Right across the APAC Network we engage with Asia-Pacific’s brightest minds, its boldest thinkers and its genuine changemakers.
These globally-acclaimed thought-leaders are sharing their expertise and collaborating to help shape the optimal way forward for our region - and our planet - during the most critical period in human history.
Dr Tony Matthews
Tony is an award-winning Urban and Environmental Planner with portfolios in academia, practice and the media.
Prof. Lan Snell
Lan is Head of School and Dean at University of Southern Queensland and has 20+ years leadership experience across both academia and industry.
Prof. Peter Newman
Peter is a John Curtin Distinguished Professor in Sustainability at Curtin University and is globally recognised in urban planning and transport.
Prof. Céline d'Orgeville
Professor Céline d’Orgeville is the Australian National University Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (AITC) Deputy Director.
Prof. Raina MacIntyre
Raina is Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow and Head of the Biosecurity Program at the Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney.
Prof. Veena Sahajwalla Veena is Scientia Professor of Materials Science and Director of the Sustainable Materials Research & Technology Centre (SMaRT) at UNSW Sydney.
Dr Roberto Aguilera
Roberto is an Energy Economist at Curtin University’s Oil and Gas Innovation Centre and the author of The Price of Oil.
Prof. Tama Leaver
Tama is an Internet Studies Expert at Curtin University, whose research interests include children’s data, privacy and rights in an online world.
Dr Cassandra Steer
Cassandra is a Mission Specialist with the Australian National University (ANU) Institute of Space (InSpace), and a Senior Lecturer at the College of Law.
Dr Tess Newton Cain
Tess is the Project Lead for the Pacific Hub at the Griffith Asia Institute and has 25 years of experience working in the Pacific Islands region.
Prof. Matthew Burke
Matthew is Deputy Director of the Cities Research Institute at Griffith University and is Griffith's Chair Professor for two transport research collaborations.
Dr Anne Cullen
Anne is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Business Strategy and Innovation at Griffith University and has never regretted choosing Asia as an area of academic and personal interest.
Prof. Paul Burke
Paul is an economist and Head of the Arndt-Corden Department of Economics, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University (ANU).
Dr Catherine Ball
Catherine is an Associate Professor at the Australian National University (ANU) and a champion of diversity and inclusion.
Prof. John Mavrogenes
John is a Professor of Economic Geology teaching undergraduates at the Australian National University (ANU) and working in the experimental petrology group.
Dr Mark Diesendorf
Mark is an Honorary Associate Professor in Environment and Society at UNSW Sydney, and a senior editor for energy at the international journal, Global Sustainability.
Prof. Mattheos Santamouris
Mattheos Santamouris is a Scientia Distinguished Professor of High-Performance Architecture at UNSW whose research focuses on energy conservation in high-performance architecture.
Prof. Greg Leslie
Greg is Director of the UNSW Global Water Institute and a professor in the School of Chemical Engineering at UNSW Sydney.
Prof. Chris Pettit
Chris is Director of the City Futures Research Centre, inaugural Professor of Urban Science at UNSW Sydney, and his expertise is in the convergence of city planning and digital technologies.
Dr Xiaoqi Feng
Xiaoqi is Associate Professor of Urban Health and Environment in the UNSW Sydney School of Population Health and an Honorary Professorial Fellow at the George Institute for Global Health.
Prof. John Fletcher
John is Professor of Energy Systems and Director of the Digital Grid Futures Institute at UNSW Sydney, and specialises in power electronics, electrical machine drives, and electric propulsion.
Prof. Bill Randolph
Bill is Professor of the City Futures Research Centre, where he specialises in housing policy, housing markets and affordability, urban renewal and metropolitan planning policy issues.
Prof. Jonti Horner
Jonti is an astronomer and astrobiologist based at the University of Southern Queensland who is a passionate science communicator and teacher.
Prof. David Buttsworth
David is a rocket scientist the University of Southern Queensland working on spacecraft heat shields and scramjet propulsions systems with the potential to change the way we launch satellites.
Prof. Paul Salmon
Paul is the creator and Director of the Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
Dr Jacqueline Burgess
Jacqueline joined the School of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the Sunshine Coast as Lecturer in International Business in February 2020.
Dr Shannon Brincat
Shannon is a Senior Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the University of the Sunshine Coast and specialises in Critical International Relations Theory.
Dr Gregor Mews
Gregor is a Lecturer in Urban Design and Town Planning at the University of the Sunshine Coast and has led local, national and international projects in the nexus urban design and health.
Dr Christian Rinke
Christian is a Senior Lecturer at the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics and his research interests include the phylogeny, taxonomy and ecology of free living and symbiotic bacteria and archaea.
Dr Kelvin Tan
Kelvin is an Associate Professor in Finance at The University of Queensland Business School who has earned a reputation as a researcher and expert in corporate finance.
Dr Dorina Pojani
Dorina has been a Senior Lecturer in Urban Planning at the University of Queensland since 2017 and her research interests encompass built environment topics (urban design, transport, and housing).
Prof. Jason Byrne
Jason is Professor of Human Geography and Planning at the University of Tasmania. He researches urban greenspace, climate change adaptation, and environmental inequality.
Greg Vann
Greg is a Director Planning at the national city making firm Ethos Urban and qualified in planning and economics. He has worked with communities across the nation on making the most of their place in the world.
Dr Deborah Kay Elms
Deborah is the Founder and Executive Director of the Asian Trade Centre and the President of the Asia Business Trade Association.
Mark Swinnerton
Mark is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Green Gravity, an innovative clean technologies start-up working on transforming historic mining legacies into green and vibrant providers of renewable energy.
Dr Namrata Goswami
Namrata is an Independent Scholar on Space Policy and Great Power Politics and teaches at the Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University.
Thomas Dorame
Thomas is Senior Vice President of Symposium 365, the premier source for media and events in the global space ecosystem, offering authoritative news and information and venues for networking and conducting business.
Dr Jared Greenville
Jared joined the ABARES in 2018 and is currently Executive Director, leading the Agricultural Forecasting and Trade Branch.
Mike Kalms
Mike is Partner in Charge, Customer & Operations | Lead Partner, Defence & Space at KPMG, Australia's national Customer & Operations Advisory group with more than 600 partners and expert consultants.
Till Weidner
Till is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Sustainable Process Systems Engineering Lab at ETH Zurich, evaluating the sustainability of green technologies and energy systems.
Sean King
Sean joined Park Strategies in 2006 and is currently Senior Vice President. His focus is Asia, generating business and supporting clients in the region.
Randy Mulyanto
Randy is a Freelance Journalist currently covering Indonesia and Timor-Leste for media titles in Asia and beyond.
Prof. Justin Marshall
Justin is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow in the Queensland Brain Institute at The University of Queensland and leads the Sensory Neurobiology Group (Marshall Lab).
Dr Luke Kirke Luke has more than 25 years’ experience through various roles with Australia’s most reputable organisations working across sectors including infrastructure, property and international capital markets.
Prof. Renate Egan
Renate Egan leads UNSW Sydney's activity in the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics and is Deputy Head of School (Engagement) for Solar PV and Renewable Energy Engineering.
Prof. Matthew England Matthew is Scientia Professor of Ocean & Climate Dynamics at the UNSW Sydney Climate Change Research Centre and Deputy Director of the ARC Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science.
Prof. Kate Trinajstic
Kate's expertise primarily lies in vertebrate palaeontology. Her current work focuses on how the early vertebrates evolved novel morphology such as an internal skeleton and complex musculature.
Prof. Ben Newell Ben Newell is Professor of Cognitive Psychology and Deputy Head of the School of Psychology at UNSW Sydney.
Dr. Donna Ferretti Donna Ferretti is an urban and regional planner with over 35 years’ experience working in state and local government, the private sector and as an academic teaching planning at the University of South Australia.
Prof. Chris Kirkland Chris leads the Timescales of Mineral Systems Group based at Curtin University in Perth.
Dr Sofia Samper Carro Dr Sofia Samper Carro is a post-doctoral researcher at the Australian National University College of Asia and the Pacific.
Prof. Matt Trau Matt is a 2022 ARC Australian Laureate Fellow and Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Centre for Personalised Nanomedicine at the University of Queensland.
Dr Lee Morgenbesser
Lee is a Senior Lecturer with the School of Government and International Relations at Griffith University, and a regular contributor to international media outlets.
Dr Caroline Riot Caroline is the Director, Games Partnerships and Engagement and is leading Griffith University's strategy for the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Kate Meyrick
Kate is the Director of Urbis and is undertaking her PhD programme about the future of Australian cities and communities at Curtin University’s School of Design and Built Environment.
Prof. Rosalind Archer
Rosalind is the Head of the School of Engineering and Built Environment at Griffith University and she holds a PhD Engineering from Stanford University.
Prof. Nick Barter Nick Barter is a Professor of Strategy and Sustainability at Griffith University.
Dr. Ben Rich Ben is a Senior Lecturer in history and international relations and is the co-director of the Curtin Extremism Research Network based at Curtin University in Perth.
Prof. Steven Tingay John Curtin Distinguished Professor Steven Tingay is an astrophysicist. He is Executive Director of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA) at Curtin University in Perth.
Dr Caroline Knight
Caroline is an organisational psychologist and Research Fellow at Curtin University’s Future of Work Institute.