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Rick Valenta specialises in multidisciplinary research meeting the challenges of future mineral supply.

Professor Rick Valenta is the Director of the Sustainable Minerals Institute at the University of Queensland. He leads research aimed at improving the discovery, mining and processing of hydrothermal ore deposits, as well as understanding and mapping the risks associated with future mineral supply. His areas of focus include structural geology, geophysics and ore deposit geology, with an overall theme of better understanding the underlying processes which lead to the localisation and characteristics of these deposits. Rick also has a strong focus on development of 4D mineral systems models from deposit to region scales, using these models to improve targeting techniques, better formulate geological and resource models, and inform prediction of mineral processing performance.

Trained as a geologist, Rick worked for a short time in Petroleum exploration in Western Canada before coming to Australia to complete a PhD on the George Fisher Zn-Pb-Ag deposit in the Mount Isa region. He then spent 5 years as a lecturer at Monash University in an industry-supported role aimed at developing the science and practice of structural interpretation of geophysical data. During this period, Rick was involved in the development of very successful industry training programs and a significant number of publication and software outputs.

Rick then spent 23 years in industry roles including Chief Geologist, Chief Operating Officer, and multiple CEO roles. Companies and exploration teams under his direction have been involved in a significant number of mineral discoveries of copper, uranium and gold, as well as several transformative company transactions. In his career, Rick has held senior executive roles in teams which have raised over $150m in venture capital investment, leading to the creation of over $2b in shareholder value.

Rick is a Fellow of the AusIMM and the Society of Economic Geologists, a practising member of the Association of Professional Geologists of Ontario (APGO), and a member of the Geological Society of Australia.

Bio: Dr. Severine van Bommel is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland's School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability. With a keen interest in rural development and agricultural extension, her research focuses on understanding the role of experts and expertise in orchestrating effective governance performances for systemic transformation of natural resource dilemmas and competing claims. Through an interpretive lens, her research aims to support experts in communicating and collaborating with farmers and communities in situations of social learning, multi-stakeholder partnerships, farmer field schools, community-based NRM or co-inquiry and co-design.

Research Interests:

• Rural development
• Agricultural extension
• Sustainable development
• Indigenous engagement
• Environmental credentials verification

Current Projects:

- the co-design of a virtual platform for verifying environmental credentials for Australian beef producers - developing indigenous engagement methods (storian) for Australian researchers working with Ni-Vanuatu livestock farmers - making visible and challenging gender norms in transdisciplinary research and development practice - facilitating more-than-human participatory research and practice

Publications: Dr. van Bommel has contributed to significant works in her field, including:

• "Rural Development for Sustainable Social-Ecological Systems: Putting Communities First" (Palgrave)
• "Forest and Nature Governance: A Practice-Based Approach" (Springer)
• "Forest-People Interfaces" (Wageningen Academic Publishers)

Her research contributions have been published in prestigious journals and presented at international conferences such as IPA, MOPAN, IFSA, and APEN.

Teaching: In addition to her research, Dr. van Bommel teaches courses on:

• Leadership in rural industries (MSc)
• Effective stakeholder engagement (MSc)
• Human-wildlife interactions (MSc and BSc)

Mentorship and Community Engagement: Dr. van Bommel is dedicated to mentoring early career researchers interested in interpretive methods within the APSA mentoring program. She also runs an International Virtual Community of Practice for Interpretive Practitioners, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange in the field.

Associate Professor Elske van de Fliert leads the Communication and Social Change Researcg Group and facilitates the Communication for Social Change field of study of the Master of Communication program. She obtained a PhD in Communication & Innovation in 1993 from Wageningen University, The Netherlands. She joined the UQ School of Journalism and Communication (now School of Communication and Arts) in July 2006. Prior to this, Elske worked for two decades in research, development and teaching positions in Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, with work also across China, Kenya, Uganda, Philippines and Kyrgyzstan.

Elske’s research interests include participatory development communication, facilitation of transdisciplinary research for sustainable development, and impact assessment of social change processes. Over the years at UQ, she has been conducting research projects in Indonesia, Timor Leste, Philippines and Mongolia. She has published widely on a range of topics related to participatory research and communication in sustainable rural development.

Dr Jessica van den Heuvel is a senior lecturer working as a teaching and research academic in the General Practice Clinical Unit (GPCU). She also works as a general practitioner in Brisbane’s northside. In 2024, she undertook an Academic Registrar post with the GPCU, researching general practitioner experiences of weight stigma in maternity care, as a part of a body of nationwide research, “Body Positive Birth”. Her research interests include reproductive and planetary health. She teaches and lectures in the medical school and is involved with curriculum development and examination for medical students on their general practice rotations.

Shanice Van Haeften is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation, University of Queensland. Her research harnesses cutting-edge technologies, including UAV imagery, to unravel the physiological mechanisms and genotype-by-environment interactions underpinning crop yield productivity and stability.Currently, Shanice is conducting research to accelerate the development of heat-tolerant chickpea varieties for Australian growers through novel phenotyping and genomic approaches. This work is part of the Grains Research and Development Corporation funded project "Fast tracking deployment of chickpea heat tolerance”, led by Dr Millicent Smith. Driven by a passion for global food security, Shanice’s research extends beyond Australian agriculture. She is committed to applying her expertise in crop improvement and environmental adaptation to international development contexts, aiming to be a part of solutions that can support the empowerment communities worldwide with sustainable and resilient agricultural systems.

Dr Nameer van Oosterom holds a Bachelor of Pharmacy with First-class Honours and a Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Queensland, School of Pharmacy. His research focuses on venous thromboembolisms, drug individualization, antiplatelets, anticoagulants, and aspirin resistance. Nameer is a registered pharmacist and works at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, Brisbane.

I completed my PhD in the Netherlands, where I focused on host–pathogen interactions between the malaria sporozoite and human immune cells. I also used mouse models to investigate which organs and organ-specific immune cells are involved during the early stages of malaria infection after sporozoite entry into the body. In addition, I contributed to human clinical trials evaluating newly designed genetically attenuated malaria parasites as vaccine candidates.

My main expertise lies in human co-culture systems and malaria infection models, with a strong focus on malaria vaccine research.

At UQ, I began my postdoctoral fellowship at IMB, where I investigate malaria-specific vaccine targets, focusing on human cellular immune responses.

Professor Bruno van Swinderen received his PhD in Evolutionary and Population Biology in 1998 from Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri. His graduate work was on general anesthesia in a Caenorhabditis elegans model, applying both quantitative genetics and molecular genetic approaches. For his postdoc at The Neurosciences Institute (NSI) in San Diego, California (1999-2003), he switched to Drosophila melanogaster to develop methods of studying perception in the fruit-fly model. He ran a lab at NSI from 2003 to late 2007.

Professor van Swinderen established a new laboratory at the Queensland Brain Institute in February 2008.

Bruno van Swinderen's group use Drosophila as a genetic model system to study mechanisms of perception in the brain and are interested in three phenomena: selective attention, sleep, and general anesthesia. Their focus is on visual perception and how it is affected by these different arousal states. Their current effort is in understanding how sleep regulates selective attention and predictive processing. Toward this goal, they use various novel visual paradigms in a Drosophila molecular genetics context. The lab is also focussed on understanding presynaptic mechamisms of general anaesthesia, with a view to uncovering new strategies to improve recovery from this common medical procedure.

Professor André Van Zundert is the Professor and Chair of Anaesthesiology at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. He is the Chair of RBWH 'Burns, Trauma, Critical Care and Research Centre'.

Professor André van Zundert is also the Chair of The University of Queensland 'Centre for Excellence & Innovation in Anaesthesia'. His research interest is in airway management, regional anaesthesia and obstetrics, for which he has received international recognition. He has been greatly acknowledged for his contributions to: 1) Pain Relief in Childbirth (the suggested technique is still practiced all over the world in the labour ward); 2) providing safe and effective airway management using videolaryngoscopy and videolaryngeal mask airways; and 3) Pain therapy. He authored three major standard textbooks in anaesthesia.

Honorary Professor at Queensland Brain Institute. About 400 million general anaesthesia procedures are performed annually worldwide. While anaesthesia is extremely safe, it remains largely unknown why recovery can be delayed or problematic in some patients, especially in elderly people and in those with pre-existing neurological decline. Currently, there are no treatments available to counteract or speed up anaesthesia recovery, which still remains an entirely passive process. Our inability to counteract general anaesthesia has serious secondary consequences, such as increased length of hospital stay, and ongoing complications, including postoperative cognitive dysfunction. Professor van Zundert's interest in promoting research in this area prompted collaboration with the van Swinderen Lab at Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) and was facilitated by his joining as an Honorary Professor. Professor van Zundert’s research focus at QBI is centred on uncovering anaesthesia reversal agents, targeting pre-and post-synaptic neurotransmission receptors.

Luigi Vandi is the Co-Director for the Centre for Advanced Materials Processing and Manufacturing (AMPAM) and a Senior Lecturer in the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering. He conducts research in materials science, ranging from advanced manufacturing, in-life performance and end-of life conversion to higher value products. He obtained his PhD on hybrid materials from The University of Queensland, and his MSc from the National Polytechnic Institute of Lorraine in France.

His translational research activities have a strong focus on industry relevant projects. His experience in high-performance composites manufacturing for automotive and aerospace applications, includes working at Ferrari F1 Team in Italy, where he was responsible for the manufacture of carbon fibre suspensions and gearbox of the F1 car. In Australia, he played a key role in developing a patented technology as part of a collaborative project with Airbus and CRC-ACS. He is currently responsible for AMPAM’s sustainability theme and leads research in ‘Biocomposites & Circular Economy’. He has secured over $9 million of funding in this field and delivered high impact sustainable solutions. He is the first author of 4 active patents, in the fields of advanced manufacturing, biocomposites and biopolymers, including the development of novel sustainable biocomposite materials that are marine biodegradable biopolymer.

Luigi is driven by solution-based research, and in particular bringing latest innovations in materials science to the benefits of a future circular economy. His goal is to provide an expertise at the crossover between materials science and sustainable development to address the challenges of today’s linear economy.

Luigi lectured 4th year Aerospace Composites (course AERO4300), and 2nd year Engineering Investigation & Statistical Analysis (course CHEE2010)

Professor Eric J. Vanman is a social psychologist and social neuroscientist whose research examines the emotional, physiological, and neural mechanisms underlying social behaviour. His work focuses on empathy, intergroup relations, and human interaction with emerging technologies, including AI, social robots, and social media.

Using experimental and psychophysiological methods such as facial EMG, EEG, and behavioural paradigms, he bridges social psychology, affective neuroscience, and the psychology of technology. A central theme of his work is understanding what human emotional responses to artificial agents reveal about the social brain.

His research has contributed to the study of implicit emotion and bias and informs contemporary debates about digital empathy, online behaviour, and the psychological impact of new technologies. He teaches and supervises across social psychology, social neuroscience, and the psychology of technology.

Dr Tristan Vanyai's research interests are in the fields of hypersonic propulsion, aerodynamics, combustion visualisation and laser diagnostics, using both experimental and numerical techniques.

Dr Vanyai received his Doctor of Philosophy from The University of Queensland in 2018, after completing a Bachelor of Aerospace Engineering (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of Science double degree at Monash University in 2012.

His research focuses on fundamentals of hypersonic propulsion through the scramjet cycle. Robust combustion within low intake compression scramjets is a key technology enabler for hypersonic accelerator vehicles, and can be achieved through utilising techniques such as thermal compression. Dr Vanyai is examining the improvements to scramjet combustion due to thermal compression through experiments in the T4 Stalker Tube facility using advanced optical techniques and comparison with results from numerical simulations.

Dr Antiopi Varelias leads the Transplantation Immunology laboratory at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia and is the Coordinator of the Immunology and Infectious diseases seminar series at the Institute. She was awarded her PhD from The University of Adelaide (Faculty of Medicine) in 2002 and held post-doctoral positions within the University of Adelaide’s Department of Surgery (TQEH) and Haematology/Oncology Unit, TQEH before moving to Brisbane to join the Bone Marrow Transplantation laboratory at QIMR Berghofer in 2008, at the time led by Professor Geoff Hill. Under Professor Hill’s mentorship, she has published many original research articles in peer-reviewed high-ranking journals on graft-versus-host disease and has presented her research findings at many international and national scientific meetings. As a chief investigator, she has been the recipient of funding from the NH&MRC and CCQ and is a member of several professional societies (ASTCT, TTS, TSANZ, AAI, ASI, SMI, ICIS).

Dr Varelias’s research interests focus on improving our fundamental understanding of the pathophysiology of graft-versus-host disease using innovative technologies and pre-clinical models, with the view of translating these findings into clinical practice and thereby provide better transplant outcomes for patients. Current research aims to define the immunological basis that underpins graft-versus-host disease, with an emphasis on cellular, cytokine and microbiome interactions that regulate mucosal immunity during stem cell transplantation.