IMAS Senior Management Team

Nicole Webster

Professor Nicole Webster

Professor Nicole Webster is the IMAS Executive Director.

As a marine microbial ecologist, she has moved from the tropics to the poles, studying how microorganisms contribute to the health of the Great Barrier Reef, and the utility of microbes as biomarkers for environmental stress in the Ross Sea of Antarctica.

Over the last two decades, she has worked as Principal Research Scientist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, and Deputy Director of the Australian Centre for Ecogenomics at The University of Queensland.

Since 2021, Nicole has helped to set Australia’s research agenda in some of the world’s most fragile and wild ecosystems through her role as Chief Scientist for the Australian Antarctic Division. Throughout this time, Nicole has helped thought leaders across the country to position marine and Antarctic science at the heart of climate-focused decision making.

Nicole commenced as the IMAS Executive Director in January 2024.

Heaadshot of Sarah Gracie

Sarah Gracie

Sarah is IMAS Business Manager.

Jemma Foster

Jemma Foster is the Strategic Partnerships, Students, and International Lead.

Wenneke ten Hout

Wenneke ten Hout is the Institute Coordinator.

Professor Peter Strutton

Pete is an oceanographer and the Centre Head of Oceans and Cryosphere.

Pete’s research focus is on the interaction between physical and biological processes in the ocean, and the consequences for ocean productivity and air-sea CO2 exchange. His research team combines observations from satellites, moorings, ships and drifting robotic floats to understand regional and global ocean biogeochemistry.

Associate Professor Vanessa Lucieer

Vanessa is a marine spatial analyst and the Centre Head of the Ecology and Biodiversity Centre.

In particular her research focus is on the development of spatial analysis methods for translating remotely sensed data into information that be utilised to understand the spatial distribution of benthic marine habitats. The diversity of research projects that Vanessa engages in is a reflection of the multidisciplinary nature of marine surveying. Marine surveying is a foundation discipline that generates knowledge to answer specific questions about understanding our marine environment.

Sean head and shoulders above the water after scuba diving.

Associate Professor Sean Tracey

Sean is Head of the IMAS Fisheries and Aquaculture Centre.

With a diverse portfolio in fisheries and marine ecosystems science, he conducts innovative research across multiple disciplines to address critical questions of both ecological consequence and facilitates sustainable management of marine resources.

His work spans the study of marine species and how they interact with each other and their environment, assessing commercial and recreational fisheries and more recently, the importance of seafood to global food security.

Professor Caleb Gardner

Caleb is the Director of the Sustainable Marine Research Collaboration (SMRCA), a partnership agreement between the Tasmanian Government and UTAS for research services.

Caleb first studied science at Adelaide University and then worked in the UK and Sydney. He began his fisheries research career with UTAS in 1995, initially working on giant crab and lobster fisheries. He later undertook additional undergraduate studies and then a masters by research in economics in response to the need to consider economic approaches in harvest strategies. He has worked in a range of positions at UTAS during his time here.

Jo Whittaker

Professor Jo Whittaker

Jo is the Associate Head of Research.

Jo joined the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Science (IMAS) at the University of Tasmania in January 2013. Her research interests are predominantly in plate tectonics, marine geophysics and geodynamics.

Jo completed a combine science/commerce undergraduate degree with Honours in Geophysics from the University of Sydney in 2003, followed by a Masters in Geophysics from Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand. She received her PhD, on the tectonic consequences of mid-ocean ridge formation, evolution and subduction, from the University of Sydney in 2008.

Following graduation she worked both for industry (GETECH in the UK) and academia (post-doc, University of Sydney).

Stuart Corney

Dr Stuart Corney

Stuart is the Associate Head of Learning and Teaching at IMAS and the chair of the IMAS Learning and Teaching committee. In this position he leads the delivery of both undergraduate and postgraduate teaching within IMAS, ensuring we provide world class learning opportunities in for our students.

Stuart is a climate and ecosystem modeller who specialises in understanding how the physical environment influences individual and population success of Southern Ocean marine species. His particular interest is in how changes in the physical climate are likely to change population dynamics in this important ecosystem. Working in a multidisciplinary field necessarily involves collaboration and Stuart has built a diverse group of collaborators with a range of specialisations from ocean modellers through to ecologists and field biologists. Before joining the IMAS faculty, Stuart was a long-time member of the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystem Co-operative Research Centre.

Authorised by the Executive Director, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies
30 January, 2024