South Australia’s most innovative engineers and engineering projects have been named at the 2025 Engineers Australia Excellence Awards – People and Projects at the Hilton Adelaide overnight.
“The Engineers Australia Excellence Awards honour the outstanding achievements of engineers here in South Australia and the vital contribution their work makes to our community and beyond. By recognising these local leaders, we also inspire the next generation and strengthen the future of our profession,” said Jan Irvine, General Manager South Australia Division.
Local winners will go on to represent their division at the national awards’ gala dinner held at Doltone House, Jones Bay Wharf Sydney on Thursday 13 November.
South Australia Project of the Year
Flinders Chase National Park Visitor Centre, Tonkin
The state-of-the-art Flinders Chase Visitor Centre on Kangaroo Island is a key initiative in the region’s recovery from the 2019/2020 bushfires that devastated the island. Tonkin played a pivotal role as the lead structural and civil engineering consultant for the design and construction of the new ecologically sustainable, fire-resilient facility. In addition to being an integral hub for tourists, the building also incorporates the Flinders-Baudin Research Centre, a collaborative project between the University of Adelaide and the Department for Environment and Water. The research centre has a laboratory, admin area and accommodation for nine staff who undertake ecological and conservation research. Tonkin worked in collaboration with Troppo Architects to deliver this iconic project for the South Australian Government Department for Environment and Water.
South Australia Professional Engineer of the Year
Katherine Bennell-Pegg, Australian Space Agency
Katherine is the first astronaut to represent Australia. She earned her wings from the European Space Agency in April 2024 after completing their rigorous ‘Astronaut Basic Training’ as part of ‘The Hoppers’ class. As a professionally qualified government astronaut, she is eligible for future missions to the International Space Station and beyond. Katherine is also the first Australian woman to qualify as a professional astronaut. A Group Captain in the Australian Air Force Reserve, she has a 15-year space engineering career spanning six countries, multiple missions and diverse technologies.
South Australia Emerging Professional Engineer of the Year
Franke Agenbag, Defence, Science & Technology Group
Franke Agenbag is a Space Systems Engineer at Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group and a PhD candidate at the University of South Australia. A First-Class Honours graduate in Electrical and Mechatronic Engineering, she led the world’s first space-based adaptive liquid-lens demonstration on the Buccaneer CubeSat. Her work earned the DSTG Outstanding Early Career Achiever, Channel 9 Young Achiever and Women in Innovation Innovator of the Year awards. Supported by SmartSat CRC, her research focuses on autonomous on-orbit radiation mitigation to enhance next-generation satellite resilience.