Dr Kristine Asch

As a member of the EU Drafting Team "Data Specifications" and the national INSPIRE Task Force, Kristine is involved in creating the implementation rules of the new EU directive INSPIRE, with the aim to build an infrastructure for spatial data in Europe.  She is responsible for the coordination of the contributions to be made by the geological surveys of Germany to INSPIRE.

She is a member of the core team of the global OneGeology project which aim to globally make geological map data accessible for everyone via the internet.  Within OneGeology-Europe project, funded by the European Commission, she is leading the work package that is defining the scientific data specifications for the geology of Europe which will be a base for the INSPIRE geology data specifications.

Since 1995 Kristine has led the IGME5000 project: a multi-national initiative to create a harmonised geological map and digital geographic information system for Europe and adjacent areas, which she made available as a web mapping application. The experience of managing this project has provided a deep appreciation of the status of geological mapping science and techniques across European geological surveys and research institutes.

The INSPIRE initiative, OneGeology and the IGME5000 projects have dealt with issues that Australia currently faces in interoperability and the standardisation and integration of spatial data, and Kristine will provide a keynote address on her findings at the WALIS International Forum 2009.

Mr Simon Thompson was appointed Commercial Industry Sector Manager at ESRI in early 2006. In the commercial sector, his responsibilities cover global marketing and coordination of ESRI solutions for retail, real estate, insurance, banking/ financial services, media and entertainment and manufacturing. The role also covers enterprise business functions such as business intelligence (BI), enterprise resource planning (ERP), customer relationship management (CRM) and business continuity planning (BCP).

Mr Thompson has close to 20 years of experience in the GIS industry, providing integrated solutions as part of the business process including corporate customer experience with many international and Fortune 500 companies in Europe, Asia Pacific and North America. Mr Thompson comes to ESRI after roles as a senior executive at Genasys and founder/ CEO of the GenaWare Group. Most recently, he was involved in developing a new business sector for 3D GIS applications based on MapInfo technology.

Mr Thompson holds a bachelor of science with honours in geographic sciences from Plymouth Polytechnic and a master's in computer science from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff.

Dr Linlin GE is currently an Associate Professor of remote sensing and GPS in the School of Surveying and Spatial Information Systems at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and a Project Leader and Senior Research Fellow with the Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information.  He is also a Visiting Professor of the NSW Department of Lands.

Among many other prestigious awards, A/ Professor GE and his team's work to support the Sichuan Earthquake rescue effort won them the JK Barrie Award for Overall Excellence at the 2008 Asia-Pacific Spatial Excellence Awards. 

Linlin received his BEng (1st Hons) in Optical Engineering from the Wuhan Technical University of Surveying and Mapping (1985), MSc in Crustal Deformation from the Institute of Seismology (1988) and PhD in GPS and remote sensing from the UNSW (2001).  In 1997-1998, he was a postdoctural research fellow in the Meteorological Research Institute of the Japan Meteorological Agency sponsored by the Science and Technology Agency of Japan.

He is also a Representative on the National Committee of the Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry Commission and foundation member of the Surveying and Spatial Sciences Institute.  He is a Member of the IEEE (the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.) and a Life Member of the AGU (the American Geophysical Union).  He is also the Co-Chair of Sub-Commission 4.4, "Applications of Satellite and Airborne Imaging Systems" of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and a Principal Investigator for satellite missions such as Envisat, ALOS, COSMO-SkyMed and Radarsat-2.

Mr Gary Nairn - After a 25 year career as a Surveyor in Australia, the UK and Europe, including 13 years running is own surveying and mapping business, the Hon. Gary Nairn served as the Member for Eden-Monaro in the Australian Parliament from 1996 until 2007.

His Parliamentary career included being the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister with responsibility for water reform and the Science, Engineering and Technology unit within Prime Minister and Cabinet and as Special Minister of State during which time his responsibilities included e-Government.

He now operates his own consultancy business specialising in business development, spatial information and property matters.

Mr Mike Bradford was appointed Chief Executive, Landgate in June 2009.

Mike joined Landgate in 2006 and was appointed Executive Director, Information Access in February 2007.  Mike has experience managing all aspects of the production and dissemination of land information products including topographic map production, remote sensing and geographic information systems.  He has managed complex information technology projects and has experience in strategic planning, capability and project development and technology management.

He has also been responsible for delivery of development assistance projects in regional countries. Mike holds a Bachelor of Surveying Degree and a Masters in Management Studies (Project Management).  Mike holds the position of Surveyor General Western Australia.

Ms Carley Tillett, Manager of Horizon - the Planetarium at Scitech. Carley is responsible for Horizon's contribution to Scitech's mission of increasing interest and participation by Western Australians in science and technology.

Carley is one of a handful of specialists worldwide able to create and program with the Sky Skan planetarium software. As the creative visualisation specialist at Horizon - the Planetarium, she has acquired extensive experience  in bringing scientific data to life in the dome environment. Most recently, Carley created astronomy visualisations for "Awesome Light", the first of a series of full dome planetarium shows being produced for Imiloa Astronomy Center, Hawai'i. She has travelled to planetariums across Australia and Asia, sharing her knowledge and training staff on how to produce visualisations for live planetarium presentations.

Carley's skills are not limited to astronomy, having produced visualisations for a range of discipline areas including biology, chemistry, mining and topography. Carley is passionate about science and the use of planetariums to provide unique experiences that inspire a lifelong interest in science, especially space science and astronomy.

Mr Paul Farrell has more than 18 years' experience in the GIS and IT industry, having worked both overseas and in Australia. He is currently Managing Director of NGIS Australia and a Director of NGIS China and iintegrate Systems. He is also a Director of the Spatial Industries Business Association.

Paul is a recognised leader in the WA GIS and IT community. In 1996, he was awarded a graduate management development program with AUSTRADE to develop his management skills in the Asia-Pacific region. In 2001, he was invited by IT giant EDS to participate in its coprorate development program in Canberra and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Management as part of the training. In 2002, Paul was a winner of the WA Business News 40 under 40 awards, recognising the top 40 young business leaders in WA across all sectors.

Paul has spent a number of years working in Asia. As the Managing Director of NGIS Vietnam and, more recently, as Director of NGIS China, he has been involved in a number of projects for government agencies and private enterprises throughout the region. He specialises in the application of spatial technology for agribusiness and forestry applications.

Paul completed his Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1990 and a Postgraduate Diploma in Management in 2001. He completed an Executive MBA at the University of Western Australia in 2005.

Professor Lyn Beazley AO is the Chief Scientist of Western Australia and currently a Professor in Zoology at the University of Western Australia.

Professor Beazley's research career spans 30 years. Having graduated from Oxford University, she undertook her doctorate at Edinburgh University. Lyn transferred to Perth in 1976 and built up an internationally renowned research team that has focused on recovery from brain damage. Her research has also changed clinical practice in the treatment of infants at risk of pre-term delivery.

A Fellow of the Institute of Biologists, Lyn has served on numerous peak bodies advising State and Federal Governments. Internationally she has served on a panel assessing research performance for the Swedish Research Council and is a member of the Education Committee of the International Brain Research Organisation. She was a Trustee of the Western Australian Museum from 1999 until 2007, was appointed Chief Scientist of WA in December 2006 and reappointed in January 2009. Lyn was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia in January 2009.