Symposium program

Speakers

Dr John Wright
Setting the scene: What is the hydrogen economy?

Dr George Crabtree
The two hydrogen economies

Professor Cameron Kepert
Hydrogen storage in nanoporous materials

Dr Sukhvinder Badwal
Fuel cells

Professor Andrew Dicks
Advanced nanomaterials for fuel cells

Dr Evan Gray
Hydrogen storage: status and prospects

Dr Ben Hankamer
Solar powered H₂ production from H₂O using engineered green algal cells

Dr Catherine Grégoire Padró
Production of hydrogen

Professor David Trimm
Catalysis and syngas for the production of hydrogen

Dr Wes Stein
Making hydrogen from the Sun

Professor Harry Watson
Hydrogen car prospects

Chairs of sessions

Dr Michael Barber is recognised for his research in statistical mechanics, material science and computational mathematics and has made important contributions to the development of Australian science policy. He is presently CSIRO’s Executive Director for Science Planning and oversees the assessment, development and promotion of scientific excellence for the organisation. On 1 July 2006 he will take up the position of Group Executive for the Information, Manufacturing and Minerals portfolio. His doctorate was in theoretical physics at Cornell University and he was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science for his work in statistical mechanics, particularly the theory of phase transitions. His academic appointments include a position at the Department of Applied Mathematics at the University of New South Wales and visiting appointments at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, University of California in Santa Barbara, USA, as well as at the Department of Physics, University of Washington in Seattle, USA. He was also Professor of Mathematics at the Australian National University and Dean of the Faculty of Science. He has held the position of Pro Vice-Chancellor in the field of Research and Innovation at The University of Western Australia, a post that involved managing the University’s research activities, postgraduate education, industry liaison, intellectual property and commercialisation. He has been a Member of the Australian Research Council (ARC) including periods as chair of the ARC Joint Research Grants and Fellowship Committee and Research Training and Careers Committee.

Professor Leslie Field is Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of New South Wales. His research specialises in the study of chemical compounds containing bonds between carbon and a metal (organometallics), catalysis, and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy. He is the author of four textbooks and numerous scientific papers. He is a recipient of an Organic Chemistry Medal of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 1996. He completed a PhD at the University of Sydney and postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and at Oxford. He has held positions as Deputy Director of the Cooperative Research Centre for Molecular Engineering and Technology and Head of the School of Chemistry at the University of Sydney as well as the Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Science, Deputy Chair of the Academic Board, and Chair of the University Research Committee. He was the Acting Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney before resuming his position as Professor of Organic Chemistry.

Dr Bob Watts consults from time-to-time on technology policy and strategy. Before retirement, he was Chief Scientist and Vice-President Technology for BHP Billiton. In this role, he was responsible for the company’s Technology Development Laboratories in Australia and South Africa and for groups implementing new technologies in several other countries. He developed corporate policy for interactions with educational establishments and external research providers. He was a member of the physical sciences panel of the Australian Research Council. Earlier, he held academic appointments at the University of Melbourne as ICI Masson Professor of Chemistry and Head of School, as well as Chairman of Chemistry. He also held positions as an academic at the University of Washington and the Australian National University. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.