Executive team

Professor Peter Quinn, Director ICRAR

Professor of Physics at UWA and Premier's Fellow

Professor Peter Quinn was born in Australia and received his BSc (Hons) in Mathematics and Physics from the University of Wollongong in 1978.  He conducted graduate studies in astronomy and astrophysics at the Australian National University and received his PhD in 1982 with a thesis dissertation on dynamics of disk galaxy mergers. 

Since then Peter has worked at the California Institute of Technology, the NASA Space Telescope Science Institute and the Data Management and Operations Division at the European Southern Observatory headquarters in Munich.  In December 2005, Peter was awarded a Western Australian Premier's Fellowship and took of the position of Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Western Australia in August 2006.  He was appointed Director of ICRAR in 2009.

Professor Steven Tingay, Deputy Director MRO

Professor of Radio Astronomy at Curtin and Premier's Fellow
Co-Director of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA)

Professor Steven Tingay received his BSc (Hons) in Physics at the University of Melbourne in 1992 and in 1996 completed a PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Mount Stromlo and Siding Springs Observatories of the Australian National University.  Steven then worked in the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, the Paul Wild Observatory near Narrabri, New South Wales, and the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at the Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, where he was the Project Leader for Swinburne's Square Kilometre Array project funded under the Federal Government's Major National Research Facilities Program.

In 2007 Steven was appointed to Curtin University of Technology, as Professor of Radio AStronomy in the Department of Applied Physics, Steven is also a Western Australian Premier's Fellow and was appointed Deputy Director of ICRAR in 2009.

Professor Peter Hall, Deputy Director Engineering

Professor of Radio Astronomy Engineering at Curtin
Co-Director of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA)

Professor Peter Hall received his PhD from the University of Tasmania and after academic roles at the University of Sydney, was attached to CSIRO's Australia Telescope National Facility.  His last role at CSIRO was as Leader of the organisation's inaugural SKA program and he was the author of the initial proposal to site the SKA in Australia.  Peter is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers (Australia) and holds the IREE Norman W.V. Hayes medal for original research.

Peter was appointed Professor of Radio Astronomy Engineering at Curtin University of Technology in June 2008 and ICRAR Deputy Director in 2009.  His appointment followed a four-year term as the foundation International Project Engineer for the SKA, where he played leading roles in the development of an SKA Reference Design, the initial specification of the SKA, the framing of the international SKA system design project (PrepSKA) now underway, and the development of top-level industry engagement policy.

Professor Lister Staveley-Smith, Deputy Director Science

Professor of Astronomy at UWA and Premier's Fellow

Professor Lister Staveley-Smith completed his PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Manchester in 1985, before taking up a Postdoctoral position there.  Lister came to Australia in 1987 as the SERC/PPARC Bicentennial Fellowship at the Anglo-Australian Observatory and then worked at the Australia Telescope National Facility in Sydney, in 2004 becoming Director of Gemini and SKA Major National Research Facility.  In 2006 he was appointed Professor of Physics and Astronomy at UWA and Premier's Fellow at UWA.  He was appointed Deputy Director of ICRAR in 2009.

Through his research Lister is preparing the path for the next generation of telescopes and instruments such as the SKA and its precursors, the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). 

Dr Renu Sharma, General Manager

Dr Renu Sharma has held senior management positions at The University of Western Australia and has managed two large and complex schools since December 2002.  She has also served as Equity and Diversity Advisor.

Her management responsibilities include strategic and operational planning, finance and human resource management, safety, health and risk management, marketing and promotion and supporting teaching, research and research training activities through a culture of continual improvement.  In addition to her management experience in Australia, Renu has nearly two decades of experience working in the Science and Technology sector in India.  Renu has a PhD in Nematoogy and has published one book, two national reports, eleven invited chapters in books, nine research articles in refereed journals and many presentations in seminars and symposia.