Adjunct Associate Professor Don White

Faculty of Engineering
The University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Office: +61 2 9389 6728
Uni: +61 2 9351 6743
Fax: +61 2 9387 2642
E-mail:

Key Skills and Experience

The Engineering Faculty appointed Don White as an Adjunct A/Professor in 2003. In this role he is engaged in passing on professional knowledge and experience to postgraduates and students in their final year before graduation. This currently includes

• Project Management and the Process Plant Risk Management
• Courses in Chemical Engineering
• Professional Engineering course in Mechanical Engineering,
• Major Design project in Chemical Engineering
• Design project for Advanced Students
• Supervision of undergraduate thesis projects in Chemical Engineering.
• Case study component of the MIPPS course - Chemical Engineering

Don has thirty years' experience as a manager and engineer and in manufacturing and engineering for the process and chemical industries. His Career has been largely with ICI, later Orica (and now Qenos) and more recently as a Consulting Engineer.

He has managed large petrochemical and Chlor-alkalai plants and been responsible for the supply of Engineering Services. Particular highlights include:

• Specification for a new ethylene plant ($198 million) and
• Feasibility study for a replacement chlorine plant ($60 million),
• Management of a major Ferric Chloride initiative.
• Construction and commissioning management of a $36 million Ethylene Plant upgrade (part of a $280m project)
• Construction management of a $20 million upgrade of a Surfactants Plant.

Don was also Commissioning Manager for the Australian Magnesium Corporation in Gladstone, Qld, for their $48 million demonstration plant and later provided consulting services for the $1,000 million magnesium plant during its design stage.

He left Orica in 1998 and now consults to the Petrochemical, Chlor-alkalai, Chemical and Magnesium metal industries. Recent assignments include

• Review of the operations of an Ammonium Nitrate facility for a consortium of financiers.
• Survey of chlor-alkalai and plastics plants operations in Indonesia
• Review of the safety of operations of a Chemical Manufacturing plant
• Advice to Lawyers and an International Engineering Contracting firm on opportunities to defend a claim against them.

Don sits on a number of Government advisory panels including

• Hazardous Chemical Advisory Committee (Advising the Minister - DEC)
• Load-Based Licensing Technical Review Panel (NSW Department of Environment and Conservation)
• Homebush Bay Remediation Reference Group

In addition, Don has considerable interests in Sustainability, Conservation and local government issues. Particular roles include

• Nature Conservation Council of NSW (the peak group for Non-government conservation groups) - Executive member and Treasurer
• Boral Green Shareholders - a group of ethical investors - Co-ordinator
• Local Resident Group, Woollahra - Coordinator
• Rural Fire Service - Volunteer Fire-fighter and Publicity officer - Laguna Brigade, Hunter Valley,
• Bush Regeneration - Volunteer and Co-ordinator - HarbourView, Woollahra
• Police Accountability Community Team - Rose Bay Local Area Command
• Woollahra - Environmental Levy, Community Reference Group
• Community Safety Committee - Woollahra