Skip to main content

World Highways contributor Max Lay wins Peter Nicol Russell award

The Institution of Engineers Australia has awarded World Highways contributor Dr Maxwell Lay the prestigious Peter Nicol Russell medal for his contribution to science and engineering. According to the citation, the medal is the most prestigious award made by the institution. “The recipient represents the technical, professional and community service standards of engineering to the profession and the community.” May received degrees at Melbourne University and the US university Lehigh in Pennsylvania.
December 9, 2014 Read time: 2 mins
The Institution of Engineers Australia has awarded 3260 World Highways contributor %$Linker: 2 Internal <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 2 1845 0 oLinkExternal Dr Maxwell Lay Visit &quot;Road user charging the way to highway investment&quot; page false /categories/traffic-focus-highway-management/features/road-user-charging-the-way-to-highway-investment/ false false%> the prestigious Peter Nicol Russell medal for his contribution to science and engineering.

According to the citation, the medal is the most prestigious award made by the institution. “The recipient represents the technical, professional and community service standards of engineering to the profession and the community.”  

May received degrees at Melbourne University and the US university Lehigh in Pennsylvania. He was appointed executive director of the Australian Road Research Board in 1975. After 13 years he moved to 5155 VicRoads, the Victoria state organisation for planning, developing and managing arterial roads. Among his responsibilities at VicRoads was the Eastern Freeway and Western Ring Road. He later joined consulting engineering firm SKM in Melbourne.

Lay was a founding director of toll road company ConnectEast that is responsible for the finance, design, construction and operation of Melbourne's 39km EastLink tollway project. In late 2011, the company was sold to Horizon Roads for around US$1.83 billion (AUS$2.2 billion).

He also is an advisor to the non-political industry association Roads Australia, a professorial fellow at Melbourne University and was president of the Australian Automobile Association from 2000-2002.

Sir Peter Nicol Russell was a Sydney industrialist during the last half of the 19th century.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Angolan project wins IRF Construction Methodology Award
    June 14, 2012
    Engineering firm Exergia completes vital communication route using innovative construction methodology. The devastation caused by a 35-year armed conflict has led to a high state of degradation of Angola’s network of roads and bridges, presenting a significant impediment to the country’s recovery. In 2002, the Government of Angola created an extensive rehabilitation and reconstruction program of the road system. As part of this program, the rehabilitation of National Highway 120, the main road linking
  • Algeria to engage Japanese government over dispute with Cojaal
    January 14, 2015
    The Algerian government is now talking directly to the Japanese government in an effort to resolve a dispute with sacked Japanese highways consortium Cojaal, In 2006, Cojaal won a US$5 billion deal to build the 359km eastern section of Algeria’s proposed 900km East-West Highway within 40 months. Algeria divided the contract into three sections, with the Chinese company Citic-CRCC winning the central and western sections, which in total was to cost around $6 billion.
  • Finalists announced for bauma Innovation Award 2019
    February 14, 2019
    The competition is a joint project led by the German Engineering Federation, the Main Association of the German Construction Industry, the Central Association of the German Construction Industry, the German Association of Building Materials - Rock and Earth and bauma. More information about the awards can be found at by clicking here. https://www.baumainnovationspreis.de/en/
  • bauma innovation awards shortlist lines up 15 potential winners
    January 6, 2017
    bauma has announced the shortlist for its Innovation Awards 2013, which will be presented at the show in mid April. Speaking at the event’s giant media dialog in Munich at the end of January 29, Johann Sailer, President of the VDMA Construction Machinery and Building Materials Machinery Association revealed that the organisers had received 156 entries across the scheme’s five main categories.