Kate Cole is an Australian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

and

occupational hygienist Occupational hygiene (United States: industrial hygiene (IH)) is the anticipation, recognition, evaluation, control, and confirmation (ARECC) of protection from hazards at work that may result in injury, illness, or affect the well being of work ...

whose work has helped protect the health and safety of construction workers, particularly by controlling respirable

crystalline silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

or "silica dust".

Career

Cole has a Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) and Master of Environmental Engineering Management from the

University of Technology An institute of technology (also referred to as: technological university, technical university, university of technology, technological educational institute, technical college, polytechnic university or just polytechnic) is an institution of t ...

, a Master of Science (Occupational Hygiene Practice) from the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment ...

. She is also a graduate of the

Australian Institute of Company Directors The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) is a non-profit membership organization for directors. The AICD is a founding member of the Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI). History The origins of the AICD can be traced ba ...

. Cole's work was heavily influenced by a

Winston Churchill Fellowship Winston Churchill Memorial Trusts (WCMT) are three independent but related living memorials to Sir Winston Churchill, based in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. They exist for the purpose of administering Churchill Fellowships, ...

in 2016, that investigated best practice approaches to preventing illness and disease in tunnel construction workers in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, Switzerland,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territor ...

. Cole runs her own consultancy compan
Cole Health
She is also the 2022 President of th
Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists
She also advised on ventilation, respiratory protection, and health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Awards

Cole was named as one of the Top 100 Women of Influence by the ''

Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New S ...

'' in 2018 and is also one of

Science & Technology Australia Science & Technology Australia (STA), formerly known as the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS), is an organisation representing the interests of more than 90,000 Australian scientists and technologists, and pr ...

's Superstars of STEM for 2019–2020. In 2022, she was awarded the Medal of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for her work protecting the health of workers on large-scale infrastructure projects and was included on the COVID-19 Honour Roll for her work during the pandemic.

Media

Cole speaks about preventing silicosis and other silica-related diseases on the ABC radio national.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Kate Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia University of Technology Sydney alumni University of Wollongong alumni 21st-century Australian engineers