Month: June 2025

Pictured: USYD Rocketry Team after their win in Texas. Pauline Gigi O’Rourke front centre holding one of the trophies [Picture credit: The University of Sydney]

As reported by Sydney University News on 19 June 2025, the University of Sydney Rocketry Team has triumphed over more than 150 international teams to win the world’s largest university rocketry competition — and Paulines have played a key role in that success.

Sydney University’s latest rocket, Pardalote, claimed first place at the International Rocket Engineering Competition (IREC) in Midland, Texas. The event drew 156 student teams from 19 countries and took place over six days in extreme heat and windstorm conditions. Of the launches attempted, 136 were successful.

Pardalote soared to an altitude of 10,342 feet (3.15 km) with an error margin of just 3.42%, setting a new record for apogee accuracy in the 10k hybrid launch vehicle category — a historic achievement in the competition’s nearly two-decade history.

A Legacy of Excellence and Mentorship

The IREC, run by the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA), has been held annually since 2006 and gained international status in 2011. Sydney University’s rocketry success is no accident — it’s built on years of leadership and mentorship, particularly from Pauline Warwick Holmes (at College 1981–82).

Warwick, former Executive Director of Space Engineering in the School of Aeronautical Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, led Sydney University to world championship wins in 2019 and 2022. He mentored lead engineer Mitch Galletly, a PhD student, and introduced the team to European spacecraft engineering standards — a move that made Sydney University the first Australian university ever accepted into the competition.

Two of Warwick’s top students from the 2019 team have since secured roles at DLR, the German National Space Agency, thanks to his guidance and international connections.

2025 Team: New Faces, Same Spirit

This year, Warwick is mentoring Gigi O’Rourke, a third-year BE(Mech)(Space) student and current Pauline. Gigi, a member of the 2025 winning team, told USYD News: “Launching far from the comfort of our own Australian backyard, Pardalote’s performance on American soil not only broke records of accuracy,  but established a new standard for what an undergraduate team can accomplish.”

The student-led team designed, built, tested, and launched the rocket — including developing the propulsion system and ground infrastructure. Their success was underpinned by a strong team culture and rigorous engineering discipline.

From Trangie to Texas: A Journey of Precision

The 2025 team conducted extensive testing at Arthursleigh Farm near Goulburn, followed by a full-scale test flight at Tolarno Station in Menindee, western NSW. These trials were critical in validating the hybrid propulsion system and ensuring mission success in Texas.

This testing tradition began in 2017 when Warwick Holmes transformed the USYD Rocketry Team by introducing spacecraft engineering standards and emphasizing the importance of full-scale ground testing. He led early teams to Trangie, where they conducted critical flight component tests — laying the groundwork for the team’s current success.

Warwick praised the 2025 team’s precision: “Knowing exactly when to shut down the engines within milliseconds to coast to 10,000 feet is an extraordinary engineering feat — especially given the variability in air pressure, temperature, humidity, and thrust.”

For the full story in University of Sydney News CLICK HERE

The College community congratulates Professor Richard Kingsford on becoming an Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2025 King’s Birthday Honours List. Richard completed his studies at The University of Sydney: BSc in 1980, DipEd in 1980 and a PhD in 1987, and was at St Paul’s 1977-79. He is the Founding Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science (formerly Australian Wetlands, Rivers and Landscapes Centre), School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Science, since 2009 at UNSW where since 2005 he has been a professor.

He has worked extensively across the wetlands and rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin and Lake Eyre Basin as a river ecologist and conservation biologist. Previously he worked for the NSW Environment Department from 1986 to 2004. His research has influenced the policy and management of rivers in Australia.

Professor Richard Kingsford AO [picture credit: UNSW]

His AO is awarded for distinguished service to conservation biology, to environmental sustainability research, and to freshwater biodiversity and ecosystems governance. He is a current or former member or chair of three global environmental organisations and over 20 Australian-based organisations, societies and government panels. He has been awarded several national prizes including three Australian Museum Eureka Prizes 2001, 2008, 2023, the Frederick White Prize, Australian Academy of Science, 1994, amongst others. He has edited/co-authored five books and 95 government scientific reports, is a regular commentator in the media and Fellow of the Royal Zoological Society of NSW and the Royal Society of NSW.

The College also acknowledges the posthumous appointment of the late Matt Peacock as a Member of the Order of Australia. Matt was in College in 1971. Matt began his career as a cadet journalist at the ABC in 1973. He is most well-known as one of the ABC’s foreign correspondents being a familiar face and voice on national TV and radio news, AM and The World Today. From 2013 to 2018 he was a staff-elected member of the ABC Board.

The late Matt Peacock AM [picture credit: ABC]

His AM is awarded for significant service to the broadcast media as a journalist. He was a Senior Reporter for ABC Current Affairs, London Correspondent, 1999-2003, Chief Political Correspondent (Current Affairs Radio), 1995-1999, New York Correspondent, 1990-1993, Director, Remote Area Media, 1983-1988 and Journalist, 1973-2018. Matt was a Founding Member of ABC Alumni and an Adjunct Professor of Journalism at the University of Technology Sydney. His writing includes Killer Company: James Hardie Exposed, 2009 and Author/Interviewer, The Forgotten People – a History of Australia’s South Sea Islanders, 1979 and Asbestos – work as a health hazard, 1978.

“We want to see the new wing!” That was the enthusiastic request from a group of alumni—freshers from the later years of Warden Felix Arnott—returning to St Paul’s for a nostalgic visit in May. For them, no trip back to College would be complete without a tour of the Arnott Wing, which was the “new wing” when it opened in 1961–62.

Their journey through memory lane didn’t stop there. The group also explored the newest addition to St Paul’s, the Waddy Performance Centre, where stories flowed freely—of Mummers productions, Victoriana, Lloyd, and the old music practice room tucked behind Arnott. Though Lloyd couldn’t join in person, his spirit (and that of others who couldn’t attend) was warmly felt throughout the day.

The visit continued with lunch in the Dining Hall, where tales of College life were shared across generations. Later, over coffee at the Salisbury Café, conversation turned to rowing legend David Cay—still rowing strong at 82—and the golden days of the 1960s.

It was a day of reconnection, reflection, and celebration—a reminder that while buildings may change, the spirit of St Paul’s endures.

Pictured (top) in the Waddy Centre are: Michael Lodge (1961-62), Dr Stephen Andersen OAM (1961-62), Peter Crossing AM (1962-65), Angelo Hatsatouris OAM (1961-66, Fellow 1994-2017, Chairman of Council 2013-17), William Rutledge (1961-64), Dr David Cay (1961-63), Prof John Chalmers AC (1956-60), Nick Friend (1963-67) and Dr Alex Bune AM.