News Archive

Winthrop Professor of Law

Christopher Steytler QC, Parliamentary Inspector of the Corruption and Crime Commission of Western Australia, has been appointed as a Winthrop Professor of Law at The University of Western Australia.

Mr Steytler, a former President of the West Australian Court of Appeal, will hold a fractional appointment at the University.

UWA Vice-Chancellor Professor Alan Robson said Mr Steytler was held in the very highest esteem throughout the legal profession.

"Our University looks forward to the contribution from Mr Steytler, one of the best legal minds in the State, to the teaching of law. At UWA, we strive for excellence in teaching in law and the highest standards of research into legal issues."

In addition to teaching aspects of the University's LLB program, Mr Steytler will be undertaking research on behalf of the University and the Law School.

He will also be available as a research mentor to academic staff of the School.

Mr Steytler taught ethics to UWA law students when he was a visiting fellow at the University from 1999-2001.

Mr Steytler retired from the WA Supreme Court in January this year after more than 14 years' distinguished service to the Court, including four as President of the Court of Appeal.

Born in Cape Town, South Africa, where he obtained degrees of Bachelor of Arts and of Law, Mr Steytler migrated to Australia with his family in 1976.

Chevron Chair

Eric May, an Associate Professor from The University of Western Australia, has been appointed as the Chevron Chair in Gas Process Engineering.

UWA was selected to join Chevron's global university partnership program in 2008 and the appointment of Associate Professor May is part of the $6.9 million deal between Chevron and the University.

Thirty-two-year-old Professor May, currently based in UWA's Centre for Petroleum, Fuels and Energy, was appointed after a year-long search for an appropriate candidate.

Chevron has committed $2.3 million to establish the Chair, to fund postdoctoral researchers, and to fund scholarships to attract the best students into gas process engineering.

For Chevron, having highly qualified people in Western Australia is important.

"The appointment of Professor May builds on Chevron's partnership with The University of Western Australia and is an important step in building local engineering capability to develop Western Australia's world-class gas assets," said Colin Beckett, Chevron Australia University Partnership Program Executive Sponsor.

Professor May said significant research into gas process engineering was being done at UWA to improve the processes by which the gas is extracted and converted into a saleable commodity.

"In the next 10 years, there is going to be around $100 billion spent on WA's gas assets," he said.

"A one to two per cent efficiency improvement has a very significant impact both financially and in terms of the total energy recovered."

"Attracting the best students is the starting point for meeting the technological challenges the future massive gas projects present," said Professor May. "By putting a comprehensive (gas process engineering) program in place, we are not only providing the engineers for tomorrow; we are providing the leaders of the engineers of the future."

Professor May leads research in hydrocarbon process engineering, adsorption, CO2 sequestration, flow assurance, and the measurement and prediction of fluid properties. He has secured over $5 million of funding since 2006.