The IMOS Governing Board is delighted to announce that Dr Michelle Heupel has been appointed as the next IMOS Director.
Dr Heupel is currently a Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), where she leads a large team responsible for the Institute’s internationally acclaimed Great Barrier Reef Long Term Monitoring Program. She is an internationally-recognised expert on the use of observing systems to understand the ecology of marine predatory fishes. She has significant experience as a trusted adviser on threatened and migratory species to Australian Governments, and international conventions. Michelle is already well known to the IMOS community through the role she has played in taking our animal tracking activities to a position of national significance, and international leadership.
“After a global search and rigorous selection process, the IMOS Board and the University of Tasmania welcome Dr Heupel to the IMOS Director’s role” said John Gunn, Independent Chair of the IMOS Governing Board. “The Board is looking out to 2030, and Michelle has the key attributes and contextual experience we need to continue to grow the IMOS program and its national and international impact”
“The University of Tasmania is proud to welcome Dr Heupel as the next IMOS Director” said Prof Anthony Koutoulis, Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research). “Hobart is a nationally and globally significant centre for marine, climate, Southern Ocean and Antarctic science. It makes perfect sense for us to host the IMOS Office, and we’re excited about Michelle joining the University in this role.”
Dr Heupel will commence as IMOS Director in mid-August 2019. There will be a structured handover with the current Director over a two-month period.
“As the outgoing Director, I could not be more pleased” said Tim Moltmann, IMOS Director. “The strength of national collaborative research infrastructure lies in the willingness of scientific communities to buy in to the idea that ‘alone we are weak, but together we are strong’. Seeing the next IMOS Director emerge from the IMOS community, which has been demonstrably strong over more than a decade, is just what I was hoping for. Michelle has for some time stamped herself as a future leader within the IMOS community. And the future is now.”