Melbourne

Monash University

The Council delegation began their trip to Australia with a visit to Monash University, introduced by Professor Melissa Miles, who provided a sweeping overview of the institution’s history, scale, and role in Australia’s research ecosystem.

Established in 1958 and now the largest university in the country, Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight universities, which together account for 70 percent of higher education research expenditure and 20 percent of total national research spending. Despite a decline in public research funding, Monash has maintained strong commercialization outcomes, with spin-out companies raising USD $9.8 million in seed funding through initiatives such as Breakthrough Victoria. With seven campuses worldwide—including its first international site in Malaysia, established in 1998—Monash has built a global footprint in research across a broad range of disciplines—from health and materials science—and education.

The delegation then heard from Mariella Smids on the Monash Technology Precinct, Victoria’s largest employment and innovation hub outside Melbourne’s central business district. The precinct integrates universities, research institutes, industry, and government in a coordinated ecosystem designed to drive economic growth, accelerate research commercialization, and attract investment. Through the Monash Precinct Network and international collaborations such as the Global Institute on Innovation Districts, the hub positions itself as a globally competitive innovation cluster.

A tour of the Monash Innovation Labs (MIL) followed, showcasing two core facilities: a student makerspace supporting extracurricular engineering and innovation teams—including electric vehicle racing, lunar and Martian rover projects, and competitive rocketry—and the Advanced Industry 4.0 facility, equipped with robotics, 3D printers, automated production lines, and extensive sensor networks for prototyping and integration projects. The Labs also house startup and company workspaces, such as ElectraLith, a spin-out specializing in direct lithium extraction for battery-grade materials.

A discovery session rounded out the Monash visit, with seven researchers presenting projects aligned with Council priorities.

• Matt Hill – Porous Materials & Membranes: Leads work on platform technologies with broad applications in clean energy and carbon capture. His research supports ElectraLith, a Monash spin-out in the Innovation Labs, in partnership with CSIRO.
• Chris Hutchinson – Metals & Alloys: Sixty percent of his work is industry-driven, spanning lifetime prediction, process optimization, and alloy design. His team runs Woodside’s Monash Innovation Centre and collaborates with Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Group.
• Shonali Krishnaswamy – AI: Highlighted Monash’s contribution to the 2024 Nobel Prize-winning AI methodology and identified emerging frontiers: neuro-symbolic AI, human–AI interaction, and multi-modal generative AI.
• Michael Fuhrer – Semiconductors: Developing topological semiconductors and new transistor designs through the ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET).
• Alexander Simonov – Chemistry for Clean Energy: Designs electrochemical devices for renewable ammonia and hydrogen production, supported by the Renewable Energy Authority. His spin-out produces ammonia-generating cells.
• James Whisstock – Health Research: Twenty-five percent of Australia’s clinical trials pass through Monash. The AI-powered Victorian Heart Hospital functions as both a clinical facility and trial platform. Monash also leads in microRNA research and is building MAVERIC, a major AI-enabled biomedical research infrastructure.
• Larry James – Space Innovation: Draws on experience at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, connecting Monash space research to student robotics and aerospace teams, emphasizing hands-on student engagement.

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)

Photo Credit: CISRO

Front row, left to right: Dr. Katherine Evans, Director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Office of Institutional Strategic Planning; Mr. Tony Tucker, Partnerships & Business Development, CSIRO; Mr. Charles Kiefel AM, Chairman, Australian Advisory Board on Competitiveness; The Hon. Deborah Wince-Smith, President & CEO, Council on Competitiveness; Dr. Doug Hilton, Chief Executive, CSIRO Clayton Labs; Mr. Chad Evans, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Council on Competitiveness; and Dr. Marcus Zipper, Director, CSIRO Manufacturing Business Unit.

Back row, left to right: Dr. Roberto Alvarez, Executive Director, GFCC; Dr. Peter Dorhout, Vice President for Research, Iowa State University; Dr. Michael Wolf, Senior Vice President, Hevolution; Professor Shonali Krishnaswamy, Associate Dean (Innovation) -and- Director of Monash AI Institute, Faculty of IT; Dr. Mark Peters, CEO, MITRE; Prof. Chris Vale, Director of Quantum Technologies Future Science Platform – Manufacturing Business Unit; Dr. Kathie McGregor, Research Director, CSIRO Manufacturing Business Unit; Dr. Gary Delaney, Research Group Leader – Analytics and Decision Sciences, CSIRO’s Data61; Mr. Shankar Cumarasamy, Director, Business Development & Partnerships, Faculty of Engineering Commercial Lead, MIL; Mr. Jim Henderson, Director, Partnerships and Business Development; Dr. Mark Dorreen, Group Leader – Process Innovations, Mineral Resources Business Unit; Professor Matt Hill, Head of Department, Department of Materials Science and Engineering; Ms. Anne Lingafelter, Principal, Gallup; and Dr. John Ward, Research Director – Energy Systems, Energy Business Unit.

In the afternoon, the Council delegation visited the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), where CEO Doug Hilton discussed CSIRO’s mission to solve national strategic and relevant problems through cross-disciplinary, late-stage technology development and its distinctive strength as a convener of policy, business, and research leaders.

Presentations from CSIRO experts highlighted major national and global challenges, and how the collaborative approach the national science agency deploys helps to address them. Highlights from the presentations follow:

• Mark Dorian – Critical Minerals: Australia has mapped 499 critical mineral deposits but is stronger in mining than processing. A new research hub with the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization (ANSTO) will focus on processing. Partnerships span the Indian-Australian Critical Minerals Research Partnership and collaborations with the United States, UK, EU, Japan, Korea, and Canada.
• Adam Best – Batteries: Tackling China’s dominance in graphite supply, which accounts for ninety percent of global production, through synthetic graphite development. Also collaborating with China on battery charging technologies.
• John Ward – Electricity Transition: Australia’s lack of an integrated power system or operator poses productivity challenges. Projects include work with Google X on inverters to support the growing share of renewables.
• Gary Delaney – AI for Science: Developing AI models to advance scientific discovery, while leading national discussions on hosting, owning, and operating foundational AI models domestically.
• Chris Vail – Quantum: Reviewed Australia’s quantum research and international partnerships, including collaborations with U.S. partners such as Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD)

Photo Credit: ACMD

Left to Right: Dr. Michael Wolf, Senior Vice President, Hevolution; ACMD Representative; Dr. Mark Peters, CEO, MITRE; Dr. Peter Dorhout, Vice President for Research, Iowa State University; Dr. Katherine Evans, Director of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory Office of Institutional Strategic Planning; Mr. Charles Kiefel AM, Chairman, Australian Advisory Board on Competitiveness; Ms. Brenda Shanahan AO, Chair, ACMD; The Hon. Deborah Wince-Smith, President & CEO, Council on Competitiveness; Mr. Jeff Malone, Chief Executive Officer, ACMD; Mr. Chad Evans, Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Council on Competitiveness; and Dr. Roberto Alvarez, Executive Director, GFCC.

The day concluded with a tour of the Aikenhead Centre for Medical Discovery (ACMD), a USD $250 million facility opening in October 2025. Designed to integrate research, industry, clinical care, and patient engagement, ACMD will host companies, startups, and researchers alongside physicians and patients, with capabilities for device testing, manufacturing, synthetic biology, biomedical research, and computational modeling.

Hospital beds within the facility will enable rapid clinical trials, while co-working spaces and shared amenities are purpose-built to encourage collaboration across sectors. Led by Brenda Shanahan AO, Board Chair of AACMD, and Jeff Malone, CEO of ACMD, the tour highlighted organization's vision to serve as a premier hub for translational medical innovation.