Engineers Media, a wholly owned subsidiary of Engineers Australia, has released its Top 100 list of Australia’s most influential engineers in 2013. This year marks 10 years of publishing the Top 100 list, which includes profiles of each individual and their thoughts on leadership.

Available online here: http://engineerstop100.realviewtechnologies.com/, the list is divided into eleven different categories including academia/research, associations, community groups, contractor/service providers, consultants, innovation/expertise, manufacturing, politics, public service, utilities and industry, which covers all other business sectors.

A new category called “community” has been included in this year’s Top 100 which aims to showcase the significant influence engineers can have on society, outside engineering intensive industries.

Bill Phippen, President of TAD Disability Services, was named in the new Community category for having spent the last 37 years working with people living with a disability. TAD Disability Services offered 37,280 hours of skilled volunteer hour last financial year building personalised custom equipment to enable people with disabilities to lead more independent lives.

Bill Phippen said: “The work of an engineer is to straighten and smooth the path through the rough terrain for the benefit of all. That the work of TAD Disability Services has straightened and smoothed a lot of paths for people living with disability is enough, but to see that work recognised by the wider profession is indeed wonderful.”

The Top 100 list is sponsored by the Centre for Engineering Leadership and Management, which develops, recognises and promotes the ability of engineers to participate in and lead business, innovation and change.

Engineers Media managing editor Dr Tim Kannegieter said the selection process had been re-examined this year resulting in a different composition of the final list.

Kannegieter said: “There are two main changes – a broadening of the selection criteria and a greater diversity in the categories we list. The changes in the selection criteria were aimed at encouraging a larger number of nominations and the changes in the categories were designed to better reflect the sectors of society and industry that engineers influence.”