FEAST Secretariat Staff
Executive Director: Dr Rado Faletič
NCP for ICT, NMP, Security, Space, ERC, SiS, and Euratom.
Rado joined the FEAST team at the end of July 2005, and has fulfilled a number of roles within the secretariat, most recently as Executive Director. His interest in FEAST stems from his interest in promoting, encouraging and highlighting science and new ideas, along with the personal satisfaction he receives from facilitating personal collaborations.
He has previously held a number of teaching and IT positions at The Australian National University, including appointments at the Research School of Chemistry, the Department of Physics and the Department of Mathematics. At ANU Rado has also completed a PhD in shock tunnel tomography. His other research projects have included the spatial modeling of water flow in de-forested landscapes with the CRC for Catchment Hydrology, and seismic tomography at the University’s Research School of Earth Sciences.
Outside of FEAST, Rado’s other engagements include running his own business, and close involvement with the National Youth Science Forum. He enjoys keeping fit in the outdoors; composing, playing and listening to music; watching movies; and, helping others excel.
Project Officer: Dr Merrilyn Fitzpatrick
Merrilyn joined the FEAST team in September 2009 as Project Officer, bringing a diverse experience that has taken her through a PhD in Chinese history from ANU, policy research and administrative roles in the Australian Public Service, and several decades as co-director of an Australian independent film industry company.
Since her return to ANU in 2006 Merrilyn has worked as project manager and research officer in the field of research into higher education within the Centre for Educational Development and Academic Methods (CEDAM). Projects have included an ARC-funded project: Research capacity-building: the development of Australian PhD programs in national and emerging global contexts; and two Australian Learning and Teaching Council- funded projects: The role of Honours in contemporary Australian higher education; and Research graduate skills.
Merrilyn’s film industry experience included film distribution through Ronin Films, and film exhibition including the former iconic Canberra independent cinemas known as Electric Shadows. Both Ronin Films and Electric Shadows have enjoyed close association with European cinema and Europe’s cultural representatives in Australia.
Merrilyn was drawn to FEAST’s role because of her long interest and involvement in nurturing talent, in facilitating and encouraging creative people to realize their ambitions. In the film industry this talent was filmmakers and writers, animators and publicists. At CEDAM she was involved with the promotion of cross-campus collaborations for the purpose of enhancing aspects of academic practice.
Out of hours Merrilyn runs the staff side of one of the University’s staff/student Learning Communities, Sing Out Reach Out (SORO), which encourages music making for all students for the purpose of engaging the broader community through music. She loves singing with others, playing piano, cello and drums, bushwalking, painting and poetry, and of course cinema.
Special Advisor: Jean-François Desvignes-Hicks
NCP for Legal & Financial, Health, Bio, Mobility, Regional, and JRC.
Jean-François has been advisor to FEAST since 2010. He is also a project manager in the Science Division of the Queensland Government’s Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation.
His interest in, and commitment to, transnational cooperation in research and higher education stem from early university experiences with research groups from across Europe and in the USA. From a series of successful participations in the EU’s Framework Programmes (5, 6, and 7) in the past seven years, the FEAST team has developed a unique expertise in supporting EU projects. Jean-François specialised in the technical issues of international funding programs such as EU projects and other opportunities available to industialised countries. From his successive roles in government and in research organisations, he has developed a solid understanding of science drivers and trends at a global level. He has a growing interest in using novel tools to analyse research capabilities and matching them with emerging opportunities.
Prior to 2010 in Canberra, he was FEAST’s deputy director and he worked in CSIRO’s international team. Although he was appointed as project manager of FEAST in 2005, has has been involved with the Forum since 2001. He has a molecular biology background, having completed a bachelor’s degree in France. At the University of Oklahoma (USA) he undertook courses and research in fresh water ecology and completed a Masters in modelling and analysis of biological systems at the University of Claude Bernard in Lyon.
You can find him on linkedin.com/in/jfdesvignes.
past staff
Web Content (2010–2011): Ashvini Munindradasa
Ashvini joined FEAST in 2010 just after finishing her Bachelor of Medical Science at ANU but has since then gotten a Master of Public Health as well. Ashvini’s interest in FEAST comes from direct experience in research having spent some time in her undergraduate years working on the GST molecule at the John Curtin School of Medical Research.
Outside of work, Ashvini has many interests including playing the guitar and piano, dancing and teaching ballet and training in the martial arts. Having spent most of her life in Africa, she also loves to travel and has learnt several languages including French and Spanish that she hopes will help her on many journeys.
Executive Director (2007–2010): Dr Mark Matthews
Mark was appointed as executive director of FEAST in April 2007, and is now executive director for the HC Coombs Policy Forum at ANU. Mark has a long-standing interest in the nature and extent of international collaboration in public science and industrial R&D. This stems from his exposure to the geopolitical and cross-cultural influences on who collaborates with whom and how effectively this works — encountered as part of work on strategic issues faced in the aerospace industry and in science and innovation policy in general. He is also particularly interested in making the case for government support of public science on the basis of how such knowledge helps us to identify and manage the risks and uncertainties that markets cannot cope with very effectively (see his 2006 policy paper on science, innovation and preparedness).
Mark’s career in science and innovation policy has encompassed both academia and management consulting. He has held positions at the Science and Technology Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex, the School of Management, University of Bath and the Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick. Mark’s career as a management consultant specialising in public policy work has involved working in both Australia and the United Kingdom. His government advisory committee work includes membership of the Research Quality Framework (RQF) Metrics Working Group in 2006 and the Safeguarding Australia expert sub-committee of the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy in 2005. His major qualifications are a B.A. (Hons) in Geography, an M.Sc. in Science, Technology and Industrialisation and a Doctorate (D.Phil) in Science and Technology Policy, all from the University of Sussex.
Mark’s outside interests are geographical in nature: travel and solo mountain trekking (a lapsed rock climber) plus cycling, culinary adventures, carpentry and trying to swim half as well as the average Australian.
Project Officer (2008–2009): Olivia Wenholz
Olivia joined the FEAST team in November 2008 as Project Officer responsible for the finances, event management and general administration for FEAST.
Olivia loves making things happen, and is interested in helping turn research into policy and facilitating implementation of good ideas.
She has a background in events and project management, marketing, finance, administration and hospitality. She completed a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Arts at Monash University, and before finding her home at the ANU she worked in a management consultancy firm, an advertising agency, a hotel and convention centre, a women’s retail fashion chain, a market research firm and several restaurants.
She has been at ANU since 2003, and has held a number of positions here including VIP Visits and Protocol Officer in the Marketing and Communications Division; Project Manager on a special project for the Chancelry to interface with the Federal Government’s Review of the National Innovation System; Outreach Officer with the College for Medicine and Health Sciences and with the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health.
Olivia learnt Danish while on exchange to Denmark for 12 months in 1992, studied French through high school, Spanish through university – including 6 months in Granada, Spain, and dabbles in Italian when she can.
Her outside interests include travelling and languages, cinema and literature, trying to keep fit with indoor soccer, gym and outdoor pursuits, and above all else, keeping up with her toddler son.
Executive Director (2005–2007): Dr Neil Hamilton
Neil was appointed as executive director of FEAST in May 2005 although he had been involved with FEAST activities since the earliest days in 2001. His interests in and commitment to international collaborative research stem from early postdoctoral experiences with several groups in Europe and his ongoing participation in large-scale international global change research networks.
Previous career highlights include his appointment as Deputy Executive Director of the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change in Bonn, working for the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) in Stockholm and Washington DC, establishing a CRC, and some very formative years at CSIRO Wildlife and Ecology. Since returning to Australia he has held several positions in the ANU Chancelry focussing on research and internationalization planning, and commercialisation of intellectual property.
A geographer by training and inclination, Neil has a PhD from the University of Sydney and an incurable travel bug. His research interests focus on global scale human — environment interactions, sustainable futures, and international relations. Or as he puts it, “how the world works”. Given that his first scientific publication was on beach sands he seems to have come a long way!
Neil’s other interests include motorcycles, beautiful gardens, wine, thinking, building things, and racing vintage sports cars. Oh yes, and travelling…
