Dr Tyree was recently recognised as a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the Queen's Birthday Honour's list for his "significant service to engineering, and to education."

Following in his father's footsteps, Dr Tyree set out to be an electrical engineer from a young age, crediting his father and his father's friends for inspiring him and mentoring him.

"You have to [love engineering] and be good at it, and I'm good at it. That's why I do it.

Dr Tyree has never lost sight of what he loves, saying "it's not a chore if you don't lose sight of what you love despite all the obstacles."

The Tyree family have long lasting ties to the Southern Highlands community, with Tyree Transformers setting up shop in Mittagong in 1978.

"I learnt engineering and I learnt business and we built it up.We are one of the largest employers of people in the district," he said.

Aside from being passionate about engineering, Dr Tyree is also passionate about giving back to the community with a number of personal donations to Highland community groups and has been a part of many committees and boards in the Southern Highlands.

He is currently the Chair of the University of New South Wales engineering faculty advisory council and is also on the Advisory Board of the Australian Energy Research Institute based at UNSW as well as the Chair of the Tyree Foundation.

"If anything, I want children to learn or love a career in engineering," he said.