Person
Brett, Percy Rollo (Rollo) (1923 - 2022)
OBE FTSE
- Born
- 11 November 1923
Kyabram, Victoria, Australia - Died
- 10 August 2022
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia - Occupation
- Electrical engineer, Public servant and Science administrator
Summary
Rollo Brett was an electrical engineer who, as Head of the Research Laboratory of the Post Master General's Department (and later Telecom Australia) played a key role in the conversion of operations of these departments to the metric system. His early work for the Laboratory was in the field of materials and components, and establishing standards for the use of polymer materials in telecommunications equipment. As head of the Research Laboratory he sought to strengthen its research capabilities by building links with Australia's universities. He also achieved the amalgamation of the dispersed Laboratory units to one site at the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. During the 1970s Brett was Chairman of the Telecommunications and Electronics Standards Committee of the Standards Association of Australia. He was also a member of the task force established to explore the possibility of developing Australia's first domestic satellite. Other contributions included as a member of the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Melbourne, the Academic Policy Committee of the Victorian Institute of Colleges, and the Radio Research Board.
Details
Chronology
- 1939 - 1942
- Career position - Clerk, Engineering Division, Post Master General's Department
- 1942 - 1943
- Military service - Second World War. Served with the Australian Army Topographical Survey Corps
- 1944
- Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc), University of Melbourne
- 1944 - 1953
- Career position - Physicist, Physical Sciences Section, Research Laboratories of the Post Master General's Department
- 1953 - 1958
- Career position - Senior Physicist, Post Master General's Department
- 1958 - 1963
- Career position - Section Head, Research Laboratories, Post Master General's Department
- 1963 - 1964
- Career position - Assistant Director General and Head of the Apparatus and Services Branch, Research Laboratories, Post Master General's Department
- 1964 - 1975
- Career position - Senior Assistant Director-General and Head, Research Laboratories, Post Master General's Department
- 1975 - 1979
- Career position - Member of Council, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences
- 1975 - 1980
- Career position - Head of Planning, Telecom Australia (Australian Telecommunications Commission)
- 1975 - 1987
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences (FTS)
- 1980 - 1983
- Career position - Victorian State Manager, Telecom Australia (Australian Telecommunications Commission)
- 1987 - 2022
- Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE)
Related entries
Published resources
Journal Articles
- Anon, 'Percy Rollo Brett OBE FTSE', Impact: magazine of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 215 (2023), 62, https://www.atse.org.au/what-we-do/strategic-advice/impact-215/. Details
- Richardson, James, ' Percy Rollo Brett OBE (1923 - 2022): research leader and public servant', Journal of telecommunications and the digital economy, 10 (3) (2023), 165-70. http://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v10n3.628. Details
Resources
- CA 2002, 2 Echelon, Army Headquarters; CA 46, Department of Defence [III], Central Office, 'NAA: B884, V158790', B884 Citizen Military Forces Personnel Dossiers, 1939-1947, National Archives of Australia, RecordSearch, https://RecordSearch.naa.gov.au/scripts/AutoSearch.asp?O=I&Number=6623867. Details
Helen Cohn
Created: 16 July 2024