Over the past 30 years Tom has sustained a track record of delivering ground-breaking concepts across industry and education.  He is internationally recognised for his cross disciplinary work in design, pedagogy, and digital practice, particularly for his pioneering research and teaching of online learning and designing, as well as for his contributions in university campus design and development projects.

His career includes highly successful tenures as a senior leader in four globally leading universities, where he has become renowned for enhancing student learning experiences in design at an international level, with continued engagement in industry.

He has recently taken up the role of Founding Dean to establish the Shenzhen Institute of Design and Innovation (SIDI) and the School of Design at the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech). Previously, as Pro Vice Chancellor (Campus and Global Developments) and before that as Dean of the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the University of Melbourne (2007 – 2015), Tom led strategic insights that delivered productive change. As Pro Vice Chancellor, campus investments supported culture change for engagement, research and teaching. As Dean, he renewed the Faculty, developing a pioneering pedagogy and curricula that established the award-winning Melbourne School of Design.

Tom’s additional endeavours include significant engagements with industry and the university sector in Australia and Asia. He has extensive cultural engagement in Asia and has a recognised alibility as being expert at cultivating philanthropic support. As a researcher, he is a well-cited author of over 200 publications on all aspects of his multi-disciplinary contributions and has supervised numerous research students in these fields.

Having practiced architecture firms in Africa, Europe, Hong Kong and the USA, Tom has also led in a software development start-up in California and as a management consultant to architects and engineers. He has been a member of the Boards of Directors in digital design and facility management associations worldwide and serves on the boards of several journals and professional organisations as well as advised universities around the world.

Tom is the founding Director of LEaRN (the Learning Environments Applied Research Network), delivering multidisciplinary research on learning and architecture, and was the founding Director of AURIN, the Australian Urban Research Information Network, which has developed a world-first national digital infrastructure in Australian to support urban research, both networks hosted at the University of Melbourne and raised almost $100 million in funding. Tom also founded CAADRIA in 1996, the Asia region’s leading research conference also known for its doctoral mentoring program.