Victoria (AU)
Committee

Kathryn McDonald
Chair
Kathryn has over 20 years of experience as an engineer and manager in the petrochemical industry. In that time she has held roles in operations, management, strategic planning and project management with further involvement in commercial, systems improvements and safety arenas.

Dr Joanne Tanner, AIMChemE
Secretary and Monash University Academic Representative
Dr Joanne Tanner is a qualified Chemist and Chemical Engineer. She has experience in control systems design and configuration and has managed and implemented client-driven chemical engineering research and design projects at laboratory and pilot scale.

Carolyn Chan
Committee member
Carolyn is an experienced chemical engineer with business qualifications. She has worked in various technical and commercial type roles over the past 20 years in the oil and gas industry.

Akshat Tanksale, CEng MIChemE
EA Rep and Immediate Past Chair
Associate Professor Akshat Tanksale completed his PhD at The University of Queensland in 2008, followed by a postdoctoral position at UQ. He has been an academic staff member at Monash University since 2011.

Gavin Nieuwenhuiys
Events Coordinator
Gavin has more than five years experience in the petrochemical industry in particular coal gasification with the focus on equipment sizing and project management.

Dr Gregory Griffin
RMIT Academic Representative
Bio to follow.

Nicholas Chuan Jen Soon
Student Representative and Event Coordinator.
Nick has joined the joined the Victorian JCEC as the University of Melbourne and Events Coordinator.

Nithiya Pathmasiri
Student Representative
Nithiya Pathmasiri is currently in her third year of studies at Monash University studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) specialising in Chemical Engineering.

Dr Gang (Kevin) Li
Melbourne University Academic Representative
Dr Gang (Kevin) Li is a senior lecturer academic at the Department of Chemical Engineering, the University of Melbourne, and a theme leader at ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for LNG Futures.

Associate Professor Kalpit Shah
RMIT Representative
Associate Professor Kalpit Shah carries 19 years of combined industry and academic experience. After completion of Bachelor’s in Chemical Engineering, he worked in petrochemical and chemical industries for nearly eight years as a Process Engineer.

Garv Bhardwaj
Student representative - Monash University
Garv Bhardwaj is currently studying a Bachelor of Engineering (Honors) specialising in Chemical Engineering at Monash University.

Alasdair Beveridge
Deputy Chair
Alasdair is an experienced engineering leader with over 13 years experience across oil refining, waste-to-energy and waste management.