Professor John Fenwick is an engineer and academic known for his contributions to public works in Queensland, and to international projects. He graduated from UQ in 1965 with a Bachelor of Engineering and the University Medal. In 1967 he was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship and subsequently completed a Doctorate in Philosophy (Structural Engineering) at the University of Oxford in 1971.
As a bridge specialist, Professor Fenwick has been a member of the design and build supervision teams of projects including the Riverside Express, the Captain Cook Bridge, the Houghton Highway and the Gateway Bridge.
Professor Fenwick served terms as state and federal president of the Concrete Institute of Australia, which appointed him an Honorary Life Member in 2003. He has been a specialist advisor on aid projects in the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, India and China, and represented Australia on the US Strategic Highway Research Program between 1989 and 1992.
He was a part of the UQ Senate from 1990 until 1992, and again from 1999 to 2005, and has been an Adjunct Professor of the School of Engineering. In 2006, the University awarded him a Doctor of Engineering honoris causa, and in 2012 he was named a Member of the Order of Australia.