Consultant profiles

Bridges	Load capacity assessment and design; timber bridge technology
Timber research	Forest and wood products research; timber structures code; timber utility poles; non-destructive assessment of timber; timber engineering
Other	Risk management; infrastructure asset management

Experience as Expert witness

20 years experience in preparing expert reports and testimony in District and Supreme courts.

Civil Engineering

Mr Ron Beckett

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Consultant

Qualifications and Affiliations

C.Eng., BSc.(Civil Eng), M.Phil (Eng)

FIEA, MICE, MSAICE, MZIE, MI Wood Sci, MIArbs & Arbs ,Pr.Eng.

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Slips, trips and falls	1750 slip-trip-fall phenomena in NSW
Building failures	Poor materials performance; coatings and adhesives defects; building product development and performance including technological/economic problems for major developers and builders
Other	Microscopy, timber engineering and wood science

Experience as Expert witness

20 years presentation of expert testimony in Supreme and District courts, including murder trials before judge and juries

Mr Ken Halstead

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Senior Lecturer

Director Graduate Program Local Government Engineering

Faculty of Engineering

Qualifications and Affiliations

BE(Hons) (NSWIT), ME(Hons) (W'gong)

LGE, LGT&CP, MIEAust, CPEng

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Slips, trips and falls	Investigation of "trip and fall" accidents – pavements and paths, surfaces
Local government	Issues, legislation and regulations - Government Act 1993 and its regulations; Roads Act 1993 and its regulation; Civil Liabilities Act 2004 (NSW); its regulation and impact on local government (liabilities, malfeasance etc); town planning
Roads	Accidents, construction
Other	Environmental impact assessment

Experience as Expert witness

Preparation of at least 60 comprehensive ‘Personal Injury’ reports for NSW District Court, Land and Environment Court

Electrical Engineering

Mr Noel Carmody

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Consultant

Qualifications and Affiliations

B Eng Sc (Electrical), M Eng Sc (Electrical) - UNSW

Member of the Institution of Arbitrators Australia

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Electrical	Electrical/electronic control systems; alarm systems investigations; accidents and investigations into the cause of fires; electrical shock and industrial injuries; forensic engineering
Computers	Computer system designs; software and hardware engineering real time software, particularly in the manufacturing and tertiary environments

Experience as Expert witness

25 years of experience and over 450 expert reports. Extensive experience in providing testimony in District and Supreme courts in Australia. Graded arbitrator and mediator of the Supreme Court of NSW

Environmental Engineering

Associate Professor Noel Merrick

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Director of National Centre for Groundwater Management

Faculty of EngineeringNoel Merrick

Qualifications and Affiliations

MSc (Syd), GradDipDataProc (NSWIT), PhD (UTS)

MIAH, MASEG

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Groundwater	Groundwater modelling and environmental simulation; data analysis; optimisation; geophysics; software development; effects of groundwater on infrastructure; remediation of groundwater and soil; peer review of groundwater models
Hydrology	Quantitative hydrology and hydrogeology
Other	Agricultural water management; electrical geophysics; optimisation (resource allocation); pollution and waste management

Mechanical Engineering

Dr David Eager

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Senior Lecturer

Faculty of Engineering

David Eager

Qualifications and Affiliations

BE(Hons)(NSWIT), PhD (UNSW), GradCertDispRes (UTS), FIEAust, CPEng, MAAS, MASME, MIIAV

Representative for the Institution of Engineers Australia on the Australian Standards Committees for Children’s Playgrounds and the Adventure Rides and Devices, Trampolines (Chair), Artifical Climbing Structures and Challenge Course Equipment (Chair), and Sports and Recreational Equipment.
Australian representative on the International Standards Committees for Children’s Playgrounds and Adventure Rides

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Child Safety	Playground surfacing and fall measurement; playground equipment compliance; playground accident investigation, testing equipment for entrapment of fingers and limbs; trampolines, consumer product child safety and testing
Sport and leisure	Adventure rides testing; fall measurement; impact attenuation measurement; soccer goal post safety; playing field surface testing; skid, impact and sprig tests on surfaces such as sports fields
Accidents and Injury	Workplace injuries; OHS related accidents; lifting injuries; hearing loss
Investigations	Forensic engineering; accident; fire; noise pollution and control
Training	Project management; playgrounds and child safety

Experience as Expert witness

More than ten years experience in preparing expert reports and giving evidence in NSW, QLD and ACT District and Supreme Courts

Adjunct Professor Stephen Johnston

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Consultant

Stephen Johnston

Qualifications and Affiliations

BE, ME (UNSW), PhD (UTS), FIEAust, CPEng

Fellow, Institution of Engineers, Australia (since 1991)
Member, Australasian Association for Engineering Education (AAEE) (since 1990)

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Mechanical engineering	Mechanical Engineering design and design review (broad expertise); assessment of plant, equipment and machinery design; appropriateness and sustainability of technology, generally
Forensic engineering	Machinery fatigue and other failures; problems associated with the operation of machinery, including ergonomic and OHS issues
Health and Safety	Occupational health and safety; public safety
Marine	Marine failures including fatigue and fires
Other	Materials handling; engineering education; philosophy, practice and social context of engineering

Experience as Expert witness

Extensive experience as expert witness and referee in NSW District, Industrial and Supreme Court proceedings

Mr John McCaffrey

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Consultant

Qualifications and Affiliations

BE (Mechanical), ME (UNSW)

Member, Institute of Engineers Australia since 1971
Member of the International Solar Energy Society

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Mechanical engineering	Air-conditioning systems; refrigeration; hydraulic systems; crane, escalator and lift breakdowns; fluids handling turbomachinery (plant and components); thermal heat transfer plants; power generating plant such as steam and gas turbines; general items of mechanical equipment
Motor vehicles	Accidents and investigations; diesel and spark ignition engines; industrial and road transport vehicles

Experience as Expert witness

Extensive experience in providing expert opinion and testimony in NSW District and Supreme courts

Structural Engineering

Dr Kevan Heathcote

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Senior Lecturer, School of the Built Environment

Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building

Kevan Heathcote

Qualifications and Affiliations

BE(Hons), MEngSc, MCom(UNSW), GradDipEd(SCAE), PhD(UTS)

Member, Australian Institute of Building
Member, Institution of Engineers (Aust.)

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Structural Engineering	Building and engineering related to the design and construction of earth buildings; building and engineering related to the design and construction of temporary works; structural diagnostics; forensic engineering
Materials	Building materials testing; glass impact, earth wall construction
Other	Structural design, feasibility studies and development appraisal, risk assessment (natural disasters); financial matters relating to building companies – cost management and financial performance

Experience as Expert witness

Dr Heathcote has provided expert witness reports on roof failures, scaffold failures, building settlements due to retaining wall deflection, glazing failures, earth wall failure, falls from ladders and work safety issues as well as a variety of other structural related matters.

Professor Bijan Samali

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Professor of Structural Engineering

Group Head, Infrastructure and the Environment

Faculty of Engineering

Bijan Samali

Qualifications and Affiliations

BS, MS, DSc (GWU)

MIEAust, CPEng, MASCE, MIABSE

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Structural Engineering	Experimental and analytical investigation of the dynamic response (at both full and scale models) and characteristics of buildings, bridges and other structures subjected to dynamic loads such as wind, earthquakes, traffic, blasts and others. Experimental testing includes the use of state-of-the-art shake table facility at UTS
Bridges	Load rating and estimation of stiffness and strength of bridges as well as damage detection and health monitoring of old bridges

Experience as Expert witness

More than 15 years experience in preparing expert opinion reports and testimony for NSW District and Supreme courts

Telecommunications Engineering

Professor Robin Braun

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Professor of Telecommunications

Deputy Director (Research), Institute for Information and Communication Technology

Faculty of Engineering

Robin Braun

Qualifications and Affiliations

B.Sc(Hons) Brighton, M.Sc(Eng) Ph.D Cape Town, SMIEEE

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Telecommunications

Autonomic communications; bio-mimetic systems; systems engineering; digital radio communications; modulation and information theory; teletraffic engineering; network planning and management; network protocols for both mobile and fixed information theory and coding; modulation and signal processing

Economics, management and regulation

Experience as Expert witness

Over six years experience in preparing expert reports and giving evidence in NSW District and Supreme Courts, including patent reviews and criminal cases (audio enhancements) for the NSW Police.

Environmental Science

Professor Simon Beecham

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Professor in Sustainable Water Resources Engineering

University of South Australia

Simon Beecham(open an external page)

Qualifications and Affiliations

PhD BSc(Hons) GCHE MIEAust CPEng(NPER3)

JCUD International Group on Urban Rainfall, IWA/IAHR, 1998 to present
Chair (1999 to 2004), Standards Australia Technical Committee CE/24 –
Measurement of water flow in open channels and closed conduits
Chair (2005 to present), Standards Australia Committee WS-014-03-02 – Siphonic Systems
Chair (2005 to present), Research Advisory Panel, Monash University’s Institute for Sustainable Water Resources, National Stormwater Biofilter Development and Testing Facility
Chair (1994/5) and committee member (1991 to present) Sydney Division Water Engineering Panel, Engineers Australia

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Hydrology	Hydrological and hydraulic design of urban stormwater and sewerage systems (including water quality management) using contemporary computer methods; hydraulic engineering
Urban design	Water sensitive urban design; urban drainage; sewerage systems; river hydrology and flooding
Other	Software development; design of on-site detention facilities; roof drainage design for large buildings and complexes

Experience as Expert witness

Eleven legal cases requiring expert opinion on various water engineering issues

Professor Greg Skilbeck

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Professor of Earth Sciences

Faculty of Science

Greg Skilbeck

Qualifications and Affiliations

BSc(Hons), PhD (Syd)

Geological Society of Australia (1979- )
Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists (1979- )
Australian Society of Exploration Geophysicists (1992- )
American Geophysical Union (1995- )
Australian Institute of Geoscientists (1995- )
Australian Quaternary Science Association (2002- )

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Earth science	Soil and sediment analysis, sedimentary basin analysis, physical properties of sediments and soils; sequence stratigraphy and seismic interpretation
Marine science	Marine and coastal processes; marine geoscience and palaeoclimate studies

Forensic Science

Professor Claude Roux

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Professor of Forensic Science

Director, Centre for Forensic Science

Faculty of Science

Claude Roux

Qualifications and Affiliations

BSc, PhD (Lausanne), MFSS, MIAI

President, Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society (NSW Branch)
President, Australian and New Zealand Association of Forensic Science Educators
Provisional member, American Academy of Forensic Science
Member, Innovation Strategy Working Party, National Institute of Forensic Science (NIFS)
Invited member, Criminalistics Specialist Advisory Group (SAG) from Senior Managers Australia & New Zealand Forensic Science Laboratories (SMANZFSL)
Associate member, SMANZFL
Member, European Fibres Group (EFG)
Invited member Scientific Working Group for Materials (SWGMAT)

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Forensic Science

Investigations; examination of trace and physical evidence; fingerprints and other impressions; questioned document analysis; forensic chemistry

Experience as Expert witness

More than ten years experience in preparing expert opinion reports and testimony for NSW District and Supreme courts

Materials Science

Associate Professor Michael Dawson

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Head, Department of Chemistry, Materials and Forensic Science

Faculty of Science

Michael Dawson

Qualifications and Affiliations

BPharm, PhD (Syd), CChem, MRACI, MPS

Registered as a Pharmacist in the state of NSW
Member, Pharmaceutical Sub-Committee of the Australian Drug Evaluation Committee
Member, Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society
Member, Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences
Member, Pharmaceutical Society of Australia
Member, Royal Australian Chemical Institute
Member, Australian Drug Law Reform Foundation
Honorary Treasurer and Board Member of Family Drug Support (a registered charity)

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Drugs	Analysis of pharmaceutical products and illegal substances; pharmacology of drugs; drug and alcohol policies; the influence of the media on drug laws; drugs in sport
Forensic Toxicology	Criminal links between drugs and alcohol; synthesis and detection of illicit drugs; freedom of speech, civil liberties
Other	General analytical chemistry

Experience as Expert witness

21 years experience in preparing expert reports and giving evidence in District and Supreme Courts for both civil and criminal cases

Dr Harish Patney

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Senior Lecturer

Faculty of Science

Qualifications and Affiliations

BSc, MSc(Hons) (Punjab), PhD (Flind)

Fellow of Royal Australian Chemical Institute
Chartered Chemist

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Chemical safety	Occupational Health and Safety with chemicals; chemical safety and legislation; exposure of chemical substances at workplaces
Chemical analysis	Synthesis and analysis of organic chemicals and chemical products; detergent analyses; gas and liquid chromatography; infrared spectroscopy; analysis of industrial formulations including detergents and petroleum products; testing of oil samples

Experience as Expert witness

More than 16 years experience in preparing expert opinion reports and testimony for NSW District and Supreme courts

Medical and Molecular Biosciences

Professor John Ellis

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Professor of Molecular Biology

John Ellis

Qualifications and Affiliations

BSc (Hons) (Reading), PhD, DSc (Liverpool)

Australian Society for Parasitology
British Society for Parasitology
American Society for Parasitology
World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology
Editorial Board member, Parasitology
Editorial Board member, Veterinary Parasitology

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Parasitology	Veterinary and medical parasitology with an emphasis on parasitic protozoa
Molecular Biology	Isolation and characterization of genes coding for biologically important molecules such as antigens and enzymes. This may include the application of technologies such as preparation of genomic and cDNA libraries, isolation of cloned DNA, restriction mapping, PCR, DNA sequencing, Northern, Southern and Western blotting. Study of gene expression including the application of microarray and differential display technology, RNA interference, proteomics. Expression of genes in prokaryotic and eukaryotic expression systems. Study of genome diversity by AFLP, RAPD PCR and repetitive DNA-based technology, molecular phylogeny.
Immunology	Development and validation of new diagnostic tests (e.g. immunoassays) and prototype vaccines (including those based on recombinant DNA and DNA vaccine technology); development and validation of animal models of infection including immune responses to infection, in both pregnant and non-pregnant animals.
Other	Infectious diseases, cell biology, in vitro culture

Experience as Expert witness

15 years experience in preparing expert reports and filing and supporting patent applications.

Associate Professor Peter Miller

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Department of Medical and Molecular Biosciences

Faculty of Science

Qualifications and Affiliations

MSc, PhD (Man), DipTertiaryEd (UNE), MAIBiol

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Entomology	Efficacy of pesticides against public health pests, particularly cockroaches, mosquitoes and fleas. Laboratory and field trials on conventional insecticides and insect growth regulators (IGR's) for efficacy and registration. Pests include cockroaches, ants, fleas, mosquitoes, bush flies and spiders.
Pest control	Management of urban and industrial pests in public buildings. Toxicology of pesticides. Management of their use to limit hazard.

Nanotechnology

Professor Michael Cortie

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Director of the Institute of Nanoscale Technology

Michael Cortie

Qualifications and Affiliations

BSc(Eng); MSc; PhD

IEA; IMEA, Pr.Eng (South Africa)

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Metallurgy	Stainless steels, coinage metal alloys, titanium and zirconium, x-ray diffraction and crystallography, cracking and solid state transformation, explosive interactions between molten metal and water, atomization, granulation and casting
Nanotechnology	Applications of precious metals, solar glazing coatings, spectrally-selective materials
Other	Value addition to mineral resources

Physics

Professor Geoff Smith

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Professor of Applied Physics

Faculty of Science

Qualifications and Affiliations

BSc (UNE), PhD (Monash), PhD (honoris causa) (Uppsala), FAIP

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Materials	Energy efficient and solar energy materials; thin films, coatings , paints and surfaces; windows, glazing, and skylights; transport; electrical, thermal and optical properties of composites; nanoparticles and nanostructures
Energy and water	Renewable Energy Applications; daylighting; interior lighting systems; photovoltaic (solar) cells; thermal control; building codes and standards; sky (roof) cooling; solar desalination and saltwater greenhouses; atmospheric water collection
Optics	Advanced optical materials; polymer-based fibre optics for telecommunications; lighting plus medical and industrial endoscopy; light emitting diodes; light mixing; backlit and sidelit displays

Experience as Expert witness

20 years presentation of expert testimony in Supreme and District courts, including murder trials before judge and juries

Design, Architecture and Building

Associate Professor Douglas Tomkin

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Head, School of Design

Faculty of Design, Architecture and Building

Douglas Tomkin

Qualifications and Affiliations

DipDesign(RMIT), MDes(RCA)

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Design

Industrial design; disabled design; issues concerning the design of products; injuries occurring during the use of a product (ladder/chair/tool etc)

Experience as Expert witness

More than six years experience in preparing expert opinion reports and testimony for NSW District and Supreme courts

Nursing, Midwifery and Health

Professor Caroline Homer

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Professor of Midwifery

Director of the Centre for Midwifery and Family Health

Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Health: Caroline Homer

Qualifications and Affiliations

RM RN MN (UTS) PhD (UTS)

Australian College of Midwives Inc.
Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand.
Council for Remote Area Nurses of Australia
Maternity Coalition
NSW Nurses Association

Areas of Consulting Expertise

Clinical midwifery; obstetrics; motherhood; maternity services; nursing; antenatal, labour and postnatal care; birthing services; family health research; gynaecology; foetal habituation; perinatal care

Contact

Consultant profiles