newsletter

contacts

content

civil & environmental engineering

civil & environmental engineeringcivil & environmental engineeringpage

4

Generations of students fondly recalled Vallentine not just for his ‘tour de force’ lectures, but also for his continual challenging of them to open their minds to matters of history, culture and social justice. In his classic text, Water in the Service of Man, published by Penguin in 1967 he wrote: ‘The principle of universal compassion is the only hope for the preservation of our civilization. Technology is far more important to civilisation than many humanists are willing to admit, and it is to technology that the race must turn if the principles of universal brotherhood are to be applied eff ectively to alleviate the miseries of the unfortunate two-thirds of the world’s population’.

Rupert Vallentine was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 1978 – 1980, and was Pro-Vice-Chancellor from 1981 before his retirement in 1982.

In 2010 the School founded the Rupert Vallentine Research Fellowship Scheme in his honour, and to support emerging high quality School researchers whose work will contribute greatly to advancements in civil and environmental engineering.

Contributions of any amount are very welcome and are tax deductible in Australia. For further information please contactm.oconnell@unsw.edu.au

In 2010 the School’s Industry Advisory Committee and External Relations Committee embarked on two innovative joint ventures - a Year 10 bus tour to engineering sites and offi ces of interest, and a new UNSW School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Primary School Mathematics Prize.

The Year 10 bus tour on 21 – 25 June was promoted with assistance from the Vocational Training Division of NSW Department of Education and Training, and 30 Year 10 students visited sites of interest each day, returning to UNSW each afternoon to produce a 1 page report. Daily themes were: Water, wastewater and environment; Road, transport and underground; Structures and design; Coastal and port infrastructure; Construction and project management. Follow up surveys revealed the tour had a very positive impact. Careers advisors noted that the ‘overwhelming student response was positive’, that the program was well structured and organised, ‘fun, informative and challenging.’

The Primary Maths Prize was trialled at 20 Sydney Primary Schools, with prize presenters drawn from School staff and Industry supporters. Feedback was enthusiastic and appreciative.

Both processes had defi nitely raised the profi le of the profession, the School, and UNSW amongst school students.

History Matters

Vale Rupert Vallentine (1917 - 2010)

Newsletter Contents p1 Welcome & Overview from Head of School

Evans and Peck Chair for Transport Innovation

p2 ARC Grant Successes

p3 Staff Matters

p4 History Matters

Vale Rupert Vallentine

Schools Outreach

It seems unbelievable that another year (and my fourth as Head of School) has gone by. It has been a memorable year with record numbers of new undergraduates, coursework Masters students and PhD students. While the world-wide realisation that civil and environmental engineering is a fantastic, well-paid, challenging profession has helped, so too has the inspiration and perspiration of the wonderful group of staff who make up the School. From those who teach our large classes, to those who prepare laboratories, to those who provide essential core administrative support, I would like to thank you all for what has been a wonderful year for the School.

A few special mentions are in order - including congratulations to Professor Mark Bradford for his Laureate Fellowship and Professor Ashish Sharma for his award of a Future Fellowship. I would also like to thank Professors Ian Gilbert and Francis Tin Loi for their contribution to the School; both retired during the year but have been honoured with well-deserved emeritus status. I also wish to thank Dr Bruce Cathers, who retires at the end of this year, for his high quality teaching and supportive student mentoring. A special thanks must go to Donald MacLeod for his invaluable contribution as the longserving Chair of the School’s Industry Advisory Committee.

While it is a pleasure to honour those who have served the School so well, it is with some excitement that I look to the future and to new staff and new initiatives. In this regard, I am pleased to welcome structural engineers Dr Carolin Birk and Dr Ehab Hamed to the School. I would also like to thank management consultants Evans & Peck for their fi nancial support of the School enabling establishment of the Evans & Peck Chair of Transport Innovation.

I wish you and your families a restful, peaceful time over Christmas and New Year and look forward to new adventures in civil and environmental engineering through 2011.

The jazz played, the wine fl owed, Leighton Hall was fi lled with the happy sounds of reunion and recognition as the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering launched its History Book on Dec 2, celebrating over sixty years of hard work and great achievements.

As one of the eight foundation Schools of UNSW, the School can rightfully be proud of the role it has played in establishing UNSW in the forefront of Australian universities. It has done this through the eff orts, enthusiasm and dedication of generations of academic, professional and technical staff and thousands of hardworking students. The History is both a record and a celebration of their collective endeavour.

The School was the fi rst in the country to off er a postgraduate coursework masters, the fi rst to design a BE environmental engineering degree, and the fi rst to provide a BE Civil with Architecture degree program. Its publication and research fi rsts are just as impressive. Its high achieving alumni serve as leaders and innovators

within industry, business, government and academia, and its research contribution is nationally and internationally recognised as second to none.

Speakers at the launch included three illustrious alumni who shared their fond memories of the School - Emeritus Professor Bob Warner, (BE ’55, ME ’57), Dr Robert Care, CEO Arup Australasia and Chair of RedR, (BE ’73, PhD ’78), and A/Professor Mehreen Faruqi, (MEngSc ’94, PhD ’00).

As Robert Care declared, ‘The School has been, is, and will continue to be an excellent place to learn, to research, to fi nd a purpose and to enjoy oneself. I could say it is unique – of course it is. But more to the point it is ours, that’s why we are here! Ours to remember friends and colleagues, and to rejoice – the book will help us do that. Ours to cherish and infl uence for the better – there is plenty of opportunity for that. Ours to continue to help make a diff erence to our society, and our world.’

All School alumni are listed in the History. Copies of the History are available from the School for $65. Please contact Trisha Tesoriero at 9385 5549 or emailp.tesoriero@unsw.edu.au

The Evans and Peck Chair for Transport Innovation will lead the new Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (RCITI). The Chair has been made possible by the generous support of Evans & Peck, an international infrastructure-based advisory company, and a School Industry Partner.

The new Evans and Peck Professor for Transport Innovation is Dr Travis Waller, (pictured below) previously in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas. An expert in transport systems and planning, Professor Waller also has extensive grounding in the fi elds of electrical and industrial engineering making him an excellent fi t for the new cross-School Faculty Centre that he will lead when he takes up his position in May 2011.RCITI will investigate sustainable approaches to transport infrastructure and operations, with extensive liaison with industry and government.

The Centre will be based in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering which has championed the new Centre from the beginning. Other fi nancial supporters of the new Centre include NICTA and the Faculty of Engineering.

htt p://www.civeng.unsw.edu.au

School of Civil & Environmental EngineeringUNSW Sydney NSW 2052 Australia Phone: + 61 2 9385-5033 Fax: + 61 2 9385-6139Email: info@civeng.unsw.edu.au Newslett er informati on: m.oconnell@unsw.edu.au

for School staff, students, alumni,industry and community.

No.5 Dec 2010/Jan 2011

Dr Robert Care, CEO Arup, Dr Mary O’Connell, Historian, and Em Prof Bob Warner at the History Book Launch

Rupert Vallentine, a core member of the UNSW School of Civil and E n v i r o n m e n t a l E n g i n e e r i n g ’ s f o u n d i n g brotherhood, fi rst

director of the Water Research Laboratory in Manly Vale (1959 - 1962) and Head of School (1969 – 1974) passed away in September 2010.

Vallentine’s research interest lay specifi cally in fl uid mechanics and hydraulics, a subject which he taught with the utmost clarity and rigour, but his real passion was engineering education. Along with his visionary colleagues Stan Hall and Crawford Munro he was convinced of the necessity for postgraduate coursework to keep practising engineers up to date. He was also always a fi rm supporter of the humanities component of UNSW engineering degrees, believing that a BE was not just a ‘training in the techniques of analysis and design, but rather an education in the management of people and materials for the improvement of the environment of the community’.

Vallentine was also concerned with the lack of women in civil engineering. Parents, he said in 1967, needed to instil into their daughters the attitude of Annie Oakley. ‘Anything you can do, I can do better!’

Message from the Head of School Scientia Professor T. David Waite

Ian Macintyre, Principal & Rob Aldis, CEO of Evans & Peck, Prof Graham Davies, Dean of Engineering, Prof David Waite, Head of School.

Raising the profi le of the profession

Evans & Peck Transport Chair

civil & environmental engineeringcivil & environmental engineeringpage

2

newsletter

Dr Carolin Birk, previously a Marie Curie Fellow, and School Visiting Fellow will take up an academic position in Sept 2011. Carolin’s research interests comprise structural dynamics, numerical methods for wave propagation and diff usion, interaction problems including dynamic soil-structure interaction, dam-reservoir interaction, railway track-structure interaction, and engineering applications of the fractional calculus.

Tamara RouseCoordinator - Australian Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Settlements and Infrastructure. (ACCARNSI)

Dr Ehab Hamed, previously a Research Associate at the Centre for infrastructure Engineering and safety (CIES), has now joined the academic staff . Ehab’s research interests lie in the

developing area of lightweight construction materials, using advanced technology and composite materials to repair, preserve and strengthen existing concrete and masonry structures, including heritage buildings.

Mr Greg WorthingTechnical Offi cer Greg is based at Randwick Heavy Structures Lab, Tramshed, King St Campus.

Also welcome to Rudi Salleh Technical Offi cer - Electronics, replacing Mark Whelan who has moved to WRL

ARC Grant Winners 2011In the highly competitive ARC Discovery and Linkage programs, the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has once again been successful - securing three new Discovery grants, totalling in excess of $920,000 over three years, and two new Linkage grants of $830,000.

Welcome

In July 2010 Professor Mark Bradford - founder of the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering & Safety - was awarded an ARC

Laureate Fellowship, the fi rst ever in structural engineering and one of only 15 awarded nationally.

The aim of Professor Bradford’s project will be to develop a “green” sustainable composite steel-concrete building frame system that reduces greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life-cycle of building construction, usage and deconstruction.

Dr Hiyam al-Kilidar, engineering construction & management lecturer has left to take up a position as Senior Lecturer at UTS. We wish her the very best in her new role.

Retirements:Dr Bruce Cathers – an award winning teacher of hydraulics, water quality and estuarine and coastal engineering. Bruce had been with the Water Research Laboratory and the School since 1996.

CongratulationsA/Prof Ashish Sharma was promoted to Professor in November 2010, and was then awarded an ARC Futures Fellowship which are awarded to outstanding researchers working in areas of critical national importance.

Ashish’s work is in cutting edge hydro climatological research.

Professor David Waite has been awarded a prestigious UNSW Scientia Professorship which recognises his international eminence in research - in particular in physicochemical transformations of species in natural and engineered systems.

ARC Discovery Projects aim to expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability and foster the international competitiveness of Australian research. Details of the successful Discovery Projects are as follows:

Discovery Project 110103028 Time-dependent stiff ness of cracked reinforced concrete.

Prof Ian Gilbert, Dr Gianluca Ranzi (Total Value: $390,000)

This project will quantify the time-dependent change in stiff ness of cracked reinforced concrete and provide a clearer insight into the time-varying load sharing mechanisms at the concrete-reinforcement interface. Analytical models to simulate structural behaviour and reliable procedures for use in structural design will be developed.

Discovery Project 110102124Source - receptor analysis of lignin and lipid macromolecules in karst to quantify stalagmite biomarker proxies of vegetation and temperature change.

Prof Andrew Baker, Dr Stuart J Khan, Dr Alison Blyth (Total $320,000)

Cave stalagmites are archives of past climate and environmental changes. This project seeks to develop two novel biomarkers, lignin and bacterial membrane lipids, from which we will generate new records of historic and prehistoric vegetation and temperature change.

Discovery Project 110101176Bed shear stress on beach sediment and coastal structures under wave run-up.

Dr Chris Blenkinsopp, A/Prof Ian L Turner, A/Prof Tom E Baldock, Prof Hocine Oumeraci (Total $210,000)

The aim of this work is to obtain critical new information about the way waves interact with the coast and the damage they can cause to beaches and coastal protection structures. This new data will provide the basis for improved predictions of coastal erosion and better coastal engineering design in the face of sea-level rise and climate change.

ARC Linkage Grants are collaborative research grants which fund research on a matching basis with contribution of cash and in-kind support from industry to enable the application of advanced knowledge to current problems.

Successful School Linkage Projects are :

ARC Linkage Project 110100389 Erosion of embankment dams and dam spillways

Prof Robin Fell, A/Prof Chongmin Song, Dr William L Peirson, Dr Kurt J Douglas (Total: $480,000)

In excess of $250M is spent annually to maintain, upgrade, improve safety and monitor performance of Australian dams. Improved methods for assessing both spill-way and internal erosion, the cause of 50 per cent of embankment dam failures and incidents requiring repairs, will be devel-oped, maximising dam safety and minimis-ing maintenance expenditure.

This project will use several dams to re-search ways of predicting erosion of rock in unlined spillways and downstream of spillways such as at Burdekin Falls Dam (pictured).

Linkage Partners: Actew AGL, GHD Pty Ltd, Goulburn Murray Water, Melbourne Water Corporation, Murray-Darling Basin Author-ity, NSW Dam Safety Committee, NSW Public Works and Services, Snowy Moun-tains Engineering Corporation Australia Pty Ltd, SunWater Limited, Water Corporation of WA.

ARC Linkage Project 110100480 Exploiting natural processes to eff ective-ly remediate acidifi ed coastal environ-ments.

Dr Richard N Collins (Total: $350,000)

Working with local government, industry and communities, this project aims to identify how natural processes can best be manipulated to limit acid sulfate soil discharge in many Australian estuaries. The expected outcomes are systematic remediation of these areas and improve-ment in estuarine water quality.

Linkage Partners: New South Wales Cane Growers’ Association Inc., New South Wales Sugar Milling Co operative Limited, Tweed Shire Council.

School staff Professor Mark Bradford, Dr Rita Henderson and Professor Ian Gilbert are also involved as collaborators in a further 3 Linkage Grants to the value of over $1 million which are administered by other universities.

Staff Matters

ARC Grant Winners 2011

Back L-R: Bill Peirson, Stuart Khan, Chongmin Song, Chris Blenkinsopp

Front L -R: Ian Turner, Ian Gilbert, Rita Henderson.

Absent: Andy Baker, Mark Bradford, Richard

Collins, Kurt Douglas and Robin Fell.

Long serving Professors Ian Gilbert and Francis Tin-Loi retired in 2010. Ian Gilbert, a world expert on concrete structures, was Head of School from 1996 – 2005, the second longest serving Head after the founding HoS Crawford Munro. Francis Tin Loi - whose research interests lay in the analysis and design of steel structures - served in many School and Faculty positions. Both were granted Emeritus Professorships by UNSW- for their distinguished service not just in academic matters but also for their signifi cant contribution to the development of the University.

Farewell and Thank You

civil & environmental engineeringcivil & environmental engineeringpage

2

newsletter

Dr Carolin Birk, previously a Marie Curie Fellow, and School Visiting Fellow will take up an academic position in Sept 2011. Carolin’s research interests comprise structural dynamics, numerical methods for wave propagation and diff usion, interaction problems including dynamic soil-structure interaction, dam-reservoir interaction, railway track-structure interaction, and engineering applications of the fractional calculus.

Tamara RouseCoordinator - Australian Climate Change Adaptation Research Network for Settlements and Infrastructure. (ACCARNSI)

Dr Ehab Hamed, previously a Research Associate at the Centre for infrastructure Engineering and safety (CIES), has now joined the academic staff . Ehab’s research interests lie in the

developing area of lightweight construction materials, using advanced technology and composite materials to repair, preserve and strengthen existing concrete and masonry structures, including heritage buildings.

Mr Greg WorthingTechnical Offi cer Greg is based at Randwick Heavy Structures Lab, Tramshed, King St Campus.

Also welcome to Rudi Salleh Technical Offi cer - Electronics, replacing Mark Whelan who has moved to WRL

ARC Grant Winners 2011In the highly competitive ARC Discovery and Linkage programs, the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has once again been successful - securing three new Discovery grants, totalling in excess of $920,000 over three years, and two new Linkage grants of $830,000.

Welcome

In July 2010 Professor Mark Bradford - founder of the Centre for Infrastructure Engineering & Safety - was awarded an ARC

Laureate Fellowship, the fi rst ever in structural engineering and one of only 15 awarded nationally.

The aim of Professor Bradford’s project will be to develop a “green” sustainable composite steel-concrete building frame system that reduces greenhouse gas emissions throughout the life-cycle of building construction, usage and deconstruction.

Dr Hiyam al-Kilidar, engineering construction & management lecturer has left to take up a position as Senior Lecturer at UTS. We wish her the very best in her new role.

Retirements:Dr Bruce Cathers – an award winning teacher of hydraulics, water quality and estuarine and coastal engineering. Bruce had been with the Water Research Laboratory and the School since 1996.

CongratulationsA/Prof Ashish Sharma was promoted to Professor in November 2010, and was then awarded an ARC Futures Fellowship which are awarded to outstanding researchers working in areas of critical national importance.

Ashish’s work is in cutting edge hydro climatological research.

Professor David Waite has been awarded a prestigious UNSW Scientia Professorship which recognises his international eminence in research - in particular in physicochemical transformations of species in natural and engineered systems.

ARC Discovery Projects aim to expand Australia’s knowledge base and research capability and foster the international competitiveness of Australian research. Details of the successful Discovery Projects are as follows:

Discovery Project 110103028 Time-dependent stiff ness of cracked reinforced concrete.

Prof Ian Gilbert, Dr Gianluca Ranzi (Total Value: $390,000)

This project will quantify the time-dependent change in stiff ness of cracked reinforced concrete and provide a clearer insight into the time-varying load sharing mechanisms at the concrete-reinforcement interface. Analytical models to simulate structural behaviour and reliable procedures for use in structural design will be developed.

Discovery Project 110102124Source - receptor analysis of lignin and lipid macromolecules in karst to quantify stalagmite biomarker proxies of vegetation and temperature change.

Prof Andrew Baker, Dr Stuart J Khan, Dr Alison Blyth (Total $320,000)

Cave stalagmites are archives of past climate and environmental changes. This project seeks to develop two novel biomarkers, lignin and bacterial membrane lipids, from which we will generate new records of historic and prehistoric vegetation and temperature change.

Discovery Project 110101176Bed shear stress on beach sediment and coastal structures under wave run-up.

Dr Chris Blenkinsopp, A/Prof Ian L Turner, A/Prof Tom E Baldock, Prof Hocine Oumeraci (Total $210,000)

The aim of this work is to obtain critical new information about the way waves interact with the coast and the damage they can cause to beaches and coastal protection structures. This new data will provide the basis for improved predictions of coastal erosion and better coastal engineering design in the face of sea-level rise and climate change.

ARC Linkage Grants are collaborative research grants which fund research on a matching basis with contribution of cash and in-kind support from industry to enable the application of advanced knowledge to current problems.

Successful School Linkage Projects are :

ARC Linkage Project 110100389 Erosion of embankment dams and dam spillways

Prof Robin Fell, A/Prof Chongmin Song, Dr William L Peirson, Dr Kurt J Douglas (Total: $480,000)

In excess of $250M is spent annually to maintain, upgrade, improve safety and monitor performance of Australian dams. Improved methods for assessing both spill-way and internal erosion, the cause of 50 per cent of embankment dam failures and incidents requiring repairs, will be devel-oped, maximising dam safety and minimis-ing maintenance expenditure.

This project will use several dams to re-search ways of predicting erosion of rock in unlined spillways and downstream of spillways such as at Burdekin Falls Dam (pictured).

Linkage Partners: Actew AGL, GHD Pty Ltd, Goulburn Murray Water, Melbourne Water Corporation, Murray-Darling Basin Author-ity, NSW Dam Safety Committee, NSW Public Works and Services, Snowy Moun-tains Engineering Corporation Australia Pty Ltd, SunWater Limited, Water Corporation of WA.

ARC Linkage Project 110100480 Exploiting natural processes to eff ective-ly remediate acidifi ed coastal environ-ments.

Dr Richard N Collins (Total: $350,000)

Working with local government, industry and communities, this project aims to identify how natural processes can best be manipulated to limit acid sulfate soil discharge in many Australian estuaries. The expected outcomes are systematic remediation of these areas and improve-ment in estuarine water quality.

Linkage Partners: New South Wales Cane Growers’ Association Inc., New South Wales Sugar Milling Co operative Limited, Tweed Shire Council.

School staff Professor Mark Bradford, Dr Rita Henderson and Professor Ian Gilbert are also involved as collaborators in a further 3 Linkage Grants to the value of over $1 million which are administered by other universities.

Staff Matters

ARC Grant Winners 2011

Back L-R: Bill Peirson, Stuart Khan, Chongmin Song, Chris Blenkinsopp

Front L -R: Ian Turner, Ian Gilbert, Rita Henderson.

Absent: Andy Baker, Mark Bradford, Richard

Collins, Kurt Douglas and Robin Fell.

Long serving Professors Ian Gilbert and Francis Tin-Loi retired in 2010. Ian Gilbert, a world expert on concrete structures, was Head of School from 1996 – 2005, the second longest serving Head after the founding HoS Crawford Munro. Francis Tin Loi - whose research interests lay in the analysis and design of steel structures - served in many School and Faculty positions. Both were granted Emeritus Professorships by UNSW- for their distinguished service not just in academic matters but also for their signifi cant contribution to the development of the University.

Farewell and Thank You

newsletter

contacts

content

civil & environmental engineering

civil & environmental engineeringcivil & environmental engineeringpage

4

Generations of students fondly recalled Vallentine not just for his ‘tour de force’ lectures, but also for his continual challenging of them to open their minds to matters of history, culture and social justice. In his classic text, Water in the Service of Man, published by Penguin in 1967 he wrote: ‘The principle of universal compassion is the only hope for the preservation of our civilization. Technology is far more important to civilisation than many humanists are willing to admit, and it is to technology that the race must turn if the principles of universal brotherhood are to be applied eff ectively to alleviate the miseries of the unfortunate two-thirds of the world’s population’.

Rupert Vallentine was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Engineering from 1978 – 1980, and was Pro-Vice-Chancellor from 1981 before his retirement in 1982.

In 2010 the School founded the Rupert Vallentine Research Fellowship Scheme in his honour, and to support emerging high quality School researchers whose work will contribute greatly to advancements in civil and environmental engineering.

Contributions of any amount are very welcome and are tax deductible in Australia. For further information please contactm.oconnell@unsw.edu.au

In 2010 the School’s Industry Advisory Committee and External Relations Committee embarked on two innovative joint ventures - a Year 10 bus tour to engineering sites and offi ces of interest, and a new UNSW School of Civil and Environmental Engineering Primary School Mathematics Prize.

The Year 10 bus tour on 21 – 25 June was promoted with assistance from the Vocational Training Division of NSW Department of Education and Training, and 30 Year 10 students visited sites of interest each day, returning to UNSW each afternoon to produce a 1 page report. Daily themes were: Water, wastewater and environment; Road, transport and underground; Structures and design; Coastal and port infrastructure; Construction and project management. Follow up surveys revealed the tour had a very positive impact. Careers advisors noted that the ‘overwhelming student response was positive’, that the program was well structured and organised, ‘fun, informative and challenging.’

The Primary Maths Prize was trialled at 20 Sydney Primary Schools, with prize presenters drawn from School staff and Industry supporters. Feedback was enthusiastic and appreciative.

Both processes had defi nitely raised the profi le of the profession, the School, and UNSW amongst school students.

History Matters

Vale Rupert Vallentine (1917 - 2010)

Newsletter Contents p1 Welcome & Overview from Head of School

Evans and Peck Chair for Transport Innovation

p2 ARC Grant Successes

p3 Staff Matters

p4 History Matters

Vale Rupert Vallentine

Schools Outreach

It seems unbelievable that another year (and my fourth as Head of School) has gone by. It has been a memorable year with record numbers of new undergraduates, coursework Masters students and PhD students. While the world-wide realisation that civil and environmental engineering is a fantastic, well-paid, challenging profession has helped, so too has the inspiration and perspiration of the wonderful group of staff who make up the School. From those who teach our large classes, to those who prepare laboratories, to those who provide essential core administrative support, I would like to thank you all for what has been a wonderful year for the School.

A few special mentions are in order - including congratulations to Professor Mark Bradford for his Laureate Fellowship and Professor Ashish Sharma for his award of a Future Fellowship. I would also like to thank Professors Ian Gilbert and Francis Tin Loi for their contribution to the School; both retired during the year but have been honoured with well-deserved emeritus status. I also wish to thank Dr Bruce Cathers, who retires at the end of this year, for his high quality teaching and supportive student mentoring. A special thanks must go to Donald MacLeod for his invaluable contribution as the longserving Chair of the School’s Industry Advisory Committee.

While it is a pleasure to honour those who have served the School so well, it is with some excitement that I look to the future and to new staff and new initiatives. In this regard, I am pleased to welcome structural engineers Dr Carolin Birk and Dr Ehab Hamed to the School. I would also like to thank management consultants Evans & Peck for their fi nancial support of the School enabling establishment of the Evans & Peck Chair of Transport Innovation.

I wish you and your families a restful, peaceful time over Christmas and New Year and look forward to new adventures in civil and environmental engineering through 2011.

The jazz played, the wine fl owed, Leighton Hall was fi lled with the happy sounds of reunion and recognition as the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering launched its History Book on Dec 2, celebrating over sixty years of hard work and great achievements.

As one of the eight foundation Schools of UNSW, the School can rightfully be proud of the role it has played in establishing UNSW in the forefront of Australian universities. It has done this through the eff orts, enthusiasm and dedication of generations of academic, professional and technical staff and thousands of hardworking students. The History is both a record and a celebration of their collective endeavour.

The School was the fi rst in the country to off er a postgraduate coursework masters, the fi rst to design a BE environmental engineering degree, and the fi rst to provide a BE Civil with Architecture degree program. Its publication and research fi rsts are just as impressive. Its high achieving alumni serve as leaders and innovators

within industry, business, government and academia, and its research contribution is nationally and internationally recognised as second to none.

Speakers at the launch included three illustrious alumni who shared their fond memories of the School - Emeritus Professor Bob Warner, (BE ’55, ME ’57), Dr Robert Care, CEO Arup Australasia and Chair of RedR, (BE ’73, PhD ’78), and A/Professor Mehreen Faruqi, (MEngSc ’94, PhD ’00).

As Robert Care declared, ‘The School has been, is, and will continue to be an excellent place to learn, to research, to fi nd a purpose and to enjoy oneself. I could say it is unique – of course it is. But more to the point it is ours, that’s why we are here! Ours to remember friends and colleagues, and to rejoice – the book will help us do that. Ours to cherish and infl uence for the better – there is plenty of opportunity for that. Ours to continue to help make a diff erence to our society, and our world.’

All School alumni are listed in the History. Copies of the History are available from the School for $65. Please contact Trisha Tesoriero at 9385 5549 or emailp.tesoriero@unsw.edu.au

The Evans and Peck Chair for Transport Innovation will lead the new Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (RCITI). The Chair has been made possible by the generous support of Evans & Peck, an international infrastructure-based advisory company, and a School Industry Partner.

The new Evans and Peck Professor for Transport Innovation is Dr Travis Waller, (pictured below) previously in the Department of Civil Engineering at the University of Texas. An expert in transport systems and planning, Professor Waller also has extensive grounding in the fi elds of electrical and industrial engineering making him an excellent fi t for the new cross-School Faculty Centre that he will lead when he takes up his position in May 2011.RCITI will investigate sustainable approaches to transport infrastructure and operations, with extensive liaison with industry and government.

The Centre will be based in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering which has championed the new Centre from the beginning. Other fi nancial supporters of the new Centre include NICTA and the Faculty of Engineering.

htt p://www.civeng.unsw.edu.au

School of Civil & Environmental EngineeringUNSW Sydney NSW 2052 Australia Phone: + 61 2 9385-5033 Fax: + 61 2 9385-6139Email: info@civeng.unsw.edu.au Newslett er informati on: m.oconnell@unsw.edu.au

for School staff, students, alumni,industry and community.

No.5 Dec 2010/Jan 2011

Dr Robert Care, CEO Arup, Dr Mary O’Connell, Historian, and Em Prof Bob Warner at the History Book Launch

Rupert Vallentine, a core member of the UNSW School of Civil and E n v i r o n m e n t a l E n g i n e e r i n g ’ s f o u n d i n g brotherhood, fi rst

director of the Water Research Laboratory in Manly Vale (1959 - 1962) and Head of School (1969 – 1974) passed away in September 2010.

Vallentine’s research interest lay specifi cally in fl uid mechanics and hydraulics, a subject which he taught with the utmost clarity and rigour, but his real passion was engineering education. Along with his visionary colleagues Stan Hall and Crawford Munro he was convinced of the necessity for postgraduate coursework to keep practising engineers up to date. He was also always a fi rm supporter of the humanities component of UNSW engineering degrees, believing that a BE was not just a ‘training in the techniques of analysis and design, but rather an education in the management of people and materials for the improvement of the environment of the community’.

Vallentine was also concerned with the lack of women in civil engineering. Parents, he said in 1967, needed to instil into their daughters the attitude of Annie Oakley. ‘Anything you can do, I can do better!’

Message from the Head of School Scientia Professor T. David Waite

Ian Macintyre, Principal & Rob Aldis, CEO of Evans & Peck, Prof Graham Davies, Dean of Engineering, Prof David Waite, Head of School.

Raising the profi le of the profession

Evans & Peck Transport Chair