Office of the Chief Scientist (Australia)
Encyclopedia
The Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) is part of Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research (DIISR). Its primary responsibilities are to support the Chief Scientist and the Prime Minister
's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC
).
on scientific and technological issues.
The Chief Scientist chairs the Research Quality Framework
Development Advisory Grouphttp://www.dest.gov.au/Ministers/Media/Bishop/2006/03/B001280306.asp, the National Research Priorities Standing Committeehttp://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/research_sector/policies_issues_reviews/key_issues/national_research_priorities/national_research_priorities_standing_committee.htm and is a member of other key Government committees http://www.chiefscientist.dest.gov.au/Ongoing_activities_role.htm:
on 18 December 1997.
Prior to 1997, the council was known as the Prime Minister's Science and Engineering Council (PMSEC), and had 15 meetings from 6 October 1989 to 10 December 1997. It was established by Ralph Slatyer
, the first Chief Scientist.
The Chief Scientist holds the position of Executive Officer to the PMSEIC.
The Council has in the past met to discuss:
Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC
PMSEIC
The Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council is the Australian government's principal source of advice on science, engineering, and innovation issues, as well as relevant aspects of education and training...
).
Chief Scientist
The Chief Scientist is responsible for advising the Government of AustraliaGovernment of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a federal constitutional monarchy under a parliamentary democracy. The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901 as a result of an agreement among six self-governing British colonies, which became the six states...
on scientific and technological issues.
The Chief Scientist chairs the Research Quality Framework
Research Quality Framework
Research Quality Framework was a component of Backing Australia's Ability, an initiative of the Australian Government to formulate a best practice framework for assessing research quality and the impact of research, and ensure that public funding was being invested in research which would deliver...
Development Advisory Grouphttp://www.dest.gov.au/Ministers/Media/Bishop/2006/03/B001280306.asp, the National Research Priorities Standing Committeehttp://www.dest.gov.au/sectors/research_sector/policies_issues_reviews/key_issues/national_research_priorities/national_research_priorities_standing_committee.htm and is a member of other key Government committees http://www.chiefscientist.dest.gov.au/Ongoing_activities_role.htm:
- Coordination Committee on Science and Technology
- Prime Minister's Science Prizes Committee
- Cooperative Research Centres Committee
- Publicly Funded Research Agencies Committee
- Commonwealth, State and Territory Advisory Council on Innovation
- National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy Committee http://ncris.innovation.gov.au/DEVELOPMENT/Pages/Committee.aspx
Chief Scientists
- 1989–1992: Ralph SlatyerRalph SlatyerRalph Owen Slatyer AC, FAA is an Australian ecologist, who was the first Chief Scientist of Australia from 1989 to 1992.He was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1929, and was educated at Perth Modern School and Wesley College, Perth, then the University of Western Australia from which he...
- 1992–1996 : Michael PitmanMichael PitmanMichael George Pitman OBE was an English-born Australian biologist, who was Chief Scientist of Australia from 1992 to 1996...
- November 1996–1999: John StockerJohn Stocker (scientist)John Wilcox Stocker AO is an Australian immunologist and the former Chairman of the Board of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation , the national government body for scientific research in Australia...
, part-time - May 1999 – May 2005 : Robin BatterhamRobin BatterhamRobin John Batterham AO is an Australian scientist specialising in chemical engineering. He was the Chief Scientist of Australia from 1999 to 2006....
, part-time - 2006–2008: Jim PeacockJim PeacockWilliam James Peacock AC was Chief Scientist of Australia , President of the Australian Academy of Science and Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry ....
, part-time - 2008–2011: Penny SackettPenny SackettPenny Diane Sackett is an American-born Australian astronomer and former director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University...
, full-time. - 2011 – present: Ian ChubbIan ChubbIan William Chubb, AC is the Chief Scientist of Australia. He has held this post since 2011. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University from 2001 to 2011, and president of the International Alliance of Research Universities from 2006 to 2009...
Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council
The Office of the Chief Scientist provides secretariat services to the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC), announced by John HowardJohn Howard
John Winston Howard AC, SSI, was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia, from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He was the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
on 18 December 1997.
Prior to 1997, the council was known as the Prime Minister's Science and Engineering Council (PMSEC), and had 15 meetings from 6 October 1989 to 10 December 1997. It was established by Ralph Slatyer
Ralph Slatyer
Ralph Owen Slatyer AC, FAA is an Australian ecologist, who was the first Chief Scientist of Australia from 1989 to 1992.He was born in Perth, Western Australia in 1929, and was educated at Perth Modern School and Wesley College, Perth, then the University of Western Australia from which he...
, the first Chief Scientist.
The Chief Scientist holds the position of Executive Officer to the PMSEIC.
Council Membership
, the council membership was:- Prime MinisterPrime Minister of AustraliaThe Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Australia is the highest minister of the Crown, leader of the Cabinet and Head of Her Majesty's Australian Government, holding office on commission from the Governor-General of Australia. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful...
Hon Julia GillardJulia GillardJulia Eileen Gillard is the 27th and current Prime Minister of Australia, in office since June 2010.Gillard was born in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales and migrated with her family to Adelaide, Australia in 1966, attending Mitcham Demonstration School and Unley High School. In 1982 Gillard moved...
(Chair) - Deputy PM and Treasurer, the Hon Wayne SwanWayne SwanWayne Maxwell Swan is the Deputy Prime Minister of Australia and an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1993 to 1996, and then re elected in 1998 till today , representing the Division of Lilley, QLD...
(Deputy Chair) - Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, the Hon Kim CarrKim CarrKim John Carr is an Australian politician. He has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate since April 1993, representing the state of Victoria. He was elected to the Senate at the March 1993 election, and was due to take his seat on 1 July...
- Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, the Hon Daryl WilliamsDaryl WilliamsDaryl Robert Williams AM QC , Australianpolitician, was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1993 to October 2004, representing the Division of Tangney, Western Australia.-Biography:...
AM QC - Minister for the Environment and Heritage, the Hon Dr David Kemp
- Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the Hon Warren TrussWarren TrussWarren Errol Truss , Australian politician, is the current leader of the National Party of Australia in the Parliament of Australia. He has held the House of Representatives seat of Wide Bay since the 1990 election...
- Minister for Health and Ageing, the Hon Tony AbbottTony AbbottAnthony John "Tony" Abbott is the Leader of the Opposition in the Australian House of Representatives and federal leader of the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott has represented the seat of Warringah since the 1994 by-election...
- Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources, the Hon Ian MacfarlaneIan Macfarlane (politician)Ian Elgin Macfarlane , is an Australian politician. He was elected as a member of the Australian House of Representatives in October 1998, representing the Division of Groom, Queensland for the Liberal National Party...
Ex-officio members
- Chief Scientist, Ian ChubbIan ChubbIan William Chubb, AC is the Chief Scientist of Australia. He has held this post since 2011. He was also the Vice-Chancellor of the Australian National University from 2001 to 2011, and president of the International Alliance of Research Universities from 2006 to 2009...
- President of the Australian Academy of ScienceAustralian Academy of ScienceThe Australian Academy of Science was founded in 1954 by a group of distinguished Australians, including Australian Fellows of the Royal Society of London. The first president was Sir Mark Oliphant. The Academy is modelled after the Royal Society and operates under a Royal Charter; as such it is...
, Dr Jim PeacockJim PeacockWilliam James Peacock AC was Chief Scientist of Australia , President of the Australian Academy of Science and Chief of CSIRO Plant Industry ....
AC - President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and EngineeringAustralian Academy of Technological Sciences and EngineeringThe Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is an independent non-government organization dedicated to the promotion in Australia of scientific and engineering knowledge to practical purposes. Professor Robin Batterham is the current President of ATSE....
, Dr John ZillmanJohn ZillmanJohn W. Zillman AO is an Australian meteorologist, and former President of the World Meteorological Organization and the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering . He was born and was educated in Brisbane, Queensland...
AO - President of the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, Professor Deryck Schreuder
- President of the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological SocietiesFederation of Australian Scientific and Technological SocietiesThe Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies represent the interests of about 68,000 Australian scientists and technologists, and promotes their views on a wide range of policy issues to Government, industry and the community....
, Professor Snow Barlow - Chief Executive of CSIRO, Dr Geoff Garrett
- Chair of the Australian Research CouncilAustralian Research CouncilThe Australian Research Council is the Australian Government’s main agency for allocating research funding to academics and researchers in Australian universities. Its mission is to advance Australia’s capacity to undertake research that brings economic, social and cultural benefit to the...
, Mr MA (Tim) Besley AC - Chairman of the National Health and Medical Research CouncilNational Health and Medical Research CouncilThe National Health and Medical Research Council is Australia's peak funding body for medical research, with a budget of roughly 700 million dollars a year...
, Professor John ShineJohn ShineProfessor John Shine AO is an Australian biochemist; he discovered the nucleotide sequence, called the Shine-Dalgarno sequence, necessary for the initiation of bacterial protein synthesis. He currently directs the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in Sydney, Australia.Shine was born in Brisbane...
AO - Business Council of AustraliaBusiness Council of AustraliaThe Business Council of Australia represents the chief executives of approximately 100 large Australian corporations. It was formed in 1983 by the merger of the Business Roundtable - a spin-off of the Committee for Economic Development of Australia - and the Australian Industry Development...
, represented by Mr Hutch Ranck - President of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and IndustryAustralian Chamber of Commerce and IndustryThe Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been the peak council of Australian business associations for 105 years and traces its heritage back to Australia’s first chamber of commerce in 1826.Its motto is “Leading Australian Business.”...
, Mr David Gray - President of The Institution of Engineers, Australia, Dr Martin ColeMartin ColeMartin Samuel Cole is a British actor who began his career early as a child growing up in Cardiff, Wales. His first television role was at the age of 11, playing in Sudz on ITV...
- Chair of the Industry R&D Board, Mr David Miles
- 2003 Prime Minister’s Prize for Science winner: Professor Jacques MillerJacques MillerJacques Francis Albert Pierre Miller AC FRS is a distinguished research scientist. He is famous for having discovered the function of the thymus and for the identification, in mammalian species of the two major subsets of lymphocytes and their function.-Early life:Miller was born on 2 April 1931,...
AC - Chief Defence Scientist, Defence Science and Technology OrganisationDefence Science and Technology OrganisationThe Defence Science and Technology Organisation is a branch of the Australian Department of Defence which researches and develops technologies for use in the Australian defence industry....
, Dr Roger Lough
Members appointed in a personal capacity
- Professor Fiona StanleyFiona StanleyFiona Stanley, AC is an Australian epidemiologist noted for her public health work, and her research into child and maternal health, and birth disorders such as cerebral palsy.-Life:...
AC, Director, TVW Telethon Institute for Child Health ResearchTelethon Institute for Child Health ResearchEstablished in 1990 by former Australian of the Year Professor Fiona Stanley, the Telethon Institute of Child Health Research in Western Australia is a multidisciplinary research centre with more than 500 staff, post-graduate students and visiting scholars, working collaboratively to improve the... - Professor Peter Høj, Director, Australian Wine Research InstituteAustralian Wine Research InstituteThe Australian Wine Research Institute , established in 1955, is owned by the country’s wine industry and is funded by grape growers and wineries with matching funds from the federal government...
- Dr Deborah RathjenDeborah RathjenDr. Deborah Rathjen is the head of Bionomics Incorporated. She specializes in inflammation and cell biology.Bionomics Corporation is based in Thebarton, Adelaide. She is significant in the sense that she started off with a virtual company and has turned Bionomics into a notable...
, CEO and Managing Director, Bionomics Limited - Dr Leanna Read, Managing Director, TGR Biosciences Ltd
- Professor Peter Dawkins, Director, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, University of MelbourneUniversity of MelbourneThe University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
Meetings
The council usually holds two meetings held each year, facilitated and advised by the OCS. In 2003, the council only met once. The OCS undertakes the establishment and support for the Council's ad-hoc working groups.The Council has in the past met to discuss:
- emerging areas of science
- nanotechnologyNanotechnologyNanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
- nanotechnology
- important strategic interests where science plays a role
- AntarcticAntarcticThe Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
science - deforestationDeforestationDeforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
- effects of brain disorders
- premature deathDeathDeath is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
- environmentNatural environmentThe natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
- Antarctic
- growing technology based small and medium enterpriseSmall and medium enterpriseSmall and medium enterprises or small and medium-sized enterprises are companies whose headcount or turnover falls below certain limits.The abbreviation "SME" occurs commonly...
s
Past members
Recipients of the Prime Minister's Prize for Science, previously known as The Australia Prize becomes a member of the Council for the following year.- Malcom McIntosh (1945–2000), CSIRO Chief Executive
- Norman McCann (−2002), chairman and managing director in Australia and New Zealand for Hewlett-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...