Dr Michael Battaglia

Mission Lead for Towards net zero mission which looks to build capability to assist Australia's transition to net zero with particular focus on hard to abate sectors (Steel, Agriculture and Transport), regional economies and scaling negative emission technologies. Dr Battaglia was an advisor to the LETs soil carbon area, has held governance on multiple international and international collaborations include the $400M CGIAR Dryland Cereals and Legumes Program, the DFAT Australia-Vietnam Innovation collaboration, and multiple national programs on carbon accounting and mitigation of emissions from agriculture. He received the IUFRO global science excellence prize for contributions to forest systems modelling and carried out the first Australian assessments of our plantation estate vulnerability to climate change. He was a founder and a Board Director for FutureFeed, a company that is commercializing anti-methanogenic seaweed to tackle livestock emissions. I am a recipient of the US$1M Jens Bergfor Global Food Prize, AFR sustainability award winner and a Finalist in the Australian Museum Eureka Applied Environmental Award.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
1995 - Present – CSIRO Australia
2017- current Research Director, Board Director FutureFeed
2014-2017 Group Leader Climate Smart Agriculture
2013-2014 Deputy Director, Sustainable Agriculture Flagship
2009-2013 Theme Leader Greenhouse Gas abatement and carbon storage in Australian Landuse systems and member of Sustainable Agriculture Flagship Executive: lead CSIRO’s work in agricultural greenhouse gas mitigation and rural carbon storage
2008-2009 Theme Leader 1171 Sustaining Australia’s Forest Ecosystem Resources: lead CSIRO science in forest production and environmental services, including CSIRO’s forest genetics and forestry for development work
2006-2008 Theme Leader 1073 Forest Fibre Production Systems, member of Division of Forest Biosciences Leadership team
2005-2008 Program Manager CRC Forestry, Program 1 Managing and Monitoring and member of the CRC Forestry Management Committee
2005-2006 Stream Leader Planning and Production Systems in Forest Benefits theme
2003-2005 Theme Leader Precision Plantation Solutions, this role was different than the current Theme leader role and combined science strategy and people management
1995-2003 Research Scientist
1993 - 1995 – University of Tasmania
1994-1995 Australian Research Council Post-doctoral Research Fellow
1993-1994 Post-doctoral Research Fellow
1987 - 1992 – Forest Commission Tasmania

CURRENT POSITIONS ON ADVISORY BOARDS, MAJOR COMMITTEES
• Director FutureFeed
• Steering committee National Soil Strategy
• Steering Committee Valuing Sustainability Future Science Program
• Steering committee HandPrint
• Independent Advisor CRP Dryland Grains and Legumes
• Management committee for CSIRO-TIA postgraduate program in Systems Agriculture
• Steering Committee for Warra Long Term Ecological Research Site
HISTORIC ROLES
• Steering Committee for National Livestock Methane Cluster 2012-present
• Steering Committee National Nitrous Oxide Programme 2012-2014
• Steering Committee Primary Industry Standing Committee, Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries
• Member of General Assembly of TRANZFOR consortia: climate change and forests, consortia between France, United Kingdom, Portugal, New Zealand and Australia. This is an international cooperation under the Madam Curie Fund to mobilise international cooperation of the pressing needs for adaptation actions in the area of climate change and forestry 2008-2013
• Program Manager and Management committee member of CRC Forestry 2003-2008.