Prominent Alumni
With the support of our world-leading researchers and academics, our graduates have gone on to succeed in a variety of astounding ways – making their own special impact on society.
Dr Andy Thomas AO
Graduate of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide and first Australian Astronaut with first flight into space in 1996 as the payload commander and mission specialist aboard the space shuttle ‘Endeavour’. ‘The Andy Thomas Centre for Space Resources (ATCSR)’ was established at the University in his honour to address long term planetary exploration challenges.
Professor Neil Weste
Engineering visionary and distinguished researcher who designed the first commercial microelectronic circuits for the now ubiquitous Wi-Fi networking standard. Author of the textbook ‘Principles of CMOS VLSI Design,’ used throughout the world in Electrical Engineering courses. Co-founder of Radiata Communications (acquired by Cisco in 2000) which pioneered single chip implementations of the IEEE 802.11a Wireless Local Area Network standard.
Andrea Boyd
International space station flight controller
Flight controller at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Astronaut Centre in Cologne, Germany, for the International Space Station (ISS). Certified as a Flight Operations Engineer for payload control and cross-certified for crew operations and biomedical, serving in the European Space Agency’s Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration Directorate. Projects include: ISS Mission Control, Soyuz launch, space food, desert analogues and CAPCOM for NEEMO (underwater astronaut training missions at Aquarius Reef Base). Serves on the Australian Space Agency’s Space Industry Leaders Forum.
Dr Giuseppe ‘Joe’ Fabrizio
Australian Department of Defence
Radar Systems expert at Defence Science and Technology Group in Australian Department of Defence. Leader of the Electronic Warfare and Signal Processing Section of the High Frequency Radar Branch from 2005 to 2015, responsible for the development and practical implementation of new electronic protection methods and durable adaptive array processing techniques. Became group leader of the Microwave Radar Systems Science and Technology Capability in DST Group in 2016.
Alisdair Faulkner
Global leader in cybersecurity
Co-founder of ThreatMetrix which – before its acquisition for $830m USD – protected one in three e-commerce transactions in the US and over 1 billion global accounts across 4 billion devices for the world’s largest global banks and brands. CEO and Co-founder of Darwinium , an innovative cybersecurity company pioneering a new approach to customer protection online.
Professor Alan Noble
Impressive career in harnessing technology to solve real world problems. Launched seven start-up companies in Australia and overseas. 11 years at Google as Engineering Director, key role as an advisor to the Chief Scientist of Australia, and five years on the board of the South Australian Museum. Founder of AusOcean , a not-for-profit company solving technical problems relating to marine habitat monitoring and restoration, through the use of sea-surface platforms and sensors.
Dr Kimberley Clayfield
Director of CSIRO’s Space Research Program
First Australian to be awarded the International Astronautical Federation’s Young Space Leader award (2013) and first Australian to receive prestigious Lawrence Sperry Award from the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (2014). Served as Chair of Engineers Australia’s National Committee on Space Engineering. Currently Director of CSIRO's Space Research Program, including oversight of the CSIRO Centre for Earth Observation and the AquaWatch Australia Mission.
Dr Rohin Wood
Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group
Expert in applying analytics and artificial intelligence to improve business operations for a wide range of industries including transportation, telecommunications, mining and aerospace. Global leader in mathematical optimisation who joined BCG in 2014 to help businesses make better decisions and drive value.
Amanda Robinson
Global leader in acoustics engineering
Vice President of Architecture at Canadian firm, Aercoustics , and former Co-CEO at Marshall Day Acoustics in Melbourne. 25 years of experience in acoustics projects including ABC Broadcast Studios, University projects all around Australia, the renovation of Hamer Hall and Perth State Theatre Centre, in addition to conducting research into pioneering learning environments.
Dr Mark Davies
Chief Technical Officer at Rio Tinto
Leader of Rio Tinto's Development & Technology division. Responsible for exploration and major capital construction, renewable energy projects, and repurposing of mines and facilities at the end of operations. Specialist in global research and development activities within technical Centres of Excellence covering asset management, energy and climate change, orebody knowledge, underground mining, surface mining and processing.
Ian Wall
Systems engineering expert who co-founded Codan in 1959. Codan develops robust technology solutions to solve communications, safety, security and productivity challenges in some of the toughest environments. Notable work includes upgrading the communications network used by Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service. An active philanthropist who supported the National Trust, the Starlight Children’s Foundation, St Mark’s College, Kickstart for Kids and COVID research at the University. Awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (2008) for his contribution to the community and service to business. Sadly passed away at age 91 in October 2022.