Kate Cole (engineer)
{{Short description|Australian engineer and occupational hygienist}}
Kate Cole {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|OAM}} is an Australian engineer and occupational hygienist whose work has helped protect the health and safety of construction workers, particularly by controlling respirable crystalline silica or "silica dust".
Career
Cole has a Bachelor of Science (Biotechnology) and Master of Environmental Engineering Management from the University of Technology, a Master of Science (Occupational Hygiene Practice) from the University of Wollongong. She is also a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Cole's work was heavily influenced by a Winston Churchill Fellowship in 2016, that investigated best practice approaches to preventing illness and disease in tunnel construction workers in Norway, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA.{{Cite web |title=Kate Cole - Churchill Trust |url=https://www.churchilltrust.com.au/fellow/kate-cole-nsw-2016 |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=www.churchilltrust.com.au |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |date=2018-06-25 |title=Kate Cole |url=https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/data-and-research/research-hub/research-hub/researchers-at-tfnsw/kate-cole |access-date=2024-07-13 |website=Transport for NSW |language=en-AU}}
Cole runs her own consultancy company [https://www.colehealth.com.au/ Cole Health].{{Cite web |title=Cole Health |url=https://www.colehealth.com.au/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Cole Health |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.colehealth.com.au/about |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Cole Health |language=en-US}} She is also the 2022 President of the [https://www.aioh.org.au/ Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists].{{Cite web |title=Kate Cole |url=https://scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/profile/kate-cole/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Science and Technology Australia |language=en-AU}}
She also advised on ventilation, respiratory protection, and health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic.{{Citation |title=Are hotels really the safest places to hold people in quarantine? |date=2021-01-19 |url=https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/are-hotels-really-the-safest-places-to-hold-people/13071242 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |language=en-AU |access-date=2022-04-07}}
Awards
Cole was named as one of the Top 100 Women of Influence by the Australian Financial Review in 2018{{Cite web |title=Kate Cole named one of the Australian Financial Review's 100 Women of Influence 2018 |url=https://www.ventia.com/news-and-insights/Kate-Cole-100-women-of-influence |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Ventia}} and is also one of Science & Technology Australia's Superstars of STEM for 2019–2020.{{Cite web |date=2020-08-28 |title=STEM Superstar prompts government probe on masks |url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/scienceshow/stem-superstar-prompts-government-probe-on-masks/12606512 |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=ABC Radio National |language=en}}
In 2022, she was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for her work protecting the health of workers on large-scale infrastructure projects and was included on the COVID-19 Honour Roll for her work during the pandemic. {{Cite web |last=OAM |first=John Leddy |last2=FIEAUST |last3=CPEng |last4=says |first4=MEngSc |date=2022-01-26 |title=Engineers recognised in the 2022 Australia Day Honours list |url=https://createdigital.org.au/engineers-recognised-2022-australia-day-honours-list/ |access-date=2022-04-07 |website=Create |language=en-AU}}
Media
Cole speaks about preventing silicosis and other silica-related diseases on the ABC radio national.{{Cite web |date=2019-07-13 |title=Silicosis is NOT the new asbestosis |url=https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/ockhamsrazor/silicosis-is-not-the-new-asbestosis/11297036 |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=ABC listen |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |title=Media |url=https://www.colehealth.com.au/media |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=Cole Health |language=en-US}}
References
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Category:University of Technology Sydney alumni