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Congratulations to Dr Ian Opperman on his appointment as the Chair of the Federal Government committee for Data Standards for Digital ID and Consumer Data Right. Ian is Chair of our Australia 4.0 Committee and our 2024 Pearcey Orator.
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”.
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.
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.
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.
One of Australia’s outstanding ICT pioneers, Brian Finn passed this week.
Pearcey Conversations online seminar 12 October 2021 celebrated Ada Lovelace Day with a look at some remarkable achievements that women have made in STEM.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, […]
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 […]
Rod Tucker speaking at the inauguration of the Tucker Lab at Melbourne University
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).
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).
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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.
One of the founders of semiconductor giant Intel, Andy Grove, passed away on the 21st March 2016 at the age of 79.
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 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.
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.
