The Australian Institute of Physics elects a new executive

Kirrily Rule

In February 2021, the Australian Institute of Physics elected their new National Executive team by unanimous vote. Stepping into the role of President of the AIP is Prof. Sven Rogge who is also the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of New South Wales, Sydney (UNSW). Sven’s research interest is in condensed matter physics, in particular quantum electronics, at the School of Physics. Sven works on quantum computation in silicon in the ARC Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology. Sven takes over this role from Professor Jodie Bradby from ANU who is now advising the Executive as the Immediate Past President. Following her 2-year role as President of the AIP, Jodie is now dedicating her time as the Physical Sciences Representative for Science and Technology Australia.

New to the Executive committee this year is Prof. Nicole Bell from the University of Melbourne who joins as our Vice President. Nicole’s physics research interests lie at the intersection of Particle Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology. Nicole is also the Theory Program Leader for the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics.

Another new member to join the committee this year is Dr. Joanna Turner from the University of Southern Queensland who has taken on the role of Special Projects Officer for awards. Part of Joanna’s role in the executive will be to coordinate the awards and prizes that are presented each year by the AIP. Joanna has also been key in reviewing the current awards and processes for nomination, adjudication, and presentation of these awards.

Returning to their roles as Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Registrar, and Honorary Secretary are Dr. Judith Pollard, Prof. Stephen Collins, and Associate Professor Kirrily Rule, respectively. Associate Professor Dr Gerd Schröder-Turk also returns in his capacity as the Special Projects Officer for Policy. In addition, two additional Special Projects Officer roles have been formed to complement the Executive team. Dr. Stephan Rachel holds the Special Project Officer role for Finance while Dr. Timothy van der Laan is the Special Project Officer for Outreach.

This year’s Executive team has embraced diversity with members coming from 6 of the 7 states and territories that the AIP represents, indicating a strong National balance. Also notable is the perfect 50:50 split of women and men on the team (Fig. 7). We look forward to the next 2 years representing the Australian Physics community and promoting the role of Physics in research, education, industry, and the community.