Appointment of new Pawsey Chair

The Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre today announced Tim Shanahan has been appointed its new Chair. Mr Shanahan succeeds John Langoulant who had been Pawsey’s Chair since 2014.

Mr Shanahan joins 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 said he is looking forward to leading Pawsey’s board as it establishes its prominence as a leading supercomputing centre in Australia and the region.

“I feel privileged to play a part in this pivotal time in Pawsey’s history with the introduction of the Setonix supercomputer and its work accelerating discovery,” Mr Shanahan said.

Mr Shanahan currently serves on the boards of RAC WA, the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre, Zetta Group and FORM.

He is a recipient of the Australian Public Service Medal and the Centenary Medal.

Pawsey’s Executive Director Mark Stickells said Mr Shanahan had carved out a distinguished career leading and advising executive teams and would be an ideal Chair as the organisation undergoes rapid growth.

“I am thrilled to work closely with Tim as we continue to enable science and accelerate discovery through some of the most powerful supercomputers in the world,” said Mr Stickells.

Mr Shanahan joins another addition to the Pawsey board, CSIRO Executive Director Professor Elanor Huntington, who is an expert in the field of quantum optics. She recently joined CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, from the Australian National University, where she was Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Professor Huntington replaces Dr Dave Williams as CSIRO’s representative on Pawsey’s board.

“John Langoulant and Dave Williams have made significant contributions to Pawsey during their time on our board and their guidance has proved invaluable,” Mr Stickells said.

The Pawsey Supercomputing Centre is an unincorporated joint venture between CSIRO, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University, Murdoch University and The University of Western Australia. It is supported by the Western Australian and Australian Governments.

The Centre is one of two Tier-1 high-performance computing facilities in Australia, whose primary function is to accelerate scientific research for the benefit of the nation.

Mr Tim Shanahan has been appointed as Pawsey new Chair

CSIRO Executive Director, Professor Elanor Huntington joined Pawsey Board as CSIRO's representative