2024
Dr Ian Oppermann Appointments
Congratulations to Dr Ian Opperman on his appointment as the Federal Government's Data Standards Chair for Digital ID and Consumer Data Right. Ian is Chair of our Australia 4.0 Committee and our 2024 Pearcey Orator.
2024 National Awards Gala
An evening of celebration and recognition, the Pearcey National Awards Gala incorporated the Queensland Entrepreneur Award, the National Entrepreneur Award, the Pearcey Hall of Fame and the Pearcey Medal. These most prestigious awards recognise outstanding Australians in the ICT sector for their entrepreneurial spirit, achievements and lifetime commitment to the betterment of our society through technology enabled change.
2024 Pearcey Hall of Fame
Professor Svetha Venkatesh, Professor Andrew Dzurak and Jan Kornweibel were inducted into the 2024 Pearcey Hall of Fame at the Pearcey National Awards night on 19 November 2024 in Brisbane. The presentations were made by David Tudehope (2023 Pearcey Medallist) and the Honourable Kate Lundy (2017 Pearcey Hall of Fame inductee).
2024 Pearcey Entrepreneur Award
The 2024 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Ian Croser AM and David Gaul, founders of CEA Technologies. The presentation was made by Emeritus Professor Roy Green AM at the Pearcey Foundation National Event on 19 November 2024 in Brisbane.
2024 Pearcey Medal
The prestigious 2024 Pearcey Medal was awarded to Professor Svetha Venkatesh at the Pearcey Foundation's National Event in Brisbane on 19 November 2024. The event also celebrated the 75th anniversary of Australia's first computer, CSIRAC, running its first software program in November 1949.
2024 Qld Award
The Queensland Pearcey Entrepreneur for 2024 was presented to Andrew Bate, co-founder and CEO of Swarm Farm Robotics. The presentation was part of the Pearcey Foundation's National Event Gala Dinner on Tuesday 19th November 2024 in Brisbane.
Biography - Trevor Pearcey
Mrs Barbara Ainsworth, Curator of the Monash Museum of Computing History has published a new biography of Dr Trevor
Pearcey, Dean of the School of Computing and Information Systems (1980-1984).
2024 NSW Award
At a special Pearcey Foundation awards night in Sydney on Thursday 7 November 2024, Prof Michael J. Biercuk PhD, CEO and founder of Q-CTRL, was announced as the recipient of the 2024 NSW Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Professor Biercuk is a global science and technology innovator building the greenfield quantum technology industry.
Pearcey Award Recipient on TV
Chris Piastri, recipient of the 2024 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award is interviewed by 9News about his Pearcey award and the work he has done to receive this prestigious recognition.
2024 ACT Award
The founders of CEA Technologies, Ian Croser and David Gaul, were the recipients of the 2024 ACT Chief Minister’s Pearcey Award. The award was presented at a special Pearcey event in Canberra on the 25th of September 2024 by the ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr.
2024 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award
The 2024 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award presented to Chris Piastri, co-founder and CTO of HP Tuners. Award was presented at a special dinner in Melbourne, by Professor Eduard Hovy, Executive Director of Melbourne Connect at the University of Melbourne. This was the flagship event of the Melbourne Connect Innovation Week.
2024 Pearcey Oration
The 2024 pearcey Oration Taking the Tiger by the Tail – a digital future for Australia that works for us all! was delivered by Dr Ian Oppermann on Wednesday September 4th 2024. Dr Oppermann looked through the digital and data lens to delve into challenges, issues and opportunities for equity, AI, privacy, cybersecurity, standards and collaboration.
Musica ex Machina
Musica ex Machina: Machines Thinking Musically is an exhibition at EPFL Pavilions in Lausanne, Switzerland, that explores the intersections of algorithmic and computational thinking in music. The exhibition highlights the evolution of these concepts from historical to contemporary contexts, showcasing how technological advances have expanded musical possibilities. A significant part of the exhibition is dedicated to CSIRAC, the first computer to play music, featuring its pioneering role in the history of computer music. CSIRAC's contributions are illustrated through historical documentation and audiovisual installations. More details about the exhibition and its themes can be found here . Details about the associated symposium are here
2024 WA Award
Peter van der Made, founder and CTO of Brainchip Inc was announced as the 2024 WA Pearcey Entrepreneur Awardee at the 33rd WAITTA Incite Awards in Perth on 19th July 2024.
Australia 4.0 Communiqué
Australia 4.0 Communiqué examines the challenges and opportunities for Australian energy networks as the nation transitions to a net zero economy.
Australia 4.0 is a Pearcey Foundation
initiative to spark collaboration between the energy and ICT sectors to help Australia move towards a net zero energy system.
Read the official
media release.
VIP Launch - Australia 4.0 Communiqué
The Honourable Ed Husic MP, Minister for Industry and Science will launch the Australia 4.0 Communiqué which
outlines five pilot projects to accelerate the progress towards the ultimate goal of a net-zero energy system for Australia.
Australia 4.0 is an initiative of the Pearcey Foundation to help our nation move towards a net zero energy system by enabling the innovative contributions of the ICT sector in collaboration with the energy sector. Over 100 discrete business and regulatory challenges identified, were synthesised into to 10 key challenges
with three overarching themes.
Jeff Whittle Obituary
Jeff Whittle AO FACS passed away on 5th February 2024 at the age of 93. His legacy is profound and not only in IT. He was
made an Officer (AO) of the general division of the Order of Australia for "Distinguished service to the information technology sector and
the mining industry, particularly through the development of industry standard computer programs for strategic mine planning and
optimisation”.
Jordan Green Awarded AM
The Pearcey Foundation's own Board member and Secretary, Jordan Green, was awarded an AM in the Australia Day 2024 Honours List. Jordan was recognised for his significant service to business, particularly through Angel investing, and to professional associations.