VALE - Greg Cambrell (1943-2026)
Monash University academic staff 1969 to 2006
Monash Engineering and Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering are sad to share the passing of Gregory Keith Cambrell who died on 3 May 2026 from pancreatic cancer.
After completing degrees in science and engineering at the University of Adelaide he enrolled for a PhD in electrical engineering at Monash University in 1967.
He was attracted by the reputation of Professor Douglas Lampard, who had established the Department in 1962. Greg’s specialisations were in the areas of electromagnetics and audio engineering.
He joined the academic staff of the Department in 1969 and set about the task of further developing the stream of electromagnetics in the second, third and fourth years of the undergraduate course.
To this day the electromagnetics stream stands high amongst similar programs in Australian Universities, thanks to the work of Greg and others.
Thousands of students benefited from Greg’s teaching. He was highly respected for the breadth of understanding he had for his field of expertise and for his attention to detail. He always treated their questions with patience and skill. He supervised a number of outstanding undergraduate and postgraduate projects. He also undertook a number of administrative roles within the Department and the Faculty and never shirked from his responsibilities.
During his career at Monash he took two sabbatical periods, one at Southampton University in 1973 where he worked with Professor Percy Hammond and the other at McGill University in Canada in 1983 where he worked with Professor Peter P Silvester. (One of the highlights of his time in North America was to be able to travel to Rhode Island with friends to witness Australia II winning the America’s Cup!)
Greg retired from his full-time position at Monash in 2006. In retirement he took on many consulting tasks. He had accumulated an enormous library of technical books over the years. His executors will be looking for good recipients in the time ahead. He had been appointed as Treasurer of the Society of Monash Electrical Engineering Alumni when it was formed in 1986 and he continued in that role until 2025.
He married his first wife Anne in 1967. They have three children, Natalie, Amelia and Ashley and six grandchildren. Greg and Anne separated in 1995 and were divorced in 1999.
In 2012 he caught up with an old girlfriend, Dawn, and they married in 2013. With Dawn’s family in Brisbane and Greg’s in Melbourne they spent half of each year in each of the two cities.
Greg Cambrell contributed greatly to the success of the Department of Electrical and Computer Systems Engineering (as it became known) at Monash. He will be sadly missed.
A funeral service for Greg will be held at the Renowden Chapel at the Springvale Botanical Cemetery on Wednesday 13th May at 3.30pm.
Obituary by Professor Bill Brown
