Hume Fellowship

Recipients of Hume Fellowship in 1995

Alison Wakelin

The fourth Hume Fellowship was awarded in August 1995 to Alison Wakelin who left soon after receiving the Fellowship. She studied for a specialist degree in Fire Engineering at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, recognised internationally as having the most state-of-the-art fire-engineering course. Alison, a 25-year-old Honours graduate in Civil Engineering from the University of Auckland, received many awards for her academic and all round ability. After achieving an A Bursary she was awarded a Ministry of Research, Science and Technology Women's Study Award, followed by the Morrison Cooper Engineering Study Award in recognition of outstanding achievement in preparation for a career in civil engineering. Alison has completed the Rotorua marathon, was North Island School Water Polo Player of the Tournament in 1987, gained three NZ age group swimming titles and was an age group record holder in competitive swimming.

Alison’s study at Worcester Polytechnic was based on an investigation into the correlations for multi-signal fire detectors to improve the speed and accuracy of detection.  The techniques involved the combination of combining temperature and smoke measurements to test data including false alarms.