Kanga awarded Engineers Australia’s highest honour

MARLENE KANGA has been awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal, the highest honour given by Engineers Australia (EA).

Kanga, who is an IChemE fellow and chair of the institution’s Major Hazards Committee, was given the award for her transformative contributions to engineering in Australia and globally. EA cited Kanga’s work to commercialise Australian research in artificial intelligence and hydrogen technologies as well as her lasting contributions to diversity in the profession. She is co-chair of Elevate, a programme for advancing women in STEM in Australia.

During her presidency of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations from 2017 to 2019, representing more than 100 institutions and more than 30m engineers, Kanga led the establishment of UNESCO World Engineering Day, now held annually on 4 March to highlight the achievements of engineers.

“It’s quite remarkable to receive this award especially as the first Asian-born recipient,” Kanga said. “For someone who arrived in Australia, knowing no one, with nowhere to stay, with one hundred dollars in my pocket and applying for jobs advertised for men and boys – this is a significant achievement. I didn’t know it then, but I would have been the first female engineer to have been employed in almost every company I applied to. Despite the many barriers I have had to overcome, what has driven me throughout my career is my enjoyment of the intellectual challenges that engineering provides, the never-ending and fascinating problems that always require new and innovative solutions and most importantly, to have a positive impact.

“I receive this award on behalf of all the hardworking engineers with multicultural backgrounds and who are unsung heroes – for their amazing engineering work that is making a significant impact on Australia, our economy, our environment, and of course, on all us Australians.”

The medal is named after Sir Peter Nicol Russell, a Sydney industrialist during the latter half of the 19th century who made major donations to the cause of engineering in Australia. It has been awarded annually since 1923. Kanga is the fifth woman to receive it. Other chemical engineers awarded the medal include Graeme Jameson and Rolf Prince.

Last month, TCE interviewed Kanga after she gave the Trevor Kletz lecture to discuss her calls for the process safety community to communicate more broadly with other sectors. Listen to the interview here: