The Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO)-sponsored, Re-Engineering Australia (REA) Foundation, has announced that one of Australia’s most recognisable and respected businesspeople, Dr Peter Farrell PhD DSc AM, has been appointed as its patron.

Dr Farrell takes up the role left vacant by the passing of The Honourable John Button who was REA patron from its inception in 1999.

Dr Farrell is the Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board of ResMed, the innovative Australian manufacturer of respiratory medical devices for the diagnosis and treatment of sleep-disordered breathing. The company has become the world leader in its field.

Dr Farrell was trained as a chemical and biomedical engineer and comes from a family of engineers.

“Australia needs more highly skilled technical people who are willing to think and be creative,” Dr Farrell said.

“Consider any innovation and no doubt it has been developed by people who have a firm grasp of the STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But, how do you make these subjects challenging and desirable to our young people? You have to make them relevant and exciting…and that is exactly what the Re-Engineering Australia Foundation is doing.

Their programs combine world-best technology with applied learning and collaboration with industry. They are causing maths and science classes to fill up and students are asking for after school classes and to be able to go to school during their holidays.”

Dr Farrell said the Foundation was continually innovating as it develops a Careers Pathway from kindergarten to university.

“Take a look at their F1inSchools competition. Thirty five thousand high schoolers participate in this program every week and it is growing at a rapid rate. It provides young people with opportunities to represent their nation and show the rest of the world how smart we are.”

The DMO also recently sponsored the REA ‘Team Australia’ that returned from the 2009 ‘F1inSchools’ World Championships in London having totally dominated the event. Dr Farrell’s view was that this demonstrated that Australian maths and science students are amongst the best in the world.

Dr Farrell also challenged governments and companies across the nation to get behind the REA Foundation. REA founder Michael Myers, also an engineer, said: “We are all about inspiring, equipping and guiding young people and giving them the belief that they can take on the world. That is exactly what Peter Farrell has achieved with ResMed. He has led an Australian company to the position of being a world leader. He is the perfect role model for our organisation.”