New Chair appointed to The Antarctic Science Foundation
The Foundations’s new Chair, Professor Tony Haymet
Professor Tony Haymet FTSE has been appointed Chair by the Board of The Antarctic Science Foundation.
Andrew Kelly, Chief Executive Officer of The Antarctic Science Foundation, said Professor Haymet’s appointment would provide substantial leadership to the Foundation as it continues to enable Antarctic research vital for our future.
“I congratulate Professor Haymet on his appointment as Chair of The Antarctic Science Foundation. His timely appointment comes as humanity focuses on the answers and actions we require for our continued way of life on this planet. Many of these answers are available when we look to Antarctica.”
“Professor Haymet will bring his significant experience as a scientist, Antarctic practitioner and business founder, providing essential insights to the Foundation, leadership to our supporters and context to stakeholders within the Australian Antarctic Program.”
Professor Haymet is a scientist, an academic and a business leader. He is co-founder and co-owner of MRV Systems LLC, a for-profit company manufacturing in-ocean robots, both sea- and air-launchable with a wide variety of sensors, which he spun out of Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2010. Haymet was formerly Director, Oceans, for the Minderoo Foundation based in Perth, Western Australia, and Vice-Chair of the Board of Trustees of WorldFish (Penang). Haymet worked in Antarctica during three summer seasons.
Professor Haymet was the tenth Director of Scripps Institution of Oceanography and UCSD Vice-Chancellor for Marine Sciences and is now Emeritus Director & Vice-Chancellor and Distinguished Professor Emeritus. Founded in 1903, Scripps is a US$200 million earth science institution. Together more than 1,600 people at Scripps address societally relevant issues in solid earth, seismology, oceans & atmosphere, fisheries and marine biology.
Professor Haymet was previously Chief of CSIRO Marine Research, then Marine & Atmospheric Research, founder of the “Wealth from Oceans” Flagship, and held the Established Chair of Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Sydney. He is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Engineering (ATSE) and the Australian Chemical Institute (RACI). He is the author of 175 peer-reviewed publications, many highly cited, and numerous Opinion-Editorial pieces for leading global newspapers.
Professor Haymet said, “Australia’s major scientific contributions to Antarctica, and its impacts on mainland Australia, are ahead of us, and come at a time of unprecedented interest from the Australian public, students, scientists and politicians, and after major investments in infrastructure. We have an exciting future, and the Foundation is poised to contribute.”
Professor Haymet also thanked outgoing Chair Dr Katherine Woodthorpe AO for her leadership of The Antarctic Science Foundation over the last three years, particularly during the unique and unforeseen challenges that arose from the COVID-19 pandemic.