Professor Helen Garnett

Professor Helen Garnett PSM commenced as the inaugural Vice-Chancellor at the Charles Darwin University (Australia) in October 2003. The University results from a coming together of four tertiary institutions including the previous Northern Territory University. Prior to joining the Charles Darwin University, Professor Garnett was the Executive Director of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). 
She led ANSTO to become an outward focussed organisation with an international reputation. Professor Garnett is renowned for her contribution to the life sciences and the peaceful development and application of nuclear technologies. As an Australian representative to the UN International Atomic Energy Agency she played a key role in numerous international initiatives. 
Helen Garnett is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Wollongong and prior to joining ANSTO was Professor and Head of the Department of Biology at the University of Wollongong, Australia and Foundation Professor and Head of the Department of Microbiology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. Professor Garnett is Deputy Chair of the Northern Territory Research and Innovation Board, she is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and is currently a Director of Energy Resources of Australia Ltd, IDP Education Australia Ltd, Business-Higher Education Round Table and Australia's Academic and Research Network. She has held directorships in a number of organisations and served on committees of both the Australian Research Council and the National Health and Medical Research Council.