Ross McAree is a first-class mid-career academic and engineer who continues to make significant contributions at the institutions where he has worked and in the industries with which he has cooperated. At Oxford University he was a major contributor to the development of tele-robotic systems for the nuclear industry and rapid prototyping systems for the manufacturing industry. His current, and most profound contributions, have been with the Australian mining industry and global mining equipment manufacturers. Professor McAree?s research team at CRCMining and the University of Queensland is an internationally-recognised pioneer in the rapidly growing field of mining equipment automation.