Emerging Leaders Network

The Network provides members with an opportunity to develop their leadership capacity, work and learn alongside established scholars and industry personnel within the ATSE Fellowship, access mentorship from the ATSE Fellowship and contribute their perspectives to Australia’s big debates.

They are engaged in ATSE’s policy work to help Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. Through participating in the Network, members also have the opportunity to expand their professional networks across the breadth of Australian STEM leadership.

Emerging Leaders Network members

Agriculture and Food Forum 

• Dr Emiliana Weiss, Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Immuno-engineering at CSIRO 
• Dr Vivien Rolland, Senior Research Scientist & Team Leader at CSIRO  

Digital Futures Forum   

• Dr Erik Buchholz, Postdoctoral Researcher at UNSW 
• Jack Naylor, PhD Candidate at the University of Sydney 

Education Forum   

• Olivia Jessop, Research Scientist at Boeing Research and Technology 
• Dr Vivian Tran, Postdoctoral Fellow at La Trobe University 

Energy Forum   

• Sabarikirishwaram Ponnambalam, PhD Fellow at Griffith University  
• Thomas Gao, Senior Policy Manager at the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer 

Health and Medical Technology Forum  

• Dr Elahe Abdi, Robotics Engineer and Senior Lecturer at Monash University  
• Dr Jiao Jiao Li, Biomedical Engineer and Senior Lecturer at UTS 

Industry and Innovation Forum   

• Associate Professor Amie Hayley, Associate Professor of Research at Swinburne 
• Dr Emily Finch, Microscopy Group Manager at ANSTO's Australian Synchrotron 

Infrastructure Forum  

• Colin Sheldon, Asset Management & Performance Manager at Aurecon 
• Mehreen Ashraf, Senior Project Officer, Net Zero and Sustainability at NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water  

International Strategy Group   

• Dr Binod Aryal, Deputy Director at the Australian Government 
• Greta Stephensen, Aerospace Engineer at BAE Systems 

Mineral Resources Forum   

• Dr Armineh Hassanvand, Senior Research Engineer at Orica 
• Nadia Testamanti, Senior Professional at Fortescue 

Water Forum   

• Dr Derek Hao, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at RMIT 
• Dr Huan Liu, Lecturer at the University of Western Australia 

2025 ATSE Fellow mentors

• Dr Angeline Achariya FTSE 
• Dr Carrie Hillyard AM FTSE FAICD 
• Professor Chamindie Punyadeera FTSE 
• Professor Iven Mareels FTSE 
• Professor Joanna Batstone FTSE  
• Emeritus Professor Kaye Basford AM FTSE 
• Professor Michelle Colgrave FTSE 
• Professor Peter McAree FTSE 
• Emeritus Professor Rocky De Nys FTSE     
• Professor Sally McArthur FTSE 
• Professor Xiaojing Hao FTSE FAA