Speakers & Forums

Dominique Cavell is a Technical Director at Aurecon, with over 25 years’ experience in transport infrastructure projects in Australia and United Kingdom. She has worked closely with clients on major projects, leading teams through design, construction, inspection, assessment and strengthening of road and rail bridges. Her experience on bridge asset management provides a deep understanding and appreciation of challenges faced by bridge asset owners. She is passionate in providing design solutions that minimise whole of life and maintenance costs.

Prof. Tommy Chan is a Full Professor of Civil Engineering in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and a member of ARC College of Experts. He is also the Founding Chair and President of the Australian Network of Structural Health Monitoring (ANSHM). Prof. Chan has been actively involved in carrying out research on structural health monitoring (SHM). He has more than 30 years of experience in SHM of various significant long-span bridges in Hong Kong and Mainland China and has taken an active role in promoting SHM in Australia after he moved to Australia in 2007, leading various significant achievements in SHM with other SHM experts, asset owners, government and industry practitioners under ANSHM. He is also a professional engineer and Fellow of IEAust and HKIE. Besides SHM, his research interests include bridge engineering, structural dynamics, impact studies, Moving Force Identification, Weigh-in-Motion Studies, optical fibre and other sensor developments, and new engineering materials.

Dr. Phil Cutter is a Principal Engineer at Rockfield Technologies Australia, specialising in structural health monitoring, geotechnical instrumentation, and remote monitoring systems for civil, mining, transport, and energy infrastructure. He has extensive international experience delivering monitoring solutions for major projects including the Forrestfield-Airport Link in Perth, the Queensferry Crossing in Scotland, the Dubai and Singapore Metro networks, floating offshore structures, and offshore wind turbine developments. Phil currently leads the development and deployment of advanced monitoring technologies across Australia and internationally, with a particular focus on wireless telemetry, sensor integration, and data-driven asset management. His professional interests include the practical application of structural health monitoring technologies, remote sensing systems, digital transformation of infrastructure monitoring, and the use of monitoring data to improve the performance, safety, and resilience of critical assets.

Dr. Yew-Chin Koay is the Senior Specialist in Materials and Structural Engineering at the Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority (VIDA) Roads. With over 25 years of experience across government, industry, and academia, he has delivered innovative engineering solutions for major transport infrastructure projects throughout Victoria. Dr. Koay holds a PhD from RMIT University, and he actively collaborates with universities and industry partners to bridge the gap between research and practice. He is also a strong advocate for overseas qualified engineers, supporting their professional development and integration into the Australian engineering profession. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the engineering profession, he was awarded the 2025 Engineers Australia Victorian Professional Engineer of the Year.

Dr. Désirée Nortje is a Principal Asset Manager (Civil) at Transurban and an Advisory Board Member of the Australian Network of Structural Health Monitoring (ANSHM). With more than three decades of experience across civil design, asset strategy, and forensic structural assessment her career encompasses the structural design, evaluation, and condition monitoring of complex infrastructure, ranging from historical bridges, deep road tunnels, and bulk storage facilities to super-high-rise buildings. Désirée is passionate about knowledge-sharing and developing future engineers and as such she initiated internal technical forums, and frequently lectures at RMIT University. Her current focus centres on whole-of-life asset lifecycle strategies, risk-based renewal, and the implementation of innovative monitoring technologies across major transport networks. Dr. Nortje holds a holds a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand, a PhD in Structural Engineering from the University of Western Australia and a Master of Construction Law from Melbourne Law School.

Prof. Brian Uy is the 2026 President of the Institution of Structural Engineers and Scientia Professor of Structural Engineering in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He currently Chairs the Australian/New Zealand Standards on Steel and Composite Structures for Buildings and Bridges, BD-032 and BD-090-06 and he is a Vice President of the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineering. Prof. Brian Uy is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, Engineers Australia, Institution of Structural Engineers, Institution of Civil Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, Structural Engineering Institute and the International Association of Bridge and Structural Engineers.

Prof. Yong Xia is a Chair Professor of Structural Health Monitoring at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Associate Dean of Graduate School, and the Director of the Guangdong-Hong Kong Joint Laboratory for Marine Infrastructure. His main research areas include structural health monitoring, substructuring methods, and structural dynamics. He has completed more than 20 structural health monitoring (SHM) projects, including the 600-m tall Canton Tower, 632-m tall Shanghai Tower, the 1377-m long main span Tsing Ma Bridge and 55-km long Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macao Bridge. He has published over 200 refereed international journal papers, three research books, and more than 20 design standards. Prof. Xia is now the Co-Editor-in-Chief of Advances in Structural Engineering. He was awarded The Nishino Prize, State Technological Innovation Award, ASCE Greater China Distinguished Leadership Medal, and SHM Person of the Year Award, among many others.