The Engineers Australia SA Hall of Fame recognises the accomplishments of engineers in South Australia who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and have made a significant contribution to the local community.
Throughout 2018 the SA Division Committee had the opportunity, via its Awards Committee, to consider nominations for induction to the Hall of Fame. The 2018 inductees were announced at a celebratory event held earlier in December, which allowed guests to reflect on 2018 achievements whilst recognising the latest inductees.
A common theme amongst the three 2018 inductees is the selfless nature of the outcomes achieved, with the wider benefits for community and economy outweighing personal gain. All three inductees have demonstrated a strong sense of responsibility to others – for which the community has a lot to be grateful. Learn about the three inductees below.
Andrew Downing
Emeritus Professor Andrew Downing’s professional life has focused on biomedical engineering, education, research, disability, ageing and rehabilitation. His numerous honours include the 1985 Institution of Electrical Engineers Prize for Helping Disabled People, two 1995 Equal Opportunity Awards for Seniors-on-Line, a 2006 Staff Award for Outstanding Contribution to Flinders University, the 2009 Engineers Australia David Dewhurst Award, and the 2011 Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal – the most prestigious award conferred by Engineers Australia.
Working as the Foundation Professor of Engineering at Flinders University from 1992-2007, Andrew drove Work Integrated Learning and the development of students’ professional and communication skills before becoming Emeritus Professor of Engineering at Flinders in 2015.
The engineering purpose of serving people and building prosperity while preserving the planet has guided Andrew’s community engagement for over 45 years, with activities including utilising technology to enhance the wellbeing of older people and those living with disability, co-founding Technology for Ageing and Disability SA Inc and Seniors-on-Line, serving as a Board member of Novita Children’s Services (including 7 years as President), and taking on the roles of President of Tutti Arts Inc and public speaking coach for Rostrum.
Advancing the professionalism and inclusiveness of engineering, Andrew has been active in both the Electrical and Biomedical College Branches in SA, and served as the Division President for two years. He has directly assisted international accreditation and recognition of professional engineering courses on the College of Biomedical Engineers over 14 years, and has undertaken numerous profession and industry committee roles, including serving as a member of the National Committee on Rehabilitation Engineering and the National Women in Engineering Committee, and being chair of Engineering Education Australia for nine years. Andrew is an Honorary Fellow of Engineers Australia, and was National President in 2005.
Barry Grear AO
Barry Grear commenced his road to engineering as an apprentice in the South Australian Railways. Awarded a scholarship enabling him to study electrical engineering, he was then able to carry on electrical engineering responsibility for the Diesel Electric Locomotive Fleet.
Barry’s wider community responsibilities manifested in numerous ways. In the education sphere he delivered Electrical Engineering lecturing roles at the SA Institute of Technology, and later carried management responsibilities at the same Institute, and at TAFE. He became a member of the Australian Council on Awards in Advanced Education, and then the first Chief Executive of the National Training Board for the development of the Australian Training Framework. Beyond education, Barry was heavily involved in the management and distribution of public appeal funds following the 1983 Ash Wednesday Bushfires, and was awarded the Honour of Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for his work in bushfire recovery and associated community service. This led to Barry’s national responsibility for development of the Disaster Recovery Handbook.
From an industry perspective, Barry has held various office bearer roles locally and nationally for Engineers Australia, including National President and Chair of the National Engineering Registration Board. He was the first Australian to hold the honour of President of the World Federation of Engineering Organisations (WFEO), and continues his unabated work in this area as part of the International Advisory Committee for the World Engineers Conference 2019. He has held prominent roles as Chair of RedR Australia and Secretary of RedR International, as well as Chair positions on numerous government, semi-government, educational sports, church and industry committees.
An Honorary Fellow with Engineers Australia, Barry was also the recipient of the 2013 Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal.
In 2001 Barry’s services to the engineering profession, education, and services to community through sporting, church and emergency services organisations was recognised when he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Australia Day Honours.
Patrick Pak-Poy (1933 – 1988) – awarded posthumously
Patrick Pak-Poy was the founder of one of SA’s foremost engineering companies, which at the time of his untimely passing (aged only 54 years), had grown to be a national and international company with an outstanding reputation.
A graduate in civil engineering from the University of Adelaide, Patrick was one of the earliest graduates of the Masters of Engineering Science (Transportation and Traffic) from the University of New South Wales, where he also studied Town Planning. In 1987 he completed the Advanced Management Course at Harvard Business School. Patrick’s early professional years were spent in the SA Highways Department before founding P.G. Pak-Poy and Associates (later becoming Pak-Poy and Kneebone), which he led until 1988.
Patrick’s community and social involvement extended to being the founder of the Operations Research Society of Australia, later becoming a supervisor of the Australian Road Research Board in the development of computer simulation of traffic signals. He was a founding member of the Australian Institute of Urban Studies, later becoming Chair, and lectured on traffic and transportation engineering in Australia and the US before being recognised with Honorary Fellowship of that Institute. Patrick was a member of the Visiting Committee for the School of Traffic Engineering at UNSW, and a member of the Advisory Committee for the School of Architecture and Building at the South Australian Institute of Technology. He was also a frequent contributor to projects at Rostrevor College and personally championed new hockey field development at Gepps Cross.
Patrick was a sought contributor to advising government, being a member of the Federal Trade Development Council, Chair of its Trade in Services Group, participant in a number of state Ministerial advisory boards, and director-in-charge for the South Australia Tourist Industry Development Plan.
Under Patrick’s personal leadership, his company led or was involved with a number of major developments in South Australia, including the Adelaide Station and Environs, the O’Bahn Busway, the Adelaide Formula One Grand Prix and the Adelaide Casino.
A loyal South Australian, Patrick was also honoured with Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE).
Engineers Australia is grateful to David Cruickshanks-Boyd of WSP for contributing a considerable proportion of the information associated with Patrick Pak-Poy.
Image: Emeritus Professor Andrew Downing (Hall of Fame Inductee), Hon Trish White and Professor Ian Menz, Flinders University