The CRC for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CARE) relies on contributions from a dedicated team of scientists, postgraduate students, head office staff and partners in industry and government.

For Program Leaders, Project Leaders, students and other research staff see our Research and Education sections.

The Head Office at Mawson Lakes in South Australia consists of the following people:

 

MANAGING DIRECTOR Professor Ravi Naidu

Ravi was instrumental in the establishment of the centre which included a $100 million investment from industry and the Australian government. He is also the inaugural Director of the Australian Research Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation.

Ravi has been a research scientist in the fields of environmental contaminants, toxicology, bioavailability and remediation for over 20 years. He has co-authored over 300 technical publications and co-edited eight books in the field of soil and environmental sciences including field remediation of contaminated sites. Since 1994 Ravi has worked with scientists from USA, Europe and Asia on environmental contamination, including recent arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh, India and China.

Ravi was awarded a Gold Medal in environmental science in 1998 by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, elected as a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America in 2000 and also a Fellow of Soil Science Society of New Zealand in 2004.

He is also the Chair of the Standards Australia Technical Committee on Sampling and Analyses of Contaminated Soils, Chair of the International Committee on Bioavailability and Risk Assessment, Chair of the International Union of Soil Sciences Commission for Soil Degradation Control, Remediation and Reclamation, President of the International Society on Trace Element Biogeochemistry and sitting member of the Victorian EPA Contaminated Sites Auditor Panel.

EXECUTIVE PERSONAL ASSISTANT TO THE MANAGING DIRECTOR Lauren Walloscheck

ADMINISTRATION ASSISTANT TO THE GENERAL MANAGER Suzanne McHale

Suzanne provides administration support to the General Manager and is responsible for the project management database, committee administration and event co-ordination.

She has over 15 years experience in supporting management in a variety of office administration roles, including working at Topcon Precision Agriculture, Executive Personal Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer for five years, Receptionist at Advanced Hair Studio and Administration Assistant at Southern Cross Trailers.

FINANCE OFFICER Sue Begley

EDUCATION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER MANAGER Andrew Beveridge

COMMUNICATION MANAGER Peter Martin

Peter manages CRC CARE’s communication strategy, including public and industry awareness of scientific issues central to the CRC’s business, and a publication and products development program.

Peter holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Adelaide, and a Bachelor of Applied Science from the University of Canberra. Until July 2008 Peter was also the Communications Manager at the Cooperative Research Centre for Australian Weed Management.

In a previous 20-year career with CSIRO, Peter was Deputy Manager of CSIRO's international group and worked in various communication roles in CSIRO’s natural resources divisions.

PUBLICATIONS OFFICER Meredith Loxton

Meredith’s primary roles are the implementation of the CRC CARE publications program and assistance with website maintenance and development.

Meredith has previously worked in corporate communications for a national agricultural company, including corporate marketing, publications, website development/maintenance and corporate writing. She has significant experience in stakeholder relations and has been a key member in developing communication for shareholders to facilitate major company growth.  She has a Bachelor of Arts (Communication Studies).

INDUSTRY COLLABORATION MANAGER Leigh Walters

Leigh is the Industry Collaboration Manager responsible for the establishment and running of the Australian Research Industry Cluster (ARIC).

He has a Master of Business Administration (Technology Management) from Latrobe University and a Bachelor of Science (Botany) from the University of Melbourne.

Leigh’s past experience has included being Senior Extension Officer (Fields Crops) for the Victorian Department of Agriculture, Communication Consultant for the CRC for Soil and Land Management, Technology Transfer Manager for the Australian potato industry and most recently, Executive Officer for the Community Advisory Committee of the Murray-Darling Basin Ministerial Council.

		BHP BILLITON IRON ORE DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM COORDINATOR Andrew Graham

Andrew is responsible for project management and delivery of an innovative program which draws together industry, environmental practitioners, regulatory authorities and scientific researchers from around Australia to enable cost effective and timely remediation of nominated BHP Billiton Iron Ore Division sites.

Andrew has a Bachelors Degree in Applied Geology (University of SA) and a Masters Degree in Economic Geology (University of Tasmania).  He has worked extensively in the mining, quarrying, environmental and consulting sectors in Australia and overseas.

Prior to joining CRC CARE, Andrew was a Director of Mineral Strategies Pty Limited, an Australian-based consulting company he founded in 2000.

		AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF PETROLEUM (AIP) PROGRAM COORDINATOR Dr Prashant Srivastava

Prashant's main role is to oversee the Australian Institute of Petroleum (AIP) program, which draws together industry, environmental practitioners, regulatory authorities and scientific researchers from around Australia.

Prashant has experience working in both academia and the environmental industry. He graduated in chemistry and botany from the University of Allahabad (India), andsubsequently  joined the GBP University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar (India) for his masters and doctoral research in soil chemistry, fertility and plant nutrition. He later obtained another PhD degree in environmental soil chemistry from the University of Sydney. Prashant conducted his post-doctoral research at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory of the University of Georgia (USA). His research interests include chemistry of heavy metals, uranium and nutrients in soil and plants.

Before joining CRC CARE, Prashant worked as an environmental scientist/consultant in Sydney, engaged on a variety of projects on contamination assessment and remediation of soil and groundwater with various clients. Prashant has also worked on a number of research projects in India, Australia and the USA.

		DEPARTMENT OF DEFENCE PROGRAM COORDINATOR Sreenivasulu Chadalavada

Sreenivasulu is responsible for CRC CARE's Department of Defence program.  He has a Master of Technology (M.Tech) from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IIT Kanpur), in the area of Hydraulics and Water Resources Engineering, and a Bachelor of Technology( B Tech) in Civil Engineering from University of Pondicheery. After graduation he worked in an engineering consultancy as Design Engineer, designing the surge phenomena in hydro-electric power plants.

Sreenivasulu joined CRC CARE after completing his PhD at the University of South Australia. During this time he also worked at the University as a hydrogeologist engaged in modelling groundwater flow and pollutant transport processes.

		COMMERCIALISATION MANAGER Natalie Forde

Natalie is responsible for identifying, developing and commercialising the commercial opportunities and intellectual property assets developed by CRC CARE researchers.

Natalie has extensive experience in commercialisation, marketing and business development having worked exclusively in this field for the past ten years both in Australia and the UK. Prior to joining CRC CARE, she was the Account Director for Deloitte Commercialisation, a specialist consulting division of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.

Natalie has a Bachelor of Management Marketing from the University of South Australia.