039 - BEYOND STANDARD - Prof. Alan Duffy

Welcome to a very special episode of Labnotes! For our 50th edition of the show we recorded LIVE from the Future Health Expo at the University of New South Wales, diving into the world of spinouts and deep tech investment with a panel of three guests from the Venture Capital and Angel Investment sector. Join us to hear how Alejandra Romero (Main Sequence Ventures), John Kurek (UniSeed) and Mian Bi (Australian Medical Angels) find, fund and foster big ideas and entrepreneurial researchers emerging from Australian universities.

Until recently you might have called James a typical scientist, working away in the labs of the University of Melbourne to understand the way that muscle tissues develop and how new therapies might improve the lives of patients. But in 2019 his career took a dramatic turn when a curiosity about culturing meat as an alternative to farming livestock brought James to the attention of George Peppou and Tim Noakesmith. The co-founders of Vow were on the hunt for a Chief Scientist as one of their first employees, and James fit the bill perfectly. What has followed is a fabulous case study in the transition from research scientist to start-up executive, and a ride well worth following.

What does it take to be an effective entrepreneur? Mark Swinnerton is the founder and CEO of the energy storage startup Green Gravity, but he comes to this role with a tremendous depth of skills earned over two decades rising through the ranks of one of Australia’s largest companies, BHP. It's a personal resource that Mark draws on daily as he builds a team to help tackle the climate crisis. And while Mark is not an academic himself, he has made a point of deeply engaging with university partners to validate the technical, social, and economic foundations of his energy storage solution, ultimately shaping this promising idea into the world-beating technology Mark knows we need.

As the world strives for net-zero there are many tough questions to solve, but among the toughest is the need to replace the literal foundations of our built environment. Clare Tubolets is the CEO of SmartCrete, a Cooperative Research Centre that brings together research and industry to tackle the challenge of decarbonising concrete, the ubiquitous and indispensable building material that currently accounts for almost 8% of global CO2 emissions. Join us as Clare recounts the steep learning curve of the construction sector, and shares how research, policy and industry must adapt in parallel to meet our objectives for the planet.

For much of the 20th century Bell Labs was a nursery of ambitious research, helping to usher in the information age with practical innovations including the transistor, lasers and photovoltaics. Prof. Ben Eggleton is one Bell Labs alumni who has continued its culture of applied innovation, and the Eggleton Lab at the University of Sydney is now known as a global leader in optical physics, photonic computing, sensors and microwave signal processing. Ben's ability to bridge the gap between fundamental science and tangible technology is one of the factors that has seen Prof. Eggleton and his collages awarded sought after research grants including an ARC Centre of Excellence and multiple Laureate Fellowships, as well as awards including a Eureka Prize, and Ben's election to the Australian Academy of Science in 2016. Today Prof. Eggleton continues to lead his research team, is co-director of the NSW Smart Sensing Network, and has recently taken up the post of Pro-vice chancellor (Research) at the University of Sydney where he is now responsible for shaping research policy at this world-class academic institution. Join us to hear Ben's take on forging a career in applied research.