This article tells the story of Colin Austin, an Australian engineer and innovator whose work spans advanced computer modelling, irrigation reform, soil regeneration, and water sustainability. From founding a world-leading software company to developing practical solutions for drought, irrigation efficiency, and food security, his journey shows how speculative thinking and real-world experience can reshape how societies manage their most critical resources.
Early Engineering Insights
In the early 1970s, Colin Austin recognised that computers would fundamentally change how complex engineering systems were designed. At the time, most industrial design relied heavily on experience and intuition rather than scientific modelling. Colin saw an opportunity to replace this “gut feel” approach with accurate mathematical simulation.
He developed software that could predict how molten plastic flowed into cold moulds. This was a technically demanding problem involving moving fluid fronts, heat transfer, and three-dimensional geometry. Many believed it was impossible to solve in a practical way. Colin proved otherwise.
The Rise of Moldflow
The software Colin developed became the foundation of Moldflow, the company he founded. Moldflow transformed plastics manufacturing by allowing designers to predict defects, reduce waste, and improve quality before physical moulds were made.
Moldflow grew into Australia’s most successful exporter of technical software, selling into more than 48 countries. Its customers included global leaders in automotive, electronics, aerospace, and appliance manufacturing. Colin became internationally recognised as a leader in computational fluid flow, and the company became known for its constant stream of innovation.
Speculative Research As A Philosophy
One of the defining features of Moldflow’s success was Colin’s approach to research. He described it as “speculative research”. Rather than following rigid plans and milestones, projects were started with no guarantee of success.
Many ideas failed. That was expected. The aim was not efficiency in the short term but breakthrough results in the long term. Colin believed that highly structured “competence research”, common in government-funded programs, often suppressed creative, high-risk ideas. Speculative research embraced uncertainty as a necessary condition for innovation.
A Shift Toward Environmental Challenges
As Moldflow succeeded commercially, Colin became increasingly concerned about environmental issues, particularly fresh water. He examined water research programs around the world and found that most focused on incremental improvements rather than fundamental change.
Water, he concluded, was becoming the most critical limiting resource for modern societies. Armed with expertise in fluid flow modelling and speculative research, he believed he could help change how water was managed.
Selling Success To Fund New Thinking
Colin sold his multi-million-dollar company to fund a new research group dedicated to solving water problems. He assembled a small team of highly creative researchers to explore unconventional ideas that were largely ignored by bureaucratic systems.
Early work focused on irrigated agriculture. Innovations included micro flood irrigation, a system that could deliver precise amounts of water while replacing open channels that lose large volumes to evaporation and leakage.
Precision Irrigation And Scheduling
Alongside irrigation hardware, Colin continued software development. He created scheduling tools that calculated plant water use more accurately, enabling growers to apply only what crops actually needed.
Despite technical success, he became frustrated. Government policies often encouraged wasteful water use by keeping prices artificially low. Efficient systems struggled to gain adoption in environments shaped by outdated incentives.
A Turning Point In Africa
Colin’s perspective changed dramatically when World Vision invited him to Africa. He was asked to find ways for communities to grow sustenance food during periodic droughts.
Before arriving, he assumed the problem was simply lack of rain. On the ground, he learned the reality was erratic rainfall. Communities could survive average conditions but collapsed when rains failed for just a few weeks at critical crop stages. This phenomenon was known as a “green drought”.
The Birth Of Wicking Beds
To address erratic rain, Colin developed the wicking bed system. A wicking bed is essentially an underground water reservoir. When rain occurs, water is stored below the soil surface, where it is protected from evaporation.
Plants draw water upward as needed, allowing them to continue growing even when rainfall stops. This simple idea proved highly effective in enabling crops to reach maturity during dry spells.
Seeing Australia Through New Eyes
Returning to Australia after Africa was a second shock. Colin saw how poorly water was managed in a country where large volumes of rain fall but are rarely captured. He found it astonishing that high-quality potable water was used for toilets and gardens while rainwater flowed unused from roofs and landscapes.
From his perspective, Australia relied excessively on large dams that only filled under rare conditions, then wasted that valuable water through inefficient distribution and use.
Resistance From Bureaucracy
Colin encountered strong resistance from established institutions. Large infrastructure projects continued to be promoted while small-scale, local water harvesting solutions were ignored. He became deeply sceptical of government monopolies over water distribution.
Concluding that institutional change would be slow, he decided the most effective path forward was public education. By sharing practical ideas directly with communities, he hoped adoption would grow from the ground up.
Living The Solution
Colin eventually moved into an eco-village, where his ideas could be fully implemented. There, wicking beds, rainwater harvesting, and local water reuse were adopted at scale, demonstrating that his concepts worked not only in theory but in everyday life.
This environment provided proof that decentralised, low-cost systems could meet water needs while reducing dependence on centralised infrastructure.
Recognition And Awards
Throughout his career, Colin received numerous awards for innovation, export achievement, engineering excellence, and environmental contribution. These honours reflect both his technical skill and his willingness to challenge conventional thinking.
A Continuing Legacy
Colin Austin’s work spans software engineering, irrigation science, soil regeneration, and water policy. The unifying theme is a belief that real progress comes from questioning assumptions, observing reality closely, and being willing to fail in pursuit of better systems.
His story shows that solutions to complex problems like water scarcity do not always require massive infrastructure. Often, they require better thinking, local action, and respect for natural processes.
Colin Austin — © Creative Commons. Reproduction permitted for private use with source acknowledgment; commercial use requires a license.
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