Professor Amanda Barnard currently leads research at the interface of computational modelling, high performance supercomputing, and applied machine learning and artificial intelligence at the Australian National University.

With more than 20 years of HPC experience, she is a member of the Board of Directors for New Zealand eScience Infrastructure, the College of Assessors for the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment of New Zealand, the Expert Panel for the CRP scheme of the National Research Foundation of Singapore, and the Chair of the Australasian Leadership Computing Grants scheme.

Her transdisciplinary research has been awarded in five scientific disciplines, including the 2014 ACS Nano Lectureship (Asia/Pacific) from the ACS, the 2014 Feynman Prize in Nanotechnology (Theory) from the Foresight Institute, and the 2019 AMMA Medal from the Association of Molecular Modellers of Australasia.

In 2022 Prof. Barnard was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to computational science and medical research.

Professor Caroline Finch AO joined Edith Cowan University (ECU) in 2018 as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Vice-President with the responsibility for leading research at ECU. Professor Finch is, herself, a highly accomplished academic and world-renowned researcher. She is the author of over 700 research-related publications, and has earned more than $22m in research funding over the course of her career. She was a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Principal Research Fellow from 2004-2016. She held NHMRC research funding continually from 2004-2016 and also has had Australian Research Council (ARC) funding continually since 2004.

Prior to her appointment as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) and Vice-President, she was the Dean of Graduate Studies at Federation University Australia. She has previously held Research Professor roles at the University of New South Wales (2003-6), University of Ballarat (2006-10), Monash University (2010-13) and Federation University Australia (2013-2018). She is also a Director on the National Board of Sports Medicine Australia and a member of the Editorial Board of several international sports medicine and injury prevention journals.
Professor Finch holds a PhD in Mathematics/Statistics at Monash University and a Research Masters in Mathematical Statistics from Latrobe University. She is known globally for her injury prevention, injury surveillance and sports medicine research. She has previously been ranked as one of the 10 most highly published injury researchers of all time and is recognised as one of the most influential sports medicine researchers internationally. In 2015, she was awarded the American Public Health Association Distinguished International Career Award from the Injury Control and Emergency Health Services Section.

In 2018, Professor Finch was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service to sports medicine, particularly in the area of injury prevention as an educator, researcher and author, and to the promotion of improved health in athletes and those who exercise.

Chris has been involved in research for ~30 years across a number of natural resource and industry areas. His experience covers small and large projects in the Australian national research organisation CSIRO, The University of Queensland and now Curtin University.

Chris’ goal is to lead and carry out research that improves the management of natural resources, minerals and energy and leaves the environment in acceptable shape and communities demonstratbly better off. Chris would like to see consistency of government regulation and societal perceptions across all areas of resource exploitation.

Professor David Morrison is the Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at Murdoch University, Australia. Prior to that, he was the Head of the School of Psychology and Winthrop Professor Psychology at the University of Western Australia. Heisa registered Psychologist with Organisational Psychology as an endorsed specialty, Chartered Member of the Australian Human Resources Institute, member of the Academy of Management (US) and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society. Professor Morrison began his career in human factors and engineering design, researching how humans solve complex problems and make decisions in complex industrial systems. This includes a 5-year project funded by Meat & Livestock Australia, which looked into the introduction of new technologies within the meat processing industry to enhance the organisational design and employee well-being. He also has a personal interest in animal production and manages a small farm which breeds and exports Boer goats to targeted markets. Professor Morrison’s board memberships include the Pawsey Supercomputer Centre; National Centre for Excellence in Desalination; and Western Australia Animal Resources Authority.

Geoff leads KPMG’s Business Development and Marketing teams as Head of Markets WA and is also General Manager Public sector with specific business development responsibility for growing KPMG’s public sector line of business in WA.

In this role he coaches client-facing teams with strategy, sales, relationship management, contract negotiations and solution delivery, particularly within the health and human services, infrastructure, transport, regional and local government sectors.

Geoff has made a significant contribution to the public sector, including advising the Minister for Technology on Information and Communications Technology (ICT) issues, and consulting on the Government’s general conditions of contract with the Australian Information Industry Association (AIIA), where he has been a WA Council member for over 25 years.

Driving the firm’s focus on Government sector services, Geoff’s more than 30 years of experience in policy, process and procurement has resulted in the development of long-term relationships with major Government agencies across Western Australia.

Mark is the Chief of Research Technology & Operations of the Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) at the Department of Defence. Mark joined Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) in 2022, bringing with him a deep understanding of research and innovation, including 20 years’ experience in the public service and a passion for leading the integral science and technology support services required by researchers.

Most recently, Mark held the Head of Strategy and Chief of Staff positions at CSIRO. As a part of the CSIRO Leadership team, Mark led the strategy, planning, performance and evaluation, investment and portfolio management functions.

Mark has also served on several reviews and committees specific to science, research and innovation, including Science and Technology Australia (STA) and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Expert Advisory Committee for the review of Excellence in Research for Australia and the Engagement and Impact Assessment.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Commerce and Masters of Business Administration and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).

Mark is a research executive with more than 20 years’ experience working at a senior level in innovative research and business development roles in complex, multi-stakeholder environments. Through national and international programs and joint-ventures, Mark had successfully led initiatives to accelerate the impact of research, development and education programs for Australia’s key energy, mining and agricultural sectors.

He is a former Chief Executive of an LNG research and development alliance of CSIRO, Curtin University and UWA, partnering with Chevron, Woodside and Shell. Prior to his appointment at Pawsey Mark led the innovation and industry engagement portfolio at The University of Western Australia. In addition, Mark is the current Chair of the Board of All Saints’ College and was appointed an adjunct Senior Fellow of the Perth USAsia Centre (an international policy think tank) in 2017.

Dr Merran Smith is the inaugural Chief Executive of Australia’s Population Health Research Network (PHRN). The PHRN which commenced in 2009, is a national research infrastructure capability focused on the provision of linked data in privacy-preserving ways to support health and human services research. Merran is based at the University of Western Australia which is lead agent for the PHRN.

Prior to joining UWA, Merran was a Director in the Western Australian Department of Health. Her responsibilities included strategic planning, system policy and Commonwealth-State relations. She was in charge of the Department’s Health Information Centre for more than 10 years and established data linkage as a core Departmental service during that period.

Merran has served as Chair or Member of a number of Australia’s peak national health information committees and is currently Director of the International Population Data Linkage Network. Her qualifications include a PhD in Medicine and a BA in Economics from the University of Melbourne. She is a member of the AICD.

Read an interview with Dr Smith http://bit.ly/BoardUWA

Sonya is an Executive Business Leader with strengths in building strong teams and delivering results. Sonya has played a key role in major organisational change initiatives with integrated commercial, business and digital transformation.

Sonya enjoys propelling start-ups or mature and stagnant businesses into high growth and profitability by developing sound strategies and delivering highly targeted execution with excellence in operational management. She is a collaborative and caring leader, Sonya believes in their teams, uplift them and ‘walks the talk’ in supporting them in the success of their careers and lives.

With a background in information technology, banking, finance, insurance, commercial and public sectors, she is engaged in numerous Boards & community projects. She has contributed as an MC, Panel Guest and Advisor for the Australian IT Industry Association (AIIA), ICT, Digital agenda, cloud, SaaS, sustainability & innovation initiatives.

Tim Shanahan joined Pawsey’s board with more than 20 years’ experience in leading and driving performance across a wide range of industries, including ICT, research, infrastructure, energy, minerals, and financial services.
Mr Shanahan currently serves on the boards of RAC WA, the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre, Zetta Group and FORM.