Gary Liddle, Chief Executive Officer, VicRoads

Gary Liddle was appointed as VicRoads Chief Executive in March 2007 after acting in the role since September 2006. During this time he put in place clear expectations about working collaboratively within government and streamlining VicRoads internal processes.

Gary joined the Country Roads Board (VicRoads predecessor) in 1971. Prior to his current role, he held various positions including Deputy Chief Executive, Director Major Projects, General Manager Road System Management and Project Manager for the Eastern Freeway and the Ballarat Bypass. He also worked with the United Kingdom Highways Agency for a short period in late 1999.

His achievements include managing the integration of land form, landscaping and noise walls for the Eastern Freeway extension (Doncaster to Springvale Roads), which won several architectural awards. He was also responsible for the introduction of an electronic project management system for the Major Projects Division.

Gary is the Chairman of the Australian Chapter of the Road Engineering Association of Asia and Australasia (REAAA) and a member of the REAAA Governing Council. He is also a Council member of Austroads, the Australasian organisation of road authorities. Gary has previously been the program manager of Austroads Technology Program.

Gary has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering and a Graduate Diploma in Management.

Ray Farrelly

At the start of 2008 Ray joined the Centre for Pavement Engineering Education ( CPEE ) in a specialist development role primarily to enhance the wider education and knowledge of engineers working in the roads and pavements sector. Having played an instrumental role in the formation of CPEE in 1994, Ray remains passionate about the cause. This new role follows over 25 years at the helm of the Australian Asphalt Pavement Association a time he regards as most rewarding, having played an instrumental role in AAPA being a highly regarded professional organisation, recognised both nationally and internationally .

Prior to joining AAPA, Ray was for five years the Executive Director of the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. His involvement in materials and engineering began in 1968 with experimental work at Australia's Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation, initially in the Division of Forest Products and then the Division of Building Research, primarily in the area of timber structures. He is a qualified civil engineer, a Member of Institute of Engineers (Aust), a Chartered Professional Engineer.

Murray Kidnie Executive Director, Austroads

Murray Kidnie is the Executive Director of Austroads, which is the association of Australian and New Zealand road transport and traffic authorities.

Austroads aims to provide research and advice for the integrated develop, management and operation of the Australasian road system by promoting national uniformity, eliminating unnecessary duplication and promoting improved practice. Murray holds qualifications in economics and urban and regional planning.

Bob Peters Manager Road Asset Planning, Main Roads Western Australia.

Bob is a civil engineer with a postgraduate qualification in education and a Master's Degree in Engineering Science. His masters degree was gained in transport planning and engineering from the Institute for Transport Studies at the University of Leeds in England.

In his 27 year career at Main Roads Bob has put his energies into a mixture of policy, strategy and technical areas. His technical expertise includes vehicle weighing and classification where he invented the Culway Weigh in Motion System. He has published and presented more than 20 papers on a range of issues throughout the world.

He represents Western Australia on the Austroads Assets Taskforce and is the Chairperson of the Transport Panel of the Institution of Engineers in Western Australia.

Kieran Sharp

Kieran Sharp is currently the Business Manager, Asset Technology, at ARRB Group Ltd. He has worked on a wide range of pavement and materials-related research projects for Austroads, industry and the OECD, including the DIVINE project. He was the Manager of the Australian Accelerated Loading Facility (ALF) program during the 1990's.

Kieran is a member of TRB Committee AFD40 on Accelerated Pavement Testing, the American Concrete Institute Committee 325 (Concrete Pavements), the Austroads Pavement Technology Review Panel and Assets Task Force and various project steering committees.

He is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Pavements and the Chairman of the Technical Committee of REAAA and a member of the Governing Council. He is Vice Chairman of the REAAA Australian Chapter.

In 2003, Kieran became the first member of ARRB to receive an Austroads Achievement Award in recognition of his contribution to Austroads activities.

Chris Tatam is a civil engineer with over 25 years experience in the roads and transport field, covering infrastructure planning, design, construction supervision and asset management. Chris leads Maunsell's Transport Group in Western Australia.

His key skills include:

• Strategic transport planning, demand analysis and transport modelling
• Road project planning (route selection, route definition, public consultation)
• Detailed road design, contract documentation, and construction management
• Infrastructure asset management, needs analysis, program and policy development
• Project and program evaluation using multi and criteria cost-benefit analysis
• Traffic engineering and road safety
• Road classification and road funding arrangements
• Heavy vehicle regulation and charging

Chris holds qualifications in Master of Science in Civil Engineering, Purdue University, USA 1988 and Bachelor of Engineering, University of Western Australia, 1978.

George Vorobieff

During his career George has been responsible for publishing over 100 technical papers and manuals on engineering topics ranging from the maintenance of timber bridges, wind engineering and design of rigid and flexible pavements. George is a member of various Australian Standard committees and is a member of the Austroads Pavement Technology Review Panel.

George has both experience in research, design and specification of flexible and concrete pavements for residential streets and major highways. He participated in the development of the Austroads Pavement Design and Rehabilitation Guides, and is group manager for an Austroads research project on the characterisation of stabilised materials.

George's tertiary qualifications include a Master of Business Administration from Macquarie University, Master of Engineering Science (UNSW) and Honours in Bachelor of Civil Engineering (UNSW). In addition, he is a Chartered Professional Engineer with Institution of Engineers, Australia, and a member of the following organisations Concrete Institute of Australia, Institute of Pubic Works Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Management.

Gerard Waldron

As Managing Director of ARRB Group Ltd (Formerly ARRB Transport Research Ltd) since July 2001, Gerard has led and is leading the organisation through difficult adjustments required to ensure its sustainability in a commercial environment.

With qualifications in Engineering and Business, Gerard's experience in commercialising Research and Development was developed in various roles over his 14 years with the Gas and Fuel Corporation of Victoria and a further 6 years with Austrim Nylex companies, as the head of the Ajax Technology Centre.

He also continues today as the non-executive chairman of Harvey Technology Pty Ltd, a developer and manufacturer of high performance recreational and military equipment.

Tom Wilmot

Tom Wilmot is a director of the Stabilised Pavements Group of companies which have operations in Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the United Kingdom, together with project work being carried out in other areas of South East Asia.

Tom has had 40 years experience in soil stabilisation and road recycling and is recognised as a key driver in this innovative form of road construction.

Tom has a passion for the development of sustainable principles for road construction and the conservation of natural resources. To this end he is active in promoting technology transfer in this field, particularly in the Australian and Asian regions.

Tom is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and is a recipient of the John Shaw Award from Roads Australia. It is significant that he was the first person from a non government sector to receive this award.

Brendan Marsh

Brendan Marsh is a civil engineer with over 10 years experience in the road transport field, covering strategy development and implementation, infrastructure planning, road, bridge and traffic engineering, Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) and asset, project and contract management.

Brendan's is presently acting in the Network Performance Manager role for Main Roads Western Australia and is leading the:

• Development of ITS Regional Architecture and Master Planning for Western Australia;
• Network Intelligence Project for real time data set capture, analysis, reporting and application in advanced ITS and traveller information systems;
• Provision of Intelligent Transport Systems for major projects (e.g. New Perth Bunbury Highway);
• Development of Foundation ITS capability (data, communication and verification systems that enable advanced ITS applications to be planned, designed and deployed); and
• Perth Urban Corridor advanced ITS Projects to improve transport sustainability and resilience at Kwinana Freeway, Roe Highway and Leach Highway.

Brendan is the Secretary / Treasurer of the WA Branch of REAAA, a member of the Alliance Leadership Team for the Stirling City Centre planning alliance and a Corresponding member of World Road Association (PIARC) Technical Committee C.1 (Safer Road Infrastructure).

Brendan's qualifications include a Bachelor of Science (Chemistry) and Engineering (Civil) with first class honours, University of Western Australia (1998) and a Graduate Certificate in Building and Construction Law, Notre Dame University (2006).

Christina Chin, Research Engineer, ARRB Group

Christina graduated from University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Chemical and Bio-Molecular Engineering (Hon). In February 2006, she commenced her role as Research Engineer for ARRB Group. In her time at ARRB, she has been involved with areas such as polyphosphoric acid modified binders, Australian and international binder specifications, bitumen testings and bitumen emulsions. Christina is also the Technical Secretary for the 1st International Sprayed Sealing Conference (2008) and ARRB's representative to help promote REAAA (Vic) among young professionals in the road industry.