonda White science
55
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s2010
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Dr Mick Adams
Special Excellence AwardsRichard Malouf
Outstanding Young Alumnus Award Emma Griffiths Anthony Smare
Faculty AwardsMark Menhinnitt Built environment and engineering
Shaun Scott Business
Matthew and Daniel Tobin Creative industries
Shelley Peers education
Dr Mick Adams Health
Magistrate Jacqui Payne law
Bernie Hobbs science and Technology
2011
Chancellor’s Outstanding Alumnus
Colin Jensen
Faculty AwardsColin Jensen Built environment and engineering
nathan Mayfield Business
Tracey Robertson Creative industries
Julie Grantham education
Jacqui Reed Health
Allison Stanfield law
Dr James Bradfield Moody science and Technology
“e great thing in e world
is not so much where
We stand,
as in what direction
we are moving”O l i v e r We n d e l l H o l m e s , S r
1 8 0 9 – 1 8 9 4
Queensland University of Technology GPO Box 2434 Brisbane QLD 4001www.qut.edu.au
QU
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STA
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ALU
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Ce
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g 20 ye
ars 1991–
2011
QUT Outstanding Alumni Awards – Celebrating 20 years 19 91 – 2 011
I N S P I R E