Dr Renee Bartolo is a finalist in the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems (AAUS) Industry Champion Awards 2020 which recognise individuals and organisations that have made a significant contribution to the Australian unmanned systems industry.
She is a finalist for the leadership award which recognises individuals or organisations that lead the way with advocacy work that strives to improve the commercial and / or technological viability of the unmanned system industry.
Renee is a Principal Research Scientist and Team Leader of the Ecosystem Restoration and Landform Group at the Supervising Scientist Branch (SSB), where she has worked for the past 14 years. She is also currently the chief remote pilot for drone operations in the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment and established SSB’s drone program in early 2014.
In 2019 Renee was awarded a Fulbright Future Scholarship and represented Australia in UAS to develop guidelines for the effective use of drones in environmental assessment and monitoring in collaboration with the National Unmanned Aerial System Project Office, United States (US) Geological Survey, with a view to establish a long-term exchange of capabilities and knowledge. This project aimed to address the gap between research and development in the application of drones and their operational use in measuring and monitoring the environment, particularly in government agencies. Since returning back from the US Renee has been disseminating what she learnt (particularly in the area of organisation policy) to other government agencies and industry through seminars (for example, Queensland Government Department of Environment and Science). She has also been linking government agencies and providing advice and help to them in addressing issues around policy and operations at the higher level.
Winners will be announced during the AAUS gala dinner that will be held in Canberra on the evening of Thursday 26 March 2020.
For more information on the awards, go to the AAUS website.