Person
Banks, Edgar Roger (Roger) (1930 - 2018)
FTSE
- Born
- 10 July 1930
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 26 January 2018
Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Telecommunications engineer
Summary
Roger Banks, FTSE BEE DEng(Hon) MIEAust, was responsible for the assessment and adoption by Telecom Australia of the switching equipment used in Australia's first electronic trunk exchanges, and later held senior positions in Telecom Australia. In the 1960s Banks was a leader in special study groups of the International Telecommunications Union concerned with planning for the development of automated telephone networks in developing countries and for worldwide international direct dialling following the laying of the first submarine telephone cables across the Atlantic Ocean. Banks also had a keen interest in road safety research, and was a board member of road safety research groups at both Monash University and the University of Melbourne, and of the Victorian Government's road construction and management organisations.
Details
Chronology
- 1948
- Career event - Appointed Cadet Engineer, Postmaster-General's Department
- 1949
- Career event - Student Member (StudIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1953
- Education - Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (BEE), University of Melbourne
- 1953 - 1972
- Career position - Engineer, Postmaster-General's Department, rising to Assistant Director General, Switching and Facilities Planning, Postmaster-General's Department
- 1959
- Career event - Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
- 1964 - 1968
- Career position - Vice-Chairman, Special Study Group B - Worldwide Telephony, International Telecommunications Union
- 1965 - 1968
- Career position - Chair, Special Autonomous Group, Consultative Committee for International Telegraphy and Telephony, International Telecommunications Union
- 1968
- Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Associate Members were designated Members on this date.]
- 1972 - 1973
- Career position - Director, Business Planning, Plessey Telecommunications Ltd, UK
- 1974 - 1975
- Career position - Assistant Director-General, Telephone Exchange Equipment, Postmaster-General's Department
- 1975 - 1980
- Career position - General Manager, Customer Service, Telecom Australia (Australian Telecommunications Commission)
- 1980 - 1987
- Career position - Executive Director, Business Development, Telecom Australia (Australian Telecommunications Commission)
- 1983 - 1987
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)
- 1983 - 1989
- Career position - Member of the Board, Victorian Road Construction Authority
- 1984 - 1988
- Career position - Director, Aussat Pty Ltd
- 1987
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE) [Awarded by AATS 1983]
- 1987 - 1988
- Career position - Executive Director, Corporate Strategy, Telecom Australia (Australian Telecommunications Commission)
- 1988
- Life event - Retired
- 1988 - 1993
- Career position - Senior Research Fellow, Monash University
- 1990 - 1993
- Career position - President, Royal Automobile Association of Victoria
- 1991 - 2005
- Career position - Member, VicRoads Advisory Board
- 1992
- Career position - Member, Advisory Board, Transport Research Centre, University of Melbourne
- 1992 - 1995
- Career position - President, Intelligent Vehicle and Highway Systems Australia
- 1997 - 2007
- Career position - Chair, University of Melbourne Engineering Foundation
- 1999 - 2005
- Career position - Board Member, Monash University Accident Research Centre
- 2001
- Award - Centenary Medal - for service to Australian society in telecommunications and engineering
- 2003
- Award - Doctor of Engineering (DEng), honoris causa, University of Melbourne
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Edgar Roger Banks FTSE: telecommunications visionary became Telecom leader', Impact, 209 (2019), 68-9, https://www.atse.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/IMPACT-2019-September-low-res-spreads-for-web.pdf. Details
- Banks, E. R., 'Investigation of Faults on the Adelaide-Perth CU5 Three-Channel System', Telecommunication Journal of Australia, 9 (6) (1954), 290-99, http://www.coxhill.com/trlhistory/media/Telecommmunication%20Journal%20of%20Australia/The%20Telecommunication%20Journal%20of%20Australia%20Vol%209,%20No%206%20FEBRUARY%201954.pdf. Details
- Banks, E. R., 'Crossbar Switching Equipment for the Australian Telephone Network', Telecommunication Journal of Australia, 13 (2) (1961), 85-98, http://www.coxhill.com/trlhistory/media/Telecommmunication%20Journal%20of%20Australia/The%20Telecommunication%20Journal%20of%20Australia%20Vol%2013.%20No%202%20OCTOBER%201961.pdf. Details
- Banks, E. R., 'Crossbar Switching Equipment for the Australian Telephone Network', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 33 (1961), 113-. Details
- Holmes, Jim, 'Vale Roger Banks: a tribute - Edgar Roger Banks, 10 July 1930 - 26 January 2018', Australian journal of telecommunications and the digital economy, 6 (1) (2018), 60-6. https://doi.org/10.18080/ajtde.v6n1.146. Details
Resources
- 'Awarded honorary DEng, 2003 [Citation provided]', Honorary degree holders, University of Melbourne, 2023, https://about.unimelb.edu.au/notable-alumni-staff/honorary-degree-holders. Details
See also
Helen Cohn; Ken McInnes
Created: 14 January 2020, Last modified: 4 July 2023