Dr Huanting Wang is a Professor and an Australian Research Council (ARC) Australian Laureate Fellow in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, and Director of the ARC Research Hub for Energy-efficient Separation (2022-) and Founding Director of the Monash Centre for Membrane Innovation (2018-2022) at Monash University. Prof Wang was awarded an ARC QEII Fellowship in 2004, an ARC Future Fellowship in 2010 and an ARC Australian Laureate Fellowship in 2020. He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Chemistry (2011-), The American Institute of Chemical Engineers (2017-), and The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (2019-). His research focuses on membranes and nanomaterials for gas separation, water desalination, water purification, chiral separation, ion transport and separation, and electrochemical energy applications. He has co-authored over 400 journal papers (Clarivate Highly Cited Researcher) and had 11 patents licensed for commercialization, and his research has led to the establishment of three Australian startup companies (including two Monash University spin off companies). Prof Wang is an Associate Editor of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research and an Executive Editor-in-Chief of Advanced Membranes.

Professor Jiti Gao is an Elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia, Donald Cochrane Chair of Business and Economics at the Monash Business School, and Professor of Econometrics and Statistics in the Department of Econometrics and Business Statistics at Monash University.

He is also an Elected Fellow of the International Association for Applied Econometrics and The Journal of Econometrics. Currently, he is a Co-Editor of the World Scientific Book Series on Econometrics and Statistics, and an Associate Editor of Econometric Theory, Journal of Business and Economic Statistics and Econometric Reviews.

Professor Jiti Gao builds sophisticated statistical models to analyse critical issues in climate change, energy demand, financial markets, neural networks and econometrics. The main research interests include Deep Neural Network Analysis; Financial Econometrics and Statistics; Nonlinear Econometrics and Statistics; Panel and Spatial Data Analysis; Time Series Analysis. Since January 2000, he has published two books, two book chapters and about 100 articles by leading international journals in economics, econometrics, finance and statistics.

As a chief investigator, Professor Jiti Gao has been awarded eight Australian Research Council Discovery Grants since 2002, including an Australian Professorial Fellow between January 2010–December 2014.

Professor Anona Armstrong is an Emeritus Professor at the Victoria University College of Law & Justice. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy and a Graduate Diploma in Public Policy from the University of Melbourne.

Professor Armstrong is also a Past President, Fellow and Life Member of the Australasian Evaluation Society and a Fellow of the Australian Psychological Society, the Australian Institute of Company Directors and the Victorian Council of the Institute of Public Administration of Australia. She was elected a Life Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge University in 2005 and was invested with the Member of the Order of Australia in 2008.

She is currently Chair of the Southern Cross Education institute and CEO of Armstrong Institute. Anona has had extensive engagement with communities with regard to a power station, freeways and crime prevention and community safety. More recently is our project to review the factors affecting corporate culture in local governments.

Professor Dong (Tracy) Ruan is the Department Chair of Mechanical and Product Design Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology. Her efforts and contributions have been directed in: (1) education to equip young generations with essential knowledge and skills to be qualified engineers; (2) fundamental and applied research to provide solutions for industries; (3) leadership and service within and outside the University. These contributions are recognised nationally and internationally, and generate significant impact on both the University and broader community.

Prof. Ruan’s research areas include: (1) characterisation of the mechanical properties of various materials at high strain rates and mechanical response of structures under dynamic loadings; (2) additive manufacturing of continuous fibre-reinforced composite materials and structures. She has published 240 academic papers, secured over $20 million research grants, and supervised 38 PhD students.

Prof. Ruan is an Associate Editor of Engineering Structures, an Editorial Advisory Board member of International Journal of Impact Engineering, and Vice-secretary of International Society of Impact Engineering, and Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia (FIEAust). She received two prestigious national awards: Australian Museum Eureka Prize in 2013 (with DMTC team in Safeguarding Australia category) and AGM Michell Medal from the Institution of Engineers Australia in 2022.

David leads Industry and External Engagement for the Victoria University Business School. He has responsibility for ensuring VU’s business programs are industry-connected and highly ‘applied’. Previously, he was MBA Director and Director of JD program at RMIT. David is also a practising Barrister, having signed the Victorian Bar Roll in 2010. He maintains a commercial law practice specialising in alternative dispute resolution, international trade and maritime law. He also advises across areas such as corporations law, corporate governance and regulatory issues. Before moving to academia, David enjoyed a successful business career of more than two decades, holding senior executive roles with major publicly listed companies. He was Vice President Corporate Affairs of the global shipping company Neptune Orient Lines of Singapore (2005-10), Executive Vice President Corporate Affairs of BlueScope Steel Ltd (2000-05) and General Manager External Affairs of OneSteel Ltd (1998-2000).

David’s early career included periods as a corporate lawyer with the BHP Group and as Legal Manager, then General Manager New Zealand, of the Australian National Line.