Architecture to arbitration alumni honoured

Architecture to arbitration alumni honoured

Five outstanding graduates of the University of Auckland, in fields ranging from architecture and engineering to banking and international arbitration, will be honoured at a gala dinner this month.

More than 400 guests are expected to attend the dinner in a large marquee on Old Government House lawn at the University’s City Campus next week. (March 11).

The four winners of the Distinguished Alumni Awards and the Young Alumnus of the Year award, have all made outstanding contributions to their professions, their communities, New Zealand and internationally.

The five distinguished alumni are;

David Mitchell (BArch 1964) is one of New Zealand’s foremost architects. His influence has been as an educator, author and commentator, as well as designer and practitioner. David has received many awards for his architecture, including the New Zealand Institute of Architects Gold Medal in 2005. In 2014 he was the Creative Director of New Zealand’s first-ever exhibition at the Venice Biennale of Architecture.

Graeme Wheeler (BCom Well 1972, MCom 1973) is Governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand, a position he has held since 2012. He was employed by the World Bank for 14 years including as Treasurer and later Managing Director of Operations based in Washington DC. In this role, he led the World Bank’s interactions with the International Monetary Fund on the Global Financial Crisis.

Professor Karen Willcox (BE 1994, SM MIT 1996, PhD MIT 2000) is Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Co-Director of the Center for Computational Enginnering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is making a global impact through her research and teaching on the development of computational models for data to decisions in engineering systems, and through her passion for mentoring the next generation of engineering leaders.

David AR Williams QC (LLB 1965, LLM Harvard 1966) is New Zealand’s leading international arbitrator. He has served as a Justice of the High Court and the Court of Dubai International Financial Centre. He is presently the President of the Cook Islands Court of Appeal. He is the co-author with Professor Amokura Kawharu of New Zealand’s leading text book on arbitration. He is an Honorary Professor of Law at the University of Auckland.

The Young Alumna of the Year is:

Dr Divya Dhar (MBChB 2010, MBA Penn 2014, MPA Harvard 2014) is a doctor and social justice campaigner. She is CEO and co-founder of Seratis, a care coordination mobile application for patients and healthcare providers, and is founder of the P3 Foundation – the largest youth for youth not-for-profit organisation engaged in international development in New Zealand. In 2010 she was named Young New Zealander of the Year.

ENDS

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