OBITUARY

Scott Sloan died on 24/04/2019.

Laureate Professor Scott William Sloan was a pioneering geotechnical engineer who was recognised around the world for his work in soil stability analysis.

He was born in Mildura, Victoria, in 1954 and graduated from Monash University with a Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering. He went on to study at the University of Cambridge where, in 1981, he was awarded a PhD for numerical analysis of incompressible and plastic solids using finite elements.

Passionate about cross-disciplinary research, Laureate Professor Sloan worked in the broad area of geotechnical engineering, with a special emphasis on computational methods.

For more than three decades he worked at the University of Newcastle, where he was laureate Professor of Civil Engineering. He was Director of an ARC Centre of Excellence for Geotechnical Science and Engineering, and an ARC Laureate Fellow.

Laureate Professor Sloan was elected a Fellow of the Academy in 2000. He was also a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Australian Academy of Science. In 2005 Engineers Australia named him one of the 100 Most Influential Engineers. He delivered the prestigious Rankine Lecture in 2011 and, in 2015, the NSW Government named him Scientist of the Year.

In 2018, Laureate Professor Sloan was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for distinguished service to education, particularly in the field of geotechnical engineering, as an academic and researcher to professional associations, and as a mentor of young engineers. In March his pioneering research into fighting contamination was awarded $4.7 million in federal funding. Laureate Professor Sloan and his colleague Dr Brett Turner investigated the use of hemp seed proteins to treat water and soil contaminated by per- and poly- fluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.

PFAS are human-made chemicals that have been widely used in food wrappers, textile stains, insecticides, electronics and fire-fighting foams. Waste PFAS build up in food chains, threaten biota, cause cancer and almost never degrade.

Conventional treatments for PFAS contamination are expensive and often ineffective. Laureate Professor Sloan’s remarkable research contributions will improve the lives of thousands of people in Australia and around the world.

Professor Brett Ninness, the University of Newcastle Pro Vice-Chancellor for the Faculty of Engineering and Built Environment, described Laureate Professor Sloan as an “iconic leader” who led the University of Newcastle onto the world stage.

“His personal research accomplishments were a vital part of that journey,” Professor Ninness said. “But, strong as they were, they were eclipsed by his vision and leadership to nurture and empower future generations of leading researchers and teachers.”

Scott Sloan died on 23 April 2019 and is survived by his wife Denise and children. His vision, talents and generosity will be sorely missed.