2010 Civil Engineering Alumnus of the Year: Prof. William Young
Professor William Young has an internationally distinguished career that spans a wide range of transport engineering problems, including extensive consultancies to industry. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Chartered Institute of Transport, and Member of the Australian institute of Transport Planners and Managers.
Professor Young gained his Doctor of Philosophy from the Department of Civil Engineering at Monash University in 1982. He also holds a first class honours degree for the University of New South Wales (1971), a Master of Science from Monash (1990) and Master of Business Administration from Deakin University (1997). After three years working in the transport industry in Australia, England and Germany he joined the Department of Civil Engineering as a research scholar in 1975. He was appointed a Professorial Fellow at Monash in 1995 and Professor of Civil Engineering at Monash University in 1998. In 1996 he became Head of the Caulfield Division of the Department of Civil Engineering and Head of the Department of Civil Engineering in 1999. He has also held positions as Director of the Institute of Transport Studies (Monash) (1995-98, 2005, 2010-12), Head of the Monash Transport Group (1994-96, 2009-12), Director of Graduate and Further Education in the Faculty of Engineering (2001-07) and Chairperson of the Monash University Advisory Committee on People with Disabilities (1997-2002). In all these positions he furthered the profile of Engineering and Transport.
Professor Young was instrumental in the introduction of Combined Degrees (BE/BEc, BE/BSc, BE/BA, and BE/LLB), Masters in Transport, Master of Traffic, Master of Infrastructure Engineering and Management, Bachelor of Technology, Bus and Coach Management and Risk Education Programs, and Parking Policy and Design Education Programs at Monash University. He also contributed to the introduction of problem based learning in the Department of Civil Engineering and the development of comprehensive courseware to support students in their study.
Professor Young is internationally recognised for his research and practice in the land use / transport and parking areas. He has developed pioneering software for the design of transport systems. Professor Young has co-authored three books on traffic systems and contributed to another 300 publications in engineering education, transport and computer science. He was instrumental in attracting funding to Monash for the National Key Centre in Transport Management, Bus and Coach Management and Safety Education programs, Chair in Public Transport and numerous other research projects.
He has been Chair of the Victorian Transport Committee (IEAust), the National Committee of Transport (IEAust), the Institution of Transportation Engineers Australia, and Secretary of the Victorian Australian Institute for Transport Managers and Planners where he contributed greatly to increasing the profile of transport engineering.