  Defence
 Tim Barter, 49
Director general Navy Systems; chief naval engineer
Commodore Tim Barter is leading the implementation of a technical regulatory system for the Royal Australian Navy.
“I see this project as codifying how engineering is done in the Navy,” he said. “Navy is about complex platforms (ships, submarines, aeroplanes). Engineering allows us to get the best performance out of our platforms and hopefully have a technology edge if we need to use our weapons.”
Barter was also involved in the Collins submarine program. “Even though it is a much maligned project, I think as an engineering achievement we will look back on it and recognise the huge successes that were achieved there,” he said.
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 Stephen Gumley, 47
Chief executive officer, Defence Materiel Organisation
Dr Stephen Gumley, the former chief executive and managing director of the Australian Submarine Corporation, was recently appointed chief executive officer of the Canberrabased Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO).
The DMO is responsible for the delivery of around 240 current capital projects at a total cost approaching $50 billion. It spends about $3 billion each year on new equipment and employs almost 7900 people. If the DMO were a commercial enterprise it would be considered as one of Australia’s largest companies.
A former Rhodes scholar with a PhD in fluid dynamics from Oxford University, Gumley was CEO of his family’s company Global Lightning Technologies Group and vicepresident (information services) for Boeing’s Commercial Airplane Services in Seattle, USA, before becoming the head of the Australian Submarine Corporation, where he was credited with winning a 25year contract to maintain the troubled Collins class submarines.
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 Julie Hammer, 49
Acting chief information officer, Department of Defence
Air ViceMarshal Julie Hammer was one of the first female engineers in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and her extensive career is a role model for all young women with engineering and military aspirations.
She was the first woman to command an operational unit in the RAAF (Electronic Warfare Squadron); become a member of the RAAF General List on promotion to Group Captain in 1996; and achieve One Star level, on promotion to Air Commodore in 1999, and then Two Star level, on promotion to Air Vice-Marshal in 2003. She is the only woman in the history of the Australian Defence Force to have achieved starred rank.
Hammer believes there needs to be a cultural change in the wider community, not just the engineering profession, to attract more young women into engineering.
“We have to reach children in primary and secondary schools,” she said. “We need to encourage them to think about careers in the physical sciences and engineering. We have to provide the role models.”
Upon retirement “within a few years”, Hammer is looking forward to having more time to contribute more to Engineers Australia, the profession of engineering and charities on a voluntary basis.
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 Peter Hutchinson, 47
Australian national commander in the Middle East, Australian Defence Force
Brigadier Peter (Hutch) Hutchinson left for Iraq last month to take command of Australia’s 800strong joint task force in the Middle East.
“The appointment of the Australian national commander in the Middle East is one that in the past would have gone to someone with an infantry or armoured background,” Hutchinson said. “My appointment is a recognition of the fact that engineers can be technical and lead organisations.
“The first thing I want to do in the Middle East is to bring everyone home safely. We are making a fantastic contribution in the area and I want to make sure we continue to punch above our weight.”
To take up his new appointment, Hutchinson has taken leave from his previous role of director general infrastructure asset development, responsible for developing and delivering Defence’s new infrastructure projects. His career has also included command appointments in the 3rd Field Engineer Regiment, 18th Field Squadron (Light), 21st Construction Squadron and 3rd Combat Engineer Regiment.
“The Aussie soldier is a wonderful beast who is driven by initiative, mate-ship, courage and determination,” Hutchinson said.
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 Noel Schmidt, 52
Director general technical airworthiness, Australian Defence Force
Air Commodore Noel Schmidt has led the development, implementation, and ongoing management and audit of the technical airworthiness policy and management framework for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) over the past 10 years. Used by the Air Force, Army and Navy aviation communities, the framework covers the entire continuum of design, production, maintenance and quality assurance for fixed and rotary wing aircraft and associated systems.
Schmidt has been pivotal in the Defence Department introducing professional development programs established by professional bodies such as Engineers Australia.
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Engineers Australia Magazine, Volume 76 No 6, June 2004.
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