Waratah Research Network members
WRN members include senior representatives from each cluster, as well as members of the NSW Deputy Vice Chancellors (Research) Committee.
Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte
Chair
NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer, Natural Resources Commissioner
Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte is the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer and Natural Resources Commissioner. From 2016-2018, Professor Durrant-Whyte was Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK Ministry of Defence. From 2014-2016 and 2002-2010, Professor Durrant-Whyte was a Professor and ARC Federation Fellow at the University of Sydney. From 2010-2014, Professor Durrant-Whyte was CEO of National ICT Australia (NICTA), and from 1995-2010 Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems and of the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR).
Professor Durrant-Whyte is a world-leading authority on machine learning and robotics, and applications in areas including cargo handling, mining and defence. Professor Durrant-Whyte has also published over 300 research papers, graduated over 70 PhD students, and has won numerous awards and prizes for his work. These include being named the 2010 NSW Scientist of the Year and 2008 Engineers Australia NSW Engineer of the Year.
Chloe Read
Deputy Chair
Deputy Secretary, Education & Skills Reform, Department of Education
Chloe Read has worked in education policy for over 15 years, originally in IT support and consulting in the Department of Education, Tasmania. Ms Read joined the NSW Department of Education (DoE) in 2014, working across many executive IT, infrastructure and policy roles. Ms Read job shares the role of Deputy Secretary, Education & Skills Reform with Lisa Alonso Love, and represents the Department on the WRN as well as being an ex officio member of the NSW Skills Board. Ms Read and Ms Alonso Love previously job shared as Chief People Officer and Deputy Secretary, Educational Services in DoE. Ms Read holds an Master of Arts with Honours in Ancient History and Classical Archaeology from the University of Edinburgh, a Masters of Computing from the University of Tasmania and is a member of the Executive Fellows Program at the Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG).
Professor Zee Upton
University Representative
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research and Innovation), University of Newcastle, Chair of the NSW/ACT Deputy Vice Chancellors (Research) Committee
Professor Upton was previously the Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing at the University of Newcastle. Prior to joining the University, she spent 6 years in Singapore where she was the Executive Director of the Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS), a tripartite research initiative between Nanyang Technological University, the National Health Group and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), as well as the Executive Director of A*STAR Institute of Medical Biology. In these roles she facilitated extensive collaboration with industry, many via the Wound Care Innovation for the Tropics Industry Alignment Pre-Positioning Program that she also established and led. Preceding this, Professor Upton spent 15 years at the Queensland University of Technology where she held senior management and leadership positions, as well as established the Wound Management Innovation Cooperative Research Centre, plus formed a start-up that ultimately listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Richard Cox
Director of Economic Strategy, NSW Treasury
Richard Cox has worked in economic policy for over 30 years, covering a broad range of areas. These include micro-economic reform, employment policy, energy and climate change, productivity, primary industries, industry policy, tax and fiscal policy, and economic evaluation. Mr Cox holds a Bachelor of Science (Economics) with first class honours from University College Cardiff, and a Master of Science from Queen Mary College London.
Sherri Field
Senior Manager, Universities and Research, Transport for NSW
Sherri Fields is Senior Manager, Universities and Research at Transport for NSW. Ms Fields has extensive senior management experience in NSW government across numerous agencies. She leads the research unit to foster collaboration, innovation and knowledge translation between government, academia, and other strategic research partners. Her role is to deliver research projects that have tangible impact for Transport and assist with future decision making. Her key interest areas include liveability, placemaking, accessibility, technology, and sustainability.
Ms Fields holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Hons) majoring in Economics and Urban Geography from UNSW. She was awarded a “Fellow of the University” UTS in 2022.
Luke Grant
Deputy Commissioner, Corrective Services NSW
As Deputy Commissioner (DC) for Corrective Services NSW, Luke Grant is responsible for developing and implementing correctional policy for NSW. For over two decades DC Grant has championed research collaborations between the corrections industry nationally and universities. This includes commissioning research, teaching in undergraduate and post graduate programs and actively engaging in research around offender behaviour and health. DC Grant has contributed to articles in peer review journals and served on numerous interagency and statutory committees. DC Grant has been a member of the University of Sydney Law School Institute of Criminology Advisory Council for over 15 years and recently joined the Western Sydney University External Advisory Committee for Criminology and holds a Master of Science Degree (Research) from the University of Sydney.
Professor Kristofer M Helgen
Chief Scientist and Director, Australian Museum Research Institute
Professor Kristofer M. Helgen is Chief Scientist and Director of the Australian Museum Research Institute. Professor Helgen was most recently a Professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide. Originally from Minnesota in the United States, Professor Helgen holds an undergraduate degree in Biology from Harvard University and a PhD in Zoology as a Fulbright Fellow from the University of Adelaide.
Professor Helgen holds additional academic appointments at the Natural History Museum in London, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Bishop Museum in Hawaii, the South Australian Museum in Adelaide, and George Mason University in Virginia.
Dr Georgina Kelly
Executive Director, Science, Economics and Insights, NSW Department of Planning and Environment
Dr Georgina Kelly is the Executive Director, Science, Economics and Insights at NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE). Over the last three decades, Dr Kelly has been working in environmental programs for management, regulation and policy.
Dr Kelly's career has focused on government environmental management and research agencies, including National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Environment Protection Authority, Sydney Water, Forestry Corporation NSW, the Department of Primary Industries (Agriculture), the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage, and DPE’s Environment, Energy and Science Group. Dr Kelly holds a Bachelor of Science with Honours and a PhD from the University of Sydney, a Graduate Certificate in Public Sector Management from Flinders University and is an Adjunct Assoc. Professor at the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales.
Dr Natalie Moltschaniwskyj
NSW Department of Primary Industries Chief Scientist
Dr Natalie Moltschaniwskyj is the NSW DPI Chief Scientist. Dr Moltschaniwskyj’s career spans more than three-decades and includes a five-year academic tenure at James Cook University, 12 years at The University of Tasmania, and five years at The University of Newcastle, before joining DPI Fisheries in 2016 as Director Fisheries Research.
Dr Natalie Moltschaniwskyj has strong track record of applied research with collaborative research with aquaculture and wild harvest sectors, with a demonstrated impact on management and policy. Evidence of research excellence is provided by more than 110 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, and 15 industry focused publications supported by more than a $2.5 million in competitive research funding, including Australian Research Council (Discovery), Fisheries Research Development Council and Australian Research Council (Industry Linked) funding.
Dr Jessica Stewart
Executive Director of Insights, Analysis and Research, Department of Communities and Justice
Dr Jessica Stewart is the Executive Director of Insights, Analysis and Research in the Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ). Dr Stewart's role covers evaluating major reforms and programs across early intervention, child protection, homelessness and social housing, leading research, performance reporting, statistical and economic analysis for DCJ.
Dr Stewart has over 15 years’ experience in both federal and state governments, and Aboriginal health research. Dr Stewart has managed evaluations of health programs for NSW Health and led public reporting on the performance of hospitals and primary health care at the National Health Performance Authority. Dr Stewart was also study manager for the first Aboriginal-led randomised controlled trial to reduce smoking among pregnant Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.
Dr Stewart holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Law, a Masters of Public Policy and a PhD in health services research.