Current as of 31/05/2023

James Finlay PATRICK AO, BSc, MSc, DEng(hc), DSc(hc), FIE (AUST), CPEng (Biomed), FTSE

Chief Scientist – Emeritus, Cochlear Limited

Adjunct Professor, Macquarie University

James (Jim) Patrick, one of the original engineers pioneering the development of the multi-channel cochlear implant with Professor Graeme Clark, is recognised as a world authority on cochlear implants. He joined Professor Graeme Clark’s research team at Melbourne University in 1975. With training in physics and communications engineering, and an interest in how electrical stimulation might be used to help people hear, he led the successful development of "UMDOLEE", the ten channel cochlear implant developed by the Departments of Otolaryngology and Electrical Engineering.

When the UMDOLEE proof of concept generated Federal Government support for commercial development in 1981, Jim moved to Sydney as a member of the Cochlear "Tiger Team", established by Paul Trainor inside the Nucleus group to develop a ‘clinically applicable' cochlear implant. Jim was responsible for systems engineering, and the digital aspects of the implantable stimulator, playing a key leadership role in the development of the commercial medical implant.

From 1981 to 2016 he was a member of Cochlear's senior management team, holding a number of technology management roles, including responsibility for R&D, Quality and Manufacturing. Jim was recently responsible for Cochlear's global research programme, exploring how novel forms of signal processing can improve the performance of the cochlear implant, and how advances in biology and electro-neural interfaces can be applied to future implant designs.

Jim retired from Cochlear in December 2016, but continues to contribute in an Emeritus role.

He has been a member of the Advisory Boards to many Institutions, with current appointments to The Shepherd Centre Research Advisory Committee, the Mirage 3.4d Board and the Carbon Cybernetics Board.

Jim was awarded the prize of NSW Scientist of the Year in 2021

Since 1975, Jim Patrick played a key leadership role in the development and commercialisation in Australia of several medical implant devices, including: the very successful Cochlear implant technology for restoring hearing in profoundly deaf people; a brain stem implant device for restoring hearing in people who have lost the function of the acoustic nerve; and a multi-channel Functional Electrical Stimulation device for restoring lower limb function. His leadership in the engineering development of the first functional multi-channel cochlear implant at the University of Melbourne was the basis for the formation of the highly successful world market leader, Cochlear Ltd.