Reflections from past Presidents

Tim Besley AC FTSE – 1998-2002 

It was when I was working on the Snowy Mountains as Assistant to the Commissioner, Sir William Hudson, that I first became aware of ATS, as Sir William was one of the Foundation Fellows.  

Some years later I was admitted as a Fellow. Later when I became president of ATSE, the office was in Melbourne and was run by Joy Dudine. She was a great person to work with and helped significantly in my duties as President. Joy and I attended a CAETS meeting in Beijing. As part of the program, we were provided with the opportunity to visit and climb the Great Wall. The wall is not the easiest structure to climb but Joy was a very determined person and wanted to get the top of the wall. This she did with many laughs and a little help from me.  

At the time the E was added to ATSE, I recall there had been some discussion and a little reluctance in some quarters for this to be done. I pointed out that three of the first four Presidents were engineers! I later became the 5th making 4 out of five. 

When I was no longer President, I continued my involvement through the NSW Division. This Division was very active in arranging a wide variety of information evenings and lunchtime events. 

The Victorian Branch had successfully arranged a series of Parliamentary briefings in Melbourne. For NSW to follow this example, there was a process that had to be undertaken. It was necessary to have the approval of both the President of the Upper House and the Speaker of the Lower House. That was made somewhat easier because I knew the Speaker who readily agreed. He also supported my approach to the President of the Upper House and the parliamentary Librarian, who saw it as his responsibility to brief all Members of Parliament. 

Professor John Zillman AO FAA FTSE – 2003-2006 

I was privileged to have served under all the Presidents who preceded me, especially as Honorary Secretary under Sir Rupert Myers and as Vice President to Sir Arvi Parbo and Tim Besley. And I was fortunate to have been supported for the first year of my Presidency by the marvellous Joy Dudine who had been with the Academy since it was small enough for Joy to know all the Fellows and their families, and to maintain most of the old-world niceties of the founding years under Presidents Sir Ian McLennan and Sir David Zeidler, and Executive Officer Miss Beryl Jacka.  

My own involvement in the Academy dated back to its first decade as the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (ATS), then defined to embrace the applied sciences and engineering, and my Presidency  was significantly shaped by my enduring admiration for the dedication and influence of the founding generation as they gave generously of their time and expertise in response to Government requests for advice on important national issues such as the development of high technology enterprises and national space policy. It was also shaped by the follow-up to the 1988-89 Espie Review which had broken the work of the Academy into four main categories, guided by a set of standing committees reporting to the Council, with the major projects developed and guided by a broadly-based ‘Activities Committee’, the forerunner of the subject-specific ‘Forums’ of later years.   

Much of the work of the Academy during 2003-06 was led by Vice Presidents Frank Larkins, Doreen Clark and Peter Laver. We put a lot of emphasis on the development of annual plans for the Committees and Regional Divisions, and on their documentation in the annual Academy Handbook as an aid to communication amongst the Fellowship, with Government, and with the scientific and technological community generally. The Academy began to give increased attention to internal and external communication, and the original ‘ATS Focus’ newsletter received a new burst of life under Fellow Julian Cribb, Focus Editor Fellow Don Gibson and Communications Director Bill Mackey. 

My Presidency came near the end of the Academy’s commitment to the founding fathers’ plan for an annual several-day flagship event involving an Invitation Symposium, an Oration and an Annual General Meeting attracting around a fifth of the Fellowship. We were privileged, in my time, to have Orations by Sir Arvi Parbo (2003), The Hon Dr Barry Jones (2004), The Rt Hon Doug Anthony (2005) and Justice Michael Kirby (2006). Mr Anthony’s memorable Oration coincided with the Canberra celebration of the Academy’s 30th anniversary and the launch of a short history of its first 30 years.  

Two major national developments of the 2003-06 years included the ATSE adoption of the Ian Clunies Ross Memorial Foundation and a major positive review of what was then the ATSE Crawford Fund. On the global scene, ATSE’s International Relations Committee under Greg Tegart, Peter Cook and Mike Sargent (marvellously supported by Elizabeth Meier) worked closely with the Australian Academy of Science on a large number of international bilateral programs. ATSE chaired the International Council of Academies of Engineering and Technological Sciences (CAETS) in 2005, hosting a CAETS Convocation (on ‘Oceans and the World’s Future’) for the third time in Cairns in July 2005.  

The Academy’s 30th anniversary celebrations concluded that the achievements of the previous three decades had well justified the founders’ belief that Australia needed a genuine Learned Academy to recognise and promote excellence in the applied sciences and engineering. The achievements of the past 20 years provide compelling endorsement of that conclusion and reinforce the importance of the continuing national role of ATSE into the decades ahead. 

Professor Robin Batterham AO FREng FAA FTSE – 2007-2012 

It has been immensely rewarding to have been associated with ATSE for 37 of its 50 years, not that I need reminders of my age! My first impressions of what ATSE is about haven’t changed: it is a network of quite extraordinary people, all of whom have achieved much, who are public spirited enough to make time to share some of that experience, and who have technical hedonism in their DNA; they actually delight in learning from each other. 

Therein lies a challenge for the Academy. There can never be a single solution to the complex problems we face in society. In a post-modern socially connected world, there can never be an authoritative opinion that must overrule all others. That said, evidence-based advice from those that have made great achievements could and should be promulgated. Throughout its history, the Academy has achieved this. 

As President, I made sure that people in high places got timely and (I hope) relevant advice. Feedback years later confirms that at least they thought they did. Today the Academy is more active on the public stage and that is a good thing, provided it doesn’t drive the behaviour of pushing views that are detached from the realities of engineering practice or in seeking unanimity such that views are so diluted as to be of little value.  

Early steps at focusing efforts in ATSE were to prioritise water, energy, climate and education. These remain critical. If I had to add something else, it would be a focus on how to improve productivity.  

Finally, the Academy is a bunch of people who actually enjoy each other's company. It is good to see events that allow people to meet with live people. 

Dr Alan Finkel AO FAA FTSE – 2013-2015 

More than ever, in an era where internationally and nationally consequential policies for economic and social development are made on aspirations rather than evidence, the need for a non-aligned fellowship of technological experts to provide unbiased, expert advice is critically important. In that light, a highlight for me during my term as President of ATSE was our contribution to the Securing Australia’s Future series of reports. Ranging from precision medicine to the internet of things, these collaborative reports were insightful, credible and, in most cases, appreciated. 

But ATSE is not just a think tank. It is not just an excuse to celebrate excellence through gatherings and awards, important as that is. ATSE doesn’t just develop papers and advice, it is an action-oriented delivery organisation. Chief deliverables during my time were the STELR co-curricular program for science and engineering in secondary schools, and the IMNIS mentoring program. Actually, STELR started before my stint as President, but because I was the founder of the program, it held a special place in my mind right through and since. 

The most difficult challenge was completing the constitutional change that was put in place before my time and transitioned the organisation of the Academy to be led by a Board and professional management, with directional support from the assemblies and the state divisions. This has certainly helped ATSE present a more coordinated visage to government, and resulted in ATSE being called upon to lead the delivery of a number of important national and international, government-funded programs. 

My main call to the Fellowship is to be visibly and actually committed at all times to evidence-based, technologically informed advice, irrespective of the audience, and irrespective of the topic. And if we want to improve the way projects are delivered by others across the nation, the most important thing we could do is somehow ensure that the engineering method is taught in undergraduate courses, and not just engineering courses.  I use the five-step engineering method all the time, in business, in policy advice, in anything strategic: define the problem, analyse it, develop a solution, test the solution – iterate – and deliver a packaged outcome. 

Professor Peter Gray FTSE – 2015-2016 

Shortly after I became a Fellow of ATSE in 1992, I thought it might be appropriate if ATSE ran a symposium with the topic ‘Commercialising Innovation.’ At the time, Australia’s record for the successful translation of research innovation did not compare well to that of the USA and the UK where I had previously worked. I ran the concept past a few other Fellows involved with the NSW Division of the Academy and there was support for the concept.  Shortly after, I received a phone call from John Nutt, who said that he was interested in working with me on the Symposium. Within the hour, he was in my office planning for the event. The Symposium was an outstanding success, due in no small measure to John’s charm and infective enthusiasm. 

During the planning for the Symposium, I visited John’s office set high above Sydney Harbour, where he pointed down to the sails of the Sydney Opera House and said, ‘That was my first project!’ 

Not bad! But what, in his modest way, he didn’t say was that he had pioneered the use of digital technology in the design and analysis of the sails and developed innovative techniques and materials which he had then used to expand the company he Chaired, Arup, establishing 10 offices around the world. John exemplified the spirit of ATSE – encouraging Australia’s brightest to develop their ideas and export them to the world. 

Subsequently, I had the honour of serving as a board member under Presidents Alan Finkel and Robin Batterham, two individuals with razor sharp intellects, expansive national and international networks, excellent track records for successfully translating high quality science and engineering, and great advocates for ATSE. My time as President of ATSE I regard as one of the highlights of my career, stimulating and opening up the incredible talent and expertise of the Fellows. 

ATSE can be proud of its achievements in its first 50 years and the high esteem in which it is held by industry, government, academia and community groups.  

The challenge for the next 50 years will be to ensure that ATSE builds on its strong reputation and excellent strategic plan, and goes on to deliver measurable impacts and benefits to Australia in a period of growing and more complex challenges. 

Professor Hugh Bradlow FTSE – 2016-2022 

While it is gratifying that ATSE is celebrating its 50th anniversary, we need to remind ourselves, in the words of the song, that “the past is just a goodbye”. With that in mind, it is time to think about the next 50 years.   

With each step into the future, we need to remember to ask ourselves, what is ATSE’s purpose? The mission of Learned Academies in general is not to gratify the egos of the Fellows or to applaud feeble attempts by the government to keep up with science and technology. Our role is to provide an authoritative voice on matters where our opinion can make a difference to the outcomes. Everyone knows that social media has vouchsafed a voice to anyone. Embroiling serious long-term issues like climate change and public health in so-called ‘culture wars’ is intellectually and practically dangerous. We need to counteract this by continuing to provide sound, expert judgements on technological matters that will give confidence to those making decisions and those living with those judgments. It is not our role to support poor decisions by the government of the day that make no sense.   

Clearly there are 3 prerequisites to fulfilling our mission:   

1. We must focus on the issues that matter.
2. We must work to develop views that are sound and authoritative, no matter how unpopular.
3. And, finally, we need those views to be heard.

I am hopeful that the journey of the next 50 years will continue to deliver these outcomes. I certainly expect and trust that ATSE will endure, and, hopefully, by adhering to the above considerations, we shall be a major force for good.