Nurturing Innovation

“The Data Arena? That’s a whole different ball game, that one. I can think of a hundred applications straight off the bat where the Data Arena could apply. There must be millions.”

Eleanor Dunn has just visited the recently opened Data Arena in the Faculty of Engineering and IT. Dunn, in whose name the Eleanor Dunn Scholarship in Engineering was created, is the widow of Ted Dunn, one of Australia’s unsung heroes in modern engineering.

Eleanor is continuing Ted’s legacy by supporting technological advancement in the area of education he came from. Thanks to her gift to UTS, successful applicants to the scholarship will receive $5000 per year for up to five years. The scholarship will be available every year in perpetuity, meaning the innovation and hard work that Ted stood for will inspire new generations of engineers for the foreseeable future.

We want to support people who are striving to achieve, but it's not a hand-out ... it's always been about trying to help people help themselves.

Ted Dunn was the designer of the first television sets suitable for Australian conditions. He later went on to establish his own major Sydney-based electronics firm. “Ted realised all the television sets were breaking down, and it was the tuners,” recalls Eleanor. “So he set up a little workshop in the backyard shed at the back of his parents’ home, and repaired tuners.”

Before long, the operation diversified and expanded to larger quarters in Ashfield, Leichhardt, Gladesville and finally Winston Hills. Sadly, Ted passed away before the final move.

“We want to support people who are striving to achieve, but it’s not a hand-out,” explains Eleanor. “It’s always been about trying to help people help themselves.”

“UTS’s Faculty of Engineering and IT believes strongly in encouraging excellence and promoting social equity for its students. We are proud and grateful to be able to share this vision through the Eleanor Dunn Scholarship in Engineering,” says Dean of the Faculty of Engineering and IT, Ian Burnett.

Eleanor met Simon Tan, the first-ever recipient of the scholarship during her tour of the Data Arena. Together, they were able to watch a bacterial traffic jam extracted from several thousand spreadsheets of data.

“He’s a worthy recipient,” she remarked. “He should be proud of where he’s at now, but he’s going to go a lot further.”