Executive Directors
The ARC’s Executive Directors are academic leaders drawn from the university sector who bring broad disciplinary expertise and experience in research management to the ARC. They play an important role in supporting the ARC Chief Executive Officer and Chief Research Officer, providing strategic policy and operational advice and expertise in specific funding schemes.
ARC Executive Directors are an essential point of liaison between the ARC as a government agency and the broader research community. Their outreach and engagement work with the research sector provides opportunities for information exchange and consultation.
Under the leadership of Australia’s inaugural Chief Research Officer, Professor Christina Twomey, there are five Executive Directors:
- Executive Director, Engineering and Information Sciences – Professor Steven Weller
- Executive Director, Humanities and Creative Arts – Professor Alison Ross
- Executive Director for Social, Behavioural and Economic Sciences – Professor Anika Gauja
- Executive Director for Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences – Professor Gavin Reid
- Executive Director for Biological Sciences and Biotechnology – Professor Alastair McEwan
All Executive Directors contribute to the delivery of the National Competitive Grants Program by working closely with ARC staff on scheme design and delivery. They also provide advice on academic matters and government initiatives, and act as a key liaison point with the university research sector, and the wider research and innovation sector.