Prof Simon Beecham

Brief description

Emeritus Professor

Full description

Simon commenced as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Information Technology, Engineering and the Environment (ITEE) in January 2015. Prior to this he was Head of the School of Natural and Built Environments (2010 - 2014) and before that he was the Director of UniSA's Centre for Water Management and Reuse (2006 - 2010). The Division of ITEE is recognised as a world-leader in teaching and research and has received a range of accolades for outstanding education, student and graduate satisfaction, and world-class research. These include being ranked as the only university in South Australia in the World Top 100 (in position 69) for Engineering and Technology in the 2014-15 Times Higher Education World University Rankings. The Division has over 300 full-time academic staff and more than 420 PhD students. In terms of his own personal research, Simon has been awarded (as Chief Investigator) seven Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery, Linkage and LIEF grants in the past ten years and he has three current ARC grants. His research is outcome-focused and in particular he believes we need to be more sustainable in the management of our water resources. To this end, he has through his research been the author of industry available tools such as the Syfon and Switch2 software programs. The Syfon model has been used to design the siphonic roofwater harvesting systems at the Sydney Olympic Stadium, the Sydney Cricket Ground, the MCG and the new Adelaide Oval. It has also been used to design the roof drainage systems at the Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Sydney and Adelaide airports. In terms of iconic Australian buildings, the Syfon software has been used in the design of the Federation Square and Docklands developments in Melbourne as well as the new Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) and the Adelaide Convention Centre. In addition to these industry contributions, Simon has been a Board Director of Water Research Australia Ltd (WaterRA) since 2009, having been successfully re-elected in both the 2011 and 2013 Board elections. WaterRA is Australia's longest-running private company (2009 - present) that has made the successful transition from being a former CRC (1995-2008). Simon is a Fellow of Engineers Australia as well as a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.