Willy Zwaenepoel, has started as dean of engineering and IT at the University of Sydney. His appointment, from the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne was announced in December.
Peter Stuckey returns to Monash U, where he will be an IT professor, continuing his work on constraint programming and optimisation problems (sorry, no idea). Professor Stuckey did his undergraduate and PhD degrees from Monash U. He is now at the University of Melbourne.
Patricia Illing from Monash U and Laura McKay from the Peter Doherty Institute are two of the three winners of the first Michelson Prize for Human Immunology and Vaccine Research. Ansuman Satpathy from Stanford is the third.
The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership has five new directors; Beth Blackwood, Renez Lammon, Peter Lind, Mark Mowbray and Donna Pendergast. They join Chair John Hattie and deputy Chris Wardlaw and reappointed directors Jennifer Buckingham, Tony Cook, and Rob Nairn. Outgoing directors are Tania Aspland, Stephen Elder, Trevor Fletcher, Geoffrey Newcombe and Melanie Saba.
Perth chemical engineer Jeannette Roberts joins the board of the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Travis Heeney starts work today as CEO of the Goulburn Ovens Institute of TAFE, (badged as GoTAFE).
Tanya Monro is appointed to SA Premier Steven Marshall’s economic advisory council. Professor Monro is DVC R of the University of South Australia. Bill Spurr, chair of the international student marketing agency, Destination Adelaide, is also appointed.
Christopher Rowe from Austin Health (hon chair at the University of Melbourne) is thefoundation chief investigator of the federal government’s new Australian Dementia Network.
Amanda Kenny is the inaugural Violet Marshman professor of rural health at La Trobe U. The chair is funded from a $3m gift to the university from the VV Marshman Charitable Trust. LT U won the money after a “competitive process.”
University of Melbourne professor, Joy Damousi is elected unopposed as president of the Australian Historical Association. So were all the other nine members of the new executive committee.
Rowan Callick is joining Griffith U’s Asia Institute, where he will “facilitate conversations and build links (with) the business community as an industry fellow.” Mr Callick will continue to contribute to The Australian newspaper, where he is now a journalist. This is a big win for GU, Callick is an outstanding new reporter and an astute analyst of East Asia.