Professor Scott Draper is Dean and Head of the School of Engineering at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and is an internationally recognised civil engineer who's teaching and research is focused on designing stable and resilient infrastructure in the ocean.

Scott completed his DPhil in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford in 2011 before commencing as research associate at UWA in the same year. He has published 150 peer-reviewed papers, with his work widely adopted in industry and contributing to the design and operation of offshore infrastructure, including subsea electrical cables, coastal structures, and renewable energy systems.

He helped to establish the Coastal and Offshore Research Laboratory (CORL) at UWA, a major experimental facility supporting interdisciplinary research, and is Co-Director of the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub TIDE, which focuses on challenges in offshore energy systems and infrastructure resilience.

Scott is a Fellow of Engineers Australia and works closely with industry partners on applied research projects. He is passionate about engineering education, having helped develop hands-on, industry-connected initiatives that give students real-world experience. He is also passionate about open water swimming, working with a team of oceanographers, engineers and sports scientists to optimise long-distance swimming.

As Head of School, Scott is focused on strengthening UWA Engineering’s global reputation, developing high-quality graduates, advocating for diversity and inclusion, and building impactful partnerships with industry, government, and the broader community.

Dean and Head of School: School of Engineering

Deputy Director, theme-lead, CI: TIDE

Previous roles: Head of Departement of Civil, Environmental and Mining Engineering; Academic-lead OceanWorks; Co-director the Coastal and Offshore Engineering Laboratory; Executive Officer (secretary) Australasian Fluid Mechanics Society

ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub TIDE (2022-26): Transforming energy Infrastructure through Digital Engineering

ARC Discovery Project (2026-29): Designing resilient nature-based coastal protection on mobile seabeds

GENG 5501 Coastal and Offshore Engineering (2015-present), Unit Coordinator

OCEN 4007 Ocean Renewable Energy (2020 - present)

OCEN 1001 Global Oceans Challenges (2022 - 2025), Unit Coordinator

GENG 5502 Environmental Geotechnics (2011 - 2023)

Fluid-structure-seabed interaction

Flow-structure interaction

Subsea cables and pipelines

Marine renewable energy

Novel ocean structures (e.g. artificial reefs)

Swimming in waves (in collaboration with Sports Science @ UWA)