In Summary

  • Mark Burry AO elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering
  • Professor Burry is the Founding Director for Swinburne’s Smart Cities Research Institute
  • Professor Burry will be formally welcomed into the Academy at its AGM in Melbourne on 23 November

Swinburne’s Professor Mark Burry AO has been elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE), recognising his long track record of leadership and impact across these disciplines.

Professor Burry is the Founding Director of Swinburne’s Smart Cities Research Institute and a world leader in the “science of architecture”, pioneering the use of digital technology for construction and sustainable building processes. 

He is one of 25 experts to be elected to ATSE, an independent body of more than 870 Australian scientists and engineers seeking to enhance Australia’s prosperity through technological innovation.

As an architect, Professor Burry says he is honoured to become a fellow of ATSE and looks forward to the opportunities that being part of a community of progressive thinkers and doers from various disciplines will bring.

“Perhaps more than many other architects, I’m especially interested in how to construct sophisticated and exciting contemporary design that is achievable and affordable – and we look to science and technology to help make that happen,” Professor Burry says. 

“I’m hoping to explore how we can further engage with technological innovation to get building construction productivity up and costs down. I’m very interested in how productivity in the construction industry has flat-lined for at least three decades, yet in the manufacturing industries, science and technology has given pathways to all sorts of amazing innovation,” he says.  

Academy President Professor Hugh Bradlow welcomed the election of the 25 new fellows, saying that they will strengthen the Academy’s aim of ensuring that Australia remains a world-leading technology economy.

“We’re motivated by what’s best for our nation’s future,” says Professor Bradlow. “And we do that by bringing together the brightest minds in technology, engineering and science to offer impartial, evidence-based, and practical advice.”

As the Founding Director of Swinburne’s Smart Cities Institute, Professor Burry leads the development of a whole-of-university research approach to helping ensure that our future cities anticipate and meet the needs of all – engaged smart citizens for engaging with the design of smart cities.

He will be formally welcomed into the Academy, alongside the 25 other experts, at its Annual Meeting in Melbourne on 23 November.

Find out more about how the Smart Cities Research Institute is leading innovative transdisciplinary responses to the urgent challenges of digitised urban futures.