Bright future forecast for agricultural engineer

A strong desire to make a difference in the agricultural industry led Kimberley Althaus to pursue a career in the male-dominated field of Agricultural Engineering.

'Having grown up in rural areas my whole life I was interested in keeping agriculture in my future and my career,' Kimberley said.

'Through the study of agricultural science at high school some of the issues that the industry is faced with were brought to my attention. The issues that were briefly covered were very intriguing and when I discovered that I could learn about these in a degree I pursued it. I enjoyed the thought that I could potentially make a difference in the agricultural industry.'

Now in her final year of study at USQ, Kimberley’s research into the effect of irrigation management on nitrate movement under a lettuce crop has been recognised with a Steve Golding Encouragement Award.

The Steve Golding award is for the best final-year Engineering student project in technological management and/or innovation in engineering, and awarded annually by Engineers Australia.

The main component of the judging criteria is presentation, although marks were also awarded for a written report and a poster.

Steve Golding Award Organising Committee Chair, Dr David Thorpe, said the Encouragement Award was one of the top honours on offer.

'Competitors came from a number of Queensland universities. USQ had five excellent presentations from our finalists, and Kimberley’s presentation was outstanding.

'She competed against other finalists from QUT and Griffith University. Kimberley made a complex research project seem quite simple and understandable to the audience and I commend her on her achievement.'

Kimberley’s project examined irrigation management practices and their impact on the leaching of nutrients and salts within a soil profile. Crops such as lettuce, which are highly dependent on irrigation water for their effective growth and high quality yield, are particularly susceptible to high levels of nutrient leaching below the root zone.

The aim of the project was to ascertain the effect of irrigation management on nitrate movement soil by collecting water and solute data from a sprinkler and drip-irrigated field of lettuce grown on a Ferrosol.

Kimberley, who is a Department of Environment and Resource Management Scholarship recipient, said through the completion of this research project she was able to examine a real and current issue and offer an insight into how to solve it.

'The ability to choose the topic to research allowed me to focus on an area of agriculture which appealed to me,' she said. 'Quite often a project will be linked to industry and allows you to build a base of contacts and develop professional attributes that can assist in gaining employment on completion of the degree.'

With a job already secured with the Department of Environment and Resource Management Scholarship upon graduation, Kimberley hopes to continue her important research.

'Times have changed and women are being more widely accepted into male-dominated careers,' she said.

'If it is your true passion and something you truly enjoy doing, it is quite probable that this will be one of the least challenging obstacles.'