Mark Cassidy, 32
Director, Centre for Offshore Foundations Systems, University of Western Australia, Perth

Prof Mark Cassidy is the director for the Centre for Offshore Foundations Systems at the University of Western Australia. His duties involve general direction of the centre and policy-making.
Cassidy's work at the centre focuses on the construction of oil and gas developments and the conditions found offshore Australia. His research interests include the development of force resultant models encapsulating shallow foundation behaviour under combined loading, geo-technical centrifuge modelling and stability analysis of offshore pipelines.
Cassidy is currently on a six month study leave. He is visiting the International Centre for Geohazards at the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute in Oslo, to inquire about geohazards and seabed slope stability issues.
In 1994, Cassidy graduated from the University of Queensland with first class honours in civil engineering and also won the University Medal. In 1999, he completed a doctor of philosophy at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes scholar.
In his spare time, Cassidy plays water polo for the Claremont Dolphins, a local team in Perth. He is also teaching himself to stand on a surf board.

Brandon Lee, 26
Chairman of the National Committee of Young Engineers Australia, Perth

Brandon Lee's interest in developing the engineering profession and ensuring that young engineers have a voice, has led him to become chair of the National Committee of Young Engineers Australia. He took over this one-year position earlier this year.
Lee is an instrumentation and control engineer with the Water Corporation. He has been working on the Perth Seawater Desalination Plant project for the past year. Lee designed the plant's control system.
He is currently working as a project engineer involved in coordinating contractors in the implementation of the plant's control system.
Lee graduated with first class honours in electrical and electronic engineering from the University of Western Australia in 2001.
He also completed a second degree in commerce majoring in accounting and finance.
In his spare time, Lee enjoys doing weights at the gym, cycling and funk dancing.

Ben Fluck, 26
Executive Engineer, Kellogg Brown & Root, Melbourne

Ben Fluck is an executive engineer for Kellogg Brown & Root and works with the company's regional leadership team.
The role provides opportunities for young professionals to gain exposure to the corporate management side of a global engineering firm.
Fluck was the engineering manager, contracts manager and site manager for the 2006 Australian Formula One Grand Prix.
His duties on the project included scheduling and budgeting, client liaison and managing installation and dismantle activities. He was also in charge of the procurement process which included 50 major contracts and a capital works program. He has an honours degree in civil engineering and a bachelor of commerce from the University of Melbourne.
In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with friends and family, and competing in triathlons.

Kieren Lewis, 28
Project Manager, Vestas Australian
Wind Technology, Melbourne

Kieren Lewis is a civil engineer working for Vestas Australian Wind Technology. He is currently the project manager for the Emu Downs wind farm, 200km north of Perth in Western Australia.
The project is worth in excess of $140 million. Lewis is responsible for administering the head contract and being the single point of contact with the customer. He is also responsible for four major subcontracts and other procurement contracts and consultancy agreements delivering works under the project.
In his role overseeing the coordination of the manufacture and delivery of turbine components from facilities in Vietnam, Spain, Denmark and Australia, Lewis manages 22 office and site staff in the project team and up to 90 subcontract workers.
Lewis graduated with honours in civil engineering from the University of Melbourne in 1999.
Outside of work, Lewis enjoys skiing, wakeboarding, cycling and travelling. He also likes to play the guitar, attend live music events and watch his favourite football team, the Bulldogs.

James Kennedy, 32
Design Development Engineer,
Barclay Mowlem, Sydney

James Kennedy is a design development engineer with Barclay Mowlem. His duties include design and consultant management and leading the design development team. He is currently managing the preliminary design stage of the $220 million Strategic Alliance Contract Northern Improvement Program for the Australian Rail Track Corporation. The program involves upgrading the North Coast Railway Line between Maitland and Brisbane.
Kennedy graduated with first class honours in civil engineering from the University of Technology, Sydney in 1998.
Previously, he worked as a senior project engineer with the Lawrence Hargrave Drive Link Alliance. During the project, Kennedy managed resources, costs and schedules; co-ordinated site activities and administered subcontracts.
In his spare time, Kennedy enjoys gardening, woodworking, home renovating and touring the Australian countryside in his 4WD with his family. He also enjoys designing and building purpose-made 4WD offroad competition vehicles and competes regularly in the Australian rock crawling series.

Emmanuel Sartitsis, 29
Civil and Structural Engineer, Maunsell, Abu Dhabi

Emmanuel Sartitsis has a career portfolio that includes professional international relief work, involvement in the engineering not-for-profit sector, and a current role as senior structural engineer on a project in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The Abu Dhabi project, for the Al Raha Beach Development, involves building a community and lifestyle precinct for 200,000 people on an 8km waterfront.
In 2005, Sartitsis took voluntary deployment on an Australian engineering relief team to assist communities impacted by the tsunami in the Maldives.
Prior to relocating to Abu Dhabi last month, Sartitsis' portfolio for Maunsell included civil design and contract management for the Kingston sewer rising main and Kingston foreshore ecopond and common project.
Sartitsis graduated in civil engineering with first class honours from Swinburne University in 1999.
In his spare time, he enjoys composing music, having studied under the German classical composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.
He exercises as often as he can and participated in last year's Sydney City to Surf run.

Sonny Connors, 31
Section Operations Manager, Project Manager, Senior Civil Engineer, Parsons Brinckerhoff, Brisbane

Sonny Connors is the section operations manager in the mechanical and industrial section in the Brisbane office of Parsons Brinckerhoff.
He manages 55 staff and is responsible for strategic resourcing and forecasting future needs. He reviews projects up to the value of $300,000 and has managed the financial performance of projects to the value of $1 million.
He is currently working on powerstation development.
Connors graduated with honours in civil engineering from the University of Queensland in 1997 before completing a masters of business administration at La Trobe University. In 2005, he won the Association of Consulting Engineers Australia's Future Leaders award.
Outside of engineering, he enjoys playing hockey.

Michelle McCormack, 29
Design and Project Engineer, Royal Australian Engineers, Department of Defence, CPEng, Sydney

Captain Michelle McCormack is an army design and project engineer with the 19th Chief Engineer Works. This year, she has worked on several overseas infrastructure-related projects, most notably the design and construction of several armouries and magazines for the royal Fijian military forces.
In 2005, McCormack commanded a team of 10 personnel from the 19th Chief Engineer Works in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, supporting the Australian Defence Force's relief efforts to the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami.
McCormack received her bachelor of civil engineering from the Australian Defence Force Academy, University of New South Wales in 1998.

Michael Robinson, 35
General Manager, Victoria Hydrocarbons, WorleyParsons, Melbourne

This year, Michael Robinson was appointed general manager of Hydrocarbons in Victoria, WorleyParsons' second largest oil and gas business in Australia. In this role he will be responsible for executing active projects, seeking new business, leading a growing team of around 450 professionals, and ensuring business performance.
Robinson received his bachelor of civil engineering from Monash University in 1994. Robinson was project manager for the transition team which arranged the US$240 million acquisition of US-based Parsons E&C by Australian firm Worley.
He guided both companies through the challenges of a corporate merger through planning, activity coordination, project controls, performance tracking and reporting to the board of directors.
Robinson plays Aussie rules football in his spare time and participates in the local competition. He also enjoys Melbourne's spring racing carnival each year and holds part ownership of a racing horse.

Brad Zannes, 25
Consultant, WS Atkins, Bristol, UK

Brad Zannes works for UK-based design firm WS Atkins. He is currently a risk manager for a £100 million defence assessment phase program called Future Rapid Effect System (FRES) for the UK Ministry of Defence. FRES will be a fleet of armoured vehicles for the British army meeting up to 16 different roles. The initial procurement value of the program is estimated at £14 billion.
Zannes' duties include assessing risks, identifying opportunities and ensuring appropriate measures are in place. He also undertakes quantitative schedule modelling and analysis of the life of the program.
Zannes received bachelors in chemical engineering and business management majoring in international business from the University of Queensland in 2003. He will also complete a masters in commerce majoring in finance from the University of Southern Queensland in 2006.
In his free time, he enjoys travelling and photography.

Engineers Australia Magazine, Volume 78 No 6, June 2006.

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