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Recognising her illustrious academic career, The Australian National University (ANU) has appointed Professor Shirley Gregor AO as an Emeritus Professor of the University.
For nearly two decades, Professor Gregor has been one of the leading academics at ANU in the field of Business Information Systems.
“It’s an honour to be recognised for my research and contributions to the field of information systems,” said Professor Gregor, who is from the ANU Research School of Management.
Reflecting on her 36 years in academia, Professor Gregor identifies key industry related achievements that she regards as milestones in her career.
The first accomplishment was her research from 1997 on supply chain management in the beef industry. This study contributed to Australia’s National Livestock Identification System, a significant policy against the backdrop of the “mad cow disease” phenomenon.
In 2005, Professor Gregor was awarded an Order of Australia for this research and the development of applications in the agribusiness sector, as well as her services to education.
Another achievement came through Australian government sponsored projects in Bangladesh.
“Between 2008 and 2012, AusAID funded the project to develop an e-Government in Bangladesh. Our role was to integrate ICT services in the public sector,” said Professor Gregor, who was subsequently awarded the ANU Vice-Chancellor’s Community Engagement Award for her contributions.
She also regards her current partnership with Sydney Trains to be a highpoint in her career due to the uniqueness of the project as it uses artificial intelligence to prevent railway related suicides.
In 2017, she was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Design Science Research community at an event in Karlsruhe, Germany.
Professor Gregor started her professional career in the computing industry in 1971. She has worked as an analyst, project leader and consultant in Glasgow, London and Brisbane.
Aside from the prestigious awards and recognition that Professor Gregor has received, there’s a black binder in her office drawer that she regards as a prized possession.
“This binder is a compilation of some of the computer code I wrote around October 1978. Keeping this is a physical reminder of how far my field has evolved and how intellectually stimulating it was to write programs on paper and have them developed on mainframes,” Professor Gregor shared.