NZEE Awards 2013 winners – best engineering of the year
The best engineering work of 2013, awarded at New Zealand’s Engineering Excellence (NZEE) Awards last night, involved
the Canterbury earthquakes, forensic crime scene investigations, honey fraud, bacteria and power solutions.
SUPREME WINNER
Last night (Wednesday 27 November) fifteen NZEE Awards were won and the supreme engineering award went to a 3D
microscope The Classifynder. It was developed by a team of experts and students led by Professor Robert Hodgson of
Massey University’s School of Engineering and Advanced Technology. The microscope has already sparked international
interest from forensic crime scene investigators, with the US Homeland Security representative visiting next year, and
from within New Zealand with scientists studying our ecosystem and exporters working to counter honey fraud when
overseas ‘honey’ is sold off as valuable NZ honey.
EARTHQUAKE INNOVATION
Innovative engineering in the aftermath of the Canterbury earthquakes was also highlighted with several awards won by
projects and individuals working to re-build post-quake Christchurch.
WILLIAM PICKERING AWARD – CANTERBURY EARTHQUAKE ENGINEERING LEADERS
Outstanding engineering leaders Sir Ron Carter and Richard Fenwick, who were both commissioners on the Canterbury
Earthquakes Royal Commission, were the William Pickering Award winners.
IPENZ chief executive Andrew Cleland said this award recognised the pair as outstanding role models for engineers, using
their knowledge and skills for the benefit of society.
As commissioners, alongside Justice Mark Cooper, the men led a critically important public enquiry which had and
continues to have a major impact on the engineering community and the community at large. They demonstrated leadership,
dedication and stamina, but also human sensitivity in the way they interacted with grieving families, Dr Cleland said.
Prior to the Commission, Sir Carter was an established business leader, who developed an employee-owned New Zealand
engineering consultancy business, Beca Group, to an international scale.
Richard Fenwick has long been a technical leader in structural engineering both as a consultant and as an academic. He
has researched new design concepts and contributed to thought leadership. Over several decades he also devoted thousands
of hours to developing widely applied standards and codes for structural engineering under New Zealand’s seismic
conditions.
KEEPING THE COMMUNITY AT THE HEART OF THE RE-BULD
The Stronger Canterbury Infrastructure Re-build Team (SCIRT) won the Excellence in Community Engagement Award for
keeping the community at the heart of the rebuild. It involved SCIRT staff going door-to-door to land owners and using
chocolate fish to stimulate interest in its 500 different projects making up $2 billion worth of major infrastructure
reconstruction.
INNOVATION OUT OF LIQUEFACTION
A new engineering product which helps resolve post-Canterbury earthquake liquefaction concerns also impressed judges.
They awarded the TTT MultiPoles© product with the Building and Construction Award. The pole was designed with its core
removed so it can be used as a pipe to feed a water jet that helps drive the pile into the ground. Grouting at the tip
of the pile can be introduced to reduce the potential for settlement under liquefaction.
ENGINEERING AND BACTERIA - A WINNING COMBINATION
Bacteria played an important role in a winning engineering project; the Wairakei Bioreactor developed by Beca for
treating cooling water. The bioreactor uses naturally occurring bacteria as a biofilm on the tube walls to convert
hydrogen sulphide which is toxic to the river eco system, into harmless chemicals. The bacteria remove up to 80 per cent
of the toxic compound before the cleaned water is returned to the Waikato River.
PEOPLE AWARDS
Engineering Innovator: Winner Nihal Kularatna was awarded for improving the efficiency of energy storage systems with
his research, while also improving power quality issues. The Waikato University academic has patents pending for two
techniques he developed. He has also working on solving a common engineering problem in developing countries: the severe
fluctuations in the utility power supply due to overloaded low voltage distribution lines, while a United States patent
covers his supercapacitor technology (high capacity energy storage). The electronics engineer says he is driven by
developing creative usable technologies to make energy more accessible to all.
Entrepreneur: winner Mike Daniell: The electrical engineer has led Fisher & Paykel Healthcare since 1990, holding various positions in the business including product design engineer and technical
manager. During his 23 years at the helm the company has grown rapidly and is now an internationally competitive,
high-tech manufacturing operation with significant penetration in niche markets.
Young Engineer of the Year: Ben Henson. The Auckland engineer for Beca led a team designing an award-winning laboratory
to research tuberculosis at the University of Auckland.
NOTE: The annual awards are delivered by The Institution of Professional Engineers (IPENZ) on behalf of a partnership of
engineering organisations – Institute of Public Works Engineering Australasia (IPWEA), Electricity Engineers’
Association (EEA), Association of Consulting Engineers New Zealand (ACENZ), New Zealand Contractors’ Federation, Water
New Zealand and The New Zealand Council of Engineering Deans.
Description: NZEEButton-award winner
NZEE Awards 2013
Practice Awards
Excellence in Community Engagement
Winner:
Stronger Christchurch Infrastructure Rebuild Team (SCIRT) - Keeping the Community at the Heart of the Rebuild
SCIRT
Excellence in Environmental Practice
Winner:
Martyn Wilson Reserve - Storm water Upgrade and Wetland Project
- Beca
- Harrison Grierson
- HEB Construction
- Andrew Stewart Ltd
- Auckland Council
- SouthernSkies Environmental Ltd
- Afishionado
Excellence in Engineering for Safety
Winner
Transfield Worley's Shutdown Management Framework
- Transfield Worley
Project and Product Awards
Building and Construction
Winner:
- Cored Timber Rounds (TTT MultiPoles©)
mlb Consulting Engineers
TTT Products Ltd
Chemical, Bio and Food
Winner:
Wairakei Bioreactor
- Beca
Energy and Resources
Winner:
Nadarivatu Hydroelectric Power Scheme
- MWH New Zealand Ltd
ICEET (Information, Communication, Electrical and Electronic Technology)
Winner:
The PAL-GPR System: An Underground Asset Location and Mapping System, setting New Standards in Utility Safety and Asset
Protection
- Counties Power Ltd
Mechanical and Manufacturing
Winner:
The Classifynder – An Automated Digital Microscope for Palynology
- Veritaxa Ltd
- Massey University School of Engineering and Advanced Technology (SEAT)
Transportation Infrastructure
Winner:
Newmarket Viaduct Replacement
- NGA Newmarket Alliance
Water, Waste and Amenities
Winner:
Christchurch Ocean Outfall
- URS New Zealand Ltd
- Christchurch City Council
- McConnell Dowell Constructors Ltd
- OCEL
- Downer New Zealand Ltd
Supreme Award for Engineering Excellence and Awards Recognising People
Winner: The Classifynder – An Automated Digital Microscope for Palynology.
New Zealand Young Engineer of the Year: Ben Henson of Beca
William Pickering Award for Engineer Leaders: Sir Ron Carter and Richard Fenwick
New Zealand Engineering Entrepreneur of the Year: Mike Daniells of Fisher and Paykel Health
New Zealand Engineering Innovator of the Year: Nihal Kularatna of Waikato University
ends