Governance
(click headshot for bio)
Prof. Martina Doblin
Director & CEO, SIMS
On 1st July 2020 Professor Martina Doblin was appointed as the new Director and CEO of SIMS.
Martina is a Professor of Oceanography and leader of the Productive Coasts team at University of Technology Sydney. Her work has focused on research which addresses Australia’s grand challenges of food security, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health, as well as climate variability and change.
Martina has a long association with SIMS and as a highly respected and experienced scientist, is eminently suited to the role. A leader of nationally significant research programs, with a history of many successful collaborations with industry and government, Martina is excited to create new opportunities for SIMS which advance the sustainability of our marine environment.
Prof. Martina Doblin
Director & CEO, SIMS
Brett Fenton
General Manager, SIMS
Brett Fenton is the General Manager of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science.
He is a graduate of the University of Sydney (BSc Hons) where he majored in chemistry and geology, before working with heavy metals in natural systems at UNSW.
In 2000 Brett moved away from a career in environmental science to join a technology start-up where he spent the next 15 years, most of that time as the Chief Operating Officer, before completing a successful sale to a larger ASX listed entity. He then worked as a generalist through a number of C-suite corporate roles.
In late 2022 after reflecting on where he wanted to take his career in a post-covid world facing significant climate change related challenges, he made the decision to leave the corporate world behind and to join a ‘for purpose’ endeavour where he could bring extensive commercial experience to an organisation focussed on environmental conservation and restoration efforts. This sea-change lead him to SIMS in April of 2023.
When Brett isn’t on the clock at SIMS you’ll either find him on a motorbike, or with a guitar or camera in his hands.
Brett Fenton
General Manager, SIMS
Peter Steinberg
Past Director and Continuing Associate
Peter Steinberg is Emeritus Professor of Biology at The University of New South Wales, Sydney. From 2009 – 2020 he was the inaugural Director and CEO of the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. He has 40+ years of experience in a diversity of biological and ecological fields, including kelp biology and ecology, coastal ecology and restoration, and environmental microbiology.
He has been a Fulbright Scholar, a Queen Elizabeth II Fellow and CEO of an ASX listed biotechnology company. He has over 240 publications and 10 patents, including publications in Science, Nature, PNAS and other leading journals, which have been cited over 30, 000 times for an H-index of 90. He has won a number of awards for his work, most recently the 2021 NSW Premiers Prize for Science and Technology (Environmental Biology).
Peter currently sits on a number of company and advisory boards in addition to the SIMS Foundation Board. These include: chairing the Research Advisory Committee for the Marine National Facility, which operates the R/V Investigator, Australia’s main oceanographic research vessel; membership of the NSW Marine Estate Expert Knowledge Panel which advises the NSW Government on management of the NSW Marine Estate, and; as a Director of the start-up incubator and accelerator, Ocean Impact Organisation.
Peter Steinberg
Past Director & Continuing Associate
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The SIMS Board of Directors consists of one representative from each of the four founding universities, the Director/CEO of SIMS, the Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee and two independent directors.
Current Members
Peter Cochrane
Peter chairs the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, the Blue Mountains World Heritage Institute, Australia’s Tropical Herbarium, the Steering Committee of the National Environmental Science Program’s Marine Biodiversity Hub (2015-2021), and the Night Parrot Recovery Team.
He is a director of Earthwatch Australia, the SIMS Foundation, a Councillor of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and its global focal person on oceans, a member of the IUCN Global Green List Committee, and a member of the Marine National Facility National Benefit Assessment Committee.
Peter is a Commissioner with the NSW Independent Planning Commission and an Assistant Commissioner with the NSW Natural Resources Commission.
He retired in 2013 after fourteen years as Director of National Parks for the Australian Government. His career spans thirty years of senior government and private sector experience including university research, policy advice, program delivery, the mining and natural resource sectors, and nature conservation.
He has a BSc and Masters of Public Policy from ANU, is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Resolution Institute, and was appointed as an Adjunct Professor in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science at UNSW in July 2020.
Prof. Martina Doblin
On 1st July 2020 Professor Martina Doblin was appointed as the new Director and CEO of SIMS.
Martina is a Professor of Oceanography and leader of the Productive Coasts team at University of Technology Sydney. Her work has focused on research which addresses Australia’s grand challenges of food security, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health, as well as climate variability and change.
Martina has a long association with SIMS and as a highly respected and experienced scientist, is eminently suited to the role. A leader of nationally significant research programs, with a history of many successful collaborations with industry and government, Martina is excited to create new opportunities for SIMS which advance the sustainability of our marine environment.
Prof. James Wallman
Professor and Dean of Science at UTS, James Wallman is an entomologist with an international reputation in the biology of flies and their forensic application.
James has contributed to science governance at a national level for many years through various leadership roles.
He has received an Australian Learning and Teaching Council Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning for his work in entomology, along with awards in several other forums.
Before his appointment as Dean in January 2021, James was Head of the School of Life Sciences at UTS. He is one of the nation’s few forensic entomologists, and has long been responsible for the forensic entomology casework for multiple Australian jurisdictions.
He has published extensively in top journals, and has also brought his expertise to bear on the public understanding of entomology through extensive media engagement, in which he has explained the important role of flies in the environment and human affairs.
Prof. Jennifer Potts
Jennifer completed her BSc (with First Class Honours and University Medal) then PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Sydney. She was then awarded an NH&MRC C.J. Martin Fellowship for postdoctoral work in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Oxford where she stayed for 13 years.
In 2005 she moved to a 40th Anniversary Readership at the University of York on a five-year British Heart Foundation fellowship; her fellowship was renewed in 2007 and 2012. At York she was appointed as Chair of Molecular Biophysics in the Department of Biology and then Head of Department.
Prof. Emma Johnston
Professor Emma Johnston is a leading authority in marine ecology, is a sustainability and diversity champion and a Chief Author of the Australian State of Environment Report 2021.
Emma has led major research projects for industry, government, the Australian Research Council and the Australian Antarctic Science Program and contributed to the development of international and national research strategies, priorities and plans.
As the past President of Science & Technology Australia (STA), an elected position, she is a highly influential figure in the Australian higher education and research sector.
Prof. Magnus Nydén
Professor Nydén is an elected member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences and brings a wealth of experience on the interface between higher education and industry to the role – most recently as Chief Technology Officer and Public Policy Director at alternative fuel company Liquid Wind and as Global Chief Scientist at multinational specialty chemicals company Nouryon, based in Sweden.
Prior to that, Professor Nydén held roles working for the University of South Australia, initially as Director of the Ian Wark Research Institute, a Centre of Excellence for research into chemistry and physics linking higher education and industry. Latterly he was a Head of Department as part of a joint venture between the University of South Australia and University College London. Before working in Australia, he was a professor at Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Professor Dowton also commended Professor Bernard Mans, who has been acting in the role as Interim Executive Dean since August 2019.
Ian McGill
Director, SIMS Foundation and Director, SIMS
Ian McGill is a corporate lawyer and company director. He was a partner at the law firm Allens for 30 years, including a stint as managing partner of the firm (then known as Allen Allen & Hemsley).
His areas of legal specialisation are corporate governance, telecommunications and media regulation and technology contracts. Ian is an experienced mentor, including mentoring chief executives in the not-for-profit sector through Kilfinan Australia. Ian was also the first graduate in marine science and law at UNSW in 1980.
Prof. Pauline Ross
Professor Pauline Ross is a Professor of Biology and Teaching Principal for Life, Earth and Environmental Science (LEES) at the University of Sydney, a National Teaching Fellow of the Office for Learning and Teaching, investigating the changing nature of the academic role and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy of the UK.
As Teaching Principal for LEES, Pauline is leading the redesign of the Life Sciences curriculum at the University of Sydney. She has held various senior higher education positions involving the redesign of curricula including, Science Teacher Education co-ordinator at Macquarie University, Assistant Associate Dean (Health and Science) and Associate Head of School (Learning and Teaching) at Western Sydney University.
Prof. Lee Williamson
Lee’s role is to provide grantsmanship support to researchers on ARC and other major grant applications.
This includes strategically structuring and positioning the research project and the research team for success.
SCIENTIFIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE
The Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) has senior scientists from all of the institutions associated with SIMS. The four founding universities each have three representatives on the SAC, with all of the other institutions having one representative.
It is the role of the SAC to act as an advisory committee to the Board of Directors regarding all research and educational activities that are undertaken at SIMS. The SAC is responsible for approving all research projects that take place through SIMS and works in conjunction with the General Manager to ensure that the correct equipment and facilities are available.
Current SAC Members
Chair
- Prof. Pauline Ross (University of Sydney)
Deputy Chair
- A/Prof Will Figueira (University of Sydney)
Representatives of Founding Members
- Prof. Maria Byrne (University of Sydney)
- Prof. David Booth (University of Technology, Sydney)
- Prof. Martina Doblin (SIMS)
- Prof. Justin Seymour (University of Technology, Sydney)
- Prof. Rob Harcourt (Macquarie University)
- Prof. Paul Gribben (SIMS Sydney Harbour Research Program)
- Prof. Moninya Roughan (NSW IMOS)
- Prof. Iain Suthers (UNSW Sydney)
- A/Prof. Will Glamour (UNSW Sydney)
- A/Prof. Ana Vila-Concejo (University of Sydney)
- Prof. Jane Williamson (Macquarie University)
- Prof. Alistair Poore (UNSW Sydney)
Representatives of Associate Members
- Prof. Shane Ahyong (Australian Museum)
- Dr. Natalie Moltschaniwskyj (NSW Department of Primary Industries)
- Dr. Tim Pritchard (Office of Environment and Heritage)
Prof. Pauline Ross
Professor Pauline Ross is a Professor of Biology and Teaching Principal for Life, Earth and Environmental Science (LEES) at the University of Sydney, a National Teaching Fellow of the Office for Learning and Teaching, investigating the changing nature of the academic role and a Principal Fellow of the Higher Education Academy of the UK.
As Teaching Principal for LEES she is leading the redesign of the Life Sciences curriculum at the University of Sydney. Professor Ross has held various senior higher education positions involving the redesign of curricula including, Science Teacher Education co-ordinator at Macquarie University, Assistant Associate Dean (Health and Science) and Associate Head of School (Learning and Teaching) at Western Sydney University.
A/Prof. Will Figueira
My research spans a diverse range of topics within the area of fish ecology and fishery dynamics and management. I conduct field and lab studies on the behavior and demographics of reef fishes in tropical and temperate habitats with a strong focus on factors driving local and large scale metapopulation dynamics and how these interact to affect distributional range shifts in response to climate change.
Much of my work is highly quantitative and includes biophysical transport modeling to understand metapopulation connectivity and source-sink dynamics as well as statistical modeling to evaluate factors driving larval supply to coastal reefs from near and off shore oceanographic features. I also conduct research in the area of recreational fishery assessment and management as well as marine park design, monitoring and effectiveness.
I completed my PhD in 2003 at Duke University in the USA and held a post doctoral research position there for 1 year before moving to the University of Technology, Sydney in 2004 to take up a post doctoral position. In 2009 I took up a position at the University of Sydney where I am currently an Associate Professor. I supervise a diverse range of students, post-docs and technicians and publish results in a variety of high impact international peer reviewed journals.
Prof. Maria Byrne
Maria Byrne’s research on evolution of development is globally recognised for key discoveries on how animal body plans evolve, and has greatly enriched our understanding of Australia’s marine biodiversity.
She uses life-history diversity in endemic species uniquely, to discover how developmental change drives speciation. She has advanced knowledge on the important marine phylum Echinodermata, culminating in a definitive textbook and monograph for Australia.
She is also a recognised leader in global change biology, documenting the impacts of ocean acidification and warming on marine invertebrate life stages, revealing the adaptability of marine species that is key to understanding their future prospects.
Prof. David Booth
David Booth is a highly-cited marine researcher whose work over many years has heightened awareness of the impact of anthropogenic forces, such as pollution and climate change, on fisheries.
A Professor of Marine Ecology in the School of Life Sciences at UTS, David has published more than 180 papers about reef-fish ecology, climate change and other anthropogenic impacts on fishes and fisheries, in the Caribbean, Hawaii, and the Great Barrier Reef.
He has spent nearly two decades monitoring the migration of tropical fish down the East Australian Current, past Sydney. David is the Team Leader at the UTS Fish Ecology Lab, which undertakes innovative research of the sustainability of the oceans and fish populations, and records the life histories of fishes on coral reefs and coasts, and in the deep sea and estuaries.
He leads UTS’s research of weedy seadragons, an endemic species of Australian syngnathid that ranges from Port Stephens, NSW to Geraldton in Western Australia, and he is the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) specialist on seadragons.
David is a strong advocate of sustainable fisheries and marine parks, and a supporter of citizen science. He has been a scientific adviser to the ClimateWatch-Atlas of Life collaboration that brings amateur naturalists and scientists together to work on big projects, such as surveying wildlife populations.
He was an ARC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Australian Institute of Marine Science and a Visiting Professor at the University of the Virgin Islands. He has served the research community as President of the Australian Coral Reef Society, and as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences (SIMS).
He has an active postdoctoral and graduate student group, and he collaborates with the NSW Department of Primary Industry, NSW Dept of Environment and Conservation, UTS Microstructural Analysis Unit, Oregon State University, Sydney Opera House, Sea Life Sydney Aquarium, and the University of the Virgin Islands. David is also a regular expert media commentator.
Prof. Martina Doblin
On 1st July 2020 Professor Martina Doblin was appointed as the new Director and CEO of SIMS.
Martina is a Professor of Oceanography and leader of the Productive Coasts team at University of Technology Sydney. Her work has focused on research which addresses Australia’s grand challenges of food security, biodiversity conservation and ecosystem health, as well as climate variability and change.
Martina has a long association with SIMS and as a highly respected and experienced scientist, is eminently suited to the role. A leader of nationally significant research programs, with a history of many successful collaborations with industry and government, Martina is excited to create new opportunities for SIMS which advance the sustainability of our marine environment.
Prof. Justin Seymour
I am the leader of the Ocean Microbiology Group in the Climate Change Cluster (C3) at UTS. The over-arching goal of my research is to understand how the seas smallest inhabitants ultimately control the ecology and biogeochemistry of the Ocean.
My research interests incorporate aquatic microbial ecology and biological oceanography, and my research team tackles the important questions of who are the key microbial populations in different ocean ecosystems, and what they are doing?
To answer these questions we examine the ecology of microbes across a range of marine environments (tropical coral reefs to Antarctica) and a continuum of spatiotemporal scales.
At the ocean-basin scale we investigate how large-scale oceanographic processes (e.g. boundary currents and mesoscale eddies) influence microbial community dynamics and functionality.
At the scale of individual drops of seawater, we consider the behaviours of individual microbes within a patchy chemical seascape.
Finally, we are interested in the relationships (both positive and negative) between microorganisms and marine animals and plants.
Prof. Rob Harcourt
Professor Rob Harcourt lectures in Marine Science and is an expert in marine biology, specialising in marine conservation, marine ecosystems, animal behaviour and ecology.
He leads the Marine Predator Research Group and Australia’s Integrated Marine Observing System Animal Tracking Facility.
He has authored 2 books and over 320 scientific publications. He studies how marine animals respond to human impacts, such as alteration of oceanographic processes due to climate change, marine habitat degradation, shipping and fisheries interactions.
His research has made valuable contributions to conservation of large marine vertebrates including sharks, seals, and whales through drafting species recovery plans for the Federal Government and providing expert comments to state and federal government, NGOs and the United Nations Environment Program.
He is an Expert Witness, Chairs International Committees, sits on Ecological Risk Assessment Technical panels and has authored multiple public submissions.
Prof. Paul Gribben
My interests lie in integrating a diverse range of ecological fields to better understand the resistance and resilience of marine ecosystems to change.
I have published broadly on the processes determining the biodiversity of coastal marine ecosystems and the response of marine communities to some of the most pressing environmental concerns such as pollution and the spread and impacts of invaders.
I also have a background in invertebrate fisheries and aquaculture, and I have collaborated extensively with industry and government on their sustainable development.
I completed my PhD in 2003 at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, before taking up an international Post-Doctoral Fellowship at Centre for Bio-Innovation (CMB), University of New South Wales (UNSW Australia), where I am currently a Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Associate Professor of Marine Ecology.
Prof. Moninya Roughan
Since 2008 I have led the oceanography component of NSW- IMOS, Australia’s ocean observing programme, along the coast of southeastern Australia. I also lead the regional modelling effort in the East Australian Current (EAC).
The primary goal of our team is to make a major contribution to understanding our coastal oceans. We use a combination of oceanographic observations (in-situ, autonomous and remote sensed observations) and numerical models to understand the dynamics of the EAC System and the impact on biological productivity.
We use diverse observational platforms such as current meter and temperature moorings, autonomous underwater gliders, profiling CTDs, HF coastal radar, drifters and boat based measurements.
We analyse the data in combination with numerical models to explain fundamental coastal ocean physical dynamics, and to gain an integrated, quantitative understanding of their impacts on coastal ocean bio-geo-chemical processes.
Increasingly we are investigating model-data assimilation and predictability in the EAC.
Prof. Iain Suthers
Iain Suthers is a Professor in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales and is partly based in Building 19 at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science.
He leads the FAMER lab with Dr. Matt Taylor (DPI-Fisheries), Dr Jason Everett and Dr Nick Payne.
Iain Suthers explores the basis and sustainability of estuarine and coastal ecosystems. His discoveries in the past 5 years concern the effect of rain and nutrients on zooplankton as a measure of water quality, as well as a supply of fish nutrition.
Iain has published over 90 papers and book chapters on a variety of marine subjects that concern fisheries oceanography (including a recent book on plankton).
He completed his PhD in Canada and post-doctoral work in Norway as well as back home in Australia before taking up a lectureship at UNSW in 1991.
A/Prof. William Glamore
Dr William Glamore is an Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow at the Water Research Laboratory in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering. William has a Bachelor degree from the University of Colorado (Boulder) and a Doctorate in Civil/Environmental Engineering. William has been with WRL since 2003 and has managed and undertaken many large studies both domestically and overseas during this time.
His primary fields of interest are related to estuarine hydrodynamics and water quality including restoration of estuarine environments, acid sulphate soils, coastal wetlands, boat wake waves, outfall hydraulics and field testing, and related physical and numerical models.
William is particularly interested in restoring large wetland and riverine systems. His PhD (1999-2003) was the first long-term doctoral study to investigate the implications of restoring tidal flows to wetlands impacted by acid sulphate soils (awarded PhD of the Year at UoW).
A/Prof. Ana Vila Concejo
My career started in Spain, where I did my undergraduate and MSc studying urban estuarine beaches at the University of Vigo; and Portugal, where I completed my PhD at the University of Algarve investigating the short and medium term evolution of tidal inlets in a barrier island system.
Then I moved to Australia and started looking into the morphodynamics of flood-tide deltas in wave-dominated coasts within the framework of an ARC funded linkage project which was based in Port Stephens.
In 2010 I started researching the morphodynamics of sand aprons in reef platforms. In 2011 I was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship to continue the studies in the dynamics of coral sands. I am the Deputy Director of One Tree Island Research Station; between 2012 and 2015 I was the Director.
Prof. Jane Williamson
I am a marine ecologist and fisheries biologist at Macquarie University, where I lead the Marine Ecology Group (MEG).
I have over 30 years of experience assessing the healthy functioning of our oceans and understanding the human-induced challenges they face.
My research group and I have a particular focus on threatened species and biodiversity, and on optimising recreational and commercial fishing practices to maximise the sustainability of species and maintain resilient systems.
I have experience in aquaculture of a diversity of marine species, from barramundi to sea urchins.
I Chair the NSW Fisheries Scientific Committee and sit on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. I am Chair of the Scientific Committee for the 2021 Conference for the Australian Marine Science Association.
I am also a member of the Technical Advisory Panel for Plastic Oceans Australasia and am an editor for the journals Frontiers in Marine Science, Oceans and Remote Sensing.
Prof. Alistair Poore
Professor Alistair Poore is Head of the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences.
He has research interests in ecology and evolutionary biology, with a focus on coastal marine ecosystems.
Prof. Shane Ahyong
Shane’s research interests focus on the phylogeny and systematics of aquatic invertebrates and on aquatic bioinvasions.
He completed his Ph.D. in 2000 at the University of New South Wales, followed by an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Australian Museum.
In 2006, Shane joined the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Wellington, New Zealand, where he managed the Marine Biodiversity and Biosecurity Group and Marine Invasives Taxonomic Service.
In 2010, Shane rejoined the Australian Museum and is currently a Principal Research Scientist and Head of Marine Invertebrates.
Dr. Tim Pritchard
Dr. Tim Pritchard is the Director of the Water Wetlands and Coasts Science Branch in the Office of Environment and Heritage leading a group of about 45 researchers and technicians who provide scientific advice and undertake research in marine and freshwater ecosystems across NSW.
Tim studied at Southampton University (BSc Hon), University of Sydney (MSc) and Waikato University (PhD). Research interests focus on multi-disciplinary studies of marine and coastal systems, building on an initial research interest in coastal oceanography.
Tim contributes as a member of the SIMS Scientific Advisory Committee, the Sydney Harbour Research Program Advisory Committee and the SIMS Coastal Processes and Responses Node of the Adaptation Research Hub.
He was active in the establishment of the NSW Node of the Integrated Marine Observing System and collaborates with various SIMS researchers.
