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  Speakers and Session Chairs

Dr Paul Brooks

Appointed as Chief Technology Officer in December 2001, Paul Brooks leads the Engineering/R&D and IT Systems divisions within TransACT Communications, Canberra's world-leading broadband services network.

Paul has been an active Internet developer and designer since his student days at the University of Adelaide and the University of NSW, where Paul received his Ph.D. in Astrophysics. During the early-1990s, Paul was an active leader in the standardization of the WINSOCK software interface, which enabled Internet applications such as (then) new-fangled HTML browsers on PCs and helped drive the explosive growth of Internet usage.

From 1995 Paul held various technical roles within Sprint International and Global One, the worldwide joint venture between Deutsche Telekom, France Telecom and US Sprint. As Director of Asia-Pacific Network Engineering, Paul was responsible for network planning, design and deployment of the ATM, Frame Relay, Internet and MPLS backbone networks throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia. During 2000 he helped found eCOM Communications, a startup Voice-over-DSL network provider as CTO, and in 2001 held a series of consultancies with organisations such as NDC Ltd, where he was involved in broadband network designs in India and China before joining TransACT.

Paul is an active participant within ACIF and the Australian Internet community, and is a Foundation Member of the Internet Society of Australia.

Dr Keith Burston

Keith Burston graduated in Computer Science from the University of Manchester in the UK in 1974, and taught there from 1995 to 1981 while completing a PhD in computer hardware design systems. From 1981 to 1989, and again from 1991 to 1994, he was an academic at UNSW with interests as diverse as data base systems, computer design and communications. In between he was a section leader at OTC, running early ATM field trials, including the first satellite ATM circuit. Since 1994 he has been Communications Manager at UNSW.

Professor Joe Chicharo

Joe Chicharo received his B.E. degree (Hons 1) and PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wollongong, Australia, in 1983 and 1990 respectively. He was appointed as a Lecturer at the University of Wollongong in 1985. He became the Professor of Telecommunications Engineering in 1997. Joe served as Managing Director of the Telecommunications and Information Technology Research (TITR) Institute, University of Wollongong since 1999 to 2001. TITR consists of 5 major research centres across the University of Wollongong, which in total accounts for some 60 academic staff and well over 120 post-graduates.

Since 1990 Joe has attracted significant levels of R&D funding from nationally competitive sources such as the ARC as well as from major IT&T companies. Joe is now the Research Director of the CRC for Smart Internet Technology. Joe has published more than 120 refereed papers predominantly in prestigious international research journals and conferences. His current academic interests include a variety of research issues associated with the Internet including access technologies, small office/home office internet enabled services, ad hoc and location/context aware networking, network traffic modelling and control. Joe enjoys collaborating with other researchers, exploring new research areas and ideas and working on group based research projects. Joe is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and a Senior Member of the IEEE.

Ms Narelle Clark

BAppSc MEng MIEEE MComsoc
Narelle Clark is a data communications and Internet specialist who has been working in advanced technology areas consistently throughout her career since the early days of the Australian Internet, starting with university campus networks, research labs and medical and Internet software projects.

Now in the role of Manager, Advanced Network Architecture in the new technology analysis group of Optus Business, Narelle has been a user, builder, manager and researcher of Internet networks and services since 1986. She has been an Optus employee since 1998 during which time she has played a key technical and management role in a number of major Internet projects. A firm believer in relevant technology, Narelle also runs an on-line parenting support group and is a member of the steering committee for the group Females in Information Technology & Telecommunications.

Simon Hackett

Simon Hackett graduated from the University of Adelaide, and later was involved in the creation of AARNet, the academic and research precursor to the commercial Internet in Australia. Following the development of important Internet technology such as the SNMP Toaster, and contribution to IETF standards work in the field of real time audio/video transport protocols, he went on to found two companies which he still runs today. One is 'Internode', a business focussed Internet Service Provider, and the other is 'Agile', an infrastructure-based licensed Telecommunications Carrier.

Tony Hill

Mr Tony Hill became honorary President of the Internet Society of Australia in December 2001 having previously been the Society's first Executive Director during 2000 and 2001. ISOC-AU is the Australian Chapter of the worldwide Internet Society, which is the umbrella organisation for Internet technical standards and architecture. Over these two years, ISOC-AU grew in line with the popularity of the Internet to represent more than 40,000 Australian Internet users through its organisational and individual members. Now ISOC-AU is a respected voice in policy development and public debate providing sound technical understanding of the Internet from its professional membership with a broad users perspective. Tony has been an enthusiastic user since 1994 when he established the first Internet connection into the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Tony has established his own consulting business, Capital Hill Consulting Pty Ltd, that provides high-level advice on large-scale research funding, strategic research management and challenging collaboration issues. He was formerly Manager of the Cooperative Research Centres (CRC) Program in the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. He has been involved in strategic research management since 1991. His 20-year career in the Australian Public Service has spanned seven Commonwealth agencies, including Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, and working for Ministers on both sides of politics.

His academic study includes economics and geography at the undergraduate level, and a Masters of Environmental Studies. In 1994, he completed a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management.

Chris Howells

Mr. Chris Howells is the founding CEO of Redfern Photonics Pty Ltd, started in 1998, and brings to the group an extensive portfolio of operating experience in Information and Communications Technology (IT & CT) industries demonstrating sustained success and very high achievement. Chris also fulfils the role of Non-Executive Chairman of Redfern Integrated Optics, RBN Inc (Redfern Broadband Networks), Redfern Optical Components, Redfern Polymer Optics and is a Director on the Board of the Chinese Jiangsu Fasten Photonics Company.

In 1982, after 15 years experience in the UK and Australian computer industry, Chris founded NetComm Limited which as a private company, grew to A$50M turnover and was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX:NTC) in 1992. He was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer from 1982 to 1992 and then Deputy Chairman and CEO until 1997. His private company has operated since 1976 as a consultant in Commercial & Business Development for high-tech companies in the Information & Communications technology markets.

In 1996 Chris was appointed non-executive Chairman of Indx Pty Limited, the first commercial venture of the Australian Photonics Co-Operative Research Centre (AP CRC). In late 1997 the business was sold to Uniphase Inc. (now JDS Uniphase Inc), a US public (NASDAQ:JDSU) company. Chris is also the former chairman of Virtual Photonics Pty Limited, a world leading (60%+ market share) start-up based in Melbourne in which APPL (Australian Photonics Pty Limited) has a minority interest. VP specialises in software modeling of fibre optic devices and networks.

He has also served on various advisory Boards to Government and was a Member of the Communications Technology Advisory Committee, IR&D Board, Department of Industry Technology & Commerce from 1988 to 1993, a Director of the Australian Electronic Equipment Manufacturers Association (AEEMA) from 1993 to 1996 and a member of CSIRO IISE (Institute of Information Science and Engineering) Advisory Panel from 1993-1994. Chris was a Director of the Warren Centre (an independent body advising the Senate of the University of Sydney from 1998-1999. He received a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) degree from the University of NSW in 1969 and is a Member of the Australian computer Society (MACS, 1982) and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD, 1988). Chris was presented in 1987 with the BRW Business Award, Achievers of Computers and in 2001 shared with Professor Mark Sceats the first Australian Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Supporter of Entrepreneurs South East Australian regional award.

Dr Kate Lance

Kate Lance was an astronomer in the 1980s but started to move into Unix system administration in 1988. She worked at the CSIRO Division of Radiophysics and the University of Newcastle as a system administrator, and at the ISP Connect.com.au from 1996 to 2000, as System Manager and Director of Internet Services.

In 1996 Kate helped set up ISOC-AU, the Internet Society of Australia, and has been on the board for five years, President for two years, and since the start of 2002, Executive Director of the Society. She also works as a Unix system consultant for the Melbourne company Cybersource, maintains the ISOC-AU website, and writes about the boats and history of the pearling industry.

George McLaughlin

George McLaughlin is the Executive Director of AARNet (Australia's Academic and Research Network). He joined AARNet in 1995 initially overseeing the sale of AARNet's commercial customer base to Telstra, which spawned what is today Telstra Bigpond. In 1997, he managed the process of establishing AARNet2, the second generation national ATM-based network connecting Australia's universities and research organisations. He guided the establishment of AARNet Pty Ltd as a separate legal entity (with its own carrier licence) responsible for managing and developing the AARNet network; and has since been the driver for positioning AARNet as one of the leading research and education network organisations. He currently serves on the management committee of the new multi-gigabit GrangeNet, a project funded under the Australian federal government's Building on IT Strengths (BITS) Advanced Networks Program.

McLaughlin serves on the International Task Force of Internet2 and has been appointed to the International Committee of Internet2's Board of Directors. He is a member of the Australian Federal Government's recently formed Broadband Advisory Group. McLaughlin is a graduate of the Royal Institute of Chemistry. He has worked in the chemical, pharmaceutical, engineering, precious metal and information technology industries, has authored more than 50 research papers published in well respected science journals, and has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

George Michaelson

George Michaelson is the Technical Manager of APNIC, the Asia-Pacific Network Information Center. APNIC is the Asia-Pacific Regional Internet Registry, one of three agencies worldwide which coordinate provision of Internet Addresses and related resources to the global community.

He has participated in Internet R&D, management and governance since 1984 in the Research/Education and ISP sectors (in the UK and Australia, and more recently internationally). George is a founder-member of ISOC-AU and co-chaired the recent auDA competition panel.

Professor John O'Callaghan

John O'Callaghan is Executive Director of the Australian Partnership for Advanced Computing (APAC) which the Federal Government established in 1999 to strengthen Australia's advanced computing capabilities (see http://www.apac.edu.au).

He is currently the Interim Director of the GrangeNet program pending the appointment of a full-time Director. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of the Cooperative Research Centre for Advanced Computational Systems (ACSys) and before that, Chief of the CSIRO Division of Information Technology. He is currently a Professor at The Australian National University, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and Chairman of the Australian Informatics Olympiad Committee.

Dr Terry Percival

Dr Terry Percival received a Bachelors of Electrical Engineering and Ph.D. from the University of Sydney. The first ten years of his research career was in the construction of microwave-receiving systems for radio telescopes, including the Fleurs Telescope, the Australia Telescope and the Very Large Array telescope in New Mexico. In 1987 he joined OTC Australia, where he led R&D groups working on the development of submarine optical fibre communications systems and thin-route satellite communications systems, including the development of the DAMANET standard now used around the Asia Pacific region.

He joined CSIRO in 1991 and led a research team working on broadband wireless communications systems and high-speed wireless LANs. The resulting patented technology forms the basis of the IEEE 802.11a wireless LAN standard and was licensed to a spin-off company (Radiata Communications) recently acquired by Cisco Systems. He was awarded the CSIRO 2000 Medal for Research Leadership in wireless LANs. In 1996 he established new mobile communications and telecommunications networking research groups at CSIRO. The networking research culminated in the establishment for the Centre for Networking Technologies for the Information Economy (CeNTIE). This Centre was successful in bidding for $14M funding under the Advanced Networks Program to build the next generation Internet in Australia with a roll-out cost of $44M. He is currently director of CeNTIE.

Phil Singleton

Phil Singleton is Chairman of the Service Providers Industry Association (SPAN). SPAN is the national association of telecommunications service providers. He is also Chairman of the Australian Centre for Advanced Computing & Communications (ac3) located at the Australian Technology Park in Sydney. Phil is Director and Principal of management consultancy Phil Singleton Research Pty Limited, specialising in policy issues associated with information technology, telecommunications, and education.

Until 1990 he held a number of senior executive positions in IBM. He was a member (1992-97) of the Telecommunications Industry Development Authority and a board member of the Australian Telecommunications Users Group. He served on Minister Alston's Expert Group advising on the 1997 telecommunications legislative reforms and is currently a member of the Minister's Broadband Advisory Group. He is a Director of the Australian Communications Industry Forum (ACIF) and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.


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