No man is an island...
We all have heroes and mentors - people who have inspired us, gone before us or helped us along our paths. I wanted to use this page to share something very close to my heart and recognise what I know I (and probably the sustainability field as a whole) owe to dedicated scientists such as the late Graham Treloar.
Vale Associate Professor Graham John Treloar
12-01-1969 – 2-05-2008
On World Environment Day, June 5th 2008, school children planted trees, politicians talked up their climate change strategies and ironically the Sex and the City movie that critics have called an ode to consumerism premiered in Australia. On this same day, a funeral was held in Geelong to farewell Associate Professor Graham Treloar, whose world-leading research into embodied energy and water will underpin our evolving greenhouse abatement and water conservation strategies. The models, methods and tools he developed will enable the comprehensive measurement of the carbon impact and water cost of a range of goods and services, from whole buildings to designer shoes.
A friendly, sunny and inquisitive child, Dr Treloar grew up in Geelong surrounded by friends and family. He showed an early determination to fully understand and master whatever he put his hand to, whether it be solving the Rubik’s cube, learning bar chords on the guitar or surfing. His early experimental efforts included building a donkey engine on his back porch and trying, with his brother, to papier-mâché the pet dog. In spare time in his adolescent years, he worked in his family’s shoe shops. It’s almost poetic that the young man who measured feet as his part-time job would go on to develop tools to measure carbon footprints. And fittingly he shared his initials with the abbreviation for gigajoules per tonne (GJ/t), one of his work’s principle units of measure.
In 1995 Dr Treloar married his sweetheart Tanya Vick, whom he met at church. Together they had two daughters Meredith and Ruby, who have inherited his determination, empathy, intellect and cheeky sense of humour.
Dr Treloar began his career in architecture, but soon moved into researching the environmental impact of buildings. He became interested in embodied energy – the total energy cost of a building, from the energy used in mining raw materials for construction, through the energy used in construction, through to the energy requirements of demolishing or renovating it.
Dr Treloar worked for the CSIRO Division of Building, Construction and Engineering, before returning to Deakin University to continue studying and pursue an academic career. In 1998 he completed his Doctorate, titled A Comprehensive Embodied Energy Analysis Framework. He quickly became an international leader in the field of embodied energy analysis, sustainable construction, life cycle assessment and, later, embodied water consumption. His research is recognised internationally as a crucial contribution to these fields. His use of input-output analysis using economic data enabled him to track the movement of carbon across the entire economy.
Though sadly cut short, Dr Treloar achieved in a ten-year academic career a body of work that most researchers would hope to achieve in a lifetime. From 2000 to 2006, he was Deputy Director of the Built Environment Research Group (BERG) at Deakin University. He also won five Australian Research Council grants, and played a leading role in the development and establishment of the Mobile Architecture and Built Environment Laboratory (MABEL), a mobile measurement tool that tests real operating buildings to analyse a range of issues, such as energy efficiency, lighting, comfort and acoustics.
Dr Treloar authored or co-authored 31 journal papers and 30 international refereed conference papers. His work was - and continues to be - extensively cited by other academic authors, with over 130 citations to his work identified. He was also the Regional Editor for Oceania for the journal Management of Environmental Quality and was awarded a 2008 Emerald Literati Award for Excellence for the contribution he made as a reviewer for this journal.
Dr Treloar was an entertaining and engaging communicator, a rarity in scientific and research fields. Despite working in an incredibly complex subject area, he made it accessible. He would say things like: “If the water needed to make the carpet you’re standing on were poured into this room, you’d be up to your nose in it!”
Dr Treloar was also well respected within industy. He was selected by the Australian Institute of Building as the inaugural Young Achiever of the Year for 2002. He provided expert advice to and worked closely with several State and Federal government departments, research and professional organisations, and companies, including Williams Boag Architects, Sinclair Knight Merz, Bovis Lend Lease, Environment Australia, the Queensland Department of Public Works, The Australian Greenhouse Office and CSIRO Division of Building, Construction and Engineering.
Dr Treloar started at the University of Melbourne in January 2007 as an Associate Professor in Property and Construction, and was also the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning’s Grant Shepherd. Shortly after commencing, he was diagnosed with cancer, but his hard work and enthusiasm continued throughout his treatment. He even conducted business meetings and radio interviews from his hospital room.
Since Dr Treloar’s death, friends, family and colleagues have mourned his passing and exchanged stories. It has become very clear that Dr Treloar will be remembered for his heart as much as his head. He was an open, accepting and non-judgemental friend, had a wicked sense of humour and was generous with his time and support.
His academic achievements showed his keen intellect. But his human qualities made him unique in research circles. While academics are traditionally insular, competitive and territorial, Dr Treloar was a passionate advocate for collaboration, believing that sharing doesn’t always divide; sometimes it multiplies. Despite making huge strides in his research, he maintained the humility to recognise what he didn’t yet know and that there is always more to learn. Colleagues have said that, unusually, he was not just interested in his own work but genuinely interested in the work of others as well.
In the words of Professor Tom Kvan, the Faculty’s Dean, “Though Graham’s time working in our Faculty was brief, his most lasting and important contribution was mentoring our Early Career Researchers.” In his role as Grant Shepherd, he assisted in the drafting and refinement of research grant applications. But he was also, quite literally, a shepherd for young researches starting out in academia. Having had his first child the same year as completing his PhD, he well understood the pressures facing Early Career Researchers, both professionally and personally. He gave valuable, practical advice with sensitivity and always enthusiastically championed the development of the careers of his colleagues.
To acknowledge Dr Treloar’s outstanding academic contribution and his passion and support for early career researchers, the University of Melbourne Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning has established an endowment fund for the Graham Treloar Fellowship.
The Fellowship will provide financial support to an early career researcher from the Faculty to develop their research career in their chosen specialty. To help endow it in perpetuity, the University invites donations. For more information, visit www.abp.unimelb.edu.au/treloar-fellowship.html.
Dr Treloar’s work will touch the lives of people who never knew him as our society faces the difficult challenges of climate change and water security. Those who did know him will remember him as a loving friend and an inspiring example of what human endeavour can achieve.
In the words of Hannah Senesh, “There are stars whose radiance is visible on earth though they have long been extinct. There are people whose brilliance continues to light the world though they are no longer among the living. These lights are particularly bright when the night is dark. They light the way for mankind.”
Obituary co-written by:
Dr Robert Crawford, Future Generation Fellow at the University of Melbourne Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning;
Professor Roger Fay, Head of the School of Architecture, University of Tasmania; and
Tanya Ha, environmentalist and author.
