Else Shepherd (born Else Egede Budtz-Olsen; 1944–2023), was a South African-Australian engineer and academic, the first woman to graduate with an electrical engineering degree in Queensland.

Early life

Shepherd was born in

Durban, South Africa Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay o ...

in 1944, the daughter of Professor Otto Budtz-Olsen and his wife Molly. The family emigrated to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in 1956 where her father was employed as a lecturer in physiology at the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

. Her mother became Principal of the Women’s College at the University of Queensland in 1963. Budtz-Olsen attended Brisbane Girls Grammar School where she excelled in maths and physics. Inspired by the launch of the Russian satellite

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space progra ...

in 1957 she enrolled in engineering at the University of Queensland in 1962, graduating with a degree in electrical engineering in 1965. Budtz-Olsen married and she joined her husband in Mackay where she worked at the Sugar Research Institute. Else Shepherd worked as an operation research engineer while raising their two children. She also taught classes at Mackay TAFE.

Career

Shepherd and her family returned to

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

in 1983 and she formed the company Mosaic Information Technology which designed and manufactured telecommunications products and modems from 1986. A new company, Microwave and Materials Designs was formed in 2002, developing microwave filters for mobile phones. Shepherd was appointed Chair of Powerlink in 1994. She sat on the board of the National Electricity Market Management Company, the Brisbane City Works Advisory Board and the International Electrotechnical Commission Council Board. She has lectured at the University of Queensland,

Queensland University of Technology The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) is a public university, public research university located in the city of Brisbane in Queensland, Australia. It has two major campuses, a modern city campus in Gardens Point, Brisbane, Gardens Point ...

and

Griffith University Griffith University is a public university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

. Shepherd was a trained pianist who received her Graduate Diploma in Music from the Queensland Conservatorium in 1984. She has worked as a choral conductor and director of arts organisations.

Awards and memberships

* Member of the Order of Australia (General Division) (2003) - For service to the engineering profession, particularly electrical and electronic engineering, to education, to the electricity distribution industry, and to the community. * Alumnus of the Year 2009 * Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal, 2007

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shepherd, Else Living people 1944 births Australian electrical engineers South African electrical engineers Members of the Order of Australia People educated at Brisbane Girls Grammar School South African women engineers South African emigrants to Australia People from Durban