Science and Technology Australia’s next president will be ocean governance expert Jasmine Chambers, who will take over from Sharath Sriram in November 2025.
Ms Chambers has been on the board of the representative group for scientists and technologists since 2018 and will serve as president-elect over the next 12 months.
Her appointment comes two months after settling a unfair dismissal case against the Bureau of Meteorology, which made her redundant after she took personal leave ahead of a Paris conference.
Ms Chambers worked at the weather bureau as general manager of global and national science relationships between 2018 and 2020.
Current STA president Professor Sharath Sriram congratulated Ms Chambers, who “served as the Governance Chair during the modernisation of STA’s operations and structure”.
“Her election as president-elect creates the opportunity for her to deliver on the reforms, grow the support for and amplification of the needs and priorities of our members,” Professor Sriram said.
Ms Chambers was also recently appointed to Industry Innovation and Science Australia’s cooperative research centres advisory committee, which is responsible for overseeing the grants program.
Also elected to the STA board on Thursday is Australian Institute for Machine Learning manager Dr Kathy Nicholson and University of Sydney biochemical pharmacology Professor Renae Ryan.
The inaugural chair of Quantum Australia, a national centre supporting the quantum industry and ecosystem, is Peter Rossdeutscher. Mr Rossdeutscher is also chair of the Australian Remote Operations for Space & Earth consortium, Innovative Energy Solutions, and the commercialisation board of the MinEx Cooperative Research Centre.
Quantum Australia’s other board members are Professor Stephen Bartlett, Professor Michelle Simmons, Gerald Mullally, Professor Allison Kealy and Stephanie Moroz.
The Advanced Materials and Battery Council has appointed Shannon Willoughby and Dr Melissa Nikolic to its board. Ms Willoughby isthe University of Queensland’s (QUT) director of strategic partnerships for government and industry, while Dr Nikolic is QUT’s senior manager for industry engagement (energy transition).
After three years as the chair of representative body StartupWA, Jason Balchand has handed the reigns over to the former director for innovation in the Western Australian government Charlie Gunningham. The other new board members are Hayley Boneham, Matthew Larner, Paul Robinson and Kate Spencer.
At the federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Samantha Robertson has been appointed as general manager for resources tax incentives, while Joanna Stone has been promoted to general manager for external budgets and costings.
The new Queensland government has appointed Damien Walker as director-general of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet (DPC). He currently holds the equivalent role in the South Australian government and will take up the new role on December 20.
Meanwhile, New South Wales’ small business commissioner Chris Lamont has been appointed as the director-general of Queensland’s new Department of Customer Services, Open Data and Small and Family Business.
To replace Mr Walker, Rick Persse has been appointed to lead the South Australian DPC. Mr Persse moves from his role as under treasurer which will be filled deputy under treasurer Tammie Pribanic.
The South Australian Energy and Mining department’s new chief executive is Paul Martyn, a former director-general of the Queensland Department of Energy and Climate.
Western Australia-based Biopharmaceutical firm Neurotech has appointed Dr Anthony Filippis as managing director and chief executive. Mr Filippis moves from his role as chief operating officer of Percheron Therapeutics.
Q-CTRL founder and chief executive Michael Biercuk was winner at the American Chamber of Commerce Australia’s Alliance Awards in the quantum technology category. He was also named the Pearcey Foundation’s New South Wales entrepreneur of the year earlier this month.
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