Rob has an exemplary track record of research and commercialisation in the fields of plasma, biomaterial science and cell therapy.

He studied Chemistry (BSc) and Physical Chemistry (PhD) at the University of Durham, joining the University of Sheffield in 1988, where he held the Chair of Material and Biomaterial Chemistry from 2001.  During this period, he was a founder Director of two spin-out companies, CellTran Ltd and Plasso Technology.  In 2006 he joined UniSA, Australia where he held the positions of Director: Mawson (Research) Institute, Dean: Research of Science and Engineering and Pro Vice Chancellor (IT and Engineering) until 2016.

Rob has a track record of research and commercialisation in the fields of thin film coatings, biomaterial science and life science tools research.

Over a  25 year career in academia and industry, he has published over 200 papers and is an inventor on 10 distinct patents that underpin products sold globally. 

He studied Chemistry (BSc) and Physical Chemistry (PhD) at the University of Durham (UK) and joined the University of Sheffield in 1988, where he held the Chair of Material and Biomaterial Chemistry from 2001.

In 2006 Rob joined the University of South Australia, where he held the positions of Director of a Research Institute, Dean of Research and Pro Vice Chancellor and Vice President.

At the invitation of the Minister he served on the Australian Research Council's College of Experts 2008-10.

In 2013, he was elected to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering. He is also a fellow of the RSC and IMMM (UK).