Australian manufacturing, climate change and nuclear energy will be some of the key topics when engineers descend on Melbourne for Convention 2014.

The conference is being plugged as the largest engineering event ever held in the Southern Hemisphere, and organisers at the peak professional body, Engineers Australia, says the superstars of the engineering and science will be on site.

Speakers will include retired NASA Astronauts, Colonel Chris Hadfield and Dr Andrew Thomas, International Space Station Operator and Operations Engineer, Andrea Boyd and Nobel Prize winner Rajendra K. Pachauri.

“Delegates attending Convention 2014 will hear from the world’s leading thinkers in science, technology, engineering and math. People who are at the top of their profession, inspiring and challenging the way we live, work and interact,” Engineers Australia CEO Stephen Durkin said.

Convention 2014 is on from November 24 to 28.

It is comprised of six smaller conferences covering defence, applied mechanics, climate change, complex projects, telecommunications and leadership.

Former Prime Minister John Howard and his former deputy PM Tim Fischer will discuss how past decision have engineered our future in a leadership conference moderated by journalist and 2013 Australian of the Year, Ita Buttrose.

“Engineering has such a wide impact on society and that is reflected in the range of speakers at the event. The program includes keynote addresses from astronauts, politicians, humanitarians, scientists and leading engineers from Google, Siemens and BAE Systems,” Mr Durkin said.

More information is available at the official Convention 2014 site.