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  6. Sinclair, Bruce

Bruce Sinclair

Bruce Sinclair

L-R: Vice-Chancellor Stephen Parker, Bruce Sinclair and Deputy Chancellor Tom Calma. Photo: Michelle McAulay

Bruce Sinclair has had an extraordinary career as an Australian Civil Engineer.  He earned his Bachelor degree in Civil Engineering at the University of Sydney in 1948 and studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as one of Australia's first Fulbright Scholars in 1951.

Mr Sinclair worked for a range of employers, public and private before starting his own firm, Sinclair Knight with partner Jack Knight in 1964. Mr Sinclair spent 26 years as the first CEO of the company, establishing it as a major technical and professional consultancy in Australia and South-East Asia.  Today, Sinclair Knight's successor, Sinclair Knight Merz has grown to become Australia's largest consulting technology company with more than 7,000 staff worldwide.

Mr Sinclair has worked and lived in a number of countries in South and South-east Asia, and was instrumental in developing a significant export market for Australian engineering expertise.  As an engineering consultant, Mr Sinclair led multi-national teams in the development and direction of a range of civil engineering, urban and rural development projects including major military and civil infrastructure projects for a client list that includes the Indian Navy, Royal Thai Government and World Bank.

Since retiring in 1990, Mr Sinclair has been founding Chairman of RedR Australia, an organisation that deploys Australian Engineers and other professionals to assist the UN and other humanitarian organisations in their disaster relief work in any part of the world.

He is an Honorary Fellow and Past President of the Institution of Engineers and has served as the Chair of "Canberra Friends of Dili" a community based NGO in ACT which has been instrumental in developing strong ties with the Dili community in East Timor.

Mr Sinclair was awarded the Peter Nicol Russell Medal for outstanding services to the Institute of Engineers Australia in 1996 and appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for Services to Engineering in 1980.