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The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering

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The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering is an Australian engineering and science policy think-tank, established in 1983 and named for Australia's first engineering lecturer.[1] The Sydney-based centre describes itself as an Australian independent think-tank on transformative engineering issues.[2]

The Warren Centre is known for its annual Innovation Lectures and Innovation Hero Awards, which celebrate important figures in Australian innovation.[3] It is involved in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) education policy and ongoing programs across different branches of engineering.[4]

History

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The Warren Centre was founded in 1983, marking the centenary of Australia’s first university engineering lecture delivered by William Henry Warren at the University of Sydney in 1883.[5]

There were 20 founding members of the Centre, including six Professors of the Engineering Faculty and engineers from various industry backgrounds.[6] The Centre raised an initial $2 million (AUD) endowment from a range of major Australian engineering companies and private donors. Its founding aim was to "foster engineering excellence around Australia to create wealth".[1]

Over the following 30 years, The Warren Centre has implemented several programs related to Australian engineering, including Winning By Design, Fire Safety & Engineering,[7] Underground Space, Sustainable Transport in Sustainable Cities,[8] and Low Energy High Rise,[9] which focused on influencing the way the industry considered aspects of engineering process consequences.

Since 1996, The Warren Centre has hosted an annual Innovation Lecture presented by an Australian scientist or engineer. The speaker comments on their achievements, with past guests discussing topics such as Cochlear Ltd., Google Maps, Maptek and the Virgin Galactic space program.[10]

The Warren Centre was an ASIC registered controlled entity until 2020, after which it was transitioned back to the University of Queensland Faculty of Engineering[11].

The Warren Centre used to fund a Chair in Engineering Innovation at the University of Sydney. Professor Andy Dong held this position in 2012 but has since moved to Oregon State University, and the chair was since discontinued.[12][13]

Current work

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Current projects at The Warren Centre include off-grid power solutions such as small modular nuclear reactors,[14] construction performance, quality and waste reduction, and urban reform.[15]

The Warren Centre’s STEM education work is focused on influencing federal and state governments to change Australia’s education of the STEM fields.[16] It also includes working with undergraduate and graduate students at Australian universities to commercialise innovative projects, such as the parcel delivery drone service. [17]

In its public policy work, the Warren Centre is an advocate of engineering leadership and commercialisation,[18] as well as supporting redesigns in public transport and urban structures,[19][20] with a specific focus on renewable energy.[21]

Innovation lectures

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The Warren Centre's annual Innovation Lecture program has been running since 1996 with the first presenter, John Bertrand, with other speakers including BHP's Jerry Ellis, Cochlear's Catherine Livingstone, Aimtek's Don Fry, Google's Dr. Lars Rasmussen, professor Hugh F. Durrant-Whyte,[22] Maptek's Dr Bob Johnson, Australian Chief Defence Scientist Dr. Alex Zelinsky,[23] and Virgin Galactic's The Spaceship Company Director of Operations Enrico Palermo.[24]

The annual lecture series occurs on several dates across Australia's major cities. The lecture series is tied in with The Warren Centre's annual Innovation Hero Awards, which attempt to showcase prominent Australian innovators.[25] 2013's Innovation Hero Award winners were Michael Hammer, Philip Wilson and Hugh Stevenson from Agilent Technologies, who developed the Agilent 4100 series microwave plasma atomic emission spectrometer.[26]

Advisory Board of Directors

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  • Mr Chris Vonwiller (Chair)
  • Professor Willy Zwaenepoel (Ex-Officio Director)
  • Mr Chris Janssen, GPC Electronics Pty Ltd
  • Dr John Lear, JBL Consulting
  • Ms Fiona Mahony, Telstra[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b "History of Faculty Centres - Engineering & IT - The University of Sydney". Sydney.edu.au. 2014-08-19. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  2. ^ "The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering - Google". Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  3. ^ "Meet the Australian engineer behind private space travel - UniSA news releases - University of South Australia". Unisa.edu.au. 2015-01-01. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  4. ^ "Pushing the Engineering Envelope : 25 Years of Warren centre Achievement (1983-2008)" (PDF). Thewarrencentre.org.au. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  5. ^ Corbett, Arthur (1926-01-09). "Warren, William Henry (1852–1926)". Biography - William Henry Warren - Australian Dictionary of Biography. Adb.anu.edu.au. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  6. ^ "The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering | History | The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering". Thewarrencentre.org.au. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  7. ^ Cox, G.; Langford, B. (2006-02-27). Fire Safety Science - Google Books. ISBN 9781135378516. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  8. ^ "The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering makes this submission to the Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage's Inquiry into Sustainable Cities" (PDF). Aph.gov.au. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  9. ^ "Adopt non-technical building management strategies | eex.gov.au Energy Efficiency Exchange". Eex.gov.au. 2012-11-08. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  10. ^ "Cutting-edge Australian engineering & technology | Annual Innovation Lectures | The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering". Thewarrencentre.org.au. 2015-02-10. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  11. ^ a b "The Warren Centre". The University of Sydney. Retrieved 2024-10-21.
  12. ^ "Professor Andy Dong - The University of Sydney". Sydney.edu.au. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  13. ^ "Andy Dong | College of Engineering | Oregon State University". engineering.oregonstate.edu. 2022-10-18. Retrieved 2024-10-16.
  14. ^ "Mini reactors can power remote mines, experts say — Australian Journal of Mining". Theajmonline.com.au. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  15. ^ "Major Project Development Assessment Processes" (PDF). www.pc.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 12, 2014. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  16. ^ "Why the next Zuckerberg won't be Australian". Afr.com. Archived from the original on 2015-04-03. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  17. ^ Adam Bender (2013-10-15). "Drones to deliver parcels in Australia starting in March". Techworld. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  18. ^ "What Defines Australia's Most Influential Engineers?". Sourceable.net. 2014-07-30. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  19. ^ "The road to nowhere fast - National". www.smh.com.au. 2005-01-10. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  20. ^ Garry Glazebrook (7 October 2012). "With Broad and Greiner driving us, chaos is just around the corner". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  21. ^ "Australia should invest A$60bn in renewable energy". Renewable Energy Focus. 2010-04-08. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  22. ^ "Australian Innovation: The Warren Centre Innovation Lecture and Awards". Ausinnovation.org. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  23. ^ "The Warren Centre Innovation Lecture 2013 - Canberra". Engineers Australia. 2013-08-28. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  24. ^ "Australian engineer bucks the trend and leads the world". Aviation Business. 2014-09-01. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  25. ^ "The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering | Innovation Hero Awards | The Warren Centre for Advanced Engineering". Thewarrencentre.org.au. 2015-02-24. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
  26. ^ "4100 MP-AES (Discontinued) | Agilent". Chem.agilent.com. 2014-01-01. Retrieved 2015-03-05.
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