Our People
UWA Defence and Security Institute members
Institute Staff
The Honourable David Johnston
CHAIR
The Honourable David Johnston is the Chair of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and prior to this role he was appointed the Australian Defence Export Advocate providing international advocacy on behalf of local defence industry to help secure export sales and contracts. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Western Australia in 1979 and practiced as a barrister and solicitor in Kalgoorlie and Perth with a focus on criminal, mining, native title and administrative law.
Professor Gia Parish
DIRECTOR
Giacinta (Gia) Parish is Director, Defence & Security Institute and Professor, School of Engineering at the University of Western Australia; and a Director on the Board of AROSE. Professor Parish joined UWA after completing a PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Fulbright Scholar. She has a multidisciplinary background in electronic engineering, materials science and chemistry; particularly advanced semiconductor materials and device technologies. Her current research focus is chemical, bio- and infrared sensors for environmental and industrial monitoring and defence applications. Professor Parish has co-authored around 150 international publications, with close to 3000 citations, and was an inaugural Women in Technology WA ‘20 in 20’ award winner in 2018.
Fiona Considine
BUSINESS MANAGER
Fiona joined as an inaugural member of the UWA Defence and Security Program in November 2020. As Business Manager, she is responsible for the high-level planning, coordinating and execution of all of the Institutes programs, stakeholder engagement and outreach activities. Prior to this role she was the Events Manager for the Perth USAsia Centre for over 6 years.
Dr Troy Lee-Brown
RESEARCH FELLOW
Troy Lee-Brown is a researcher in regional security, maritime security and international relations with a focus on the Indo-Pacific. He is currently the editor of the ‘Black Swan Strategy Paper’ and the project manager for ‘Blue Security’, a joint DSI-La Trobe Asia-Griffith Asia Institute-UNSW project which focuses on issues of maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.
Dr Abi Young
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
Abi Young is the program coordinator for the UWA DSI and CSDR joint project on Enhancing Australia-India Underwater Domain Awareness (UDA) Cooperation in the Indo-Pacific. She is a researcher in the politics of international migration, national security and international relations and holds specialist knowledge in research security and counter foreign interference in the university sector; she was awarded her PhD in 2024 by the University of Western Australia.
Patrick Triglavcanin
RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Patrick Triglavcanin is a Research Assistant at the UWA Defence and Security Institute. Patrick has a focus on Indo-Pacific geopolitics and the United Kingdom’s role in the region, particularly through AUKUS. He is an Associate Fellow at the Council on Geostrategy and is currently completing a Master’s degree in International Relations.
Advisory Board
The Honourable David Johnston
CHAIR
The Honourable David Johnston is the Chair of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and prior to this role he was appointed the Australian Defence Export Advocate providing international advocacy on behalf of local defence industry to help secure export sales and contracts. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Western Australia in 1979 and practiced as a barrister and solicitor in Kalgoorlie and Perth with a focus on criminal, mining, native title and administrative law.
Professor Gia Parish
DIRECTOR
Giacinta (Gia) Parish is Director, Defence & Security Institute and Professor, School of Engineering at the University of Western Australia; and a Director on the Board of AROSE. Professor Parish joined UWA after completing a PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Fulbright Scholar. She has a multidisciplinary background in electronic engineering, materials science and chemistry; particularly advanced semiconductor materials and device technologies. Her current research focus is chemical, bio- and infrared sensors for environmental and industrial monitoring and defence applications. Professor Parish has co-authored around 150 international publications, with close to 3000 citations, and was an inaugural Women in Technology WA ‘20 in 20’ award winner in 2018.
The Honourable Kim Beazley AC
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
The Honourable Kim Beazley AC was the 33rd Governor of Western Australia.
Prior to being installed as Governor on the 1st May 2018, Mr Beazley had dedicated almost three decades to a career in Federal Parliament, representing the WA seats of Brand and Swan.
Professor Amit Chakma
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Professor Amit Chakma is the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Australia. He has served as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Western Ontario from 2009-2019. Prior to his tenure at Western, he served as Provost and Vice-President Academic at the University of Waterloo from 2001-2009.
Paul Collings
DEPUTY CHAIR
Paul Collings is Deputy Chair of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and member of the Innovation and Industry Engagement (IIE) team at UWA. His team is responsible for driving a culture of industry engagement and innovation deep into the University structures, processes and people.
Linda Dawson
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Linda Dawson is the Deputy Director General, Industry, Science and Innovation at the Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation. She is a senior executive with more than 25 years’ experience working in large Australian and multinational organisations across the resources and utilities sectors. Over Linda’s career she has led corporate services, community development, human resources, health safety and environment, corporate affairs and operational functions.
Professor Gordon Flake
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Professor Gordon Flake is the founding Chief Executive Officer of the Perth USAsia Centre at The University of Western Australia. Professor Flake is one of world’s leading authorities on strategic developments in the Indo-Pacific. Having spent twenty-five years in the US foreign policy community focused on the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia and now seven years in Australia’s Indian Ocean capital he is an expert on key strategic relationships in the broader Indo-Pacific.
Emily Fogarty
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Emily Fogarty is Executive Officer to the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research) (DVCR) at the University of Western Australia. She represents the DVCR Office on the Defence and Security Advisory Board. Emily is a former federal public servant, including a stint at the Department of Defence. Emily holds a first class honours degree from UWA in anthropology and sociology and a Master of Public Administration from Griffith University.
Dr Todd Mansell
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Dr Mansell is an experienced senior executive within the Australian Department of Defence where he is responsible for establishing ASA as an authorised submarine engineering organisation, as well as developing and applying the science, technology and innovation base Australia requires to be a safe and effective independent owner/operator of our nuclear-powered submarine capability.
Nicole Roocke
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Appointed Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer in November 2018, Nicole joined Minerals Research Institute of Western Australia (MRIWA) after spending 15 years at the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia coordinating industry input on a variety of government regulatory and policy issues and facilitating collaboration within the resources sector.
Nicole holds a Master of Science in Industrial and Organisational Psychology from the University of Western Australia (UWA) and a Master of Risk Management from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
Rear Admiral Philip Spedding, DSC AM, RAN (Ret’d)
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Philip Spedding assumed the role of Defence Advocate in early 2023. He provides independent advice to the Western Australian Government and promotes the State’s Defence industry capability and capacity. Philip served for 41 years in the Navy, spending more than a decade in the senior leadership group. His final roles were to lead reviews into a possible location for an east coast submarine base and the suitability of conventional and nuclear-powered submarines to meet Australia’s future defence needs. Running his own consultancy business since 2019, Philip also sits on the management and advisory boards of several defence focused companies.
Samantha Tough
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
Samantha has a broad and varied career in many sectors including energy, resources, engineering and agriculture. She also has a 20 plus year career serving on boards.
Samantha is Pro Vice-Chancellor Industry Engagement at the University of Western Australia and currently serves as Chair of Horizon Power, Director of the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Chair COAG National Energy Selection Panel and Director Fluence Ltd.
Executive Committee
The Honourable David Johnston
CHAIR
The Honourable David Johnston was educated in Perth in Western Australia, David attended Wesley College from 1967–1973 and then graduated from The University of Western Australia in 1981 with the law degrees B.Juris and LLB. David was elected to the Australian Parliament as a Senator for Western Australia in 2001 and served in that role for 15 years.
Before that, he was a Barrister and Solicitor in Western Australia practicing in the areas of Mining and Crime, and lived and worked on the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia for 12 years before returning to Perth to continue in the law and as a Barrister and In-House Counsel providing advice and representation mainly pertaining to mining matters in Western Australia.
Professor Gia Parish
DIRECTOR
Giacinta (Gia) Parish is Director, Defence & Security Institute and Professor, School of Engineering at the University of Western Australia; and a Director on the Board of AROSE. Professor Parish joined UWA after completing a PhD at the University of California, Santa Barbara as a Fulbright Scholar. She has a multidisciplinary background in electronic engineering, materials science and chemistry; particularly advanced semiconductor materials and device technologies. Her current research focus is chemical, bio- and infrared sensors for environmental and industrial monitoring and defence applications. Professor Parish has co-authored around 150 international publications, with close to 3000 citations, and was an inaugural Women in Technology WA ‘20 in 20’ award winner in 2018.
Fiona Considine
Executive Committee Member
Fiona joined as an inaugural member of the UWA Defence and Security Program in November 2020. As Business Manager, she is responsible for the high-level planning, coordinating and execution of all of the Institutes programs, stakeholder engagement and outreach activities. Prior to this role she was the Events Manager for the Perth USAsia Centre for over 6 years.
Dr Troy Lee-Brown
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBER
Troy Lee-Brown is a researcher in regional security, maritime security and international relations with a focus on the Indo-Pacific. He is currently the editor of the ‘Black Swan Strategy Paper’ and the project manager for ‘Blue Security’, a joint DSI-La Trobe Asia-Griffith Asia Institute-UNSW project which focuses on issues of maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.
Dr Caroline Chapman
Executive Committee Member
Caroline is a Research Development Advisor in the Office of Research, UWA where she brings together her passion for research and her interest in supporting researchers to develop not only their careers but also to create real world impact with their ideas.
Paul Collings
DEPUTY CHAIR
Paul Collings is Deputy Chair of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and member of the Innovation and Industry Engagement (IIE) team at UWA. His team is responsible for driving a culture of industry engagement and innovation deep into the University structures, processes and people.
Associate Professor Tim Inglis
Executive Committee Member
Associate Professor Tim Inglis (Pathology) Health Department of Western Australia Translation Fellow, School of Medicine, UWA and Medical Microbiologist, PathWest Laboratory Medicine, WA. Dr Inglis has medical degrees (BM, DM) from the University of Southampton, UK, and a PhD from the University of Western Australia.
Professor Shayne Loft
Executive Committee Member
Professor Shayne Loft is an expert in Human Factors (Applied Cognitive Psychology) and is currently an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Research Fellow (2021-2024) and the Director of the Human Factors and Applied Cognition Laboratory.
Fatima Moosa
Executive Committee Member
Fatima Moosa is the International Compliance Officer at the Office of Research at the University of Western Australia (UWA). She is a member of the executive team of the UWA Defence and Security Institute and whose key focus is the countering of foreign interference at UWA.
David Norman
Executive Committee Member
David Norman is Senior Policy Advisor to the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) at the University of Western Australia and he leads the UWA’s counter foreign interference work.
Professor Peter Robertson
Executive Committee Member
Peter Robertson is a Professor of Economics and is Dean of the Business School. His research on comparing defense budgets across countries and military purchasing power exchange rates is cited widely in international media and in international defence policy circles.
Institute Fellows and Adjunct Professors
Professor Peter Dean
Honorary Fellow
Professor Peter J. Dean PhD SFHEA is the Director, Foreign Policy and Defence at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. Previously, Professor Dean was the University of Western Australia’s (UWA) first Chair of Defence Studies and the inaugural director of the UWA Defence and Security Institute.
Dr Shannon Ford
Honorary Fellow
Dr Shannon Brandt Ford is Coordinator of the International Relations Major at Curtin University. He is also on the Board of Directors for the Asia-Pacific International Society of Military Ethics and a Faculty Affiliate with the Program on Cybersecurity and Internet Governance at Indiana University.
Matt Moran
Honorary Fellow
Matt is the Head of Strategy and Government Relations for Luerssen Australia. Prior to joining Luerssen Australia, he was the inaugural Executive Director of Defence West. He is an Australian Army Afghanistan veteran and a Walkley Award winner. Matt deployed to Afghanistan as a public affairs officer in 2009 and East Timor in 2007.
Tim Rutherford
Adjunct Professor
Tim is a retired senior officer in the Australian Army & former senior executive within the Department of the Prime Minister & Cabinet. He has deep experience in the intelligence, surveillance & reconnaissance operating systems from the team to the geostrategic levels, with experience across Australia, Europe, Central Asia and Africa.
Dr Natalie Sambhi
Honorary Fellow
Through her research, presentations and publications, Natalie Sambhi is committed to helping people gain a more nuanced understanding of Indonesian civil-military relations, Indonesian defence policy and Southeast Asian security.
Jim Serpless
Honorary Fellow
Jim Serpless is an Australian Army officer and has served in various regimental and staff appointments within the Royal Australian Infantry Corps and Special Operations Command including deployments to the Middle East and Europe. A graduate of the Royal Military College, he holds a BA / LLB (Honours) from Monash University and is currently completing a Master of Strategy and Security at UNSW.
UWA DSI Interns – Semester 1, 2025
Harry Webster-Smith
Research Analyst Intern
Harry Webster-Smith is currently completing his final semester of a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Philosophy, Politics & Economics with a minor in Science & Policy. Drawing on his analytical and communication skills, Harry has been exploring opportunities for enhanced security and defence cooperation between Australia and Indonesia, one of Australia’s closest neighbours in the Indo-Pacific.
Tenille Pavlinovich
Research Analyst & Communications Intern
Tenille is currently in her third and final year of a Bachelor of Criminology and Criminal Justice. She has aspirations to complete a Juris Doctor next, hoping to establish a diverse career between research, policing, law and diplomacy. She has a broad interest in international politics and foreign relations, and a particular fascination with the intersection of law, crime and maritime security.
Eleanor Power
Research Analyst
Eleanor Power is in her final year of a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Political Science and International Relations. Throughout her degree, Eleanor has also studied Indonesian, Korean and Spanish. She has a particular interest in the Australia-Indonesia bilateral relationship and generating solutions for regional peace.
The Defence and Security Institute is an initiative by The University of Western Australia.
The University of Western Australia acknowledges that its campus is situated on Noongar land, and that Noongar people remain the spiritual and cultural custodians of their land, and continue to practise their values, languages, beliefs and knowledge.