In 2017, Associate Professor Alistair McEwan was appointed as the Ainsworth Chair of Technology and Innovation in the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies.
This appointment was created to:
- Harness advancing technology and innovation to accelerate the search for new and improved treatments and interventions for childhood disabilities and illnesses
- Identify priority areas and engaging more engineers to help address technology challenges
- Investigate improved methods of mobility and communication for people living with cerebral palsy, using the latest available technologies.
Professor Alistair McEwan
PhD, MEng(Res), BE, BComm
Ainsworth Chair of Technology and Innovation, The University of Sydney
Professor Alistair McEwan is the Ainsworth Chair of Technology and Innovation at Cerebral Palsy Alliance and University of Sydney, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies. He is the Theme Leader for Biomedical Devices and Instrumentation and helps lead the Australian Research Council Training Centre for Innovative Bioengineering.
Professor McEwan is passionate about engineering technology innovation to solve problems of real clinical need. His research focuses on harnessing advancing technology and innovation to accelerate the search for new and improved treatments and interventions for childhood disabilities and illnesses.
Professor McEwan is now identifying priority areas and engaging engineers to help address technology challenges. With teams in engineering and health he is investigating improved methods of mobility and communication for people living with cerebral palsy, using the latest available technologies. For example, he is looking at how we can assist movement using bionics, robotics and artificial intelligence to help people with cerebral palsy stay better connected to their communities.
Professor McEwan’s specific research interests include:
- Modelling of causal pathways and impact of technologies in cerebral palsy to identify areas of greatest impact
- Development of fetal and placental monitoring technologies during pregnancy, including ultrasound and electrograms, for integration with neonatal and infant monitoring
- Developing technology for assistive living and interactive tools such as wearable devices, apps and virtual reality to help monitor exercise and nutrition for children with disabilities
- Prediction and automation of technology in the neonatal intensive care unit, where babies are at high risk of cerebral palsy
- Brain-computer technologies with audio-visual feedback.
Professor McEwan is an acknowledged leader in bioelectronics for solving health issues; in 2011 he was awarded a Microsoft Future Fellowship, the first Australian to be recognised with this award, for his work developing electronic devices to diagnose heart attack and stroke early. Prior to this, he held prestigious fellowship positions at University College London, Philips Research and the University of Oxford. Moreover, Professor McEwan has co-founded two Australian start-up biomedical device companies, acted as consultant for biomedical device companies and has been a member of scientific advisory boards.
Some of Professor McEwan’s most significant career impacts include:
- Being a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society and technical committee member of IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems
- Leading the development of a new biomedical electrical engineering undergraduate degree to equip students to enter the field
- Generation of intellectual property in industry and academia
- Editorial Board Member for four international engineering and medicine journals
- Specialist advisor contributing to key regulatory functions of the Therapeutic Goods Administration, Australian Government and Department of Health
Professor McEwan has a world class record of research and collaborative work in biomedical engineering, electronics and signal processing. He has over 120 refereed publications, 8 patents, more than 1700 citations and has obtained over $7.5 million in competitive research funding.