Nominate a trailblazing Western Australian for the Pearcey Medal

What the judges look for

The judges look for more than a successful career. They want to see a contribution that goes above and beyond the nominee's job, and that spans more than one of research, industry and professional development, alongside public service.

They also value modesty and a willingness to take on the unglamorous work that moves the industry forward.

How the process works

Only one medal is awarded each year, and no more than two people enter the Hall of Fame. A nominating committee shortlists up to six candidates, and a selection committee made up of former Pearcey Medallists and the Foundation's national committee decides the outcome by secret ballot.

You can read the full National Awards Process on the Pearcey Foundation website.

2007 — Dr Rob Newman

As a PhD student at the University of Western Australia in the late 1970s, Rob invented the Distributed Queue Dual Bus protocol. It became IEEE standard 802.6, one of the first standards to bring telephone and data switching together. He went on to commercialise technology from Perth's CRC for Broadband Telecommunications and Networking in the United States, then came home to Perth to back Australian tech through his own venture capital firms.

2007 Pearcey Hall of Fame 2007 Pearcey Hall of Fame

2011 — Dr Dennis Moore AM

Dennis pioneered computing in WA, installing the first computer at UWA in 1962 and serving as founding president of the WA Computer Society. He later led government computing for the state, helped develop WA's Technology Park and became the founding Head of the School of Computing at Curtin University. In 1995 he was named WA IT Achiever of the Year.

2011 Pearcey Hall of Fame 2011 Pearcey Hall of Fame

2012 — Dr Mal Bryce AO

Mal Bryce received the 2012 Pearcey Medal, the Foundation's highest honour, and remains the only West Australian to have done so. As a minister and Deputy Premier, he established Australia's first government department of computing and IT, set up Technology Park in Bentley and helped create Scitech. He later chaired iVEC, now the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, for a decade. WAITTA named him Achiever of the Year in 2002, and INCITE's WA Tech Company of the Year award proudly carries his name.

2012 Pearcey Medal 2012 Pearcey Medal

2016 — Jim Ellis OAM

Jim programmed a valve computer as a maths student in 1962, a direct link to the era of Trevor Pearcey's early machines. After two decades working on mainframes across the United Kingdom, Eastern Europe, Russia and South East Asia, he moved to Perth in 1981. Ten years later he started an awards night within the Australian Computer Society - which grew into WAITTA and lives on today as the INCITE Awards. His service also spans chairing the ACS in WA, serving as Chief Judge of the national iAwards and chairing the advisory board of the Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance at Curtin University.

2016 Pearcey Hall of Fame 2016 Pearcey Hall of Fame

2024 — Jan Kornweibel

Jan began her WA career as an IBM programmer at the TAB in Perth, and was an inaugural member of the ACS when it merged with the WA Computer Society in 1967. She gave 16 years to the ACS WA Branch Executive, including as Chair, and from the mid-1970s pioneered the use of computing to support people with disability. In retirement she volunteers at Curtin's Autism Academy for Software Quality Assurance, helping students on the autism spectrum earn international software testing certification.

2024 Pearcey Hall of Fame 2024 Pearcey Hall of Fame Read Jan's story Read Jan's story