With a passion for engineering, science, education, entrepreneurship, innovation and commercialisation, Eddie Custovic is a highly driven, organised and energetic engineer with the ability to deliver exceptional project outcomes. Eddie was born in Bosnia & Herzegovina and lived for extended periods in Switzerland and Germany before migrating to Australia. His multicultural background and multilingualism enables him to take a politically and culturally sensitive approach to life, volunteer roles and professional career. He is a cross disciplinary early career researcher and facilitator of multi stakeholder investigations. He has worked on cutting edge R&D projects securing over several million dollars of funding, infrastructure, program and travel grants in a variety of sectors including; defence, communications, power, food & agriculture, automotive, health, sports technology and civil/construction. Eddie was part of the TIGER (Tasman International Geospace Environment Radars) research group for over 7 years which has successfully secured numerous ARC grants and developed collaborative partnerships /co-funded projects with the British Antarctic Survey, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Darthmouth College, University of Alaska, John Hopkins University, University of Leicester, University of Saskatchewan, Newcastle University, University of Adelaide, South African National Space Agency (SANSA) and the Defence Science Technology Organisation (DSTO). The TIGER radar project was awarded the Engineers Australia (State & National) Engineering Excellence Award 2014 – Research/Development and Innovation. In addition, Eddie has secured partnerships for research, industry projects, student placements with the German Aerospace Centre, Fortiss, Continental, Oxford University, Telstra, NHP Electrical, Mondelez International, Engineers Australia, Australasian Jet, Asphaltech, Collier Foundation and many others. Since 2015 he has been a core member of the La Trobe University Plant Phenomics Platform and together with Prof. James Whelan developed the university's capacity in the phenomics domain from a several handheld devices approach to several large scale automated facilities. Eddie is an senior academic in the School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences, La Trobe University and is a member of the Medicinal Agriculture Hub which brings together exceptional research capabilities in the fields of agriculture, biomedical sciences and technology from both Academia and Industry, placing Australia at the forefront of agribiotech research, production and manufacturing. Ultimately this will enhance the quality of life of all Australians. He is the director of the La Trobe Innovation & Entrepreneurship Foundry, director of the engineering work integrated learning program and coordinator of engineering capstone projects. Eddie is a long serving member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and served on the global Industry Engagement, Publication Services and Products Board, Products & Services Committee, Strategic Planning Committee and Young Professionals executive leadership team for numerous years. He was the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Young Professionals publication IMPACT. Eddie was also the 2016-2017 Chairman of the IEEE Victorian Section. In 2015, Eddie was recognised for his outstanding leadership an was awarded the IEEE MGA Young Professionals Achievement Award for his contributions. He is heavily involved in student mentoring, career development, industry experience and life coaching, and thrives on further developing student and young professionals communication, leaderships and entrepreneurial attributes. In 2015 he was recognised by the University leadership an awarded the Vice Chancellor's Award for “Supporting Student Employability”. He is a tireless ambassador for STEM education and this is evident through his continued work to bridge the gap between primary/ secondary/university education and industry. Eddie was the Engineering Project Coordinator for the Learn, Access, Experience Professions (LEAP) program which was funded over 3 million AUD by the Federal Government. He is actively engaged with metropolitan and regional secondary schools to provide additional teaching support through University and government channels. Eddie's early career success was recognised by the most significant professional society award. He is the recipient of the 2022 IEEE Theodore W. Hissey Outstanding Young Professional Award for “For leadership in the empowerment and development of technology professionals globally.”