Electrical engineers recognised
Dr Trevor Bird has been awarded the 2012 M A Sargent Medal, jointly awarded by the Electrical and ITEE Colleges of Engineers Australia.
The medal is awarded in honour of Dr Michael Anthony Sargent, an outstanding Australian electrical engineer and past president of Engineers Australia, recognise a highly significant contribution to the science or practice of electrical engineering.
This year’s medal recognises Dr Bird’s expertise is in antennas and microwave systems for satellite communications as well as wireless and radio telescope systems. He holds several patents in this area and has won a number of awards along the way.
Last year Dr Bird received a lifetime achievement medal from the CSIRO, coinciding with his retirement from the position of chief scientist at the CSIRO ICT Centre. He is currently an adjunct professor at Macquarie University, Sydney.
The Electrical College has also announced Dr Robert Barr as the 2012 Professional Electrical Engineer of the Year. Barr operates his own consulting company Electric Power Consulting, which offers specialised electrical services to distribution and transmission companies across Australia and overseas and other large electric energy users. He is also an experienced energy auditor.
He is currently the national president of the Electric Energy Society of Australia, which is a technical society of Engineers Australia.
Both awards will be presented at the Electrical College's annual national awards dinner function, to be held in Sydney on Friday 1 June.