Graduated in Engineering in Instrumentation and Control from the University of Pune and then pursuing his Master of Engineering (Research) in Electrical from the University of  New South Wales (UNSW), Ambarish Natu, always had an eye for things that were out of the box.

His thesis in his Master of Engineering titled, “Error Resilience in JPEG2000” formed the framework for a new international standard ISO/IEC 15444-11 also known as JPEG 2000 over Wireless.

Ambarish, an employee of the Federal Government, was bestowed with the ‘ACT Professional Engineer of the Year 2015’ for his work on improving and enhancing the protocols that define JPEG images. Announcing the awards, the judging panel acknowledged Ambarish’s contribution towards fostering involvement in the engineering profession, including outside the course of his regular employment.

The judges said, “Ambarish’s innovative work on the JPEG standard as part of Standards Australia and the International Standards Committee has demonstrated his commitment to the ongoing development and social responsibility all engineers should embody on behalf of the industry”

Ambarish told Indus Age that he was delighted to win the award. “I am being recognized for some of my prior work, including the work I did at the Department of Communications and other previous employments. I am being bestowed with a title of Fellow of Engineers Australia as a result of these contributions,” he said.

Ambarish, who is a chartered professional engineer, will now represent the ACT in the national Engineers Australia awards to be announced later in the year.

Since 2002 he has been involved in the development of four international standards under the auspices of the International Standards Organization (ISO) popularly known as JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group). He is the recipient of the ISO/IEC certificate for contributions to technology standards. For these contributions he was also elevated to as a Senior Member of the IEEE. He is highly active in the area of international standardization and voicing Australian concerns in the area of JPEG and MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group) standardization. He is also actively participating in the development of an international standard in the area of Sustainable ICT and JPEG Privacy and Security.
In July, he also received the 2014 Neville Theile Eminence Award, a national award for excellence in Information, Telecommunications and Electronic Engineering. The award is the most prestigious prize of the ITEE College of Engineers Australia.

Ambarish’s diverse experience includes innovation of new technologies, managing technology direction in product development teams, international standards and driving product development based on International Standards. Since 2003 he has attracted wide recognition across the Australian engineering community and International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) for his voluntary contribution to the development of four International Standards under the JPEG Committee.

Mr. Natu’s work has taken him to 25 countries (excluding India and Australia) and more than 150 cities around the globe.