Growing Australia’s future STEM leadership cohort

Fourteen up-and-coming leaders of Australian science are working directly with national STEM innovators the Emerging Leaders Network of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2026, alongside 7 continuing members.

The members of the Network work alongside ATSE Fellows – innovators, researchers and industry leaders – in our nine Policy Forums and our International Strategy Group to develop their leadership and advocacy skills, and to learn about the processes of collating and providing advice to government and industry.

The Network is designed to enhance the contributions of emerging leaders in STEM by connecting them with ATSE Fellows and broader professional networks. This helps them develop leadership skills and embrace practical approaches for addressing complex problems effectively. The members actively contribute to their Forums and are assigned a Fellow as mentor who supports and guides them in their journey.

In addition to their time with the Policy Forums, the Network members also meet as a group to exchange ideas and provide peer support as they learn and develop their leadership skills. Growing connections with each other and ATSE Fellows is a central aim of the program.

Now in its third year, the Emerging Leaders Network was established to support early and mid-career professionals in STEM to bring their unique perspectives to many of the challenges that society faces, and in turn, to ATSE’s policy and advocacy work.

The 14 new Emerging Leaders: 

Digital Futures Forum 

• Dr Erik Buchholz, Postdoctoral Researcher at UNSW
• Jack Naylor, PhD Candidate at the University of Sydney

Education Forum 

• Dr Vivian Tran, Postdoctoral Fellow at La Trobe University

Energy Forum 

• Thomas Gao, Senior Policy Manager at the NSW Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer

Health and Medical Technology Forum

• Dr Jiao Jiao Li, Biomedical Engineer and Senior Lecturer at UTS

Industry and Innovation Forum 

• Associate Professor Amie Hayley, Associate Professor of Research at Swinburne
• Dr Emily Finch, Microscopy Group Manager at ANSTO's Australian Synchrotron

Infrastructure Forum

• Colin Sheldon, Asset Management & Performance Manager at Aurecon

Mineral Resources Forum 

• Dr Armineh Hassanvand, Senior Research Engineer at Orica
• Nadia Testamanti, Senior Professional at Fortescue

Water Forum 

• Dr Derek Hao, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at RMIT
• Dr Huan Liu, Lecturer at the University of Western Australia

International Strategy Group 

• Dr Binod Aryal, Deputy Director at the Australian Government
• Greta Stephensen, Aerospace Engineer at BAE Systems