CSIRO Chief Scientist to leave for UNSW role

Professor Bronwyn Fox, a materials scientist and engineer and the current Chief Scientist at CSIRO, will begin as UNSW’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research & Enterprise in mid-July.

According to a statement from the university on Monday, the hire follows an “extensive global search” and will see Fox responsible for driving the “strategic direction in research, innovation and enterprise” at UNSW.

“Prof. Fox is a global leader in advanced manufacturing, materials science and Industry 4.0 (smart technologies),” said UNSW Sydney Vice-Chancellor, Professor Attila Brungs, in a statement. 

“Her priorities at CSIRO have been broad and varied, including robotics and automation, digitalisation, data spaces, interoperability, quantum technologies, climate and energy.

“She also led a large-scale recruitment campaign to promote diversity in STEM, the development of the organisation’s new Future Science and Technology Plan and had the honour of being the executive sponsor for the Indigenous Science and Engagement team.”

Fox will move on from a role “with responsibility for advocacy and oversight of science among [CSIRO’s] 6200 employees and 2000 affiliates” and take over from Professor Merlin Crossley, the current acting DVCR&E at UNSW.

“UNSW is recognised as one of Australia’s premier universities for the quality and impact of its research, and also for being the nation’s most entrepreneurial tertiary institution,” she said.

“I am also excited to contribute to the continued success of UNSW’s world-renowned research, from climate change to quantum computing, to building smarter cities to health systems.”

Prior to beginning in the Chief Scientist role at CSIRO in October 2021, Fox was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research & Enterprise) at Swinburne University of Technology, and previously held roles including inaugural Director at Swinburne’s Factory of the Future and Research Director of Deakin University’s Carbon Nexus facility, where she was one of the founders.

Picture: credit UNSW/Melissa Martin Photography

Further reading

Decade anniversary celebrations for Deakin’s Carbon Nexus facility

Bronwyn Fox to head national robotics advisory body

Swinburne’s Professor Bronwyn Fox named as incoming CSIRO Chief Scientist