Rosie Hicks, ANFF CEO, has decided to move on to her next chapter after nearly 12 years at the helm of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF). She will take up the position of CEO of the recently formed Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) on 15 April 2019.

Rosie was ANFF’s first CEO, joining when the network was founded in 2007 and has helped to change the Australian research landscape by making ANFF a cornerstone of the research community. Having started with 17 staff members and 360 users, the ANFF network now comprises 100+ full-time staff, approximately 3,000 users per year, and incorporates world-leading expertise and 500+ individual capabilities at 20 leading Australian institutions.

“Rosie has been an extraordinary leader who has established ANFF as a highly effective national research infrastructure support facility for those pursuing R&D in the micro- and nano-domains,” Emeritus Professor Chris Fell AM, ANFF Chairman, said. “She has greatly encouraged research collaboration within Australia and positioned ANFF as a well-regarded organisation both within Australia and overseas. The Board wish her well in her new role with ARDC and owe her a considerable debt of gratitude for her contributions to ANFF.”

“While it is with sadness that we will be losing Rosie, it is an exciting time for her and ANFF. 2019 is undoubtedly the start of new opportunities for both parties,” Prof Fell added.

Rosie will officially leave ANFF on 11 April 2019, before she joins the ARDC on 15 April 2019. The ARDC – which, like ANFF, is funded by NCRIS – enables Australian researchers and the eResearch community to access nationally significant, leading edge data intensive eInfrastructure, platforms, skills and collections of high-quality data.

As ARDC’s CEO, she will be harnessing her extensive knowledge of the research sector to help build on the initiative’s initial successes and develop it into a truly national network.

“It is with both excitement and sadness that I will be leaving ANFF,” Rosie Hicks said. “However, I leave at a time when I am sure that, thanks to the people that have come together to create the ANFF community, the network will continue its remarkable contributions to the academics and industry researchers from both Australia and across the world.

“I am tremendously proud of ANFF and the achievements made in the past 11 years by the organisation itself, its staff and its users. With the continued support of the Board, the member institutions, and NCRIS, I am sure that ANFF will continue to accomplish great things.”