Person

O'Connor, Colin (1928 - )

Born
9 May 1928
Occupation
Civil engineer and Engineering historian

Summary

Colin O'Connor, BE PhD DIC BD FIEAust MASCE, was a long-term lecturer in Civil engineering at the University of Queensland. He also undertook a detailed survey of Australian bridges which lead to three publications including the book Spanning Two Centuries: Historic Bridges of Australia (1985).

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Details

O'Connor was educated at the University of Queensland (BE (Hons)) becoming an Engineer with the Co-ordinator General's Department, Queensland Public Service, and Imperial College London (PhD), before joining the university as a lecturer.

The Citation for the award of the John Monash Medal 2003:
In 1979 he was commissioned by the Australian Heritage Commission and the Institution of Engineers Australia to undertake what is recognized as the definitive survey of Australia's historic bridges. This study not only resulted in the
required report but led Colin to make the work available to a wider audience in the "How to Look at Bridges" booklet and, later, the book "Spanning Two Centuries: Historic Bridges of Australia".
Colin has continued to contribute significantly to the conservation of heritage bridge structures, through his investigations into the maintenance and conservation of structures and his publications. His book "Roman Bridges" was published in 1993 by Cambridge University Press and he is currently working on a related work on "The History and Development of Stone Bridges".

Chronology

1949
Career event - Student Member (StudIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1949 - 1953
Career position - Engineer, Co-ordinator General's Department, Queensland
c. 1952
Education - Bachelor of Engineering (BE(Hon)), University of Queensland
1954
Career event - Associate Member (AMIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia
1954 - 1955
Career position - Lecturer in Civil Engineering, University of Queensland
1956 - 1970
Career position - Senior Lecturer (to 1964) then Reader in Civil Engineering, University of Queensland
1957
Award - R W Chapman Medal, Institution of Engineers Australia
1961
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Imperial College London
1965 - 1967
Career position - External Examiner, Royal Military College, Duntroon
1967 - 1968
Career position - Post-doctoral Research Associate, Lehigh University Pennsylvania
1968
Career event - Member (MIEAust), Institution of Engineers Australia [Former Associate Members were designated Members on this date.]
1970 -
Career position - Professor of Civil Engineering, University of Queensland
1971
Career position - Wrote Design of Bridge Superstructures
1972 - 1974
Career position - Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, University of Queensland
1983
Career position - Wrote Register of Australian Historic Bridges
1985
Career position - Wrote Spanning Two Centuries: Historic Bridges of Australia
2003
Award - John Monash medal for Engineering Heritage, Engineers Australia

Published resources

Books

  • O'Connor, Colin, Design of bridge superstructures (New York: Wiley-Interscience, 1971), 552 pp. Author. Details
  • O'Connor, Colin, Register of Australian Historic Bridges (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia, 1983), 79 pp. Author. Details
  • O'Connor, Colin, How to look at bridges : a guide to the study of Australian historic bridges (Barton, Australian Capital Territory: Institution of Engineers, Australia., 1983), 50 pp. Details
  • O'Connor, Colin, Spanning Two Centuries: Historic Bridges of Australia (St. Lucia, Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 1985), 225 pp. Author. Details

Journal Articles

  • '1988 Civil College speaker - Prof Colin O'Connor', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 60 (June 24) (1988), 44. Details
  • O'Connor, C., 'Residual Stresses and their Influence on Structural Design', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 27 (1955), 313. Details
  • O'Connor, C., 'An Investigation into Residual Stresses and the Fatigue Strength of Steel', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 29 (1957), 227. Details
  • O'Connor, C., 'A Simple Numerical Technique for the Calculation of Inelastic Deflections and Column Buckling Loads', Journal of the Institution of Engineers, Australia, 35 (1963), 303. Details
  • O'Connor, C.; Goldsmith, P. R.; and Ryall, J. T., 'The Reinforcement of Slender Steel Beams to Improve Beam Buckling Strength', Civil Engineering Transactions, 7 (1965), 29. Details
  • O'Connor, Colin, 'Historic bridges of Australia', Technical Papers (Institution of Engineers Australia, Queensland Division), 24 (28) (1983), 6. Details
  • O'Connor, Colin, 'Historic bridges of Australia', Transactions of The Institution of Engineers, Australia: Civil Engineering, CE26 (4) (1984), 264-270. Details
  • O'Connor, Colin, 'Early Queensland Road Bridges', Local Government Engineers Association of Queensland Journal, 2 (4) (1984), 72, 75, 77-80. Details
  • O'Connor, Colin, 'The bridges of David Lennox', Heritage Australia : the journal of the Australian Council of National Trusts, 4 (1) (1985), 9-13. Details

Reports

  • Institution of Engineers Australia, Thirty-ninth Annual Report [1958] (1959), 16 pp. 'Prizes - R. W. Chapman Medal (1957 Award), to Mr C O'Connor, BE AMIEAust, for his paper entitled "An Investigation into Residual Stresses and the Fatigue Strength of Steel"', p.2. Details
  • Institution of Engineers Australia, Engineers Australia Annual Report 2003-4 (2004), 77 pp. 'John Monash Medal, awarded to Colin O'Connor on 13 November 2003', Part 2, p.53'. Details

Resources

See also

Rosanne Walker; Ken McInnes

Created: 25 May 2001, Last modified: 3 May 2023

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