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Sailor launches into engineering degree
It’s certainly not an idle boast when Tim Burke, 18, of Buddina says he expects to sail through his degree in Civil Engineering at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
The 2010 dux of Mountain Creek State High School is a talented young catamaran sailor who has already competed internationally for Australia in the Hobie 16s class.
And his passion for sailing seems equally matched by his interest in construction, fuelled by having studied engineering for three years at high school and finishing top of his engineering class in Year 12.
Tim is a member of the Lake Baroon Sailing Club at Maleny. He represented Australia at the 2007 Hobie 16s world championships in Fiji and has competed at various State and national competitions.
He said he was excited about starting his degree at USC next month.
“I’ve always wanted to do civil engineering, majoring in structural engineering,” he said. “I’ve done engineering throughout my senior years at high school and I used to build a lot of stuff with my mates.
“We once built a 3-4 metre high trebuchet (a type of catapult that uses the energy of a raised counterweight to launch objects) out of hoop pine.
“We designed it so that minimal supports and braces were needed for it to withstand all imparted forces and maintain its structural integrity. After it was built, we conducted a series of experiments to maximise its throwing distance.”
Tim, who achieved an OP2, said he planned to begin his career as an engineer in the mining industry in Queensland or in Dubai.
The University of the Sunshine Coast introduced Engineering in 2008 to meet the growing demand for graduates in this region.
The first cohort of Engineering students will complete their degrees at the end of this year.
— Terry Walsh