Robin John Batterham (born 3 April 1941) is an Australian scientist specialising in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

. He was the

Chief Scientist of Australia The Office of the Chief Scientist (OCS) is part of the Department of Industry, Science and Resources. Its primary responsibilities are to enable growth and productivity for globally competitive industries. To help realise this vision, the depart ...

from 1999 to 2006. Born in the

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

suburb of

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, Batterham graduated from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

in 1965 with a degree in chemical engineering, and received a PhD from the same institution in 1969. He received a scholarship from the

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency that is responsible for scientific research and its commercial and industrial applications. CSIRO works with leading organisations arou ...

(CSIRO) to undertake postgraduate studies at the central research laboratories of ICI in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

.Dr Robin Batterham

. Batterham returned to Australia in 1970, and took up the position of chief scientist of the CSIRO's Division of Mineral Engineering, and was later promoted to division chief.Batterham, Robin John (1941 – )
''Bright Sparcs'' (

), 13 December 2006. In 1999, he was appointed

, a role which he undertook simultaneously to acting as chief technologist for the multinational mining company Rio Tinto. Supporters of

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

technologies claimed that Batterham's employment by a mining company made his advice to the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and geosequestration questionable, although Batterham assured his critics that his advice and work as Chief Scientist was neutral and not affected by his Rio Tinto position.Fowler, Andrew
Questions raised over chief scientist's Rio Tinto role
'' The 7.30 Report'' (

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

), 8 December 2003. In 2004, concern was expressed over Dr. Batterham's dual roles, and a

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

committee found that there was a

conflict of interest A conflict of interest (COI) is a situation in which a person or organization is involved in multiple wikt:interest#Noun, interests, financial or otherwise, and serving one interest could involve working against another. Typically, this relates t ...

between the two, recommending that the Chief Scientist position be made full-time.Guerrera, Orietta
Chief scientist's dual roles 'damaging'
''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...

'', 6 August 2004. In May 2005, Batterham stepped down as Chief Scientist and took on a full-time position at Rio Tinto.Barlow, Karen
Australia's Chief Scientist gives up Govt position for mining giant
''AM'' (ABC Radio), 17 May 2005. From May 2004 to May 2005, Batterham was President of the

Institution of Chemical Engineers The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE) is a global professional engineering institution with 30,000 members in 114 countries. It was founded in 1922 and awarded a Royal Charter in 1957. The Institution has offices in Rugby, Warwickshire, ...

.''The Chemical Engineer'', June 2004, p 21 "High Flier has landed" (interview) Batterham was elected a member of the

National Academy of Engineering The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is an American Nonprofit organization, nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. It is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), along with the National Academ ...

in 2004 for the modeling of iron ore systems and team leadership in the development of innovative industrial metallurgical processes. He was appointed an International

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

of the

Royal Academy of Engineering The Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng) is the United Kingdom's national academy of engineering. The Academy was founded in June 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering with support from Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, who became the first senio ...

in 2004. He was also appointed a Fellow (FTSE) of the

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is an independent learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. History The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences was foun ...

(ATSE) in 1988, and served as its President 2007–2012.Robin Batterham appointed ATSE President

, 2007. in 2014 the Batterham Medal was established in his honour by ATSE as an early career award in the field of engineering. Batterham is the assistant organist at

Scots' Church, Melbourne The Scots' Church is a Presbyterian church in Collins Street, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Services are held at 11 am (traditional) and 5pm (contemporary). It is a reformed protestant church. It was the first Presbyterian church to be built ...

. He has given numerous organ recitals, and has released several CDs.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Batterham, Robin 1941 births Living people People educated at Brighton Grammar School University of Melbourne alumni Chief Scientists of Australia Australian chemical engineers Australian mining engineers Imperial Chemical Industries people Officers of the Order of Australia Australian classical organists Australian male classical organists Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Foreign members of the Chinese Academy of Engineering 21st-century Australian public servants 21st-century Australian engineers 20th-century Australian engineers 21st-century Australian organists 21st-century Australian male musicians People from Brighton, Victoria Scientists from Melbourne