Overview

• Current activities
• Academic qualifications
• Background
• Awards
• Achievements

Current activities

Dr Anita Hill is Chief of CSIRO's Process Science and Engineering division, which has a staff of more than 350 people across five Australian sites.

Dr Hill's role is to guide the organisation’s processing and metal production activities.

Dr Hill has experience in senior research and general management roles and has been with CSIRO since 1996. She has a keen understanding of the importance of translating lab research into industry technology.

Dr Hill and her team are supporting and guiding CSIRO Process Science and Engineering division to:

• support the growth of the existing minerals, process and metal production industries 
• create new opportunities for these industries apply our research and development capabilities to 
• generate new opportunities for Australia balance environmental responsibility with industry growth.

Dr Hill is also an Office of the Chief Executive (OCE) Science Leader with CSIRO, and a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences (ATSE), as well as a member of the Boards of the:

• Membrane Society of Australasia
• Institute for Technology Research and Innovation (Deakin University)
• Journal of Polymer Science (editorial board).

Academic qualifications

Dr Anita Hill was awarded a Bachelor of Engineering in 1985 and a Doctor of Philosophy (1989) in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, both from Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA.

The title of her thesis was: 'The study of physical ageing in glassy polycarbonate using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy'.

Background

Dr Hill began her career at Monash University as a lecturer before consulting for the Materials Engineering and Technical Support Services. She joined CSIRO in 1996.

At CSIRO, she rose rapidly to Senior Principal Research Scientist graduating, in 1999 from the Australian Graduate School of Management Executive Management Program.

She took on the senior management roles of Research Area Leader for Polymer Technology in 2001 and Capability Leader for Nanostructured Materials in 2005.

In 2008, Dr Hill accepted the position of Chief Research Scientist and Office of the Chief Executive Science Leader at CSIRO.

Awards and Honours

Dr Hill has received several professional awards and honours, including:

• Adjunct Fellow, Monash University School of Chemistry, 2010 
• Australian Research Council College of Experts, 2009 
• Guest Editor, International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2008 
• Fellow, Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, 2008 
• CSIRO Medals for Research Achievement, 2004 and 2002. 

Dr Hill has over 150 ISI journal papers cited over 2000 times, and an h-index of 23.

She has led research for Australian mining industries and the Australian Coal Association on screening operations in plants in Western Australia, New South Wales and Queensland, resulting in improved products and processes.

Her research is a core component of CSIRO’s advanced materials capability.

She has presented at many national and international conferences, symposia and seminars.

Her work to date on the transport of atoms, ions and small molecules through solids has had profound impact on the design of dense polymer membranes (published in Science 2002, 2007).

Her work has been described as ‘breakthrough research’ and ‘one of the most important achievements in the field in the past decade’.

Achievements

Dr Hill has established high calibre national and international linkages resulting in:

• three successful ARC Centres of Excellence with focus on advanced materials and processes (2003-13)
• two emerging science initiatives (2003-09)
• a Flagship cluster (2006-10)
• international research agreements with the University of Texas at Austin (2003-12) and Advanced Institute for Science and Technology Japan (2006-08).

Read more about CSIRO's work in Process Science and Engineering.