Dr Finkel is a former Chief Scientist of Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering, and a patron of organisations such as In2Science and the Australian Science Media Centre. In 2022 he was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC), the highest civilian award in Australia.
John spoke to Alan in 2021, the highlights of the meeting are outlined across several articles for you.
Alan said, “I was a teenager in the 1960s. I still think of the 1960s as technologically the most exciting decade of my life - because we had the exploration of inner space and at the same time the exploration of outer space triggered by the launch of Sputnik. I followed the Mercury program, every single one of those launches. I followed the Gemini program and the Apollo program. I couldn't wait to get my National Geographic magazine, which would have the spectacular-colored pictures of Jacques Cousteau during his exploration of inner space up to 5 kilometers deep in the Pacific trenches, it was so exciting.
Then we had another era, with electronics and personal computers.
Then things got boring for a techie like me in the 1990s and the 2000’s because everything was about the internet and social media, so I used to focus on the computer world.
But this decade we are seeing renewable technologies just leaping forward. This can be the most exciting decade that the Chemical Engineering Society should look forward to and embrace.”