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High achievers honoured with Awards for Excellence

Innovators, early career researchers and leaders of technology transfer activities were celebrated and acknowledged by their peers, taking out the 2022 DMTC Awards for Excellence.

The aptly-named Collaboration Award is awarded to the individual who embodies the spirit of collaboration that is integral to DMTC’s strategic intent, was awarded to Charlotte Morris.

Charlotte has made an enormous and long-standing contribution to DMTC over many years. At DMTC, Charlotte has been largely responsible for the high tempo Industry Capability Development (ICD) Program where she has engaged widely with State and local governments, and regional clusters of SMEs. Her commitment to Australia’s small business community has been demonstrated in her continuing and tireless advocacy for growth of Australian sovereign supply chains, including through opening channels for engagement with defence primes.

Charlotte is widely regarded among her peers and colleagues as an expert with deep understanding of Australia’s defence sector, and exemplifies DMTC’s values, vision and mission.

DMTC 2022 Awards for Excellence recipients (absent: Andrew Bailey) Photo: Steve Keough

The Project Leadership Award, for leaders who have demonstrated significant expertise in achieving project outcomes, was awarded to Dr Mitch Dunn from the University of Queensland. Mitch has shown brilliant leadership throughout his work as project manager on an exciting DMTC materials development project with significant potential for application across defence domains.

Andrew Bailey from Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) took out the Industry Partnership Award, presented to individual researchers who have contributed significantly to the capability of a DMTC industry partner.

The Research Partnership Award honours an individual DMTC project team or member from industry, who has provided critical industrial context to inform the application of research outcomes. This year’s award was presented to Neil Matthews from RUAG Australia. Neil has pioneered and revolutionised the use of Additive Technologies for component repair, in particular Supersonic Particle Deposition and more recently Laser Additive Deposition. Neil’s industrial leadership over many years has been pivotal in guiding the research outcomes and ongoing successes of DMTC’s Laser Additive Deposition projects.

Joint winners of the Early Career Research Award were Rowan Pilkington from the University of Melbourne and James Walker from Synth Technologies. Rowan has evaluated a complex, 10-step manufacturing process for a pharmaceutical agent, and adapted the process from traditional batch chemistry to flow chemistry manufacture. He is a highly enthusiastic problem-solver, as well as a skilled communicator, and a collaborative and willing team player. Flow chemistry has recently been highlighted by the Government as a critical technology area for Australian industry.

James is an analytical problem-solver and an advanced technical software engineer who has used his gaming development and programming experience to bring modern and innovative approaches to solutions to enhance technical project outcomes, through the design and build of bespoke 3-D and VR technology components.

The Capability Improvement Award, for a project team who has achieved a significant breakthrough or improvement in technical capability, was presented to the team responsible for DMTC’s high-temperature superconducting (HTS) collaboration. Through this project DMTC, QUT and the University of Wollongong have established and modelled the essential parameters required to create a robust and reliable High temperature Superconducting magnetic mine sweeping unit.

In another example of a quality field of peer-nominated candidates, two winners were jointly presented with the Soldier On Award, awarded to a ‘quiet achiever’, an individual who embodies DMTC’s values of integrity, trust, inclusivity and commitment in their work ethic. Dr Alessandro Carcione has demonstrated a willingness and ability to problem solve, adapt and extend his knowledge and the knowledge of the team to ensure the best possible outcomes for small businesses involved in DMTC’s Smart Enough Factory projects. He has also been instrumental in the design and development of critical components for the DMTC project making advances in the area of functional antenna components.

Dr Nathan Edwards was honoured for his contributions to multiple DMTC projects. Nathan’s work has enhanced the body of research knowledge on the behaviour of armour materials when subjected to ballistic impact, and has enabled further advancement of blast and shock modelling to quantify high strain rate failure.

DMTC warmly congratulates all the award winners.