About

Professor Murray Scott has over 40 years experience in the field of Aerospace Engineering, and has worked in both industry and academia, mainly in Australia, but also in Germany, Netherlands, UK and USA. He has made major contributions to the development of advanced composite materials and structures, particularly over the past 30 years, and has an outstanding record of achievement in engineering, research, education and professional activities at various levels.

His many company and academic appointments are fitting recognition of his professional standing, as were his election firstly as President and then as a World Fellow of the International Committee on Composite Materials (ICCM). He has also represented Australia on the International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS), serving as President for a two-year period, and is now an Honorary Fellow.

Murray was CEO of the highly acclaimed CRC for Advanced Composite Structures for over 13 years and before that was a research leader from its inception in 1991 through RMIT University, of which he continues to be an Adjunct Professor.

Dr Schofield AM is the current CEO of Australian Aerospace and Defence Innovation Ltd (AADI). Dr Schofield spent 37 years in DSTO holding a variety of scientific jobs including First Assistant Secretary Science Policy and Director of the Aeronautical and Maritime Research Laboratory where he was responsible for delivering DSTO’s scientific and technical advice to the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. He has been a member of the board of ACS Australia since its inception.

Mr Tony Carolan was most recently Business Development Manager - Aerospace and Defence Products at Marand Precision Engineering, bringing extensive experience from previous roles at Boeing Aerostructures Australia and Hawker de Havilland Pty Ltd (HdH), having being the CEO of HdH from 1992 to 2000. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of New South Wales. With a robust skill set that includes Aerospace, Defence, Manufacturing, Program Management, Change Management and more, Tony contributes valuable insights to the industry. He was a member of the ACS Australia board previously and returned to this role in December 2023.

Dr Paul Falzon has over 25 years of research, development and engineering experience in the field of advanced composite materials and manufacturing. In that time, he has been responsible for leading and managing development projects focussed primarily in manufacturing and joining of composites with the principal aim of reducing cost and improving quality. These projects involved the research, development and demonstration of composites technologies for aerospace, maritime, oil and gas and general composites sectors. Highlights include the development of liquid moulding technology which has been successfully adopted by Australian industry and used to produce aerospace components for business valued at AUD 4 billion as well the development and certification of oil and gas composite repair technologies which have been internationally recognised by innovation awards.

Paul is the General Manager of ACS-A, where he has successfully led the organisation since 2014. In his role, he oversees a range of functions including company operations, strategic direction, local and international business development and technology commercialisation.

Dr Rodney Thomson leads the ACS-A engineering team and is also responsible for quality management. He has over 25 years of experience in the design and implementation of composite structures for aerospace, maritime, land transport and energy applications. He is an internationally recognised expert specialising in composite design and optimisation, damage and failure modelling, composite structures for crashworthiness, bird-strike and energy absorption.

Rodney has led projects with local and international partners including Airbus, Boeing and Comac. More recently, he has focused on assisting companies to gain a competitive advantage through the development and delivery to market of novel composite engineering solutions. Rodney has delivered training courses to local industry, is co-author of over 100 technical publications and is a Fellow of Engineers Australia (FIEAust) and a Chartered Professional Engineer (CPEng) and Engineering Executive (EngExec). He is also on the National Engineering Register (NER) and a Registered Professional Engineer of Queensland (RPEQ).

Tess Kirkpatrick has over 25 years of administration and accounting experience within industry and University sectors. Her experience covers all aspects of financial reporting, human resources and administration. She has proven experience in the areas of company accounts, statutory financial reporting, audit, taxation coordination, grant submissions, administration, office management, human resources, site management and corporate governance.

Tess has been the ACS-A Administration Manager since 2015 and is responsible for the financial, administration, site and Occupational Health and Safety management within the organisation. She also holds the title of Company Secretary at ACS-A and assists the Board in matters of governance.

Andre Duarte is an internationally recognised marketing and business development executive with expertise in the aerospace and composite materials industries. He has proven experience in a variety of commercial roles, with ACS-A, as a business consultant, marketing manager and currently as business development manager; and has previously led a global aerospace business unit at SAERTEX in Germany, where he successfully managed a diverse sales and marketing team and developed strategic business relationships with a number of aerospace manufacturers.

Andre has also held specialist technical positions with Boeing - Aerospace Technologies of Australia (now Boeing Aerostructures Australia), where he provided materials & manufacturing support on the 787 moveable trailing edge and various other R&D programs.