Anthony Haymet (born 5 February 1956) is an Australian

oceanographer Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...

and

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

who has been Australia's chief scientist since January 2025.

Career and education

In 1978, Haymet completed his

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in Chemistry at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

before working in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

UC Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after the Anglo-Irish philosopher George Berkele ...

and the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

between 1981 and 1991. During his time in the United States, Haymet completed his PhD at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in chemistry. He was later awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in science by the University of Sydney in 1997. In 1991, Haymet returned to Australia and worked as a professor and chair of theoretical chemistry at the University of Sydney, in addition to working at the

University of Houston The University of Houston (; ) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas, United States. It was established in 1927 as Houston Junior College, a coeducational institution and one of multiple junior colleges formed in ...

from 1998. By 2003, Haymet joined the

CSIRO 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 ...

as its chief in Marine and Atmospheric Research. In this role at the CSIRO, Haymet would collaborate with various stakeholders and institutions to develop and enhance its research capabilities, regarding the ships and buildings that enabled that research to be successful. Haymet became the chair of the board at the Antarctic Science Foundation in 2021; a position he would hold until 2025. In this role, he continued to coordinate research into Antarctica through organisations such as the CSIRO and various universities. In January 2025, the

Minister for Industry and Science The Minister for Industry and Innovation is an Australian Government cabinet position which is currently held by Tim Ayres following his swearing-in on 13 May 2025 as a result of Anthony Albanese's Labor government being re-elected at the 2025 ...

Ed Husic Edham Nurredin "Ed" Husic (born 3 February 1970) is an Australian politician. Husic is a member of the Australian House of Representatives, elected to represent the seat of Chifley in western Sydney for the Australian Labor Party at the 2010 ...

invited Haymet to become the 10th

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 ...

, following the retirement of Cathy Foley. Throughout Haymet's career, he has been a member of the

Climate Change Authority The Climate Change Authority (CCA) is an Australian Government statutory agency responsible for providing independent advice to government on climate change policy. It was established by and operates under the ''Climate Change Authority Act 201 ...

Board as well as the chair of the Oceans Council at the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

(WEF). Moreover, Haymet has been a fellow of a number of Australian institutions including the

Royal Australian Chemical Institute The Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) is both the qualifying body in Australia for professional chemists and a learned society promoting the science and practice of chemistry in all its branches. The RACI hosts conferences, seminars and ...

(FRACI), as well as 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 ...

(FTSE), in addition to the

Australian Institute of Company Directors The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) is a non-profit membership organization for directors. The AICD is a founding member of the Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI). History The origins of the AICD can be traced ba ...

(FAICD).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haymet, Tony 1956 births Living people CSIRO people Chief Scientists of Australia Fellows of the Institute of Physics Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Australian oceanographers