University of Sydney Nano Institute

Professor Ali Abbas, FIEAust FRSN

Professor Ali Abbas is an internationally recognised leader in process systems engineering, circular economy innovation, and sustainability transitions. He currently serves as the Associate Dean (Research) within the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney, driving strategic research initiatives and fostering significant industry and government collaborations. He is also the Founding Director of the Waste Transformation Research Hub, a national research centre addressing technological challenges in Australia's waste industry.

Ali completed his Bachelor's degree and PhD in Chemical Engineering at the University of Sydney. He previously held academic appointments at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore and the University of New South Wales (UNSW Asia) in Singapore, along with visiting professorships at leading international institutions, including Harvard University.

With over 20 years' experience in Process Systems Engineering (PSE), Ali's expertise encompasses process intensification, techno-economic feasibility, multiscale modelling, process scale-up, optimisation, and the design of low-emissions technologies. His work spans applications in eco-industrial parks, clean energy, biotechnology, waste transformation, carbon capture, and biomedical systems.

Ali has been at the forefront of circular economy transitions in Australia, identifying practical pathways to implement circular economy principles effectively. As Australia's inaugural Chief Circular Engineer at Circular Australia, he actively shapes national sustainability policies and strategies. He is the founding Chair of theAustralian Circular Economy Conference, an influential national platform driving collaboration on circular economy solutions across industry, government, and academia.

A prolific researcher, Ali conducts fundamental computational and applied research, with a strong emphasis on resource optimisation and efficiency across multiple scales. He has authored over 160 scientific and engineering publications, and is recognised as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics, placing him among the top 2% globally in his field.

Ali has received numerous prestigious awards, including the Australia-Harvard Fellowship (2011), the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) Fellowship as an Australia-China Future Leader in Clean Coal Technologies (2012), the international PSE Model-Based Innovation Prize (London, 2008; runner-up 2015), and the Sydney Research Accelerator (SOAR) Fellowship for outstanding research leadership. He was also a finalist in the 2023 Eureka Prize for Innovative Research in Sustainability.

Ali translates his research into impactful commercial outcomes through deep-tech ventures, including Scimita Group and Trofica, developing breakthrough technologies in clean energy, circular economy, and sustainable urban agriculture. He provides strategic advisory services to industry and government bodies, leveraging his expertise to advance sustainable technologies and policies. Additionally, Ali serves on the board of the Australian Government's Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR), actively fostering international research and innovation partnerships.

Francois Aguey-Zinsou is Professor of Chemistry at the University of Sydney, where he leads the MERLin (Materials Energy Research Laboratory in nanoscale) group- School of Chemistry and with 20 years experience, he is one of the leading experts in hydrogen technologies,advising many key stakeholders.

Francois Aguey-Zinsou is Director of the Australian Association for Hydrogen Energy, Vice-President of the Australian French Association for Research and Innovation, Co-director of the Australian-French Research Network FACES and the ARC Training Centre for Hydrogen GlobH2E, and Chief Investigator of Hy-Supply. He is also the President and CTO of H2potential.

Francois Aguey-Zinsou hold 3 master degrees, in Physics, Physical Chemistry, and Material Science. After completing his PhD in 2001 in heterogeneous catalysis under the supervision of Prof Michel Che, he worked with Prof. Paul Bernhardt on bio-electrochemistry at the University of Queensland. In 2003, he joined the research centre Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon in Germany and worked on the development of advanced materials for hydrogen storage with Prof. Thomas Klassen. In 2005, he moved to Queen Mary University London with Prof. Xiao Guo and later to University College London where he supported research projects on hydrogen, biofuel cells, and biomaterials.

He returned to Australia in 2009 and created MERLin within the School of Chemical Engineering at The University of New South Wales (Sydney). Francois Aguey-Zinsou developed several world first including hydrogen bikes and BBQ. He is co-founder and director of H2potential. H2Potential is a consulting company focused on Hydrogen. H2potential provides expert, independent advice and identify emerging technologies, innovative use-cases and appropriate partners that result in lower implementation risks and faster return on investment.

Francois Aguey-Zinsou serves/served on the editorial/advisory boards of 5 international journals, and was one of the founding members of the Energy Future Conferences. He has received many awards, including the 2018 Australia's Most Innovative Engineers award and the 2014 ICheme ChemEng365 award, and was finalist of the 2017 Make the Planet Great Again Call, the 2017 and 2015 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes in Excellence in research innovation

Publication record

> 200 publications, including 20 patents/patent applications and 2 book chapters

Dr Naseem Ahmadpour is a researcher in the field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). She is a member of the Design Lab and leads Affective Interactions research group. She was awarded her PhD in human-machine interaction from University of Montreal (Ecole Polytechnique), Canada and her MSc in industrial design (specialized in human factors) from Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden.

Her research explores and critiques new imaginaries in the future of care and work, by questioning ethical approaches to and consequences of sociotechnical systems that increasingly shape those futures. In the past five years, Dr Ahmadpour has investigated platformization of care through immersive technologies such as virtual reality (VR) usinga multi-perspective participatory approach.

Associate Professor Dr Akhtar's research interests are broad, and include: Governance, ESG, AI/ML, Financial and Cyber-crime, Corporate Finance (Share market and Bond market), Multinationals, Tax, M&A, International Finance, Innovation, Superannuation/Pension systems, Banking, Risk Management, Behavioural Finance, Cross-Cultural & Indigenous Studies, Islamic Finance and Higher Education. Her research publications have appeared in leading international and local journals. Dr Akhtar has received a number of competitive external research grants, with total funding in excess of 1.7 million dollars. She was a recipient of an ARC DECRA Fellowship. Her research has been acknowledged by the Australian-US Fulbright and Oxford Fellowship. Her research has been instrumental in policy and regulatory space especially in Bond, Tax and international trade. She has been invited several times by the Australian Federal Parliament to serve as Expert Witness on critical local and international policy matters. She is an active researcher and presents her work regularly at international and Australian conferences including the American Finance Association Conference. A number of her research papers received local and international prestigious awards. She has engaged in invited research visits to several top US Universities, including Harvard, MIT and Stanford among others.

Dr Akhtar has a broad teaching portfolio encompassing both undergraduate and postgraduate courses. She also supervises Honours, Masters and PhD students. She has been awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Award for Teaching Excellence and also the "Top Supervisor" Award.

Dr. Francois-Marie Allioux is a Research Fellow at the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Sydney. His research focuses on the field of solid and liquid-based electronics and optics. Before joining the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Dr. Allioux was a Post-Doctoral Fellow in the School of Chemical Engineering at the University of New South Wales.

Dr. Allioux has a strong background in the field of chemical, process and material engineering. He earned his Master's degree in Chemical Engineering from Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France and his Ph.D. degree from the Institute for Frontier Materials at Deakin University in Geelong, VIC, Australia, where he conducted research on advanced materials and their applications in water purification and resource recovery.

Dr. Xianghai An received his PhD from Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Sciences, Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2012. After receiving his PhD degree, he commenced with the School of Aerospace, Mechatronic and Mechanical Engineering (AMME) at The University of Sydney (USYD) as a research fellow, qualifying as a DVCR Research Fellow (Sydney Society of Fellows, 2014-2016), a Discovery Early Career Research Award (DECRA) Fellow supported by Australia Research Council (ARC) (2017-2019). Dr An is currently a Senior Lecturer and Robinson Fellow (one of first recipients of the Robinson Fellowships - named after Sir Robert Robinson, who was the first Nobel Prize winner from the University of Sydney.) He was also conferred to the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship by Humboldt Foundation in Germany in 2016.

Dr. Bailey obtained his PhD in Physics at the University of Southampton in 2019 as part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in New and Sustainable Photovoltaics (CDT-PV). Following this, he became a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) as part of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Exciton Science, where he worked on electron spin resonance and magneto-optical characterisation of novel materials. He is now a Research Fellow at the School of Physics in the University of Sydney, and his main research interest lies in the characterisation of next-generation optoelectronic materials.

• B.A. Reed College, 2010
• PhD University of Texas at Austin, 2015
• National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship, University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 2016-2018
• Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, 2018-2023
• Senior Lecturer, University of Sydney, 2023-Present

Dr. Constance Bailey is a Senior Lecturer and group leader in the School of Chemistry. She completed her PhD at the University of Texas at Austin investigating the enzymology and biocatalytic applications of polyketide synthases and pursued a National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Joint BioEnergy Institute where she investigated bioengineering and synthetic biology applications of polyketide synthases. Prior to starting at the University of Sydney she was an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.

The Bailey group uses a combination of biochemical and synthetic biology approaches to better understand how to engineer the biosynthesis of natural products such as antibiotics. Her research focuses both on the enzymology of complex natural products as well as developing strategies to improve heterologous expression and accelerate "design, build, test, learn" cycles for bioengineering applications both for new medicinal applications as well as to generate new bioproducts.

Dale Bailey is a physicist working in the field of nuclear medicine. He currently has appointments at Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH) in the Department of Nuclear Medicine and at the University of Sydney in the Faculty of Medicine & Health. Dale was previously the Director of the Sydney Vital Northern Translational Cancer Research Centre (Cancer Institute NSW). His area of research interest is in quantitative functional imaging using radionuclide tracers - SPECT (Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography) and PET (Positron Emission Tomography). He has been a pioneer of hybrid imaging of structure (morphology) and function (physiology) combining multiple modalities into a single imaging session. With the increasing utilisation of radionuclide therapies in cancer management in recent years, Dale has turned his attention to the biological effects of radiation and quantifying radiation dosimetry to tissues to personalise individual treatments and improve patient outcomes.

Dr Mehala Balamurali is a Senior Research Fellow in the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Sydney whose work bridges Artificial Intelligence (AI), computational modelling, sensing, and decision support to address complex real-world challenges across environmental, health, and industrial systems. Her work is characterised by a strong emphasis on translation into practice, connecting academic research with operational implementation, industry needs, and decision-making in high-impact settings.

Mehala’s work takes a transdisciplinary approach, integrating expertise across AI, machine learning, simulation, epidemiological and computational modelling, remote sensing, and environmental intelligence to solve complex challenges that extend beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. A central theme of her work is the development of decision-centric AI, where analytics and predictive models are translated into actionable insights through uncertainty-aware forecasting, optimisation, and operational decision support.

She holds a PhD in Computational Modelling from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), where her research focused on HIV disease dynamics and host-pathogen interactions, applying mathematical and computational modelling to understand disease progression in complex biological systems. Following her PhD, she undertook postdoctoral research at the Kirby Institute, UNSW, focusing on HIV epidemiological modelling and disease forecasting, strengthening her expertise in predictive modelling and simulation.

Since joining the University of Sydney in 2013, Mehala has contributed to a range of industry-engaged and interdisciplinary initiatives, including long-term collaborations in mining automation, environmental monitoring, biodiversity intelligence, invasive species management, biosecurity, and sensing systems. Much of her work has been undertaken in high-IP and operational environments, where outcomes often extend beyond traditional academic outputs to include decision-support systems, deployment pathways, patents, stakeholder engagement, and long-term translational impact.

Her work frequently integrates satellite, UAV, hyperspectral, LiDAR, and biological sensing technologies with AI and computational modelling to support more resilient, scalable, and evidence-based decisions. Alongside research translation, Mehala has a strong commitment to mentoring and developing future talent, supervising interdisciplinary student projects and helping students apply advanced computational methods to solve practical challenges across engineering, health, environment, and industry.

Dr Balamurali is particularly interested in building partnerships that bridge academia, industry, government, and communities, translating advanced research into practical solutions while preparing future graduates to thrive in increasingly interdisciplinary and AI-enabled environments.

Associate Professor John Bartholomew is developing technologies to create a quantum internet. Currently he is focusing on using crystals containing the rare-earth element erbium to integrate optical photons, microwave photons, and solid-state spins in a single quantum system.

John received his PhD in physics from the Australian National University in 2014 working with Associate Professor Matthew Sellars in the Solid State Spectroscopy Group. The focus of John's thesis was advancing the miniaturisation and scalability of rare-earth ion systems for quantum information science. In 2015 he took up a research position with the Crystal and Quantum State Dynamics Group (Chimie Paristech, France) to study the quantum optical properties of rare-earth ions in nanoparticles. The following year John received the American Australian Association Northrop Grumman Fellowship to join the Nanoscale and Quantum Optics Group at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Following three and a half years in Pasadena, John returned to Australia commencing as the Director of the Quantum Integration Laboratory in the second half of 2019.

Stephen Bartlett is an advocate and leader of the burgeoning quantum technology ecosystem, in Sydney and globally. A theoretical quantum physicist and Professor in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, he leads a team pursuing both fundamental and applied research in the design of quantum computers. 

Stephen is Director of the University of Sydney Nano Institute, the Director of the Australian Research Council Training Centre for Future Leaders in Quantum Computing (FLiQC), and led the establishment of the national growth centre for quantum industry, Quantum Australia. He is the inaugural Lead Editor of the premier international research journal PRX Quantum.

He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Australian Institute of Physics, and the Royal Society of NSW.

Stephen completed his Ph.D. in mathematical physics at the University of Toronto in 2000. Moving to Australia, he directed his research to the theory of quantum computing, first as a Macquarie University Research Fellow and then as an ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. Since 2005, he has led a research program in theoretical quantum physics at University of Sydney, with interests spanning quantum computing, quantum measurement and control, quantum many-body systems, and the foundations of quantum theory.

MBChB, PhD, FRACP

Associate Professor Beardsley is an infectious disease specialist, fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians, and clinical researcher. He completed his PhD through the Oxford University Clinical Research Unit in Ho Chi Minh City, focussed on fungal infections. He conducted a multi-national randomised clinical trial into adjunctive steroid therapy for Cryptococcal Meningitis in South East Asia and Africa (Beardlsey et al, NEJM 2016). His other core research focussed on epidemiology of fungal infections, immune responses in Cryptococcal Meningitis, pharmacokinetics of anti-fungal drugs in the central nervous system, and temporal trends in cryptococcal drug susceptibility. He was involved in several other clinical trials in Cryptococcal Meningitis and hepatitis C, and is a co-author on the Lancet Global Burden of Disease series in his capacity as GBD specialist on Vietnam and HIV.

Since his appointment at the University of Sydney Infectious Disease Institute (Sydney ID) he has continued his research into infectious diseases inlcuding fungal infections, tuberculosis and AMR. He has a particular interest in reducing the impact of these chronic conditions in resource-limited settings, as a means of impacting global inequalities. He works on the emergence of antifungal resistance, and the one health / climate change drivers of this phenomenon.  Associate Professor Beardsley leads the Fungisphere special interest group as part of his role.

He led a group of researchers from Australia and New Zealand on behalf of the WHO to develop their 2022 Fungal Priority Pathogen List - a grounbreaking global prioritisation which ranks pathogens according to their need for research & development. He continue this work as a member of two WHO Expert Advisory Panels: on Implementing the Fungal Priority Pathogen List and on One Health and AMR.

My research projects involve building solutions for practitioners in collaboration with industry and government. I focus on two key areas: applications of artificial intelligence (AI) and modern slavery risk management (MSRM). My AI-related projects involve designing solutions for predictive analytics as well as applications of large language models across different industry sectors. My research on MSRM has involved a close collaboration with the NSW Office of the Anti-Slavery Commissioner and the development of an inherent risk identification tool for procurement teams in the public sector (Due diligence and reporting | Communities and Justice). Some of my research lies at the intersection of AI and MSRM. I serve as a senior associate editor for International Journal of Physical Distribution and Logistics Management (ABDC ranking: A).

I teach two core units of study in the Master of Logistics and Supply Chain Management program, one focussing on systems (ITLS6010) and the other on sustainability (ITLS6202). I also run a micro-credential on AI for supply chain professionals (Data Science and AI for Supply Chain Management - The University of Sydney Business School). The micro-credential was developed with funding from the NSW government and is delivered in collaboration with GS1 Australia.

Professor Bilek is an ARC Laureate Fellow. She is Professor of Applied Physics and Surface Engineering at the University of Sydney and heads the Applied Physics and Surface Engineering Research Group within the School of Physics and the School of Biomedical Engineering. She also serves as associate editor for the Journal of Applied Physics. She is internationally recognised for her work on environmentally-friendly plasma-based processes that create new materials and surface modifications. Professor Marcela Bilek holds a PhD from the University of Cambridge, UK, a BSc from the University of Sydney and an MBA from the Rochester Institute of Technology, USA. Prior appointments include visiting Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in Berkeley, USA, visiting Professor at the Technische Universitat Hamburg-Harburg in Germany and Research Fellow at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, UK.

Dr Jueming Bing is a Postdoctoral Reseacher at the School of Physics, the University of Sydney. He was awarded PhD in Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering from University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 2020 and awarded Bachelor of Engineering in renewable energy system from The Australian National University with First Class Honours in 2016. His research focuses on the development of new-generation thin film perovskite-based solar cells, with a particular emphasis on their stability, durability, encapsulation strategies and application for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV).

Key research areas:

Durable perovskite and perovskite-tandem solar cells

·      Elucidated different perovskite degradation mechanisms under light and heat for different types of perovskite absorbers and cell architectures using advanced chemical analyses including gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Perovskite absorber material choice and cell architecture also determine degrees of synergistic degradations caused by heat and light combined. Antagonistic outgassing can occur due to competing photo-oxidation reactions. Results published in Energy and Environmental Science (Impact factor (IF) = 31.0).

·      Developed encapsulations for perovskite single junction and perovskite-Si tandem solar cells, passing three IEC61215 standard PV module tests (Damp-Heat, Thermal-Cycling, and Humidity-Freeze). Perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells passing the Humidity Freeze test was the first time in the world. Result published in Joule (IF=35.4) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joule.2025.102314

Building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV)

·        Developed a new metric for evaluating solar windows considering both electrical and luminous efficiency published in Joule (IF = 35.4) 10.1016/j.joule.2023.11.010

·        Wrote a critical review on perovskite solar cells for glazing with a revised theoretical efficiency limits of semi-transparent cells by introducing a new way of realizing transparency through bandgap engineering instead of thinning. Work published in Joule (IF = 35.4) with> 150 citations. 10.1016/j.joule.2022.06.003

Daniel Blinkhorn is a multi-international award winning composer, sound and digital media artist whose music gravitates around a synchronicity of frequency, texture, gesture, space, location and motion, all of which form (often metaphorical) frameworks within a given piece. Although often working in the electroacoustic, videophonic and ecoacoustic domains, Blinkhorn's output includes chamber, symphonic and wind orchestra works, sound installations, music for film, dance, radiophonic composition and various hybrid/ intermedia environments.

The piece 'red sound' from the frostbYte suite has been described as 'a true masterpiece, that captures and presents poetically the essence of human fascination with a timeless natural landscape' (International Computer Music Association Jury, 2013).

Blinkhorn's works are increasingly performed, exhibited and presented internationally, and his compositions have received over 40 international and national composition awards at prestigious compeitions.

He is the 2010 ABC Radio National Media Arts Fellow, and a 2011 Churchill Fellow, has worked in a wide variety of creative, academic, research and performative contexts, and has been a visiting scholar and artist at the University of Virginia, Music Department, the Conservatory of Music, University of Kansas City Missouri, Simon Fraser University, Vancouver and faculty member for 'Ecosono Alaska', a joint initiative between Ecosono Institute and Alaska Pacific University, Anchorage, Alaska.

Whilst entirely autodidactic in electroacoustic music and digital media, he has formally studied at a number of Australian universities including, COFA - UNSW and the University of Wollongong where his doctoral degree in composition was recommended for special commendation. Recent academic activities include completion of the 'Leading Teams' program administered by the University of Sydney Business School. Leading Teams - Digital Badge

More information about Blinkhorn, as well as samples of his work can be found at www.danielblinkhorn.com

Filip is Academic Director of Sydney Microscopy & Microanalysis, Co-Director of the Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis and Sydney Node Director of Microscopy Australia all based at The University of Sydney. He also holds an academic position as Professor of Structural Cell Biology within the Molecular Biomedicine Research Theme in the School of Medical Sciences. His direct research interests cover the areas of structural cell biology, cancer biology, vascular biology, chemical biology and nanobiotechnology. He has 35 years of research experience as a cell biologist and histologist, specialising in the application and development of correlative microscopy methods and associated biomolecular labelling techniques to unravel structure-function relationships that cannot be addressed through conventional microscopy approaches. Through the use of these innovative approaches to bio-imaging, Filip has contributed significantly to the understanding of cancer cell motility and tumour drug-resistance, and unlocked various aspects of transendothelial transport mechanisms in liver, colon, kidney and pancreas.

MArch, MEng, PhD Building Physics and Systems, GradCert Higher Education.

Corinne Caillaud is a professor in physical activity and digital health in the Sydney School of Public Health at the Faculty of Medicine and Health. She is a member of the Charles Perkins Centre where she heads a research node dedicated to understanding the influence of place and context on lifestyle transitions in adolescents in Pacific Island. With more than 100 peer‑reviewed publications across high‑impact international journals, Professor Caillaud’s research investigates how digital technologies and social media influence physical activity behaviour and health outcomes in adolescents. Conducting place-based work in diverse settings enables a better understanding of physical activity erosion through westernisation, technological transitions and climate change. Her work takes place in Australia, New Caldeonia and Vanuatu. 

B.Met.Eng. 1998, UNSW; PhD, 2002, UNSW

Professor Julie Cairney studied Materials Science and Engineering at UNSW under a scholarship from Pasminco Limited (a former mining company based in Broken Hill). In 2002, she was awarded a PhD (Physical Metallurgy) also from UNSW. The next few years were spent working as a researcher at the University of Birmingham, UK and the Max Planck Institute for Metals Research in Stuttgart, Germany, before returning to Australia.

She is currently working as a Professor in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research – Enterprise and Engagement). A highly influential figure in the Australian research sector, she serves on the boards of Cicada Innovations, Uniseed, and Kinoxis Therapeutics and CAD Frontiers. She was previously on the ARC College of Experts and the New Zealand Marsden Fund. Professor Cairney has also worked as the Director of the Australian Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis and the CEO of Microscopy Australia, a national facility that is supported by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy.

Prof. Cairns received his PhD from the University of Sydney (Australia) in 1987. He worked at the University of Iowa (1986-1998) before taking up a prestigious 5-year Senior Research Fellowship at the University of Sydney, one of only 20 awarded over all research fields. In 2004 he was awarded a similarly competitive Australian Professorial Fellowship and in 2009 was appointed Professor in Space Physics (Teaching & Research) at U. Sydney.

Prof. Cairns has over 240 refereed papers published or in press in books and journals, a Hirsch index of over 28, given over 3 plenary and 75 invited papers at international conferences, and obtained over US$7 M in competitive funding (excluding spacecraft projects) from Australian and US funding agencies. He has great experience leading international and national scientific societies (e.g., AOGS, the International Association for Geomagnetism and Aeronomy [IAGA], and the Australian Institute of Physics's Solar Terrestrial and Space Physics [STSP] Group).

He is Australia's national representative to both the ICSU Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) and IAGA. Nationally Prof. Cairns is the past Chair (2005-2011) of the Australian Academy of Science's National Committee for Space Science. As such he led the development of Australia's first Decadal Plan in space science, published by the Academy of Science in 2010. He also played a major role in the joint Academy's Strategic Plan for Earth Observation from Space, released in late 2009.

Prof. Cairns is a clear leader of Australia's space science community, writing submissions to multiple Government reviews and entities in the last several years which together with the Decadal and Strategic Plans have led to Australia's Government making space science a major priority and focus since May 2009. He has also led the development of a professional level annual Australian Space Science Conference from 2007.

Dan’s work reflects his interest in understanding how individuals are shaped by the context in which they work, and how, in turn, they influence their context. As such, his research, teaching, and consulting are focused on culture, identity, and leadership.

A psychologist by training, Dan draws on extensive international exposure and diverse work experience. Before completing his MBA and PhD as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Iowa (USA), Dan worked in a range of consulting and managerial roles spanning several sectors (business, government, not-for-profit) and several countries (Romania, UK, USA, and Australia). Before joining the University of Sydney, he worked at UNSW where he was also one of the inaugural Fellows at the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM).

Dan’s research, strongly connected to his professional and personal experiences, led to publications in the best journals in business and management (e.g.,Academy of Management Annals, Academy of Management Learning and Education, Human Relations, etc.) and international business (e.g., Journal of International Business Studies, Journal of World Business, etc.). He was also nominated and received several awards, and has been invited to serve in multiple editorial roles.

Dan is committed to facilitating the use of research findings in practice. Building on several years of teaching experience, he designed and taught courses related to leadership development and cross-cultural competency across several programs (i.e., Undergraduate, Master of Commerce, MBA, Executive MBA, and Executive Education programs), both in Australia, and internationally (USA, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Mexico, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia). Besides teaching regular courses at the University of Sydney, Dan engages in independent customised learning programs and coaching sessions, with particular interest in contributing to initiatives that have a positive social impact.

Benjamin Carey is a Sydney-based composer, improviser and educator, and Senior Lecturer in Composition and Music Technology at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney.Ben makes electronic music using the modular synthesiser, develops interactive music software and creates audio-visual works. Ben’s work is concerned with musical interactivity, generativity and the delicate dance between human and machine agencies in composition and performance. Ben has released ten albums, including METASTABILITY (2023), Hypertelic (2021) and ANTIMATTER (2019), and has collaborated with a variety of artists including Sonya Holowell, JACK Quartet, Sydney Chamber Opera, ELISION ensemble and others. He publishes traditional research outputs on electronic music, modular synthesis and the philosophy of technology in a variety of publications. His creative work has been performed and exhibited internationally at the Huddersfield Festival of Contemporary Music (UK), Sydney Festival (Australia), IRCAM Live (France), VIVID Sydney (Australia), and elsewhere. In2022/23 Ben was awarded with a Univeristy of Sydney SOAR Prize to support his research and creative work.