ACM CRC Partner Meeting 2024

Jennifer Conley is CEO of the Geelong Manufacturing Council (GMC), which plays a crucial role in supporting new and traditional manufacturing in Geelong and the wider region. An advanced manufacturing advocate with two decades of experience at the intersection of industry, research, and government, she is passionate about building support, capability and opportunity for Australia's innovative manufacturers.

GMC represents manufacturers, large and small, who collectively employ around 35,000 people nationally. 

GMC’s flagship event, the biennial Technology and Innovation Summit, builds understanding among manufacturers and the investor community of opportunities and imperatives for the sector, including the significance of the energy transformation and circular economy developments.

Jennifer is also a non-executive director on the Board of a specialised technology group in the region, the Advanced Fibre Cluster Geelong, and a member of the Skilling the Bay Advisory Board, focused on improving education and employment outcomes for people in the Geelong and Barwon regions.

Jenn has three grown-up children and lives on the Surf Coast of Victoria.

Philip is recognised as the world-leading authority on residual stress and its effects on a range of materials. He has developed advanced methods to measure damage non-invasively using both indirect methods and led the establishment of the Henry Moseley X-ray Imaging Facility capable of 3D non-destructive imaging over a range of scales. Most recently he has started to bring together X-ray imaging and electron imaging within a spatially correlated workflow, coining the phrase ‘Correlated Tomography’. 

His vision is a fully integrated suite of instruments capable of identifying and tracking a volume of interest, such as a region of sub-surface pitting corrosion in a pipeline steel, to be identified and followed over time by x-ray CT from the mm scale down to the micron scale. He has also been responsible for the application and development of a number of completely new instruments, including a 50Hz airport security CT system for dynamic materials science experiment, the first laboratory-based X-ray DCT system for 3D crystallographic mapping in the lab, and the first dual plasma electron beam instrument The importance of this body of work to society as a whole has been recognised by his election to the Royal Academy of Engineering. 

He has published over 250 journal papers and makes over 30 public lectures each year. Besides elegant engineering science, he is heavily committed to knowledge transfer, having set up a small business unit (employing 3 staff) to apply the techniques developed in the lab into Industry (it is the only UKAS accredited X-ray measurement unit in the UK). In addition, his Public Engagement activities on 3D imaging have seen him exhibit at Buckingham Palace and the Royal Society, win the Royal Academy of Engineering/Nexia Solutions Education Innovation Award and this year set up a spin-out taking his research on materials into Schools and Borough Councils.

Tony Carolan has an exceptional record of achievement in the Australian aerospace industry. Starting his career in the mid-1960s as an engineer with UNSW qualifications in Aeronautical and Industrial Engineering, Tony worked for Hawker de Havilland (HdH) for the majority of his career, including spending some years in the early 1970s in the UK working on the BAE Systems Hawk aircraft. Returning to Australia, he moved through various roles in production management to general management positions within HdH. 

From the early 1990s, Tony was CEO of all HdH operations in Australia and he focussed the business on the design and manufacture of aerostructures for both civil and military aircraft. He led HdH to become a world recognised sole source producer of components for Airbus, Boeing, BAE Systems, Bombardier and Lockheed Martin with a primary focus on composite materials applications – a legacy that continues through to today. 

Boeing acquired HdH in 2001, and Tony then held several senior roles within Boeing, helping to shape the company for long term success. In 2002, Tony was inducted into the Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame; this honour is recognition of individuals who have made outstanding contributions to sustained manufacturing excellence. Tony has also held key roles within manufacturing companies and been a member of a number of boards.

His key career achievements include:

• Established Australia’s first state-of-the-art advanced composites manufacturing facility.
• Grew an Australian aerostructures manufacturing capability from one highly dependent on Defence programs into a world-recognised supplier in the competitive civil aerostructures industry.
• Maximised outcomes from R&D to build an Australian design and manufacturing capability that developed solutions that helped Hawker de Havilland to compete on a global playing field; Lockheed Martin C130J flaps, Bombardier tail cones and Boeing 787 wing trailing edge moveables are key examples.

A founder of Carbon Revolution, Ashley has more than 18 years of experience in developing and commercialising technology, leading product design and technology direction. Ashley has extensive experience in virtual and physical prototyping composite parts for automotive, marine, and industrial applications. Ashley holds a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science (Deakin University) and a PhD in composite materials and processing (Deakin University).

Nathan's areas of expertise include:

• Composites design for manufacture
• Materials testing, destructive and NDT
• Filament winding
• Industrial automation and robotics
• Manufacturing methodologies; lean, 6sigma
• Working in regulated environment
• Working within quality management frameworks, ISO9001, AS9100

Nathan has extensive experience as a mechatronics engineer in aerospace and defence manufacturing.

Nathan designs solutions across industries looking to replace traditional metallic components with carbon fibre to reduce weight and cost. He has previously assisted in commissioning a multi-million-dollar robot to assemble carbon composite wing flaps for large military cargo planes, as well as leading a team to keep production targets in the JSF program (F-35 fighter jets).

Nathan is personally invested in bringing emerging technology in composite manufacturing to Western Sydney, enabling manufacturers to develop new processes into mass production.

David graduated from Ballarat University with a degree in Metallurgy and is also a graduate the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

David has worked at Senior Levels with international companies for over 30 years including Mitsui and Toyota Tsusho, spending over 14 years as General Manager of Metals operations, working to support Toyota Motor manufacturing in the International and Domestic Steel supply chain.

David is the current CEO of the Advanced Fibre Cluster Geelong. In April 2022, David was appointed to the Advanced Fibre Cluster Geelong CEO role, part time, in conjunction with his role at the Australian Steel Association. David is a passionate advocate for Geelong and the Region. The Advanced Fibre Cluster is an initiative of a group of highly innovative companies and organisations centred around Deakin University and the Geelong region, accelerating the growth of Australian advanced fibre and composites capabilities.