Engineers Australia is urging members to recognise their peers and nominate their fellow engineering colleagues and friends in the Australian Honours. Engineers Australia Fellow Dr Peter Rogers AM chats to us about his career and what the award meant to him.

From encouraging women into engineering, using engineering approaches to facilitate medical breakthroughs, as well as working in Indigenous communities, Dr Peter Rogers AM, FIEAust has made a substantial impact to the community.  

That impact was recognised on the King’s Birthday last year through his appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to engineering, education and to the community.  

Dr Rogers says “one of the greatest impacts has been to encourage more women into engineering. I was involved in developing our university’s world-leading engineering leadership program, which provided graduates with skills in communications and teamwork. This attracted female students to the faculty, increasing enrolments and graduates from the course.”  

Starting out as a chemical engineer, Dr Rogers has spent much of his career focused on commissioning and achieving reliability in engineering operations, building and testing systems to ensure they deliver when they are needed.     

“I can use my skills and experience to solve broader problems, such as bringing engineering solutions to reduce the incidence of trachoma, a debilitating eye disease in Indigenous communities,” Dr Rogers explains. “One project takes mobile face washing trailers with games and local community music into remote communities. This initiative is helping to stamp out the disease’s transmission.”   

“I have always been driven to help others – friends, family, colleagues, our invaluable universities. I am full of gratitude to those who took the considerable time to nominate and support me for this honour.  

“Opportunities in this life are only limited by our imaginations, persistence, and by taking calculated risks,” he says. 

Nominating for the Order of Australia is a simple online process. It is accessible and never closes.  

You need to provide some general information about the person, explain why you think they should be honoured and the impact they’ve had. You will also need to provide up to four referees who can attest to their impact. 

Not sure who to nominate? Our 2024 nominees for the Engineers Australia Excellence Awards have been announced. Discover the innovators and leaders shaping the future of engineering and explore their achievements in the interactive showcase booklet. 

Nominate now or contact [email protected] for advice.