ATSE elects new cohort of innovators to its illustrious ranks

The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) has elected another group of fellows to join its prestigious ranks, granting them all that illustrious title – FTSE.

Among the 32 recipients are a world farming authority, a trailblazing Indigenous genomics expert, a naval defence engineer, and one of the most influential climate scientists in the world.

The cohort joins more than 900 of Australia’s leading engineers and applied scientists elected by their peers to the academy for their outstanding contributions across the country’s innovation ecosystem.

“Australia faces a challenging constellation of threats,” said ATSE president Dr Katherine Woodthorpe AO FTSE.

“Extreme weather and climate change, the power and risk of AI and digital technologies, crafting sustainable food systems to nourish people and the planet, and shocking disparities in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health outcomes.

“This diverse group of Australia’s brightest stars in technology and engineering embodies progress, hope and unparalleled innovation in the face of these challenges.”

All the new fellows will be publicly celebrated at ATSE’s showcase on 17 October at Metropolis Events in Melbourne.

Since growing up as a farmer on the Liverpool Plains of NSW, Fiona Simson has dedicated her career to supporting the sustainability and growth of rural and regional communities.

During her seven-year term as the first female president of the National Farmers’ Federation, she was lauded for her expertise in policy, governance and strategy, particularly in the areas of climate change, biodiversity and the future of food.

Now she has several other board and advisory roles, but has most notably risen to be vice-president of the World Farmers’ Organisation. If that wasn’t enough, she also chairs the Commission for International Agricultural Research and Future Food Systems’ Cooperative Research Centre.

Over the past two decades, Professor Alex Brown has established an extensive and unique research program relating to chronic disease in vulnerable communities, with a particular focus on outlining and overcoming health disparities.

Much of his work is in leading projects that cover epidemiology, psychosocial determinants of chronic disease, mixed-methods health services research in Aboriginal primary care and hospital settings, and randomised controlled trials of pharmacological and non-pharmacological chronic disease.

Professor Brown grew up on the Far South Coast of NSW with family connections to Nowra, Wreck Bay and Wallaga Lake as a man of the Yuin nation. Now he holds the prominent position of director at the ANU National Centre for Indigenous Genomics and The Kids Research Institute Australia.

Along with leading the Australian Alliance for Indigenous Genomics, he was most notably the first Indigenous scientist on the CSIRO board.

For more than 30 years, Rear Admiral Rachel Durbin has served in the Royal Australian Navy, joining in 1993 through the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) as a marine engineer.

After being raised in the NSW Snowy Mountains, she spent the next 20 years travelling the world onboard HMA Ships Westralia, Anzac, Canberra and Perth. In this time, the Rear Admiral was deployed on operations in the Persian Gulf, conducting exercises in north and South-East Asia, fisheries operations in the Southern Ocean and border protection off northern Australia.

However, since she was promoted to captain and awarded the Conspicuous Service Cross in 2013, she has risen through the ranks to become Head of Navy Engineering and Defence Seaworthiness Regulator.

RADM Durbin is also a dedicated role model, committed to advancing the naval engineering profession and championing the impact of science and technology in Australia.

Dr Josep ”Pep” Canadell is Chief Research Scientist at CSIRO Environment, Chief Lead Investigator at the Climate Systems Hub and executive director of the Global Carbon Project.

He developed world-standard methodologies for estimating global carbon sources and sinks, and oversees authoritative annual carbon budget and greenhouse gas trend analyses. Also, he has been a contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for 18 years, providing expert advice to governments, international climate negotiations and carbon accounting by non-state actors.

In addition, he was named the eighth most influential climate scientist in the world.

The full list of the new ATSE fellows is:

• Australian Capital Territory:
  • Dr Josep (Pep) Canadell FTSE | World-leading climate scientist | Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO
  • Rear Admiral Rachel Durbin CSC RAN FTSE | Maritime engineering leader | Head Navy Engineering and Defence Seaworthiness Regulator, Australian Defence Force.
• NSW:
  • Scientia Professor Liming Dai FTSE FAA | Materials science maestro | director, ARC Centre of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation, and Scientia Professor, The University of New South Wales
  • Professor Michelle Leishman FTSE | Pre-eminent plant ecologist | director, Smart Green Cities Research Centre, Macquarie University
  • Anne O’Neill FTSE | Health innovation changemaker | director, enterprise, international partnerships and clinical trials, NSW Health
  • Guy Templeton FTSE | Impactful infrastructure engineer | chair of infrastructure, transport, construction and planning, Business Council of Australia
  • Scientia Professor Toby Walsh FTSE FAA | Artificial intelligence pioneer | Chief Scientist, AI Institute, University of New South Wales
  • Professor Yixia (Sarah) Zhang FTSE | Advanced materials creator | co-director of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, Western Sydney University
  • Professor Chuan Zhao FTSE | Hydrogen paradigm shifter | Professor of Chemistry, University of New South Wales
  • Honorary Fellow Fiona Simson FTSE | Global agriculture advocate | chair, Commission for International Agricultural Research and Future Food Systems CRC.
• Queensland:
  • Anne-Marie Birkill FTSE | Technology and healthcare investor | co-founder, venture partner and director, OneVentures
  • Dr Iris Depaz FTSE (dec) | Life sciences champion | managing director of Translational Science Hub, Sanofi-Aventis Australia
  • Professor Clinton Fookes FTSE | Artificial intelligence innovator | Associate Dean, Research, Queensland University of Technology
  • Professor Paul Simshauser AM FTSE | Exceptional energy economist | chief executive officer, Powerlink Queensland
  • Professor Lianzhou Wang FTSE FAA | Semiconductor materials innovator | ARC Australian Laureate Fellow, The University of Queensland
  • Professor Xiwang Zhang FTSE | Sustainable technology innovator | chair professor and centre director, ARC COE for Electrochemical Transformation of CO2, University of Queensland.
• South Australia:
  • Professor Alex Brown FTSE FAHMS | Acclaimed medical expert | Professor of Indigenous Genomics, The Australian National University and The Kids Research Institute Australia
  • Dr Fiona Kerr FTSE | Path-breaking human-centred technologist | founder and director, The NeuroTech Institute
  • Dr James Tickner FTSE | Scientist, innovator and entrepreneur | chief technology officer, Chrysos Corporation
  • Professor Yan Zhuge FTSE | Waste conversion trailblazer | Professor in Structural Engineering, University of South Australia.
• Tasmania:
  • Dr Michelle Heupel FTSE | Pioneering ocean ecologist | executive director, Integrated Marine Observing System, University of Tasmania.
• Victoria:
  • Dr Angeline Achariya FTSE | Food innovation leader | chief executive officer, Innovation GameChangers
  • Professor Frank Caruso FRS FTSE FAA | Pioneering particle engineer | professor, The University of Melbourne
  • Karen Dobson FTSE | Change management leader | president and managing director, Dow Australia and New Zealand
  • Professor Misty Jenkins AO FTSE | Outstanding cancer immunologist | laboratory head and co-chair, MRFF Indigenous Health Research Fund, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI)
  • Professor David Moss FTSE | World-leading photonics researcher | founding director, Optical Sciences Centre, Swinburne University of Technology
  • Adjunct Research Professor Craig Rayner FTSE | Pharmaceutical development expert | director, translational medicine, Infectious Diseases Development, Moderna, and distinguished alumnus, Monash University
  • Professor Karin Verspoor FTSE | AI in Healthcare leader | Executive Dean, School of Computing Technologies, RMIT University
  • Dr Zongli Xie FTSE | Membrane and catalysis groundbreaker | Principal Research Scientist, Group Leader of Materials for Energy, Environment and Health, CSIRO.
• Western Australia:
  • Rachelle Doyle FTSE | Energy transition advocate | manager strategic programs, Rio Tinto
  • Gabrielle Iwanow FTSE | Mineral resources changemaker | president, Contract Mining, Perenti.
• USA:
  • International Fellow Professor Sally Benson FTSE | Climate policy powerhouse | Professor of Energy Science and Engineering, Stanford University.