QUT
Which employer did Bronwyn Harch work for from 2014 to 2018?
Bronwyn Harch Bronwyn Harch ( born Bronwyn Christensen in 1969 ) is an Australian data scientist who brings digital technology and statistical sciences to sectors like agriculture , environment , health , manufacturing and energy . Harch has almost two decades of research leadership experience , primarily at CSIRO . She moved to the higher education sector in 2014 and most recently was executive director of the Institute for Future Environments ( IFE ) at Queensland University of Technology ( QUT ) , Brisbane . In mid-2018 , Harch joined The University of Queensland as the deputy vice chancellor ( research ) and vice president ( research ) . Early life and education . Harch comes from a farming family in the rural Lockyer Valley , west of Brisbane . She attended the local state primary school , Laidley North Primary School . For high school , she boarded at Ipswich Girls Grammar School then went to university in Brisbane . With interests and talent in environmental science , mathematics and education , Harch studied environmental sciences and secondary school teaching at Griffith University and Queensland University of Technology . She obtained a joint bachelors degree in Science ( with Honours ) in Australian Environmental Studies and Secondary Teaching ( Mathematics and Science ) from Griffith University/Queensland University of Technology ( QUT ) . However , at the conclusion of her undergraduate studies , Harchs interest in research won out and she went on to do a PhD in applied statistics in the Agriculture Department at the University of Queensland . Her PhD , completed in 1996 , was funded by the Grains Research & Development Corporation . A feature of her postgraduate studies was a stint in Hyderabad , India at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics undertaking big data statistical analyses applied to plant conservation and genetic resources for agriculture . Career . Harch joined CSIRO in 1995 as a postdoctoral fellow in the then Biometrics Unit of the Institute of Natural Resources & Environment , which a few years later became part of the Division of Mathematics and Statistics . She was based at CSIROs Waite campus in Adelaide then moved back to Brisbane , in the division renamed as CSIRO . Mathematical and Information Sciences , in 2000 . Her role involved contributing to , and increasingly leading , research initiatives with government and industry , predominantly in the environmental and agricultural sectors . These large-scale projects combined statistical expertise with the expertise of scientists from other parts of CSIRO as well as universities , government and industry . The projects were initiated to address environmental issues , for example monitoring the ecological health of waterways in one of Australias most populous regions , south-east Queensland . Her research career at CSIRO was signified by substantial contributions to statistical design for landscape-scale sampling protocols and monitoring programs , and spatio-temporal statistical modelling of agri-environmental systems . She left CSIRO for QUT in 2014 having held senior positions in CSIRO Flagships ( Deputy Director , Sustainable Agriculture ) and Divisions ( Chief of CSIRO Mathematics , Informatics and Statistics ; then Chief CSIRO Computational Informatics ) . Harchs role on joining QUT in 2014 was twofold . She was assistant dean of research in the Science and Engineering Faculty , the universitys largest , and deputy director of research in the Institute for Future Environments ( IFE ) . Harch transitioned into the role of executive director of IFE in July 2016 , where the focus is delivering research impact for industry , government and the community , harnessing QUTs disciplinary strengths from across its six Faculties . In July 2018 , Harch joined The University of Queensland as Deputy Vice-Chancellor ( Research ) and Vice-President ( Research ) , she is responsible for enhancing the Universitys performance and reputation in research , research training , and research collaboration with external stakeholders , nationally and internationally . Awards and honours . Harch is active in the local and international statistical research community . She has served in executive roles in the South Australian and Queensland state branches of the Statistical Society of Australia and co-founded its Environmental Statistics section . During 2013–2014 she was president of The International Environmetrics Society ( TIES ) , and in 2008 she won its Abdel El-Shaarawi Prize for Young Researchers for contributions to the construction of biological indexes for freshwater quality ; for development of monitoring programs for water quality ; for outstanding leadership and group building in CSIRO ; for valuable contributions to TIES as conference organizer , treasurer , and board member . Harch is an elected member of the International Statistical Institute or ISI . Harch has held adjunct professorships at the University of Wollongong and Griffith University and several research fellowships , including at Chinas National Administration of Surveying , Mapping and Geoinformation and Indias CR Rao Advanced Institute of Mathematics , Statistics and Computer Science . In 2013 , she was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and has written for its magazine . Harch has served as associate editor for numerous international journals and has contributed to the Decadal Plan for the Mathematical Sciences , the Australian Ecosystem Science Decadal Plan , and the Decadal Plan for Agriculture , all both supported by the Australian Academy of Science . Harch has served on the boards of Innovation and Science Australia , the Internet of Things Alliance ( IoTAA ) and the Integrated Marine Observing Systems ( IMOS ) ; the independent scientific advisory panel for the GBR , and the Plant Phenotyping & Imaging Research Centre in Canada . Harch is currently on the boards of the Queensland Museum Network , UniQuest ; and the international scientific advisory committee for the Great Barrier Reef Foundation and science advisory panel for AgResearch NZ .