FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

DONOR IMPACT REPORT 2011–12

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Education has the power to transform individuals, build more prosperous, sustainable economies, and ultimately transform whole communities and nations. Indeed, it has been said that for every dollar invested in education, the long term value will be returned twentyfold or more.

This is why philanthropic support of education at the Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology matters – it makes a real difference in supporting increased opportunity and excellence.

The stories in this first Faculty Donor Report touch on some of the many wonderful outcomes that the generosity of alumni, friends, students and

“Having benefited from the

contributions of others before us,

each of us has a responsibility to

contribute as best we can for the

benefit of future generations. Put

simply, I want my grandchildren and

their children to have the opportunity

to gain the best possible education.”Des Whybird (BE Civil 1974) Recent Past Chairman and Chief Executive Officer – GHD

organisations have helped to bring about. As the Executive Dean, I’m proud to see a community of donors giving to create a better future where education is the springboard for future success.

As a Faculty we greatly value this support; all gifts matter, all gifts have an impact. As donors, your philanthropy is playing a vital part in helping to transform a good institution into a great one.

Thank you for your support.

Professor Graham Schaffer Executive Dean Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology The University of Queensland

Research has the power to change lives and transform communities. Yet the people who make breakthrough discoveries and develop new technologies that improve the economic and social health of society must rely on financial assistance to fund their work. The philanthropy of one Civil Engineering alumnus is helping to support and recognise the continuation of transformative research at the Faculty.

Gifts from John Hull (BE Civil 1969) and his wife Gay Hull (BA 1973) have assisted the Faculty in appointing three Postdoctoral Research Fellows. The work of these early career researchers looks at developing innovative and low cost nano-catalysts, generating higher value fuels from biodegradable organic compounds, and the influence of Scandinavian and Italian architecture upon Australian architecture and society.

The Hulls’ support also funded the Faculty’s annual Research, Innovation and Supervision Awards, which recognised and acknowledged outstanding academics in their fields.

For five decades, Gus Wiles has been the ‘go to’ person for students, staff and industry alike in the School of Chemical Engineering. To honour his impact on the School and the lives of countless young people, the R.J. ‘Gus’ Wiles Scholarship was created to inspire the next generation of engineering leaders.

To date, close to 100 ‘Chem Eng’ alumni have made a gift to support the scholarship; the goal is to raise $500k to endow two annual travel scholarships for talented, but financially disadvantaged,

researching a BETTER FUTURE

“ We rely on the support, not only from government and industry, but

also from alumni like John and Gay Hull. Such support is truly enabling.

It gives the supported staff freedom to pursue their passions and in

doing so, convert their exciting ideas and concepts to reality providing,

for example, society with a secure energy future.”

Professor Justin Cooper-White (Associate Dean – Research, EAIT Faculty)

uncovering a WORLD OF OPPORTUNITIES

“The School – and Gus in particular – has been touched by the support of

‘Chem Eng’ alumni. I’d like to thank everyone who has made a gift. You are

recognising the impact of Gus on the School through supporting his passion

for transforming the lives of talented but disadvantaged young people.”Professor Paul Lant (Head, School of Chemical Engineering)

students. Transformative experiences – such as international exchange at leading global engineering schools – have long been a passion of Gus’s.

Maddalena Gabrielli, a young woman from Townsville, is the first beneficiary. Currently studying in France, as part of the prestigious Ecoles Centrales exchange program in Paris, Maddalena is adjusting to her new life and benefiting from a whole new educational experience.

A mother’s passion that one’s financial means should not be a barrier to higher education has led to the creation of a Scholarship in her honour. Throughout the course of her life, Genevieve Greig was steadfast in the belief that a woman’s financial standing should not impact upon her decision to pursue a life-changing education.

Alumnus Dr Chris Greig (BE Chem 1982, ME 1984, PhD 1995) founded The Genevieve Greig Memorial Scholarship to celebrate and commemorate the life of his late wife, Genevieve, who sadly passed away in March 2011 after battling breast cancer. The Scholarship will support female students, who are facing educational disadvantage, to study Chemical Engineering and open up a world of opportunities which may otherwise have been beyond them.

Honouring their commitment to advancing excellence in the education of future engineers led professional services company GHD to support the development of UQ’s Advanced Engineering Building (AEB).

Funding construction of the AEB’s state-of-the-art auditorium with a gift of $2.5 million, the GHD family is literally changing the face of engineering education at UQ. As the centrepiece of the AEB, opening in 2013, the GHD Auditorium will provide engineering students with access to truly state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities.

The gift was established under the leadership of recently retired GHD Chairman, Des Whybird – himself a UQ alumnus (BE Civil 1974). UQ Alumni and GHD Directors John Baird (BE Civil 1976), Warren Traves (BE Civil 1986, MEngSc 1989) and Robert Knott (BE Electrical 1986) are continuing to champion the initiative at GHD, following the retirement of Des.

honouring a MOTHER’S PASSION

“Around the time of

Genevieve’s funeral, many

friends asked me to nominate a

charity to which they could

donate in her memory. It

caused me to think carefully

about what I personally could

do in her honour. In the end I

thought these scholarships

reflected her passion for female

education and advancement

and could provide an enduring

tribute to Genevieve.”Professor Chris Greig (Director, UQ Energy initiative)

“Australia has worked hard to put itself in a leading global

position in engineering. World-class education of our best and

brightest young engineers will continue to propel our nation

forward, which is why GHD is truly delighted to make this gift.”Warren Traves (BE Civil 1986, MEngSc 1989)

changing the face of ENGINEERING EDUCATION

Pursuing a great degree whilst living at a UQ college provides students with unparalleled experiences, instils lifelong values and an important sense of community. Alumni have helped to transform young people’s lives by supporting residential scholarships for engineering students at Emmanuel College and St John’s College.

These gifts are supporting students, who have experienced financial hardship, by allowing them to benefit from an exciting college life and all that it has to offer.

The Friend of Emmanuel College Scholarship provided vital support to an engineering student affected by the 2011 floods. Meanwhile Trisna Sudana has received the Johnian Engineering Residential Scholarship which provides a full scholarship for her to live at St John’s College during her studies.

“The journey I have travelled to

get to the point where I stand

today has certainly been rough.

I now possess a deep and genuine

gratitude for being awarded a

scholarship. To my donor may I

say your kindness

and generosity in the form of

this scholarship has been

overwhelming. I will honour the

gift with my utmost efforts in my

study and future career path.

I look forward to personally

being able to give help to other

students in the future.”

Trisna Sudana (Current Bachelor of Engineering Student)

At graduation time, most students are focused on their next career move, rather than thinking about the future of their alma mater and the next generation of students following in their footsteps. Not so the Engineering Class of 2011. Rather, they considered how they could leave a legacy for future UQ students as part of their graduation, and so came together to create the University’s inaugural graduating Class Gift.

Initiated by the graduating cohort of Hawken Scholars, the Class Gift will create a keynote engineering address, allowing current students to network with alumni and benefit from hearing industry leaders speak on a topic of shared interest.

Placing much greater emphasis on taking part rather than the amount given, students asked each other to make a gift of $20.11 (or variations of this figure), symbolising their graduation year. With the Executive Dean and other academic staff also giving, the final amount raised totalled $3909.37.

engineering a better future for THOSE THAT FOLLOW

a TRANSFORMATIVE PARTNERSHIP

“It’s a great way to say thank you to the

University for everything they have done for us.” Julie Hazzard (BE Mech 2011)

A recent gift, made by Bruce Wolfe, MD of Conrad Gargett Architecture, and his wife Jocelyn has created architectural education awareness programs to encourage talented indigenous students to pursue a degree and future career in the profession.

The gift embodies Bruce and Jocelyn’s passion that delivering real career pathways in the secondary and tertiary sector is crucial to facilitating personal, social, cultural and economic well-being for indigenous people in Australia.

Comprising a number of activities spread across three years, this gift will help the School of Architecture to develop educational tools to create architectural awareness with indigenous high school students. It will deliver an exciting program that exposes them to architecture and showcases all that a degree and future career in the profession can offer.

Alumni gifts can play a vital role in providing students with the chance to travel, attend conferences and further their educational experience.

A donation to the School of Information Technology and Electrical Engineering supported students to travel to Bangalore, India to take part in the renowned SAP TechEd Demo Jam – one of the most prestigious software conferences in the world.

It was the first year that a student project was showcased at the Demo Jam, and it gave UQ Master of Interaction Design students Tom Nelson, Mike Brand and David Harper the opportunity to showcase their innovative ‘Globemasters’ project on the international stage. Not only did this gift provide UQ students with an outstanding educational experience – they came home with the first prize!

a gift that SPANS THE GLOBE

“We were the first-ever

university project to be

accepted to this conference,

but we didn’t find out that we

had made it until after the due

date for other financial

assistance had passed.

Airfares were too expensive

for us to pay alone, but the

Faculty of EAIT came through

with help from a private donor.

We got to show our project to

the conference’s 10,000

attendees, won the

competition, and saw a

fascinating and unique part

of the world.”Tom Nelson (UQ Master of Interaction Design student)

“The School has a decades’ long commitment to Australian Indigenous culture

through the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre led by Professor Paul

Memmott. The Wolfes’ gift will assist us to connect Indigenous students with

the issues of the contemporary built environment and with the sophistication

of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander place culture and constructional craft.”

Professor John Macarthur (Dean, School of Architecture)

building from THE GROUND UP

The memory of a much-loved UQ figure who played a pivotal role in the history of the University lives on through a scholarship, which is helping to transform the lives of young engineering students facing disadvantage.

The Sir James Foots Scholarship was established in 2011 from a bequest made by Sir James – a former Chancellor of the University and a distinguished leader in the mining industry. His visionary bequest is supporting students who are experiencing financial hardship while they undertake the final three years of their Bachelor of Engineering program. This gift will help to nurture and support talented young people to achieve an engineering degree that will provide a platform for future career success.

passing on the VALUE OF EDUCATION

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is changing the world in which we live. What was impossible yesterday has the potential to revolutionise the way we live tomorrow.

Support from alumni and industry is helping UQ to attract more gifted students to pursue ICT degrees. It is also assisting the Faculty to “teach the teachers” – through providing high-school teacher programs which expose key student influencers to changing trends in technology.

Last year, support from Google made possible the CS4HS (Computer Science for High School) program which saw a residential professional development program for teachers take place at UQ. Teachers from remote areas were

“Dad never forgot the help he received from his extended family, nor

the advantage he received from the education gained with the help of the

university scholarship and bursary. His desire to help the disadvantaged

with his altruistic philanthropy continues even after his passing.”Merilyn Druve (Daughter of Sir James Foots AO)

supporting the FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY

supported to attend the program thanks to additional Google bursaries. The program is making a big difference in empowering high-school teachers to increase engagement amongst students regarding degrees – and careers – in ICT.

Meanwhile the ‘ICT Enabling Scholarship’ program has been supported by a number of Brisbane companies; it offers scholarship support to talented students pursuing an ICT degree. The result has been a significant increase in the number and quality of ICT degree applications, both reducing the significant educational costs on students and supporting UQ to fuel the increasing demand for gifted graduates.

Yassmin Abdel-Magied

Mark Baczynski

Scott Bolland*

John and Margaret Brannock*

Harold Brilliant*

Leah Bygraves

Carmela Camilleri

Alan Carmichael

Craig Clark

Simon Cleeton

Jemima Connolly

Jonathan Cosgrove

Beverly Coulter*

Neil Davey

John Dell*

Ian Dench

Tegan Denyer

Brett Dixon

Holly Duncan

Peter Dux

Henry Elliott

Lindsay Flint

Leslie Fodor

Jeffrey Foley

Estate of Sir James Foots AO*

Christopher Greig*

Alan Grummitt

Karen Hapgood

Matthew Hardin

Richard and E I Harvey

Douglas Hawkes

Julie Hazzard

Christopher Hertle

Katherine Hirschfeld*

Nicola Holmes

Dean Ilievski

Brian Imison

Inge Iosif

Julie Kayes

Paul Kenny

Graham Lacey

Joe Lane

Sarah Li

Austyn Luke

John MacArthur

Gerome Mangalus

Paul Massarotto*

David McCarthy

Jonathan McCray

David Mee

Will Messer

Jonathan Midgley

Cynthia Mitchell*

Karen Moy

Joan and Harry Murphy*

Pip Ochre

Damien O’Dea

Warwick and Nancy Olsen*

Hwee Ong

Joanna Oon

Ryan O’Sullivan

Steffanie Pernase

William Pheasant

Clemens Pratt

Alexandra Price

Rolf Prince*

Graeme Russell

Colin Sheldon

Clare Stephens

Paul Strooper

Jay Venning

Michael Whyte

Noel Williams*

Jonathan Wong

Robert Wood

Allyson Woodford Black

Grant Worner

Desmond and Sharon Whybird*

18 anonymous donors

THANK YOUThank you to all of our individual donors who made a gift or pledge to the Faculty in 2011 – all gifts matter and make a difference. Special thanks to the Faculty’s Chancellor’s Society members (those who give more than $1,000 or more in a calendar year – highlighted with an asterisk) whose support helps to deliver immediate and powerful change.

We are also indebted to the large number of our corporate friends who supported the Faculty in 2011. Occasionally we do get things wrong, so please let us know if we should make any amendments for future editions.

EVERYONE WILL LEAVE A LEGACY.BE REMEMBERED FOR YOUR PASSION.

Making a charitable gift in your Will ensures that what you have valued during your

lifetime will continue to grow and be cherished through the lives of others. A bequest

to UQ Engineering has the potential to transform the lives of future generations

through supporting a life-changing education and world-changing research.

CONTACT Jonathan Cosgrove, Director of Advancement

phone +61 7 3365 4302 email j.cosgrove@uq.edu.au

web www.alumni.uq.edu.au/bequests

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

advancement@eait.uq.edu.au