Recent History

Nik is a Multidisciplinary Scientist and Engineer and was a member of the Australian National University Emeritus Faculty Management Committee from May 2003 until June 2012. He worked together with Professor John Molony, Giles Pickford, Peter Scardoni and the Faculty's Management Committee to build the ANU Emeritus Faculty to what it is today. In his retirement, as a contributing member of the ANU Emeritus Faculty, he developed and maintains the Faculty's computer based administration system and provides administrative support to the Emeritus Faculty secretariat. From 2003 until 2022 Nik provided ongoing Information and Communications Technology support to the Association for Tertiary Education Management of which he is an Emeritus Member and has served on various boards and committees including providing Business Coaching to business people in the National Capital region. Until recently, he taught Mind Mapping as an essential tool for planning and management.

Education and Experience

Nik holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Engineering degree as well as post graduate qualifications in Computer Engineering, Contract Law, Business Facilitation and Adult Education and Training. His expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas and he is recognised for his expertise in Strategic Management as well as his vast experience as a business consultant in both the private and public sectors. He is acknowledged for his expertise in the field of Information and Communication Technologies especially in the area of Technical Security in which he was an occasional consultant to the Department of Defence for many years. Over the past thirty five years, as well as practising as a Business Consultant, he has been the Facilitator of major Special Projects involving the Australian National University and various Government Departments. In the twenty years prior to that, Nik worked for one of Australia's largest building and construction companies, serving at various times as a surveyor, project manager and project coordinator (1968-1988). He was Chief Surveyor of the company from 1977 until 1988 and held Class B Building Licenses in the Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales until 1993.

Nik served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Country Education Foundation of Australia 2005-06 concurrently while he served as the Executive Chairman (1988-2010) of Technik Group, which is a company he founded in 1988 to provide business consulting and special projects facilitation services. Nik was also the Chairman (1991-2005) of Synogen Software during that time.

In August 1999, there was some mounting pressure within the ANU to reconsider its maintenance of the ownership of the Edith and Joy London Foundation at Kioloa. The Edith and Joy London Foundation Management Committee identified an urgent need to undertake an unbiased feasibility Study to assist in the evaluation of progression to the next phase of development of the Kioloa Property as a viable element of the ANU. The Committee engaged Nik to conduct a rigorous study into the Foundation's operation and its future development. In December 1999, Nik presented to the Committee his completed Feasibility Study which clearly indicated the viability and importance of the Foundation and the clear need and benefit for it to remain in the hands of the ANU. It was immediately determined that the document would be the catalyst to bring together the relevant interests within the University which ultimately resulted in the ANU adopting a firm direction for the management, development and utilisation of the EJLF facility.

Current Research and Interests

In 2007, together with Professor John Molony, Nik launched the ANU Emeritus Faculty's East Coast Project which embarked on a quest for Historic truth in examining claims, hypotheses, artefacts and historic archaeological sites to gauge the veracity of evidence claimed to support those hypotheses pertaining to visitations to the East Coast of Australia by Europeans in the mid fifteenth century, or at least prior to the charting of the Australian East Coast by James Cook. Various members of the project team contributed to the research which resulted in the publication of a book authored by John Molony entitled "Captain James Cook: Claiming the Great South Land" in 2016. As well as extensive research, Nik drew upon his cartographic skills in producing thirty detailed maps to accompany the narrative.

In 2017, Nik conducted research and produced detailed maps for Peter Bradley's book "Convicted" which is a fascinating history of Colonial Australia retold through three generations of one family.

Driven by his interest in world economics and its impact on our lives and environment Nik has a long history of personal research on the subject. In recent years Nik has collaborated with friend and colleague Ian Buckley and produced a number of academic essays:-

[IBNF13] The West's Long-failed Economic System: Where to From Here? - July 2017
Ian Buckley and Nikolaus Fominas
On how the mismanaged Western leadership of the world has failed to keep faith with the commitments it made after two World Wars. Thus, instead of adhering to its solemn commitments to economic justice, fairness and guarantees of self rule and national independence, it continued with the disastrous mercantile practices which have long been dragging the world into its current catastrophic predicaments

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[IBNF18] Reconstitution of The World's Self-Induced Failing Civilisations - June 2019
Ian Buckley and Nikolaus Fominas
An essay dealing with current disastrous national failures across the world which are due to long-continued sleight-of-hand wealth subtractions from both societies and their natural capital environments. It examines how accumulating industrial activities stemming from the mercantile political economy that Adam Smith described and condemned have persisted, shattering social and environmental systems beyond tolerable limits with the consequential social and environmental damage now so extreme it threatens future life on earth. The historical process is described, analysed and possible remedies proposed.

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See papers by Nikolaus Fominas on ResearchGate

Following the death of John Molony on Sunday 16 September 2018, Nik and the East Coast Project team Chaired by Brad Pillans, continue their quest and the project continues to evolve. In September and November 2018, Nik, together with Jack Golson, Brad Pillans and Amy Dougherty conducted field surveys at Bittangabee Bay, NSW where it has been suggested that European navigators may have landed in the mid sixteenth century. The team utilised Ground Penetrating Radar and LIDAR to examine the area.