Northern Division August Newsletter

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August 2011 Newsletter

The past two months have seen many of our major activi-ties taking place. In addition we have had the National Biomedi-cal Engineering Conference in Darwin which attracted 250 reg-istrations. Of course the weather was perfect for our visitors and they probably think it is always like this! It was good to have a

range of additional meet-ings held in our office and to meet some of the na-tional representatives. As a consequence we are about to have our first Biomed

College Board member from Northern Division, Julie Woerner. Tragically one of our Fellows was killed in a freak mo-torcycle accident recently, Geoff Miller. We offer our condo-lences to Geoff’s family at this sad time. See further infor-mation in this newsletter. Many thanks to those who supported the Engineering Excellence Awards including sponsors, entrants and guests on the night. I saw many a good looking member of the Blues Brothers on the dance floor! I look forward to next year and we already have our first expression of interest to nominate!! Start thinking about your projects now so that you have plenty of time. Engineering Week and Science Week were big activi-ties for the Division. How many of you have seen the dinosaurs around town on your smart phones? They are still there! Proba-bly some of the footpath stickers have been souvenired by now but the images remain. A highlight for me this month has been a visit to Timor Leste. I travelled there with the Darwin Chorale to participate in a concert with two Timor Leste choirs which was a wonder-ful experience. These two choirs have spent the past two weeks in Darwin and we have performed twice more, in Darwin dur-ing the festival and then in Katherine. It was a good opportuni-ty to meet with the engineers in Dili that we have been support-ing for eight years now. In addition I met with three Engineers

Without Borders employees and presented them with the pro-ceeds from our Excellence Awards for the water and sanitation project in the mountains. They were surprised and pleased with the donation. These two groups of people met at a breakfast meeting so developed a new set of relationships which we hope will lead to better opportunities for both. The other project suc-cess was the delivery of 10 boxes of maths text books to the Dili Institute of Technology which had been donated by former maths teacher Rose Hagan. A big thank you to Rose and also AirNorth who allowed 10 chorale members to have free excess baggage to take them over there! The librarian at DIT writes:

‘I am writing to express our gratitude of the books to the DIT (Dili Institute of Technology) Library on August 2011. For your information the books have been catalogue onto database computer program to facilitate our stu-dents and lectures in teaching and learning process. It is our hope that this support will continue in the future not providing second hand books but also other equipments in other to help their need. Thank you very much for the attention and cooperation.

Your sincerely, Geraldo Belo’. Darwin engineers Brian Forester and Greg Mariager attended the breakfast meeting and met the local engineers as well. Nominations for the election of our new 2012 Division Committee have now closed. We received VERY FEW and so the positions will need to be filled now as casual vacancies.

Bronwyn Russell

More photos from Timor Leste overleaf

FROMFROM OUR DIRECTOR

Engineers without Borders pre-sented with $4840 from Northern Division Engineering Excellence Awatrds Donation

Antonio Brigido Correia, Chief of Staff, Ministry of Infrastructure meeting Alex Ford, EWB Asian Coordinator in Dili

We have again managed to make it through August. It's most certainly our busiest time of the year, with the Engineering Excel-lence Awards and Engineering week as well as a number of Eminent Speakers and other activities. The Engineering Excellence Awards were again a huge suc-cess, easily rivalling last year's awards which most people agree were the best ever. I congratulate CAT Projects on winning this year's Excellence Award with their excellent Bushlight India Project.

And to Alice Springs Airport Solar Power Stations for their Engineering Excellence Award in Environment and Sustainability. Congratulations also to our People in Engi-neering winners Friso deBoer Professional Engineer of the Year, Lyndon Frearson Young Engineer of the Year and Jaswant Deo Engineering Associate of the year. I'm disappointed that no Engineering Technologists nominated for this award for the se-cond year in a row. The launch of Engineering Week by Minister, Rob Knight was very successful with over 80 people in attendance. The Heritage bus tour was a great success with 2 buses required this year. Thanks to Peter Poole and Trevor Horman for their expert commentaries. It's sad to report that there remains a minority group of Engineers Australia members who still oppose Engineering Technologists and Engineering Associates ob-taining voting rights in the 2010 Ballot. They failed in their attempt to influence the vote during the Ballot, so they are now trying to have the Ballot declared invalid due to what they are claiming was a flawed electronic voting system. EA has had the system inde-pendently audited by Deloittes who have found no evidence of data corruption or ma-nipulation. On a sadder note the death of prominent Architects Lena Yali and Greg McNamara was a shock to all of us in the engineering community as well as the archi-tectural community . It is tragic that two immensely talented people have been taken away from us in such horrific circumstances. I'm sure you will all join me in sending our condolences to the families of Lena and Greg.

Len Chappell President

Northern Division

Contents • Director’s Report

• President’s Report

• Australian Engineering Week

• Professional Office available/Professional Development

• Young Engineers Gen-X Din-ner

• Science Week

• National President, Merv

• Lindsay Visit to the Top End

• Photographic Collage of Na-tional President’s Visit

• Engineering Excellence Awards

• Engineering Excellence Awards Winners, Highly Com-mended, People in Engineer-ing Winners and Finalists

• Highlights from the Excellence Awards

• Sunchase Volunteers required

• Australian Rainfall & Runoff Seminar

• In Memory - Geoff Miller

• Science Week

• Research & Innovation Awards

• Calendar of Events

Produced by: Engineers Australia Northern Division 14 Shepherd Street Darwin NT 0800 Phone: (08) 8981 4137 Fax: (08) 8941 3449 Email: [email protected] Web: www.nt.engineersaustralia.org.au Content was correct at time of printing. Please check the website for the most up to date listings of events and programs. Advertising Please contact Karen Relph by email [email protected] Editorial [email protected]

Sponsor

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Some local engineers meet for breakfast

Local Engineers meet Engineers Australia

Engineers Without Borders meet Timor Leste Engineers

This year’s launch of Engineering Week was held on Tuesday, 2 August at Parliament House. The event was host-ed by Hon. Gerry McCarthy, who due to prior commitments was unable to at-tend. The Hon. Rob Knight, MLA, Min-ister for Essential Services stepped up and represented Minister McCarthy. A presentation was made to our newest

Fellow, Chris Lugg on the evening. Chris, said “I am very humbled to become a Fellow of Engineers Australia”. Chris is also a member of the Northern Division’s Management Com-mittee. Minister Knight officially launched Engineering Week to over 80 members and guests. President, Len Chappell encour-aged members to attend the events that had been planned for the week including the “Heritage Bus Tour” on Wednesday evening.

Sponsor Page 3

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Page 4

The Heritage Bus Tour was again held during Engineering Week on Wednesday, 3rd August 2011. Over 60 members from Engineers Australia and 20 members from the general public attended this event. Peter Poole and Trevor Horman from the Heritage Committee provided commentary for these tours. Com-

ments included “very informative, interesting and I wasn’t even aware that some of this heritage existed in the Northern Territory”. The Tour route included: Vesty’s Meatworks and Water Tank, Anti-submarine Boom Net, East Point Battery and Mili-tary Museum, Ammunition Storage Areas Charles Darwin Na-tional Park to name a few. Following on from the tour a delicious barbecue was sup-plied by the Adelaide River Railway Society and Motor Vehicle Enthusiastic Club. Members mingled with representatives from the Qantas Hangar and looked at all the wonderful heritage exhibits in this facility. Peter Poole was presented with a medal from Engineers Australia for his continued involvement and commitment to heritage in the Northern Territory and Northern Division. Peter is instrumental in providing many interesting heritage articles to the Northern Division newsletter and assisting with developing the Heritage brochures for the division, in-cluding updating these in 2010. The response in 2011 was exceptional with the need to have 2 buses for this event. Thank you to Leo Izod, Peter Poole, Trevor Horman and members of the Adelaide River Railway Society and Motor Vehicle Enthusiastic Club for assisting with this heritage event.

Are you looking for a professional office or professional development?

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National President, Merv Lindsay kicked of a very busy trip on Sunday, 19 June with a visit to Groote Eylandt. His visit was planned around the many activities in Northern Division that relate to the Year of Humanitarian Engineering. During his time at Groote he visited a Territory Alliance Housing project which is part of the Strategic Intervention Housing and Infra-structure Project (SIHIP). Both Angurugu and Umbakumba communities were visited to see the progress of the housing project. In the evening there was a dinner at Dugong Beach Resort for members of Engineers Australia and stakeholders where they mingled with the National President and Division President, Len Chappell. A meeting was arranged with the General Manager of Gemco, Ben Yaksich the following day with a site visit to the mine. Our good friend Scott Perkins helped with these arrange-ments which proved to be a very interesting insight into the Gemco Mine and its proposed expansion of the workforce at the mine. On return to Darwin Merv visited Marrara Christian College where he was given a briefing on the programs offered by the College, in particular the Fabrication and Construction Training. This commercial not-for-profit business was set up for the express purpose of training with many of its trainees taking up full-time apprenticeships. There is a focus on indigenous training within this program. The group also visited the Defence of Darwin Museum Project. Darlene Chin from NT Museums was host for this visit and took the time to explain to the President the planning for the project and the importance of the $250,000 funding that Engineers Australia Northern Division has committed to it to set up a permanent “Engineering Display”. Taking time out of the busy schedule, President of the Division, Len Chappell thought some sailing would be in order. With a beautiful sunset and perfect weather they headed out for a look around the harbour and surrounds. The President was privileged to visit the Engineering Excellence Awards entrant, McArthur River Bridge with the judging panel. Sumesh Dhir from Department of Construction and Infrastructure hosted this tour which required a lengthy light aircraft trip. McArthur River Bridge provides a vital link between Borroloola and surrounding communities in the Roper Gulf Shire. As 2011 has had a record wet season in the top end, this project highlighted the need for better access for communi-ties. The trip finished with a visit to Larrakeyah Barracks where there was a tour over a Naval Patrol Boat. Lieut. Dylan Pearse highlighted the importance of this facility in assisting with the interception of asylum seekers attempting to arrive in Australia by boat. This visit also provided an insight into the activities associated with the asylum seekers boat that crashed off Ashmore reef recently and the role that the Navy played in

the rescue of the refugees. The trip finished with Northern Division, Engineers Australia hosting an opportunity for the National President to meet with other members at the Division office. Merv com-mented, “I very much enjoyed visiting the Territory and the diverse opportunities its offers”. He thanked Len, Bronwyn and the team for making him feel so welcome.

Supporter

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National President Visit - Friday, 19 June to Friday, 24 June

You will do as you are told!

Supporter

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Photogaphic Collage of National President’s Visit in June

Boy this is a little squeezy!

That was a great joke Merv

Not another photo

What do you suppose this thing in the middle does Len?

It’s been a long week !

Smile for Camera!

Supporter

Engineering Excellence Awards 2011

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On the 21st July 2011 the Engineering Excellence Awards were held in the “Skyline Marquee” at Darwin Turf Club. The evening started with pre-dinner drinks on the lawns leading into the marquee with guests being entertained by the smooth sounds of the Darwin Youth Orchestra. Over 330 guests were then moved into the marquee which was adorned in green plants and décor in keeping with the theme “ Year of Humanitarian Engineering”. The Awards kicked off with the People in Engineering Awards with the following winners, highly commended and finalists announced:

• Young Professional Engineer of the Year Lyndon Frearson, BEng (Elect) MIEAust Winner Nerida Beard, EEnv Eng (Hons) MIEAust Highly Commended Sam McCarthy, MIEAust CPEng Finalist

• Engineering Associate of the Year Jaswant Deo, OMIEAust CEngO Winner

• Professional Engineer of the Year Friso de Boer, PhD FIEAust CPEng Winner Kirsty McInnes, BEng (Env) (Hon) FIEAust CPEng Finalist Following the announcement of the People in Engineer-ing, guests were entertained by Artist Brad Blaze. Brad paint-ed three paintings to include Bono from U2, Elvis and Marilyn Monroe. These paintings were then auctioned off by Auctioneer extraordinaire, Michael Martin with proceeds to go to a hu-manitarian project in Timor Leste, specifically to supply water and sanitation to the communities of Lebutan and Fatumane in the Aileu District. The amount raised was $4,840 ($140.00 was raised from members being able to purchase the plants from the centre of the table) dollars. Thank you to those who supported this im-portant project.

The winners of the Engineering Excellence Awards were then announced following the auction. The following Awards were presented:

• 2011 Engineering Excellence Award Bushlight India CAT Projects

• 2011 Engineering Excellence Award for Environment and Sustainability

Alice Springs Airport Solar Power Station NT Airports, Department of Climate Change, Alice Solar City, CAT Projects, Ingenoro, Solfocus

• Australian Solar Energy Society Award NT Airports, Department of Climate Change, Alice Solar City, CAT Projects, Ingenoro, Solfocus

• Highly Commended Engineering Excellence Award McArthur River Bridge Depts of Construction & Infrastructure, Lands & Plan ning and Steelcon

• Highly Commended Reports, Procedures & Systems Territory Growth Towns ‘Bridging the Gap’ Depts of Construction & Infrastructure, Local Govt & Regional Services, Lands & Planning

• People’s Choice Award Tiger Brennan Drive Extension Depts of Construction & Infrastructure, Lands & Plan ning, Sinclair Knight Merz and Macmahon Contractors

• President’s Award Palmerston Boat Ramp Depts of Construction & Infrastructure, Lands & Plan ning and Macmahon Congratulations to the people in Engineering Award winners, project winners and highly commended projects. The winners can now go onto the National Awards which will be held in the great hall of parliament house in November 2011. We look forward to the announcements at these Awards. Just to confuse everyone at the Awards, hats and sun-glasses were distributed to all tables and to their surprise this was followed by a “Blues Brothers” tribute band. This got everyone up and dancing, including the Administrator of the Northern Territory who amazed the audience with his individ-ual “Blues Brothers” style. Everyone danced through to mid-night. The feedback from the Awards night has been extreme-ly positive and we look forward to surprising those attending in 2012. Thanks must go to our important sponsors and also to those organisations who sponsored students to attend this an-nual event. Project Entrants are also thanked for their efforts in en-terting the Awards and the amount of effort that goes into the

Supporter

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Our Winners, Highly Commended, People in Engineering Winners and Finalists

Alice Springs Airport

Friso de Boer

Territory Growth Towns

Cat Projects

McArthur River Bridge

Alice Springs Airport

Sam McCarthy

Jaswant Deo

Kirsty McInnes

Engineering Excellence Award Winners Australian Solar Energy Award Winner

People in Engineering Award Winners

Highly Commended Award Winners

People in Engineering Finalists

Lyndon Frearson

President’s Award

Palmerston Boat Ramp

People in Engineering Highly Commended

Nerida Beard

People’s Choice Award

Tiger Brennan Drive Ext

All P

roje

cts

There’s more pho-tos on page 11. If you would like to obtain copies please bring in your USB and we’ll download them for you.

Friend

Page 10

Highlights from the 2011 Engineering Excellence Awards

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Friend

Study Engineering at Charles Darwin University and Welcome Back Alumni BBQ

CALLING ENGINEERING GRADUATES FROM CDU

On behalf of the Alumni Office

The School of Engineering and Information Technology invites you

to the

“Welcome Back

Alumni” BBQ

On Friday 30 September at 4.00pm

BBQ Area, Purple 12 Casuarina Campus

Come and pit your skills against the

engineering staff and current students.

Events include:

Tug of War

Trivia Challenge BBQ Design Competition

For catering purposes please RSVP

to [email protected]

If you are unable to attend and want to keep in touch to hear about future events please register your details at

http://www.cdu.edu.au/alumni/

Page 12

Friend

It is with great sadness that we remem-ber the passing of Geoff Miller. Geoff commenced work in the Northern Territory in the early 1970’s and worked as a design draftsman initially with consultants ,before joining the Common-wealth Department of Construction. He trans-

ferred to the NT Department of Transport And Works after self government in 1978. He worked for these Departments for 16 years. During this period, he was involved in the de-sign of several bridges across the Territory, and in the mid 1980’s he transferred to the role of project supervisor involv-ing oversighting bridge construction. In 1990, Geoff took up another challenge and moved to Indonesia as a consultant to a Japanese company , PCI, to work on the rehabilitation of the Ampera Bridge. Following this project, he developed a road maintenance manual and training program for the Indonesian Government. After five years in Indonesia, Geoff returned to Austral-ia, and established his own company – Territory Asset Man-agement Services (TAMS). The company focussed on traffic data acquisition and processing, and was successful in ob-taining NT Government contracts for collection and pro-cessing of all road traffic data. The company has held these contracts continuously and in recent years has built on that success and has won contracts from the Western Australian Government for traffic management. This success can be at-tributed to the professional approach and continuous innova-tion that Geoff brought to the task. During his working life, Geoff also continued his profes-sional development obtaining his Certificate of Engineering in the late 1970’s, and his Associate Diploma of Engineering in the early 1990’s. Geoff was a committed family man and leaves behind his wife of 31 years Gayle and children Belinda, Amanda and Ryan, and five grandchildren. Geoff’s tragic death has touched many people, and his professionalism and commitment to his chosen vocation, his love of family, zest for life, and generosity of spirit will be remember by his peers and friends.

Ken Grattan Formerly Department of Construction & Infrastructure

Geoff’s Indonesian Adventure In 1990 Geoff was offered a position as Construction Specialist/Resident Engineer with Pacific Consultants Interna-tional (PCI). PCI had a contract through the World Bank to manage the rehabilitation of the Ampera Bridge, over the river Musi in Palembang, South Sumatra The bridge was originally completed in 1965 and had a

centre lift span to allow shipping to pass underneath.

The rehabilitation work included some very technical aspects; - Fix the centre span so that it no longer had the ability to raise - Replacement of the concrete deck - Slab strengthening - Replacement of the Expansion Joints -Replacement of the wearing surface - Repair columns and Pedestals - Repair approach slabs - Replace railings and stairs All of the work had to be done whilst the bridge was still operational, adding a further degree of difficulty. Geoff relished in the task as Project Manager and earned the

respect of the Indonesian Government, his Japanese contacts,

and his peers.

The Ampera Bridge contract was completed in 21 months, during which time Geoff became fluent in discussing detailed technical ideas, in Indonesian, with his workmen on the bridge. In 1992 Geoff became Project Manager for the Road Mainte-nance Improvement Project for the Indonesian Ministry of Works. This project included; - Selection and distribution of Road Maintenance equipment to form 103 fleets in 26 Provinces of Indonesia - Domestic training of 1,471 trainees in those 26 Provinces Hold media demonstrations and campaigns - Develop Field Manuals to help Operational Managers to cope with machine operation and repair - Liaison with manufactures to promote quality control - Promote acceptance of Asphalt Cold Mix for Routine Mainte-nance - Installation of a computer based Maintenance Management Program continued page 10 Geoff worked on this project for an additional four years, in all spending six years in Indonesia. Geoff came back to Australia and started his own com-pany, Territory Asset Management Services (TAMS). Geoff’s Community Spirit and Sponsorships Geoff was a very generous and prolific sponsor. He started by sponsoring his son in go-karts when he raced with the Darwin Karting Association soon after returning from Indo-nesia.

Geoff with Ampera Bridge in the distance

In Memory - Geoff Miller OFIEAust 25.09.1953 - 26.06.2011

He was soon sponsoring his two nephews, as well, de-spite them being fierce competitors in the same class as his son. His motorsport sponsorship over the years include; Ryan Miller – Go-karts Matthew and Peter Miller – Go-karts Brenton Wade – Go-karts Leighton Crambrook – V8 Supercar driver Tony Knauth - ’99 Australian Superbike Championships Chase Carpenko – 2010 Australian Sprintcar Titles

This information was supplied by Geoff’s brother Rob Miller to Phil Piper

Supporter

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In Memory - Geoff Miller OFIEAust 25.09.1953 - 26.06.2011 cont….

Ampera Bridge

Do you have me on your hands and wish

to volunteer your me to encourage our

young people?

Sunchase 2011 will be held in

♦ Alice Springs on 16th September

♦ Darwin on 14th October

Sunchase 2011 will coincide

with the World Solar Car Challenge

To register your interest please visit

www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern/

events and click on Sunchase to register or

contact Keely Quinn by email on

[email protected]

Come on and do something for the

kids!

Australian Rainfall and Runoff Half Day Seminar

Wednesday, 21 September 2011 from 12:30pm

Members FOC Non-Members $20.00

AR&R has remained one of the most influential and widely used guidelines published by

Engineers Australia James E Ball will provide a workshop on various Research Projects and their status. He will also outline the philosophy behind the revision docu-ment and the likely changes in practice that will

result. To register visit www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern/events

Science Week - August 2011

Engineers Ignite Science Week The 2011 National Science Week was one of the biggest ever seen in the Northern Territory, with over 53 events held! As Australia’s Largest Festival, Engineers Australia was proud to sup-port scientists, researchers, engineers and teachers bringing the message of

innovation and education to the public. Events throughout the week include a free screening of HOME at the Darwin Deckchair Cinema, the Shell Questacon Science Circus, Fun Run performance, CSIRO ‘Talks under a Tree’ and nocturnal tours with expert guides. A CSIRO roadshow ‘Science on Trial’ travelled through Dar-win, Palmerston, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs, to let presenters explain ‘why my science is im-portant to you’. Engineers presented in every event, spread-ing the word about engineering and its importance to the community. In addition, Jurassic Science Week introduced

‘Augmented Reality Dinosaurs’ to 14 cities & towns

throughout Australia. Dinosaurs sprung up all over Darwin

& Alice Springs in places such as the Smith St & Todd Malls,

the Darwin Waterfront and Olive Pink Botanical Gardens. If

you missed them, that’s ok, as they will be hanging around

for a while, so get your smart phone out and start hunting!

Page 14

Research and Innovation Awards 2011 Gala Dinner

Page 15

Date/Time Host Event Venue/Cost/Registration

5th & 6th September 2:00pm and from 8:30am 6.09.11

Engineers Australia Articulation Seminar and individual appointments

Engineers Australia 14 Shepherd Street Darwin

16th September Engineers Australia Sunchase Alice Springs

16th September 7.30am

Engineers Australia/CELM Centre for Engineering Leadership and Management Breakfast Kenote Speaker Commodore Mark Sanders

Litchfield Room Holiday Inn Esplanade, Darwin $40.00 Members $50.00 non-members Registration: www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern/events

21st September 12:30 noon—5:00pm

Engineers Australia James Ball

James Ball, Australian Rainfall & Runoff Update

Engineers Australia 14 Shepherd Street Darwin Register online www.engineersaustralia.org.au

12th October 12 noon

Professor Eric Valentine Technical Presentation Engineers Australia 14 Shepherd Street Darwin

14th October Engineers Australia/World Solar Challenge

Sunchase in conjunction with World Solar Car Challenge

Royal Darwin Showgrounds

29th November Young Engineers Young Engineers Annual Meeting TBA

30th November Engineers Australia Annual Meeting Christmas Celebrations

Engineers Australia

9th September 6.30pm

Young Engineers Northern Divi-sion

Young Engineers GENX Dinner Kantillas Lounge, TIO Stadium, Mararra Register online www.engineersaustralia.org.au/northern/events.

More fun photos from the Excellence Awards 2011