A telecommunications giant

Telecommunications engineering expert Dr Harry Wragge was awarded an honorary doctor of engineering at a recent Monash graduation ceremony.

Dr Wragge is a highly respected leader in the field of telecommunications engineering both within Australia and overseas and was appointed a Member in the Order of Australia for services to telecommunications in 1989.

He holds a masters degree in engineering science from the University of Melbourne, which awarded him the Kernot Medal for Engineering Excellence in 1990.

He represented Australia from 1968 to 1980 in the International Telecommunications Union, where his work led to the development of ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), now used throughout the world.

In 1981, he was seconded to the taskforce associated with the Davidson Enquiry into the future of telecommunications in Australia and was appointed director of research for the research laboratories of Telecom in 1985.

There he was influential in initiating several schemes of strategic importance to education, including the development of cooperative research centres such as the Centre for Telecommunications and Information Engineering at Monash.

He continued rising in the ranks at Telecom Australia and was chief technical adviser to the chief executive officer when he retired in 1993.

Since then, he has chaired taskforces in developing policies for continuing professional development, delivering regional standards for engineering courses and forming accreditation standards within engineering institutions of Australia and the Southeast Pacific.

Dr Harry Wragge and chancellor Mr Jerry Ellis.