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