Ian Mackinnon

Prof. Mackinnon obtained his BSc (Hons) and PhD degrees at James Cook University, Australia and is the Founder and former Executive Director of the Institute for Future Environments at QUT. Prior to his roles at QUT, Ian was Executive Director for Engineering and Environmental Sciences at the Australian Research Council and directed the Linkage Projects Scheme; a programme providing strong support for outcome-focused, collaborative research between universities and industry. He also managed the portfolios of the Physics, Chemistry and Geosciences and the Maths, Information and Computing Sciences panels for significant periods. Prof Mackinnon has more than ten years' experience in technology transfer including direct involvement with two start-up companies producing environmentally friendly materials for the chemicals and wastewater-treatment industries. He currently leads a hybrid renewable energy hydrogen project co-funded by ARENA, industry, state government and four universities. Prof Mackinnon is a member of the Ministerial Energy Council and of the Hydrogen Task Force for the Queensland Government. He has held appointments at Arizona State University, NASA Johnson Space Centre, The University of New Mexico in the USA and at The University of Queensland. Prof Mackinnon has served in advisory roles for five national and international centres in the environmental, minerals and energy sectors.