ProfessorArchie Johnston

Building on a distinguished career as a civil engineer specialising in environmental fluid mechanics and water quality, Professor Johnston guides the educational development of world-class graduates with both technical and interpersonal skills that are required by industry and prepares them for national and global leadership roles.

"My aim is to provide graduates of the University of Sydney with a globally competitive edge in innovation, research and leadership. This involves identifying and addressing the major issues facing contemporary engineering and technical education - particularly with respect to industry needs - and modifying our programs accordingly to develop the appropriate interpersonal and emotional intelligence characteristics of our graduate engineers and technologists. Through such research we believe we are now better preparing graduates for the local, national and global engineering and IT marketplaces.

"I've been an active researcher throughout my professional life, so it has well suited my career path to move from design applications within industry to addressing issues in a broader social, political and environmental context. My university-based research essentially still addresses a wide range of industry-related problems and their solutions.

"Being Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies at the University of Sydney gave me the opportunity to guide the development of world-class education and research programs with a unique group of talented staff and students. It also allowed me to clearly communicate to the broader community both the benefits of a strong academic engineering profession and the value to Australia of having a premier world-leading engineering faculty."