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June 30, 2015

UOW engineers recognised in Top 100 list

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation) Professor Judy Raper named as one of Australia's top engineers.

A record 19 women, including UOW Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Innovation), Professor Judy Raper, appear in the 2015 Top 100 Most Influential Engineers in Australia list.

It is the third year in succession that Professor Raper, a chemical engineer, has been recognised on the list. She joins graduate engineers Mark Cutifani (Anglo American), Bronwyn Evans (Standards Australia) and Dr Alex Zelinsky (Defence Science and Technology Organisation). The list also features Grant King (Origin Energy) who was awarded a Master of Management degree at UOW in 1987 and Professor Mary O’Kane (NSW Chief Scientist) who was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from UOW in 2013.

The Top 100 list is published by Engineers Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Engineers Australia. The full list, published in the June edition of Engineers Australia magazine, can be viewed online at http://engineerstop100.realviewtechnologies.com.

It is the 12th edition of Engineers Australia magazine’s Top 100 Most Influential Engineers in Australia. The magazine also recorded a record turnover of candidates with 37 per cent new faces compared to last year’s list (although some have appeared in previous years).

The main innovation in this year’s list is the introduction of a new category called Panel’s Pick. The magazine wanted to recognise a number of people who are influential simply because they are inspirational.

Award recipients are involved in any number of categories, from academia to industry, with the primary criteria for the awards focusing on the level of influence the engineer has been in their field of endeavour over the past year. 

In addition to her position at UOW, Professor Raper is a member of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation and UniMutual boards. The magazine highlighted that under her stewardship, UOW has seen significant increases in funding over the past year as well as increases in publications and their impact.

Her distinguished research career in chemical engineering has led to a number of prestigious awards including the Sheddon Pacific Award for the most outstanding young chemical engineer in Australia in 1992 and the Professional Engineer of the Year in 1998.

In 2003 her contribution to the engineering profession in Australia was recognised by election to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in Australia and as an Honorary Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia.

“I am glad to see a record number of women in the list this year. However, attracting girls to engineering is an ongoing problem. If you’re not getting girls interested in the subject you lose half the population,” Professor Raper said.

Postscript: A member of the Top 100 Advisory Panel for 2015 was Professor Alex Baitch who is an honorary professorial fellow of the ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵapp of ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵapp. Professor Baitch was recognised in the Top 100 list in 2014]