Professor Janet Nelson
Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation
University of Newcastle
Date: Tuesday, 27 October 2020, 5.15pm AEDT
Venue: Zoom Webinar
Video presentation: YouTube video
This event was presented jointly with the University of Newcastle as part of its Looking Ahead series.
Summary: In today’s society, we face unprecedented change and complex global challenges. This means we need to think and work differently, and our agility, responsiveness, and collaborative experimentation as a society will be critical to sustainability and success – not only for university and our regional economies, but for our wider communities.
Join Professor Janet Nelson as she examines how researchers collaborate with community partners to leverage the unique history of our region – and increase our research and academic excellence – to solve some of our most wicked problems.
Janet and her panel of experts will discuss some of the current opportunities and challenges our researchers are facing and seeking to solve: how do we bring the world closer to a sustainable future? How do we support transition and uptake of natural resources in the development of new energy technologies?
The University of Newcastle is looking ahead and focusing on the solutions we need to build for our regions. We are empowered by our reputation for outstanding research and collaboration, underpinned by our values of excellence, equity, sustainability and engagement in everything we do. With our fellow citizens we can navigate through this unique time. The University of Newcastle is dedicated to our partnerships with regions as we thrive into our shared future.
Professor Janet Nelson joined the University of Newcastle in March 2020. In her role, she serves as the university’s chief research officer with responsibilities for the diverse and comprehensive research enterprise. She will draw on her extensive experience in scientific research, business development and research administration to further enhance the university’s reputation for research excellence, engagement and impact.
Professor Nelson has more than 30 years of experience in scientific research, scientific review, research portfolio administration, complex and multidisciplinary program and project management, business development, and science policy implementation.
Prior to moving to Australia, she was the Vice President for Research and Economic Development at the University of Idaho in the United States. Other previous roles include Associate Vice-Chancellor of Research Development at the University of Tennessee, Director of Business Development for URS Corporation (now AECOM), Director at a Biotechnology Industry Organisation in Washington, D.C., and Deputy Chief and Scientific Review Officer at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland.
Professor Nelson holds a PhD in Chemistry from California Institute of Technology and a BA in Chemistry from Carleton College, Minnesota. She is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an Honorary Member of the National Academy of Inventors.