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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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: 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
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.
The 2023 Pearcey Oration, The Quantum Revolution: Australia leads the world into the new age of computing – again!!, was presented by Professor Michelle Simmons AO, on Wednesday 6 September 2023. Professor Simmons gave a passionate and exciting insight into the opportunity for Australia to once again be at the global forefront in manufacturing advanced technology computers.
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.
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 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”.
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.
Professor Ariel Liebman was a key supporter of Australia 4.0. He worked at the intersection of ICT and the future renewable grid. Ariel was going to moderate one of the Australia 4.0 sessions but, since he was to be overseas at the time, he arranged for other colleagues to assist. Sadly, Ariel passed away after a brief illness on November 9th 2023 and will be sorely missed by his family, friends and colleagues.
The 2023 Tasmanian Pearcey State Entrepreneurship Award was presented to Damian Ivereigh, founder and Chief Network Architect of Tasmania-based ISP Launtel. The presentation was made by Tasmanian Minister for Small Business and Science and Technology, the Hon Madeleine Ogilvie at the TasICT Conference Gala Dinner tonight at the C3 Convention Centre in Hobart on the evening of Friday 10th November.
On October 31st in Sydney the Pearcey Foundation celebrated its jubilee year and presented its national awards. This included the Pearcey Medal awarded to Aidan and David Tudehope, co-founders of Macquarie Technology Group and Pearcey Fame inductees, Richard White, Founder and CEO of Wisetech Global, and Professor Jean Armstrong, engineer, inventor, teacher and researcher. The Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award recipient was Didier Elzinga, Founder and CEO of CultureAmp.
The 2023 Pearcey National Entrepreneur Award was presented to Didier Elzinga founder and CEO of Culture Amp, by Rick Harvey, National Awards Director of the Pearcey Foundation at the prestigious 2023 Pearcey National Awards gala dinner, in Sydney.
The Pearcey Foundation announced that Richard White and Professor Jean Armstrong were elevated
to the Pearcey Hall of Fame. The presentations were made at the 2023 Pearcey National Awards gala dinner on Monday 30 October 2023
in Sydney.
The Pearcey Hall of Fame is an individual award that recognises a distinguished lifetime of achievement and contribution to the
development and growth of the Australian ICT industry.
The Pearcey Medal, the most prestigious annual individual award in the Australian ICT industry, in its 25th year, was awarded to brothers, Aidan and David Tudehope. David and Aiden founded Macquarie Technology Group in 1992 and have guided their company to become a fully integrated carrier, supplying voice, mobile, data networks & managed hosting solutions to business & government users in Australia & Asia.
Brisbane, Australia – 18 October 2023 – The Pearcey Foundation today announced Yas Grigaliunas, founder and chief evangelist of Circonomy, as the recipient of the 2023 Queensland ICT Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The Pearcey Foundation also gave a highly commended award to Geoff Augutis.
At a special Pearcey Foundation roundtable event, Marcus Dawe was awarded the ACT Chief Minister’s Pearcey Entrepreneur Award by the ACT Chief Minister, Andrew Barr. Marcus is CEO of MCi Carbon, a clean energy scale-up that started in Canberra 17 years ago. Marcus has mentored many rising entrepreneurs over last 10 years. This year, the Pearcey Foundation is pleased to announce him as the 2023 ACT Chief Minister’s Pearcey Entrepreneur for his involvement in MCi Carbon.
25 years ago, the Foundation launched on its mission to celebrate, support and encourage Australians who engage in, and excel at, the
invention, development and use of information, communication and computing technologies (ICT) for the betterment of our society.
Building on the work of Dr Trevor Pearcey and his invention of the first digital computer in Australia, which put us at the global forefront
of the digital age, we have recognised outstanding Australians:
161 Pearcey Entrepreneur Awards
62 Pearcey Hall of Famers
24 Pearcey Medals
Peer-selection is the hallmark of the Pearcey awards. Selected by past award recipients, this is the community recognising the significant achievements of its peers.
A half-day gathering to review the findings from our seven national discussions. The Australia 4.0 discussion series and summit
are designed to open the door to substantial innovation and business opportunities throughout the Australian ICT sector.
These activities explore the profound changes required of the Australian electricity system to realise a Net Zero Australia. This outcome
demands significant collaboration between the energy and ICT sectors.
The Australia 4.0 Summit is intended to include diverse perspectives, across key stakeholders, exploring the opportunities
for the Australian ICT sector to contribute to the transition to Net Zero of the Australian electricity system.
The 2023 Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year award for NSW was presented to Emma Weston, co-founder and CEO of AgriDigital, on 4 October at ASX. The award was presented by Wayne Fitzsimmons, OAM. Under Emma's leadership, AgriDigital has become a pioneering force in digitalising global agricultural supply chains, connecting farmers directly to consumers.
Ada Lovelace Day honours all the innovative women in STEM, commemorating their ingenuity that has changed the course of
history.
Proudly sponsored by the Pearcey Foundation.
The Monash University Faculty of IT is exploring the role of Australian women in early digital computing – and the opportunities in the
future. Join us for insightful speeches, a thought-provoking panel discussion and networking over a light lunch in our celebration ‘Australian
women in IT yesterday, today and tomorrow’
which will be opened by Professor Ann Nicholson, the first female Dean of our faculty. It will then venture into the life of Ada
Lovelace and how women can carry on her legacy of impact today and tomorrow.
The 2023 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award presented to Didier Elzinga, founder and CEO of Culture Amp. Award was presented at a special dinner in Melbourne, by the Honourable Ben Carroll MP, Minister for Industry & Innovation, State Government of Victoria. A flagship event of the Victorian Digital Innovation Festival and of the Melbourne Connect Innovation Week
In 1955, the first digital computer arrived in Australia in Melbourne, called CSIRAC. It is the world's oldest surviving first-generation
electronic computer and the first computer to produce digital music.
Our guest was the former Head of the Dept of Computer Science at the Uni of Melbourne and explains how CSIRAC led to the rapid adoption of
computing at the university and fostered the discipline.
Guest: Dr Peter Thorne, former Head of the Department of Computer Science, University of Melbourne, Chair, Heritage
Committee, The Pearcey Foundation.
Broadcast 3 Sep 2023
The 2023 WA Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Pia Turcinov AM, Director FundWA, at the 32nd WAITTA Incite Awards, Westin Perth, Friday 11 August 2023.
Many of us recall Harry as the crusty but jovial former head of TRL – Telecom Research Labs, for many years. His passing on 31 July at age 93 marks the end of an era when Telecom Australia dominated all aspects of Telecommunications in Australia.
Max was a graduate of the University of Melbourne and spent four years at Weapons Research Establishment in Salisbury (South Australia) before returning to Melbourne to start Digital Equipment’s Australian operations in 1967. Max was pioneer in the recognition and retention of our computing heritage and an authority on early Australian-made computers.
Australia 4.0 is a Pearcey Foundation thought leadership initiative to identify and discuss the challenges and opportunities of a digital and data enabled transformation of the electricity sector to Australia Net Zero.
One of Australia’s outstanding ICT pioneers, Brian Finn passed this week.
John de Margheriti awarded the 2022 Pearcey Medal; Len Rust and Bevan Slattery inducted into the Pearcey Hall of Fame; Dr Mark Englund receives National Entrepreneur Award
The Pearcey Foundation today announced Andrew Davies, founder and CEO of Taz Drone Solutions, as the recipient of the 2022 Tasmanian Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The Tasmanian Pearcey Entrepreneur for 2022 was presented to Andrew Davies, founder and CEO of Taz Drone Solutions, by Hon Madeleine Ogilvie MP, Minister for Science and Technology. The presentation was part of the Pearcey Foundation's National Event at the TasICT Conference Gala Dinner on the evening of Friday November 11th at the C3 Convention Center in Hobart.
The Pearcey Foundation today announced co-founder and CEO of Fleet Space Technologies, Flavia Tata Nardini, as the recipient of the 2022 South Australian Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The 2022 SA Pearcey Entrepreneur was presented to Flavia Tata Nadini, CEO and Co-Founder, Fleet Space Technologies. The presentation was made by Mohann Koo at a special event at the Stone and Chalk Startup and Scaleup Hub.
The 2022 NSW Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Dr. Mark Englund of FiberSense, by David Thodey, AO, on October 31 at the Sydney Startup Hub. Founded in 2015, FiberSense provides SONAR like sensing capabilities over optical fiber telecoms cables, providing awareness of objects and events near the fibre cable infrastructure. The service is being taken up by the world’s most valuable companies including Amazon, Google and Meta..
The Pearcey Foundation today announced founder and CEO of FiberSense, Dr Mark Englund, as the recipient of the 2022 NSW Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The 2022 Queensland Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented jointly to Rebecca McDonald, founder and CEO of Library for All, and Sarah-Jane Peterschlingmann, managing director and owner of ATech. The awards were presented in Brisbane by Jill Martin, Director of Start Up & Scale Up Programs, Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport at an event hosted by Monica Bradley.
The Pearcey Foundation today announced Rebecca McDonald, founder and CEO of Library for All, and Sarah-Jane Peterschlingmann, managing director and owner of ATech, as joint recipients of the 2022 Queensland ICT Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
The Pearcey Foundation today announced Ben Bromhead and Adam Zegelin (the technical inspiration behind Instaclustr) as this year’s recipients of the ACT Chief Minister’s Pearcey Entrepreneur Award.
At a special Round Table event, the Chief Minister, with former Senator Kate Lundy announced the winners of the ACT Chief Minister Pearcey Award were Adam Zegelin and Ben Bromhead, the technical inspiration behind Instaclustr. Instaclustr helps organisations deliver applications at scale by operating and supporting their data infrastructure through its SaaS platform for open source technologies.
The 2022 Pearcey Oration, "From Pearcey to Quantum", was given by the Honourable Ed Husic MP, Federal Minister for Industry and Science in Melbourne on Wednesday, 21 September 2022. Ed Husic gave a passionate Australian perspective of digital technologies past, present and future.
The Pearcey Foundation today announced Jason Lohrey, founder and CEO of Arcitecta, as the recipient of the 2022 Pearcey Victorian Entrepreneur Award. The award was presented at an event in Melbourne that also featured the 2022 Pearcey Oration, which was given by The Honourable Ed Husic MP, Federal Minister for Industry and Science.
The 2022 Victorian Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Jason Lohrey, founder and CEO/CTO of Arcitecta. The award was presented at a special dinner in Melbourne by Kathy Coultas, Director of Technology & Innovation, Department of Economic Development, State Government of Victoria.
Please join us for the presentation of 2022 NSW Technology Entrepreneur of the Year to be held at 5pm on 31 Oct 2022 at at the Sydney Startup Hub, 11 York St, Sydney.
The Pearcey Foundation has announced that this year’s Pearcey Oration will be given by The Honourable Ed Husic MP, Federal Minister for
Industry and Science. The Oration will feature at a dinner in Melbourne on Wednesday, 21 September 2022 held with the support of Digital
Innovation Futures Victoria, an initiative of the State Government of Victoria. The Pearcey Foundation Victorian
Entrepreneur of the Year will also be presented at the event.
The Pearcey Foundation today announced Mahmood Hussein, founder and CEO of Global Drone Solutions, as the recipient of the 2022 Western Australian Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award. The award was presented as part of the 31st annual WAITTA INCITE Awards, Western Australia’s longest running Tech Awards program.
The 2022 WA Pearcey Entrepreneur Award recipient is Mahmood Hussein, Founder and CEO Global Drone Solutions (GDS). The Pearcey Award was part of the 31st WAITTA Incite Awards on Friday 12 August 2022.
On June 3, 2022, the Graeme Philipson History of Computing Library was launched. The keynote was given by Dr Peter Thorne AM, Chair of the Heritage Committee project run by the Pearcey Foundation.
This year’s award will be held on Friday evening 12 November in Hobart in collaboration with the Tasmanian Branch of ACS and TasICT. Thanks to TasICT, the presentation will be made during their annual dinner. The award will be presented by Hon Michael Ferguson MP, Minister for State Growth, Minister for Science and Technology, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, Minister for Finance at this annual TasICT Industry dinner
The NSW Entrepreneur of the Year was awarded to brother and sister team Jordan O'Reilly and Laura O'Reilly OAM. The presentation was held online on October 14, as part of Spark Festival. Jordan and Laura have cofounded both not-for-profit and profit-for-purpose businesses helping people with disabilities and their families manage their needs and support services. Over the last ten years, they have helped hundreds of thousands of people and proven that for-purpose business can have significant social impact.
Pearcey Conversations online seminar 12 October 2021 celebrated Ada Lovelace Day with a look at some remarkable achievements that women have made in STEM.
Canberra 28 Sep 2021: The Pearcey Foundation today announced Daniel Shaddock, founder and CEO of Liquid Instruments as this year's recipient of the ACT Chief Minister's Pearcey Entrepreneur Award. The award was presented by Andrew Barr, ACT Chief Minister at the Annual ACT Pearcey Round Table (held virtually this year).
One of Australia's foremost computer scientists passed away peacefully in Perth on the 12th September 2021. Recognised for his work in defining Information Engineering, when he presented the concept at the 1980 IFIPS conference in Melbourne. Clive was elevated to the Pearcey Hall of Fame in 2008 at a memorable ceremony in Sydney.
Reg Coutts, 2018 Pearcey Hall of Fame, was an ebullient character, well known in telecommunications and ICT circles, always self-deprecating, always positive and constructive about his colleagues. Reg was an effective, well-liked and respected leader in Australian ICT, whose sense of humour was infectious. Reg will be missed by many Australians - he made a real contribution to our great nation.
Australians have all too often seen themselves as observers rather than participants in the digital revolution, but that does not do justice to our history. The Pearcey Foundation plays a very important role in highlighting the real contributions Australians have made in the past, and in so doing will help inspire the next generation of Australian digital innovators.
The Pearcey Foundation’s project to document Australia’s achievements in the computer age is a critically important endeavour. A central repository, that documents the central role of our universities and CSIRO and the individual contributions of academics and entrepreneurs, will be an essential resource for future policy makers and for students, research workers and entrepreneurs.
Australians are a nation of storytellers. Stories make us laugh and they make us cry, they remind us who we are and they inspire us, and let us celebrate our successes and failures. Australia has much to celebrate when it comes to the digital age, from pioneering work in computer science through to innovative cloud services. The Pearcey Foundation Heritage Project will be an inspiration to future generations of Australians.
The 2021 WA Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Charlie Gunningham, Founder and Principal Damburst as part the 30th WAITTA Incite Honorary Awards on Friday 23 July 2021.
In August 1951, a group of scientists gathered at the University of Sydney to attend the first Australian conference on automatic computing machines.
In 1951 there was a major conference held at the University of Sydney which marked the beginning of a new science in Australia, Computer Science.
Congratulations to Wayne Gerard on his appointment as Queensland's new Chief Entrepreneur. Wayne is passionate about innovation, start-ups, and Queensland as a place to live, work and play. So it's no surprise that his appointment recognises his outstanding leadership over many years… In fact, it is six years since he was voted by his peers as Queensland's 2015 Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year.
On June 14, 1956 the computer CSIRAC was officially recommissioned at the new Computation Laboratory at the University of Melbourne.
The recent publication of A Vision Splendid – The History of Australian Computing is a timely reminder of the seventy years or so Australia has been involved in the digital revolution.
It’s with great sadness that the Pearcey Foundation learnt of the sudden death this week of renowned IT journalist, historian, writer and researcher Graeme Philipson.
Given the COVID travel restrictions placed on all of us, Chair Wayne Fitzsimmons and Deputy Chair Kelly Hutchinson managed to catch up in person with Medallist Jenny Seberry and Hall of Famer Owen Hill by travelling to NSW after Victoria's border restrictions were lifted in early December 2020. We managed to meet Jenny in Wollongong at that time and succeeded in meeting up with Owen on 30 January 2021 in Maitland.
The Pearcey Foundation had a busy year in 2020. Highlights include our National and State Awards, the Pearcey Oration and our monthly "Conversations" webinars on many areas important to Australia's ICT policy, heritage, and innovations.
This is a remarkable book. It is frank, insightful and at times hard hitting.
It traces the life, loves and career path, in UK and Australia, of a courageous and very competent woman from the earliest days of the computer age, through to the current times.
Nobody much remembers it now, but 40 years ago Australia built one of the world’s largest computer networks. In 1981 Australia’s Department of Social Security (DSS) began planning an ambitious network to connect all of its 210 Australian offices in real time.
The 2020 WA Pearcey Entrepreneur Award recipient is Greg Riebe, co-founder of Entrepreneurs in Residence. This Award was part the 29th WAITTA Incite Honorary Awards announced on Wednesday 25 November 2020.
Sydney Uni's Nano Centre in Department of Physics was awarded the 2020 Eureka Prize for Outstanding Science in protecting Australia. By harnessing the delicate interaction between light and sound, Professor Ben Eggleton and his team have produced a microchip that provides a unique advantage for defence platforms.
Dr Cathy Foley AO, currently CSIRO Chief Scientist, and from December 2020, will become Chief Scientist of Australia. Cathy has made distinguished contributions to the understanding of superconducting materials and to the development of devices using superconductors for a number of applications including to detect magnetic fields and locate valuable deposits of minerals.
In a widely attended Pearcey virtual event, Jamila Gordon received the 2020 NSW Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Jamila is the CEO and founder of Lumachain, a technology platform using AI, IoT and blockchain to bring transparency to global supply chains, benefitting producers, enterprises and consumers. Jamila was presented with her award by 2014 Pearcey Medallist and inaugural Ada Lovelace Medallist Professor Mary O'Kane.
Recognising the amazing contributions of female Australians to the digital age. Held on Ada Lovelace Day and supported by the Tech Girls Movement Foundation.
So you’ve decided to become an IT professional when you grow up? Good choice! You’ve already discovered the satisfaction of getting a program to work – that will continue to excite you for the rest of your life. You’ll also find that debugging the things that don’t work is equally rewarding.
This is an extract from Ann Moffatt’s book, The IT Girl, which is to be published in November 2020.
This graduation season, we are proud to announce that Skaidrite Darius has received an honorary doctorate from the ANU College of Engineering and Computer Science.
From the start she thrived on this new technology that used abstract logic, and still relishes looking back at those early,
adventurous days with all card systems and low-level programming languages.
Canberra, Australia - 22 September 2020 - The Pearcey Foundation today announced Shane Hill, founder of Skoolbo as this year's recipient of the ACT Chief Minister's Pearcey Entrepreneur Award. The award was presented by Senator (retd) Kate Lundy representing the ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr at the Pearcey Round Table 2020 event in Canberra.
Following the invention and development of the transistor in the late1940’s in the USA, the CSIRO began research into semiconductors.
On August 9th the Pearcey Foundation hosted a Conversation on the Role of the ICT Community in the Future Resilience and Self-reliance of Australia.
Sixty years ago Australians designed and built two of the first transistorised computers called SNOCOM and CIRRUS. They were very advanced for their era.
Terry Cutler (1948-2020) FATSE PhD Econ History (UNSW), BA History (Melb Uni), passed away on 3 July in Melbourne. Terry was a remarkable contributor to the ICT sector. During 2008 he chaired the Australian Government's Review of the National Innovation System which culminated in the Report, Venturous Australia.
Barbara Ainsworth, Monash Museum of Computing History, Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University.
Guest Blog by Sonja Bernhardt OAM
Dr Jenine Beekhuyzen, creator of the Tech Girls Are Superheroes campaign, was awarded the Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in the Queens Birthday Honours List for "service to information technology, and to women".
In August 1951, a conference was held at Sydney University’s Department of Electrical Engineering. It was the first computer conference ever held in Australia and only the ninth computer conference anywhere in the world.
John Deane and Arthur Sale where outstanding contributors to Australia's ICT. John was both a researcher in areas including smart wireless networks and a historian. Arthur was at the forefront of ICT acedemia in Tasmania for over 25 years.
In 1966 a bunch of students (undergrads and post-grads) at the Department of Elec Eng at Melbourne University built Australia’s first satellite. It was ultimately launched in 1970 by NASA. A member of the team of 8, who designed and constructed the satellite, […]
Currently, the Foundation is exploring a permanent location for many of the memorabilia of past ICT technology generations, We are
collaborating with various museums and industry groups who share this desire to establish a 'virtual museum' to capture our wonderful
contribution to technology in so many fields.
Hi everybody Graeme Philipson here. You know me as the author of a book on the Australian computer industry called ‘A Vision Splendid’. Many of you helped with that book or offered advice or information after it came out about things that were missing […]
Three outstanding members of the Pearcey family were recognised in the 2020 Australia Day Honours lists Members (AM) General Division, Order of Australia - Geoff Huston (Pearcey 2015 Hall of Fame), John O'Callaghan (2005 Pearcey Medal), and Peter Thorne (Member Pearcey National Executive)
The 2019 national awards were held in the evening of 14th November at the University of Melbourne. Presentations included the Pearcey
Medal awarded to Prof David Abramson, the Pearcey Hall of Fame awarded to Sonja Bernhardt and Bob Beaumont, and the Pearcey Entrepreneur of
the Year awarded to Craig McDonald from Victoria.
Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of CSIRAC: Australia's first stored program digital computer and the world's fourth. Presentations by eminent speakers honour Dr Trevor Pearcey's legacy and catch a glimpse of what the future holds for Australian innovation, entrepreneurship, and technology in society.
Rod Tucker speaking at the inauguration of the Tucker Lab at Melbourne University
Canberra, Australia - 10 October 2019 - The Pearcey Foundation today announced Matthew Wilson, CEO of Penten as this year's recipient of the 2019 ACT Chief Minister's Pearcey Entrepreneur Award. The award was presented by Senator (retd) Kate Lundy representing the ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr at the Pearcey Round Table 2019.
The 2019 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Ashik Ahmed, co-founder, CTO and CEO of Deputy. The award was presented at a special Pearcey Awards event at the NSW Startup Hub on 10 October 2019.
On Saturday 22 June 2019, the ABC Science Show had a special feature Recreating the first digital computer music. Presented by Carl Smith in the second half of the podcast (31 minute mark).
The 2019 WA Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Rob Nathan, at the 28th WAITTA Incite Awards held on in Perth on Friday 14th June 2019. The award was presented by Greg Italiano, the Government Chief Information Officer, at the gala presentation dinner at the Crown Perth.
Alison Harcourt (nee Doig) is an alumnus and past staff member of the University of Melbourne. At 89 years of age, she is still tutoring at the University in her speciality field of mathematics, namely Statistics. Alison was recognised in this year's Queens Birthday Honours list with an Order of Australia. The Pearcey Foundation honours Ms Harcourt for a lifelong commitment to mathematics.
One of Australia's great ICT pioneers Prof Barry de Ferranti passed away in late January 2019 at the age of 90. Barry had a great sustained involvement with Sydney University where he did his Science and Engineering Degrees (1946-50).
The Pearcey Foundation was proud to present many events and awards in 2018 including the National Awards, State Awards, Special Pearcey Day, 2018 Pearcey Oration and a Special ICT Heritage Event in Ballarat.
Dr Alex Zelinsky is to take up the position of Vice Chancellor at NSW's University of Newcastle in November 2018. Alex, 2013 Pearcey Medallist, is currently Chief Defence Scientist in Canberra heading up the Defence Science and Technology (DST) Group.
Ken Kroeger, CEO of Seeing Machines, was presented the 2018 ACT Chief Minister's Pearcey Entrepreneur Award. The award was presented by ACT Chief Digital Officer Bettina Konti, representing the ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr, at ACS Canberra's 25th Annual Conference on 4 September 2018.
Our 2005 Pearcey Hall of Famer, John O'Neil AO, passed away on 21 August 2018 aged 83. John was best known for his work at Control Data and close working relationship with the late Trevor Robinson AM, our 1999 Pearcey Medallist. We send our condolences to John's wife Dr Jo O'Neil and their family.
A very brave Australian stalwart of the ICT industry has left us. Brenda was a pioneer in promoting women in ICT by example. Based in Adelaide, she influenced our national and international reputation over a sustained lifetime of commitment including a two year role as President of the Australian Computer Society (2013-2015).
The 2018 NSW Pearcey awards was presented at a ceremony on November 1 at the NSW Startup Hub. Nick Molnar, co-founder and CEO of Afterpay was recognised as the 2018 NSW Tech Entrepreneur of the Year.
Dr Mark Andrich was presented with the 2018 Pearcey WA Entrepreneur Award at the WAITTA Incite Awards held on in Perth on Friday 15th June 2018.
The Father of the Internet, Dr Robert Kahn, accompanied by his wife, was in Melbourne as the guest of the Australian Digital Commerce Association. Visiting from Washington DC, he spoke at a luncheon on Wednesday 14th March 2018 at the Melbourne Town Hall.
Former WA deputy premier and 2012 Pearcey Medalist Mal Bryce has been remembered as "ahead of his time and a champion of innovation and technology" after the long-serving Labor stalwart died at the age of 74, on the 3rd March 2018.
On Australia Day 2018, Robin Eckerman was recognised as a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "for significant service to the telecommunications industry through roles in broadband infrastructure and network development, and to the energy supply sector".
The Pearcey Foundation's own chairman, Wayne Fitzsimmons, was awarded an OAM in the Queen's Birthday 2018 Honours List. Wayne was recognised for his service to information technology, covering a career lifetime in senior executive positions and helping to advance Australia's ICT capabilities.
24 July 2017 - Steve Baxter set to be the next Queensland's chief entrepreneur (SmartCompany
article)
4 July 2017 - US Award for Bill Caelli AO. Bill Caeli AO was awarded the Founders' Medal by the Colloquium for
Information Systems Security Education (CISSE). (ACS
article)
Press Release - Kate Lundy, Helen Meredith, Dr Mike Miller and Collis and Cyan Ta'eed recognised at the National Pearcey Foundation
Awards
Sydney, Australia - 2 November 2017 - The Pearcey Foundation today announced its National Entrepreneur of the Year, Hall of
Fame inductees and Pearcey Medal winner. The winners were presented as part of the ACS
National Digital Disruptor Awards
and Reimagination event held in Sydney on Thursday, 2 November 2017.
The presentation of the 2017 Pearcey Medal, Hall of Fame and National Entrepreneur of the Year Awards was held on Thursday 2 November in Sydney as part of the ACS 2017 National Digital Disruptor Awards GALA dinner program and REIMAGINATION Conference held at Sydney's Star, Pyrmont.
The 2017 NSW Pearcey Tech Entrepreneur of the Year was awarded to Airtasker co-founders Tim Fung and Jonathan Lui. Several other Awards were presented in a packed PowerHouse Museum on Tuesday October 24. The Pearcey award was presented by Chairman of Jobs for NSW and Chair of CSIRO David Thodey.
On Monday 28 August 2017, the Pearcey Foundation hosted a deep dive panel discussion "The Lucky Country Disrupted: Innovation, Collaboration and Competition in a 21st Century Australia". The event was part of the Vic Government Digital Innovation Festival and was held at the Hub in Melbourne.
Emeritus Professor Peter Poole passed away peacefully in Perth on 19 August 2017, in the company of his daughters, and three of his seven grandchildren. He was a pioneering leader at the University of Melbourne and elevated to the Pearcey Hall of Fame in 2010. Prof. Poole's legacy will continue to influence the ongoing activities of the School of Computing and Information Systems, and the University of Melbourne as a whole.
The 2017 Chief Minister's Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented by the Chief Minister, the Hon. Andrew Barr MLA. to joint winners as the judges could not distinguish between two highly qualified contributors to ACT's burgeoning ICT industry. The 2017 ACT winners were Phillip Williamson co-founder and Chief Innovator at Intelledox and Mark Riley, co-founder and CTO of ContentKeeper.
Sandy Plunkett is perplexed by how entrenched Australia's "waiting for government" mindset is
When economists Paul Frijters and Gigi Foster released a study in
2015arguing
Australia was a plutocracy where our richest amass their wealth by political connections rather than innovative endeavour, the struggling
tech startup community should have been all over the data.
Sandy Plunkett shares her perspective on recent industry events and calls out how money, fame, power and hubris inevitably brings with it bad behaviour
It is a sad day for Australia's ICT industry with the passing of one of Australia's early computer pioneers, Frank Hirst. After service in World War II, Frank completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne and in 1954 was appointed to head the university's newly formed Computation Laboratory.
Matthew Macfarlane (BCom GAICD CA) was presented with the 2017 Pearcey WA State Award at the WAITTA Incite Awards held on in Perth on Friday 16th June 2017.
The Pearcey Foundation was proud that two Pearcey National Wwardees listed in the 2017 Australia Day Honors List - Mr David Thodey (AO) and Mr David Barbagallo (AM).
In 2016, the Pearcey Foundation had many events and recognised a wide variety of ICT entrepreneurs and industry contributors, including the 2016 Pearcey National Awards, 2016 Pearcey State Awards, the 2016 Pearcey Oration, and an extensive Australia 3.0 program.
Steve Baxter named 2016 Pearcey Foundation Medallist at Annual Awards gala dinner at Sydney's Star City. The evening also elevated two outstanding individuals to Pearcey Hall of Fame and named the national entrepreneur.
1 December 2016 - StartupAUS releases its CrossRoads Report 2016(PDF, 6.6 MB) on the Australian startup ecosystems. Contains good analysis and recommendations, though perhaps could have more broadly considered industry initiatives from organisations like Pearcey, AIIA or ACS and also successes in our public markets where 180+ tech companies have listed in the last 3 years.
The NSW Pearcey Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented in a packed NSW Parliament House on Tuesday 18th October at NSW Parliament House, at 5.30pm by the Hon Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation. The overall winner, was Richard White, Founder and CEO of WiseTechGlobal with Hall of Fame Awards going to the founders of Avoka, Digivizer, Expert360, Invoice2Go, Saasu, Sentral Education, Showpo, Tyro and WiseTech Global.
Pearcey was proud to host a series of events as part of the Digital Innovation Festival Victoria www.vic.gov.au/digitalinnovation. These events (2-6 September 2016) included a Pearcey Institute breakfast, Melbourne's Digital Changemakers panel and the 2016 Pearcey Oration.
At a gala dinner held in the Gandel Hall at Australia's National Gallery in Canberra, Dean Spaccavento was awarded the 2016 ACT Chief Minister's Pearcey Award.
One of the founders of semiconductor giant Intel, Andy Grove, passed away on the 21st March 2016 at the age of 79.
The CSIRO has teamed up with Dell to deliver a new HPC cluster called "Pearcey" to support research
activities in a broad range of areas such as Bioinformatics, Fluid Dynamics and Materials Science.
"We welcome the naming of the new HPC cluster after Australian ICT pioneer Dr Trevor
Pearcey,"
said Wayne Fitzsimmons, Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation
"We established the Foundation in 1998 in recognition of the work of Dr Pearcey in leading the CSIRO project team that built one of the
world's first digital computers, CSIRAC, which still exists intact and is on display at Museum
Victoria,
making it the oldest surviving electronic computer in the world. It's great to see the latest in HPC at CSRIO continuing his legacy."
PC pioneer, Dr Wesley A. Clark, passed away in February 2016, aged 88. Many of us in Australia may not recall Dr Wesley Clark from the Lincoln Labs at MIT in Boston, MA who introduced the LINC - the Laboratory Instrument Computer- in 1961.
Two past National Pearcey Awardees were recognised in the 2016 Australia Day Honours lists. These were Emeritus Prof. Mary O'Kane, 2014 Pearcey Medal winner and Dr Craig Mudge, 2012 Pearcey Hall of Fame.
24 September 2015 - Dr Elaine Saunders (2011 Vic Pearcey Award) wins one of the Australian Financial Review and Westpac 100 Women of Influence Awards for 2015. She is recognised in the Innovation category for her contribution to hearing aid development, research and education (media release).
What a breath of fresh air to think that the government of the day 'gets it'!
How long have we all waited to have a leadership team who actually can connect with the tech educated populace of Australia? Many of us
have been guilty of 'telling the government what they ought to do'.
The winner of the 2015 Tasmanian Pearcey Award was James Riggall. Commercially, James is MD of BitLink and he is also an active member of the Tasmanian startup community. James is the president of Startup Tasmania and one of the founders of both the Innovation Circle and Macquarie House Innovation Hub in Launceston, Tasmania.
The 2015 NSW Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented at NSW Parliament by the Hon Victor Dominello, NSW Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation, on behalf of the Pearcey Foundation and the technology industry with the pinnacle award, the winners special recognition award, going to Melanie Perkins, co-founder and CEO of Canva.
The Pearcey Foundation welcomes appointment of the new Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull who was sworn in as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia on 15 September 2015.
The 2015 ACT Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Mr Greg Boorer at the Digital Canberra gala dinner in the Gandel Hall of the National Gallery of Australia. Mr Boorer is a well-known identity in the ICT industry in the nation's capital having started Canberra Data Centres (CDC) just eight years ago in 2007. Today CDC is the dominant data centre vendor in the ACT with more than 40 Federal and ACT government agencies as customers.
The 2014 NSW Tech Entrepreneur of the Year Award was presented to Ben Richardson and Dave Greiner, founders of Campaign Monitor and Tim Power, managing director for 3P Learning.
Pearcey Foundation’s input to the Victorian Government’s Digital Economy strategy
On Thursday 8th August 2013 the ACS, AIIA and the Pearcey Foundation conducted a full day program on four key areas: Mining, Health, Government Services, and Infrastructure. This follows a three month long dialogue focussed around the opportunities, threats and systemic barriers for Australia's digital economic future culminates in the endorsement of a series of targeted communiqués by a plenary gathering of over 300 of Australia's most eminent IT industry leaders.
On 23th October 2013 the 2013 NSW Pearcey Entrepreneur of the Year Awards were presented by Mr Paul Toole, Parliamentary Secretary for the Deputy Premier, to joint winners Simon Clausen, founder of Startive Ventures and PC Tools, and Naomi Simson, founder of Red Balloon.
At a gala event held on Tuesday evening 17 June at Canberra's Aboretum, Senator Kate Lundy presented the 2014 Pearcey ACT Entrepreneur Award to John de Margheriti.
The 2012 June Newsletter covered planning and nominations for the national and state awards and other news. Notably, our 2011 Pearcey Medallist, Brand Hoff, was recognised as a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
In 2012, the Pearcey Foundation presented national and state awards, ran a national Australia 3.0 Forum, and was involved in several industry initiatives. This included the the 2012 iAwards which was a joint collaboration between Pearcey, AIIA and ACS.
The 2012 ACT Pearcey Award was presented to Dr Vikram Sharma on Thursday evening 15th November at the Boat House by the Lake as part of the ACS ACT Branch annual Canberra ICT Awards night.
17th October 2012 - Sydney. The 2012 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was tonight presented by the Hon Andrew Stoner MP, NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Trade and Investment, to joint winners:
Melbourne 9th August 2012: Dr Greg Clard and Dr Craig Mudge were inducted into the Pearcey Hall of Fame during an awards ceremony as part of the 2012 national iAwards event. The presentation was made by Mr Len Rust, a member of the Pearcey Foundation Executive committee, for their outstanding contributions to the ICT industry.
Melbourne 9th August 2012: The 2012 Pearcey Medal for outstanding lifetime achievement and contribution to the development and growth of the IT professions, research and industry has been awarded to Dr Mal Bryce.
PRESS RELEASE: 12th July 2012 – Hobart. The 2012 Tasmanian Pearcey Award for younger ICT entrepreneurs was presented to Mr Jared hill, CEO & co-founder of insight4, a thirty man professional software services company based in Hobart. The award was made at an event held at the Henry Jones art house Hotel in Hobart as part of the 2012 Tasmanian iAwards event hosted by the Australian Computer Society (ACS). The award was presented to Mr Harrison by the Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology, the Hon. David O’Byrne MP.
The new world of computer science met the old on 23rd January 2012 when senior executives from CSIRO's ICT Centre paid a visit to CSIRAC - Australia's first electronic digital computer.
A summary of Pearcey Foundation awards, events and activities in 2011. Notably, Pearcey joined AIIA and ACS to consolidate the respective awards into a National ICT awards program.
This year, 2011, the Pearcey Foundation's awards were notable in that the National Awards were presented in conjunction with the AIIA and the ACS under the banner of iAwards, and a special National Benson Award was given to recognise one of the Pearcey State Award entrepreneurs.
The 2011 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Simon Poole and Steve Frisken, founders of optical communications company Engana and now Finisar Australia by the Hon Andrew Stoner MP, NSW Deputy Premier in front of over 150 industry leaders. The event was held at NSW Parliament on Wednesday 12th October 2011 in Sydney.
The 2011 ACT Pearcey Entrepreneur Award was presented to Matt Bullock by Senator Kate Lundy, Senator representing the ACT and Parliamentary Secretary Prime Minister and Cabinet, as part of the annual combined ACS and Pearcey Foundation Awards held this evening at ‘The Boathouse’ in Canberra.
Melbourne 4th August 2011: At the iAwards dinner, the Pearcey Foundation presented the 2011 Pearcey Medal to Mr Hoff, founder and former CEO of Tower Software. In presenting the Award Dr Ian Oppermann, Director ICT Centre at CSIRO, commented that: “Brand Hoff has been an outstanding business leader and exemplar entrepreneur for the whole of his career."
At the 2011 iAwards gala dinner held in Melbourne on the 4th August 2011, the 2011 Benson Entrepreneur Award was given to Lars and Jens Rasmussen. The Lars brothers accepted the award via a video from Google headquarters in San Fransisco in the presence of the Governor of Victoria, His Excellency Alex Chernov and his wife Elizabeth, some 800 guests.
The 2011 Pearcey Queensland Entrepreneur Award was presented to Janine Garrett and Bevan Slattery by the Queensland Minister for ICT, The Honourable Simon Finn MP, and Ms Natalie MacDonald, Director General, Queensland Department of Public Works, at a gala dinner on 5th July held this evening at the Hilton Brisbane as part of the 2011 iAwards program.
Lots of activity from your State and National Committees (all of whom give of their time freely) points to a very active second half of 2011 for our Foundation.
Melbourne 25 May 2011: Three peak bodies of the Australian ICT sector today announced the consolidation of their respective national awards under the banner of the well known iAwards program, created by the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA) in 1995.
[15 Dec 2010] Wayne Fitzsimmons, chairman of the Pearcey Foundation, published A Perspective on the NBN in IT Wire. It shows that some of the complexity in the debate can be removed if the issues are separated into four distinct areas, viz infrastructure, regulatory environment, technology and economics.
16th December 2010 – Hobart. The 2010 Tasmanian Pearcey Award for young ICT entrepreneurs was presented to Mr. Paris Buttfield-Addison and Mr. Jon Manning, co-founders of Secret Lab, by Mr David Bartlett, Premier of Tasmania in his role as Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology. The event was held at the Henry Jones art house Hotel in Hobart as part the Tasmanian Branch of the Australian Computer Society’s (ACS) Christmas event.
Adelaide, Thursday 21 October 2010: The 2010 South Australian Pearcey Foundation Award was presented to Dr Anton van den Hengel, inventor of the Videotrace image modelling system and Professor of Computer Science at the University of Adelaide. The presentation was made by Mr Wayne Fitzsimmons, Chairman of the Pearcey Foundation, at a ceremony held this evening in the Adelaide Festival Centre. The award is made annually to a younger person in mid-career who is running a risk and making a difference in the ICT industry.
The 2010 NSW ICT Entrepreneur of the Year award was presented to Lars and Jens Rasmussen, founders of Google Maps and Google Wave by the Hon Eric Roozendaal MLC, NSW Treasurer and Minister for State and Regional Development in front of over 220 industry leaders. A further 9 entrepreneurs were inducted into our Hall of Fame. The event was held at NSW Parliament on Tuesday 19th October 2010 in Sydney in conjunction with National ICT Australia's NICTA @ NSW Parliament research showcase.
.jpg)
