Speaker profiles
Ms Gwen Andrews
Vice President, Power and Environmental Policy, Australia/Asia
Alstom
In June 2008, Gwen Andrews took on the role of Vice President, Power and Environmental Policy, Australia/Asia with Alstom. Gwen is responsible for developing and implementing a regional (Australia and Asia, excluding China) Government Affairs programme, specifically with regard to power and environmental matters. She is based in Sydney. Her role helps Alstom Power Systems to understand and manage policy and regulatory opportunities and risks.
Gwen has had a distinguished career in the public sector in several countries (Canada, Australia and the UK). Her extensive experience in environmental policy issues, most notably as CEO of the Australian Greenhouse Office, brings with it unique experience and expertise to make valuable contributions to the debate on climate change.
Prof Andrew Blakers
Director, Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems
Director, ARC Centre for Solar Energy Systems
The Australian National University
Prof Andrew Blakers is the Director of the ARC Centre for Solar Energy Systems and the Centre for Sustainable Energy Systems at the Australian National University. He was a Humboldt Fellow and has held Australian Research Council QEII and Senior Research Fellowships. He is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering, the Institute of Energy and the Institute of Physics. He has published approximately 200 papers and 12 patents. His research interests are in the areas of photovoltaic and solar energy systems; particularly advanced thin film silicon solar cell technology and solar concentrator solar cells, components and systems.
Mr Thierry Chambolle
Chairman of the Environmental Committee
French Academy of Technology
Thierry Chambolle is a graduate of France’s two elite engineering schools, Ecole Polytechnique, of Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées, as well as Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris (“Sciences Po”).
From 1965 to 1975, Thierry Chambolle managed port facilities at Fort de France, Sète, and Bayonne for the Infrastructure Facilities Services of the Martinique and Pyrénées Atlantiques Departments and the Languedoc-Roussillon Region. During the same period, he also worked on coastline tourism development of the Languedoc-Roussillon and Aquitaine Regions.
After serving as transportation projects officer at the French government Regional Development Agency, DATAR, as Director of Economic and Financial Services of the Maritime Ports Navigable Rivers Agency, and Technical Adviser to Michel d’Ornano, Minister of Culture and Environment, Thierry Chambolle served 11 years, from 1978 to 1988, as Director for Water, Pollution and Risk Prevention at the Ministry of the Environment. From 1986 to 1988, he also served as Delegate for Major Risk Prevention.
At the end of 1988, he joined the Lyonnaise des Eaux Group as Director of Technological Development and President of Compagnie des Eaux de Banlieue. Subsequently, at SUEZ, he served as Senior Vice President for Environment and Innovation, in charge of Environment, Innovation, Information and E-Business Systems. At the same time (1989-1999) he was President of Cemagref and, from 2001 through 2003, served on the SUEZ Executive Committee. He is currently Advisor for Sustainable Development to the SUEZ Chairman and CEO.
His other involvements include the Chairmanships of the French Committee for the International Chamber of Commerce’s Commission on Energy and the Environment, the Climate Change Committee of Medef (the French National Employers’ Association), and of the AERES (Association des Entreprises pour la Réduction de l’Effet de Serre) Consultative Committee. He is also a member of the French government’s High Council for International Cooperation.
Thierry Chambolle also served as head of the New Energy Technologies Task Force established in 2003/2004 by the French Ministry of Economy, Industry, Environment and Research. He is a member of the Supervisory Board or Board of Directors of the following companies or institutions: Agrer, Ingerop, Palais de la Découverte, RATP, Seres, and Sevesc. He is Officer of the Legion of Honor, of the Order of Merit, and of the Order of Agricultural Merit.
He is the author for the French government of several reports about “New Energy Technologies” (2004), “How to promote Eco-enterprises” (2006), Energy Prospective(2007), Audit of the PREDIT (Transport Research Programm)(2007), and “European Research Area, Vision and Governance” (2008).
He is currently the President of a NGO (AGIRabcd:4000 seniors involved in a combat against poverty), the chair of the consultative committee of DEMETER, a French Investment Fund for Eco-enterprises, and the chairman of the RATP Audit Committee.
Dr Peter Cook
Chief Executive
Cooperative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC)
Dr Cook is the Chief Executive of the Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Gas Technologies (CO2CRC) and of a number of related companies. He has had a distinguished career in Australia and internationally as a Researcher, a Senior Executive and a Consultant. Positions he has previously occupied include: Executive Director of the Petroleum CRC, Director of the British Geological Survey, President of EuroGeoSurveys, Associate Director of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian National University and Geologist-Senior Geologist at the Bureau of Mineral Resources.
Dr Cook has been a Consultant to major international Research Organisations and has held academic positions in Australia, UK, USA and also in France at the Universite Louis Pasteur in Strasbourg.
Dr Cook first became involved in geosequestration in 1991 through the pioneering work of the British Geological Survey on this topic. On his return to Australia, he established the GEODISC program and subsequently CO2CRC, which undertakes major research, development and demonstration activities into capture and geological storage, involving more than 100 scientists. He has given many lectures and presentations in Australia and internationally on geosequestration. Dr Cook was a Coordinating Lead Author of the Special IPCC Volume on CO2 Capture and Storage. He has written more than 130 publications on resource, energy, environmental and sustainability issues.
Dr Cook is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and has been recognized for his work for science and industry through the award of the CBE, the John Coke Medal, the Public Service Medal, the French Order of Merit, the Centennial Medal, the Lewis G Weeks Medal and the Leopold von Buch Medal. He was listed (Sept 2007) by the Australian Financial Review as one of 20 people in Australia “who will change your life”.
Dr Peter Coppin
Director, Wind Energy Research Unit
CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research
CSIRO, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, is Australia’s national science agency. Dr Peter Coppin is Director of the Wind Energy Research Unit at CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. He is also leader of the Storage for Renewables program at the CSIRO Energy Transformed Flagship. He began his scientific career as a Post Doctoral fellow at the University of Hannover in Germany, working on the nascent German Wind Energy Program in the late 70’s. Since returning to Australia he has spent 28 years in CSIRO working on boundary-layer meteorology and, since 1990, on wind energy related research.
Dr Tom Denniss
Chief Technology Officer
Oceanlinx
Dr Tom Denniss founded Oceanlinx Limited (initially called Energetech Australia Pty Ltd) in 1997 and spent nine years as the Company’s first CEO. He developed the core technology that Oceanlinx is now commercializing. Prior to forming the Company, he spent four years lecturing in mathematics and oceanography at the University of NSW and five years in an investment bank. He has continued as a prominent contributor to the marine technology industry over many years through both academia and industry conferences and committees around the globe. He is the recipient of a number of awards for his pioneering work in wave power.
Ms Kirilly Dickson
Sustainability Manager
ACTEW Corporation
Kirilly Dickson has been with ACTEW Corporation for more than seven years working on a variety of water planning, strategy and policy aspects related to water management in the ACT. She has a degree in Environmental Engineering, majoring in water quality modelling from University of Wollongong. Her main areas of work relate to environmental flows, water recycling, water and energy efficiency.
Since 2007, Kirilly has been developing a Greenhouse Gas Abatement Strategy for delivering emissions efficiency and offsets for new water infrastructure for the ACT region.
Kirilly Dickson is a member of the Australian Water Association and the Society for Sustainable Environmental Engineering.
Mr Bernie Hayes
Country Sales Director – Australia and New Zealand
Alstom Ltd
Bernard Hayes has worked for Alstom for over 8 years and is currently Country Sales Director looking after Sales & Marketing of Utility Power Plant in the Australian & New Zealand markets. Bernard has spent most of his career in the power industry in a range of engineering, project management and sales roles. He started with Pacific Power, formerly known as Electricity Commission of NSW, before moving to heat exchanger manufacturer, WE Smith Ltd. He subsequently worked with Rolls-Royce before joining Alstom. He has an honours degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Masters in Industrial Management.
Dr Karen Hussey
ANU Vice Chancellor’s Representative in Europe, and Research Fellow, Crawford School of Economics and Government
The Australian National University
Dr Karen Hussey is based in Brussels as The Australian National University Vice Chancellor’s Representative in Europe, where she is responsible for developing the ANU’s research relationships and profile with European research teams and institutions. In addition to those responsibilities, Dr Hussey is an active researcher in the field of environmental policy integration, water resource management, the energy-water nexus, and global environmental governance.
Since 2005 Dr Hussey has been the Chair of the ANU Water Initiative — a cross-disciplinary research and education initiative involving over seventy ‘water’ researchers — and she has lead several research projects and consultancies in water resource management, one producing the CSIRO publication Managing Water for Australia: The Social and Institutional Challenges. In 2008, two further publications on water resource management will be published by OUP and CUP respectively. She is also the Chair of the European-funded “Water-Energy Links” (WEL) project, and co-editor of the Bantham e-journal series in water governance.
Dr Hussey graduated with a PhD in Political Science from the University of Melbourne, an M.Econ.Sc from University College Dublin, Ireland, and a B.A (Economics and Politics) from the University of Melbourne. Prior to her undergraduate degree Dr Hussey was a Junior Rhodes Scholar at the Li Po Chun United World College in Hong Kong.
Ms Nikki-Lynne Hunter
Adviser
Delegation of the European Commission to Australia and New Zealand
Lynne Hunter was born in Presbyterian Scotland to a French Jewish mother and English Catholic father. She survived 12 years of the Scottish Education System before coming to Australia where she completed an undergraduate degree in Philosophy and English Literature and a Masters in International Relations, specialising in Conflict Resolution and Crisis Diplomacy. With this background, she believes she was destined to end up working for the European Commission.
Lynne has been with the Delegation of the European Commission to Australia and New Zealand since February 1989. She is now an Adviser with responsibility for many different portfolios including Science & Technology, Education, Human Rights, Development, Immigration, Transport, Telecommunications and Privacy, to name a few.
Mr Jacques Jacobs
President, Competitiveness Cluster, Avenia
Director, Pau Site, French Petroleum Institute (IFP)
Jacques Jacobs is the director of the Pau Site of the French Petroleum Institute (IFP) and President of the AVENIA competitiveness cluster. IFP is working on transforming biomass, gas and coal in a bid to develop the fuels for transport of tomorrow. AVENIA is focussing on short cycle conversion of biomass into bioenergy for local use.
Jacques Jacobs is also the regional president of the ATEE (Association Technique Energie Environnement). He is involved in number of research and industrial bioenergy projets in the South Western region of France. In the framework of the AVENIA cluster, a pilote plant for regional biomass conversion is currently under development.
Positions he has previously occupied include: he was a research geophysicist for the structural imaging program of IFP and research engineer at the Institute of Applied Geosciences of the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research.
He graduated as a Mining Engineer of the Polytechnic School of Delft (The Netherlands) with a specialization in geophysics.
Mr Henri Jogand
Degrémont
Dr Peter Kirchesch
Vice President, Research and Development
Areva Transmission and Distribution
Dr Peter Kirchesch was born in Germany in 1949. He graduated from the University of Heidelberg/Germany in physics and mathematics, working in the field of plasma physics. During his PhD-thesis he worked one year (1981) in Italy in the Centro Nationale de la Energia Nucleare in Frascati involved in fusion experiments on Tokamak machines.
In 1982 he joined the BBC company (today ABB) in Switzerland as a scientist working on T&D research activities (arc simulation of circuit breakers). From 1988 on he worked for the AEG-company in Germany as Head of the High Voltage Institute in Kassel. After the acquisition of AEG by ALSTOM he went to France as Vice President Research & Development for High Voltage Products. Today he is Vice President Research and Development of AREVA T&D. He is based in Paris, France.
Dr Wolfram Kloppmann
Researcher, Project Manager
BRGM
W. Kloppmann began his career as a geochemist in 1992 in the Laboratory of Hydrology and Isotope Geochemistry of the University of Paris XI where he studied the residence time of groundwater in the European chalk aquifer by means of chemical and isotopic tracers. He joined French Geological Survey BRGM in 1996. Most of his research work involved groundwater chemistry and the isotopic investigation of water resources, including non-conventional water resources (water reuse, desalination, artificial recharge). He is coordinator of the BRGM framework research project on alternative water resources and concepts of water management.
Assoc Prof Greg Leslie
Deputy Director
UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology
University of New South Wales
Greg Leslie is the deputy director of the UNESCO Centre for Membrane Science and Technology at the University of New South Wales. Prior to joining UNSW, he worked in the public and private sector on water treatment, reuse and desalination projects in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Hong Kong and the United States. He currently serves on the National Health and Medical Research Council’s Water Advisory Committee, the Independent Advisory Panel for the Orange County Groundwater Replenishment Project and was a past member of the World Health Organisation Technical Committee preparing guidelines for desalination.
Dr Jean-Charles Loretz
Photovoltaic Process Manager
Semco Engineering
Dr Jean-Charles Loretz graduated from the French University of Toulouse in the field of plasma process and thin films deposition. After 8 years in the semiconductor and flat panel industries, he joined Semco Engineering in 2003. At Semco Engineering, he contributes to the design processes of the new equipment for photovoltaic applications.
Dr Ian Mackinnon
Executive Director, Engineering and Environmental Science
Australian Research Council
Dr Ian Mackinnon took up the position of Executive Director, Engineering and Environmental Science in late January 2006. Dr Mackinnon has a wealth of experience in academia and industry, previously as Professor at The University of Queensland and more recently as an Executive Director of a technology start-up company.
He spent 25 years as a researcher and research leader in university, government and commercial organisations in Australia and the USA. He has been awarded research and development grants in a range of fields including advanced materials, chemistry, mineralogy, cosmochemistry and wastewater treatment and authored more than 100 publications in the peer-reviewed literature.
Among his career highlights, Dr Mackinnon lists forming and leading successful technology development and commercialisation teams in new materials, managing a technology start-up company from initial phase to market sales and establishing the Centre for Microscopy and Microanalysis at The University of Queensland.
Dr Mark Matthews
Executive Director
Forum for European-Australian Science and Technology cooperation
Mark Matthews was appointed Executive Director of the Forum for European-Australian Science and Technology cooperation (FEAST) in April 2007. FEAST is jointly funded by the European Commission and the Australian Government and is hosted by The Australian National University (ANU) on behalf of the entire Australian research and innovation community. Since February 2008 he has also held an appointment in the Research School of Social Sciences at the ANU — where he has been helping to establish a new Centre for Policy Innovation (CPI).
Mark has extensive private sector experience in public policy consulting in both the United Kingdom and Australia, with a particular emphasis on science and innovation policy. In addition to his business experience, he has held academic positions in the universities of Sussex (Research Fellow, Science Policy Research Unit), Bath (Research Fellow, School of Management) and Warwick (Senior Fellow, Warwick Manufacturing Group, Department of Engineering).
Mark’s research focuses on international political aspects of national differences in science and innovation capability and on the potential for using insights from engineering management and finance to inform how uncertainty and risk are managed in public policy settings.
Government advisory committee roles include the Safeguarding Australia expert sub-committee of the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) in 2005 and the Research Quality Framework (RQF) Metrics Working Group in 2006.
Dr Mehdi Moussavi
General Manager — Nanomaterials Technology Division
CEA – LITEN
Mehdi Moussavi received his PhD in chemistry from University of Strasbourg in 1986. He joined a temporary position with the Centre National de Recherches Scientifique (CNRS) in 1987 with a special interest on the development of new organo-metallic radicals suitable for gas sensors within a joint development program with CEA (French Atomic Energy Commission) in Grenoble.
In 1989, he joined the CEA-LETI in a permanent position in charge of the development of free radicals for gas and magnetic sensors.
During the period of 1990 and 1994, he managed 2 major collaborative research programs with Princeton University, University of Urbana Champaign (USA) and Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal (Canada). These collaborations results have been published in joint publications in the Journal of American Chemical Society and the National Academy of Science USA proceedings.
In 1995, he obtained the “Diplome d’Habilitation à Diriger les Recherches” from the University of Grenoble. In 1996, he joined the Microelectronics Department of LETI in charge of process development for CVD deposition of Al. He became the technology deputy manager of the Microelectronics department in 1998.
Mehdi Moussavi joined Applied Materials in California USA as director of the back end of the line integration in February 2000.
In December 2002 Mehdi Moussavi returned to France to become the Nanotec 300 Program Manager. His current position is Nanomaterials Technology Division General Manager with CEA. Mehdi Moussavi is the author of more than 20 reviewed papers as well as 12 international patents.
Dr Selena Ng
Nuclear Business Development Manager
Areva
Dr Selena Ng is currently responsible for developing AREVA’s nuclear activities in Australia. Prior to returning to Australia in 2007, she spent a number of years at AREVA’s headquarters in Paris, dealing with the recycling of used nuclear fuel and waste management, and issues such as nuclear non-proliferation, a topic about which she has coauthored and presented papers at various international forums. Selena holds a PhD in theoretical physics from the University of Cambridge and a diploma in management from the Collège des Ingénieurs.
Dr John Söderbaum
Executive Director
ACIL Tasman
Dr John Söderbaum is the Executive Director of ACIL Tasman’s Canberra office. John has over 28 years of experience in the energy and environment sector within government, the private sector and international organisations. He has worked on a wide range of issues related to the supply and use of energy including climate change.
Prior to re-joining ACIL Tasman he was the Science and Technology Adviser within the Energy and Environment Division of the Department of Resources Energy and Tourism. Before then he worked as a senior consultant for seven years and at the International Energy Agency for six years.
A common theme in much of his work has been working at the interface between the public, private and academic sectors. He was the co-chair of the International Energy Agency’s Ad Hoc Group on Science and Energy Technologies and a member of the Steering Committees for two recent Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE) studies.
Dr Söderbaum has a first class honours degree in Science from the University of WA and a doctorate from the Australian National University.
Mr Jérôme Sudres
Australia & Pacific Development Manager
VERGNET
Jérôme Sudres is the manager of the Australia and pacific region for VERGNET group. Prior to assuming his current role, Jérôme was the manager of VERGNET pacific branch in New Caledonia which he created in 2001. Jérôme holds two Bachelor’s degrees in mechanical and production from the French National Engineering School (Tarbes, France) and Strathclyde University (Glasgow, Scotland). He has been working for the wind energy industry for over 15 years.
Mr Raymond KW Tham
R&D Business Development Manager,Department of Medical Biotechnology
Flinders University
Raymond is a Business Development Manager who manages major industry co-funded bids and projects, strategic initiatives and commercialisation and marketing of technologies. In the past year, he spearheaded a multilateral Memorandum of Understanding in Water Technologies between Deltares Netherlands, United Water International (Veolia Water Australia), Public Utilities Board Singapore, National University of Singapore and Flinders University, and also co-led the setting up of the Flinders BREnergy Centre and the Marine Bioprocessing and Bioproducts Centre. He has also been a bid founder and leader of a $76m CRC bid, and been the organiser and chair of international industry biofuel conferences and workshops in the Asia-Pacific region, participating also in state and federal policy development in Australia.
Prof Michel Thibier
Scientific Counselor
Embassy of France
Professor Michel Thibier is currently the Senior Scientific Counselor at the Embassy of France to Australia – Canberra. Michel Thibier is Docteur Vétérinaire (DVM), Docteur ès Sciences (University of Paris, Pierre et Marie Curie). He is Professor at the AgroParis Tech (former: Institut National Agronomique Paris Grignon) — Department of Animal Sciences.
Before joining his post in Canberra, he was a member of the Cabinet of Monsieur le Ministre de l’Agriculture et de la Pêche, Dominique Bussereau as a chargé de mission with particular attention to the three Roman UN agencies: FAO, WFP and IFAD.
He was elected in 2006, President of the Committee of the United Nations for Food Security (FAO-Rome), chairs the Codex alimentarius committee on general principles and is a member of different panels of experts in biotechnology in Inter Governmental Organizations such as the World Animal Health Organization (OIE) or Non Governmental International Organizations such as the International Embryo Transfer Society.
Professor Michel Thibier has previously been for three years and a half, Director General of Education and Research at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (2002-2006). He is Chevalier de l’Ordre National de la Légion d ‘Honneur et Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite.
Mr Xiangdong Yao
Senior Research Fellow
University of Queensland
Dr Yao is currently a Senior Research Fellow and experienced in novel metallic materials design and development, computational modeling, and production of non-equilibrium materials by both mechanical grinding and rapid solidification with nano-structural metallic materials, especially nanostructured light metal materials for clean and sustainable energy applications. He has published more than 80 papers in peer-reviewed journals (including JACS, JPCB, APL, JNN, JMR, Angew. Chem., Adv Mater. etc) and 30 in conference proceedings. He is also very successful in competitive grants including 5 ARC grants and is the recipient of prestigious ARC Postdoctoral Fellowship (2006-2008) and Australian Research Fellowship (2009-2013).
