Friday, 02 December 2005 - Twenty ACS members had their membership status elevated when the ACS National Council for 2005 awarded two Honorary Life Memberships and 18 Fellowships at its final meeting for 2005.

The meeting, held in Sydney on 25-26 November 2005, promoted two long term members – Vernice Hunt of South Australia and Denis Street of Victoria – to the status of Honorary Life Member for their outstanding contributions to the life and growth of the ACS. Eighteen Fellowships were granted to those who had given significant service to the wider ICT sector.

“We’re incredibly fortunate in having these extraordinary achievers as part of the ACS and continually benefit from their commitment to their industry and their profession,” said ACS National President, Edward Mandla.

“Fellowships and Honorary Life Memberships are a small way in which the ACS can acknowledge and promote the status of these outstanding individuals.”

Honorary Life Members

Vernice Hunt

Vernice Hunt has provided the Australian Computer Society and its South Australian Branch with 28 years of sustained and commendable service including 25 years as Honorary Branch Secretary. She was invited onto the Branch Executive Committee in February 1978 by then Branch Chair, Bob Northcote, to run a state conference. In February 1981, Ms Hunt was appointed Branch Secretary and Branch Administrator and continues to hold those positions today. Over the years, she has supported 12 Branch Chairs and their Branch Executive Committees, and has been the administrative backbone of 11 branch conferences and two major National Conferences, ACC ‘87 and ACC ‘91.

Denis Street

Denis Street has made an outstanding contribution to the ACS, helping to achieve substantial positive changes within the Society. Over the past 22 years, he has held executive positions at both State and National level. He served as Treasurer of the Canberra Branch from 1983 to 1987 and Treasurer of the Victorian Branch from 1988 to 1999 and again from 2003 to 2005. As National Vice President from 1996-2000, he was a member of ACS Council and the ACS Management Committee. He has also made a significant contribution to various ACS Boards and to major reviews of the ACS, particularly the ACS Towards 2000 Task Force, in which he played a key role. This taskforce was responsible for the most significant membership restructure in the Society's 30 year history until then, and paved the way for the ACS to be accepted as a member of Professions Australia.

Fellowships

The ACS Council also elected 18 new Fellows, recognising the important contribution each has made to the broader ICT industry. Those elected were:

Chris Avram FACS

Chris Avram has made a distinguished contribution to the ICT sector both within Australia and also internationally. He has over 30 years experience in information systems, particularly in the development of innovative computer applications for scientific modelling, data processing and operating systems, computer systems, networking operations, and operations management.

Within the ACS, Mr Avram has served as secretary of the Computer Systems and Software Engineering Technical Board, as ACS Vice President and member of the ACS Management Committee, and as Victorian Branch Chair.

Dr Bob Cross FACS

Dr Bob Cross has distinguished himself in the area of ICT policy development. As an invited member of the WA Information and Communications Technology Industry Development Forum, which advises the WA Minister for State Development on ICT matters, he has been effective in raising the level of ICT policy development in Western Australia. Dr Cross has also developed improved processes for teaching ICT across the Chinese-English language barrier with the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences – China’s premier teaching and research institution.

Professor Emeritus Reginald Paul Coutts FACS

Professor Emeritus Reginald Paul Coutts is best know for his work in digital communications within Telstra, university education and industry. A pioneer in the field of digital and mobile communications technologies in Australia, Professor Coutts is an internationally recognised authority. He established the Centre for Telecommunications Information Networking (CITN) at the University of Adelaide and has led the development of other major initiatives, including the Smart Internet CRC, m.Net Corporation, and Innovation Lab Australia.

Professor John Debenham FACS

Professor John Debenham has been a pioneer in the area of artificial intelligence with a longstanding research interest in the design of knowledge-based systems. His work on negotiation in e-markets has found application in diverse fields of industry and he is known internationally for his work in knowledge-based systems and multi-agent systems. Professor Debenham is Chair of the ACS National Committee for Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems, he has led in international forums such as IFIP Technical Committee TC12, and was the founder of Artificial Intelligence in Australia.

John David Giles FACS

John Giles has made an outstanding contribution to the use of ICT in rural areas, working as a consultant and project manager of a variety of development projects from 1982 through to the present day. His primary areas of interest include live stock marketing, minerals and petroleum, logging, wool marketing, recreational resources, rail, wild fire management and electronic conveyancing.

Ian Gorton FACS

Ian Gorton has built an impressive reputation in the areas of empirical software architecture research and adaptive middleware technology in roles such as Senior Principal Researcher at National ICT Australia (NICTA) and Information Sciences and Engineering in the USA. A prolific author of research and refereed work, his academic career includes significant educational and research work during his periods as Conjoint Professor at the University of NSW and Honorary Associate at the University of Sydney.

Prof Shirley Gregor FACS

Professor Shirley Gregor has spent over three decades as an ICT practitioner and academic. During this time she has been a leader in research in which she established sound practical foundations as well as concepts on the strategic use of information and communication technologies, intelligent systems and the human-computer interface. Her work has resulted in a number of publications that have received high praise from all sectors of industry and government. She continues to be an exemplary role model for women in ICT.

Clive Mancey FACS

Clive Mancey is a prime example of a well-respected and accomplished IT executive who has managed the successful integration of business functions, applications and technical acumen for complex application designs and implementations, both for his employers and various community organisations. He has worked his way up through the ranks of programmer, systems analyst and MIS manager to executive roles, where he has successfully managed this continual development and introduced advanced ICT systems to a major multi-national organisation.

Craig McDonald FACS

Craig McDonald has distinguished himself in the tertiary sector by his innovative research and practical application of knowledge management and expert systems to support the viticulture industry. He is also recognised by his peers for his work on the application of ethics in the ICT industry.

Dr Anne McDougall FACS

Dr Anne McDougall is regarded as one of the most experienced and respected academics in the field of teaching and research in educational computing. She has devoted many years to working within the framework of the ACS, where she has held various positions, including chair of the National Computer Education Committee and representing Australia on IFIP’s Technical Committee in Computer Education (IFIP TC3), of which she is currently the Vice-Chair. Professor McDougall represents the ACS on the Australian Council for Computer Education and is a respected member of the editorial boards of several computer education journals.

Dr Zoran Milosevic FACS

Dr Zoran Milosevic is best known for his pioneering work in the area of enterprise modelling and software architectures for inter-organisational ICT systems. He is recognised both internationally and within Australia as one of the pioneers and leaders in the field of enterprise modelling and his standing is evidenced by his comprehensive publication record both nationally and internationally and the range of government and industry consultancies he has undertaken.

Frank Morrison FACS

Frank Morrison worked within the NSW rail industry for over 30 years, beginning as a programmer/systems analyst and working up to senior management roles including Chief Financial Officer and Group General Manager. He has driven the development of ICT strategies for State Rail and the subsequently corporatised Rail Services of Australia and Rail Infrastructure Corporation, successfully gaining acceptance of ICT as an essential management tool/service vital to the delivery of the railway system's core responsibilities.

Professor Jon Patrick FACS

Professor Jon Patrick has distinguished himself through his innovative research and developments in the application of computing to areas such as human behaviour and natural language processing, actively applying his work for the good of both individuals and the wider community. This year, Professor Patrick won the ACS Eureka Prize for ICT Innovation for his development of Scamseek, a language technology computer system for automatic detection of financial scams on the Internet.

John Puttick FACS

John Puttick has pioneered many techniques for the successful development of large scale enterprise systems including rigorous project management methodologies. He established Star Systems, now GBST Holdings, which went on to become a leading provider of ICT solutions to stockbrokers and banks and today processes around half of all the transactions on the Australian Stock Exchange. Mr Puttick has successfully combined a demanding business career with extensive community involvement and along the way made major contributions to Australian business by harnessing ICT to produce realised benefits for enterprises.

Dharmendra Prakash Sharma FACS

Dharmendra Prakash Sharma has made an outstanding contribution to the field of ICT, particularly in the establishment of the Fiji Computer Society and the South Pacific Computer Society in Fiji. These contributions were followed by a number of practical technology initiatives and academic activities to widely promote and strengthen the use and study of information communication and technology in the South Pacific region.

Dr Jill Slay FACS

Dr Jill Slay has been recognised for her work on ICT Security and Risk Management, particularly in relation to unauthorised use of wireless networks and aspects of forensic computing; and for her leadership in the development of ICT courses in South East Asia. Ms Slay has also developed innovative collaborative relationships both within Australia and internationally with a focus on forensic tool usage, cultural models and security architectures.

Nat Wheatley FACS

Nat Wheatley has made a significant and distinguished contribution to the ICT industry over many years, both as a practitioner and advocate. He was instrumental in recognising opportunities and championing the application of computers to emerging domains in the very early history of Australian computing. He was one of our IT pioneers and additionally, played a major role in the ACS’s forebears as a founding member of the Victorian Computer Society. Of particular importance was his work in the late 1950s, introducing the potential use of IT within the Department of Defence. Later in the early 1960s, he was a member of the Post Master General’s Department (which became part of Telstra) involved in feasibility studies, acceptance testing and project implementation.

Dr Greg Whymark FACS

Dr Greg Whymark has earned an impressive reputation by consistently finding ways for technology to improve people’s quality of life. He was instrumental in introducing health informatics into Central Queensland University and won Commonwealth grants for health informatics projects. His achievements in curriculum development have been outstanding over many years, and are related to his leadership role at CQU. During this time Greg has also developed a hard working team of researchers (Group Solutions Research Group) at CQU, finding innovative ways to fund the group.

--Ends--

Further information:

Fleur Brown mobile: 0419 270 863 or fleur@launchgroup.com.au

This media release is located online at www.acs.org.au/news/021205.htm

About the ACS: The ACS (Australian Computer Society) is the recognised professional association for those working in Information and Communications Technology, seeking to raise the standing of ICT professionals and represent their views to government, industry and the community. A member of the Australian Council of Professions, the ACS is the guardian of professional ethics and standards in the ICT sector, committed to ensuring the beneficial use of ICT for all Australians. It provides both members and non-members with opportunities for professional education, networking and certification, as well as enabling them to contribute to the development of their profession. Visit www.acs.org.au for more information.