Chemical engineers discusses R&D in public lecture

Chemical engineers discusses R&D in public lecture

Research and development will come under the spotlight at a free public lecture at the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus this week.

General manager of BHP Environment and Safety Dr John M. Burgess will provide a new perspective on long-term, speculative research and development (R&D) at the lecture on Thursday, June 3 at 6.30pm in lecture theatre two, Hawken Engineering Building.

Dr Burgess will deliver the 1999 Colonel Daniel Edward Evans Memorial lecture on the subject of Options Thinking and the Management of R&D.

He said when accountants thought of R&D, they had a tendency to think of it as a discretionary cost to be saved.

"This philosophy is in part created by the short-term imperative to capture value as soon as possible, a philosophy which may undervalue R&D," he said.

Dr Burgess will pursue his theme with an interactive presentation involving audience members.

Dr Burgess is a chemical engineer with a long background in R&D. He spent part of his career as an academic at the University of Queensland as well as an industrial R&D practitioner. Dr Burgess has a strong interest in the portfolio management of R&D and the link between R&D, strategy and value creation.

He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences, the Institution of Engineers Australia and the Institution of Chemical Engineers.

The endowed lectureship is funded from the income of a bequest by Colonel Daniel Edward Evans, who died in 1951, set aside for an annual lecture in the field of engineering. Light refreshments will be available before the lecture, from 6pm.

For further information, contact the Chemical Engineering Department, telephone 3365 3616.