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Entura expertise recognised at 2024 Engineers Australia Excellence Awards

24 September, 2024

Two of Entura’s engineers were recognised for their expertise, achievements and contributions to the profession at the 2024 Engineers Australia Excellence Awards last week.  

Kate Hammerton, Renewables Engineer, took home the award for Emerging Professional Engineer of the Year (Tasmanian chapter), at an event held in Hobart on Friday. Kate was commended for her technical expertise, contributions to the engineering community, and her demonstrated aptitude on renewable energy projects in Australia and internationally.  

Kate will represent Tasmania at the national awards, which will take place in Brisbane in November.  

“It is lovely to have been put forward by my colleagues and the business as a whole for this award,” said Kate.  

“To be chosen among the talented finalists in the Tasmania branch was an honour. I am looking forward to the national awards and meeting the many other talented and accomplished engineers there.” 

Kate (right) accepting her award in Hobart.  

Senior Power Systems Engineer Kali Liaka was a finalist in the Emerging Professional Engineer of the Year category (Victorian chapter), recognising her professional achievements and engineering contributions over the past few years.  

“My nomination for the Engineers Australia Excellence Awards is another example of the great support I receive in Entura and I am very grateful for this,” said Kali.  

“It was definitely a great moment of my career to be chosen as a finalist for an engineering award and my nomination has given me an opportunity to reflect on my achievements and define my focus for the following years.”  

Kali (third from left) celebrating with colleagues at the Melbourne event.  

“To have a winner and a finalist in this year’s Engineering Excellence Awards is a testament to the talent of Entura’s people, particularly our emerging professional engineers,” said Entura’s Managing Director, Dr Amanda Ashworth.  

“At Entura, we see Kate’s and Kali’s hard work first hand so it’s great to see them recognised by the engineering community. They both go above and beyond to deliver excellent results for clients and are always strong supports for their teams,” said Amanda.  

“We are so proud of their technical expertise, leadership skills, and the innovative approaches they take to solving client problems, and we look forward to supporting them to continue to grow and thrive in their careers.” 

Both Kate and Kali have been involved in key renewable energy projects in Australia and internationally. Kate was the Assistant Project Manager for Owner’s Engineer work for Tasmania’s Cattle Hill and Granville Harbour wind farm projects, which helped Tasmania achieve 100% renewable energy. She has also contributed to increasing renewable energy in the Pacific, supporting the Tonga Renewable Energy Project, which aims to bring the country’s renewable energy to 70% by 2030.  

In Australia, Kali was involved in the landmark Agnew Hybrid Renewable Microgrid project, powering a Western Australian goldmine with a solar, wind, battery and gas microgrid to reduce its carbon emissions. 

In previous years, several individuals and projects have received Engineers Australia Excellence Awards. Richard Herweynen (Technical Director, Water), Donald Vaughan (Technical Director, Power), Seth Langford (Principal Engineer, Renewable Energy), David Gerke (Principal Engineer, Civil) and Paul Southcott (Senior Principal, Dams & Headworks) have all achieved the Professional Engineer of the Year (TAS) award, and Entura won the Tasmanian project category in 2016 for our work on Meander Dam.