ProfessorJulie Cairney

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

Professor Julie Cairney is currently working as a Professor in the School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering and serves as the University's Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Enterprise). An influential figure in the Australian research sector, she serves on the boards of Cicada Innovations, Uniseed, Quantum Australia Pty Ltd and Kinoxis Therapeutics. 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.

Professor 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.