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Emeritus professor, Australian National University

Professor Ken Baldwin was the inaugural Director of the Australian National University’s (ANU) Energy Change Institute (now part of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions), and also the founding Director of the ANU Grand Challenge, Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific.

The main focus of his work is to help drive the energy transition, particularly for Australia’s export future based on renewable energy.

Prof Baldwin has held the following appointments:
• Project Steering Committee, Australian Energy Technology Assessment (2011-2013)
• Board member, South East Region of Renewable Energy Excellence (SERREE, 2014-2019)
• Socio-Economic Modelling Advisory Committee, South Australian Nuclear Fuel Cycle Royal Commission (2015-2017)
• Chair, Energy Cluster, the Australia-Indonesia Centre (2015-2018)
• Founding Chair, Energy Research Institutes Council for Australia (ERICA, 2018/19)
• Steering Committee, CSIRO Hydrogen Research, Development and Demonstration Report (2019)
• Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) Steering Committee, Australian Energy Transition Research Plan (2019-2023)
• Australian Hydrogen Research Network Steering Committee (2020-2021)
• ACT Renewable Energy Investment Fund Grant Technical Assessment Panel (2022)
• Chair, Industry Advisory Board, ACT Government Energy Innovation Fund (2023-2025)
• Non-executive director, Board of the Australian Hydrogen Research Network (2023-present)
• Chair, ACOLA Australian Energy Transition Research Plan Steering Committee, (2023-present)

Professor Baldwin was an inaugural ANU Public Policy Fellow, and winner of the 2004 Australian Government Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science, for his role in initiating and championing “Science meets Parliament”.

Experience

  • 2018–2021
    Director, ANU Grand Challenge, Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific
  • 2010–2020
    Director, ANU Energy Change Institute
  • 2005–2019
    Deputy Director, Research School of Physics, ANU

Education

  • 1983 
    Imperial College, University of London, PhD
  • 1983 
    Imperial College, University of London, DIC
  • 1979 
    Australian National University, MSc
  • 1977 
    Australian National University, BSc Hons First Class (Physics)

Professional Memberships

  • Graduate Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors
  • Fellow of the American Physical Society
  • Fellow of the Institute of Physics (UK)
  • Fellow of the Optical Society of America (OSA)
  • Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics
  • Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering

Honours

2007 W.H. Beattie Steele Medal, highest honour of the Australian Optical Society; 2010 Barry Inglis Medal from the National Measurement Institute for excellence in precision measurement; 2019 Australian Institute of Physics award for Outstanding Service to Physics; 2021 ANU Chancellor’s award for Distinguished Contribution to the University.