Hello and welcome to LTH! How did your career as an expert in your field begin?
– My PhD was undertaken in Perth Australia in the field of innovation management at Murdoch University. I later presented a paper about innovation policy at an engineering conference in Brisbane Australia, which is over 4000 kilometers away!
There I met a Professor of Construction Management who introduced me to the Engineering Faculty at Queensland University of Technology. I would work in that faculty for most of the next 20 years. Eventually, I became interested in socially and environmentally responsible supply chains to produce built environment assets.
At Lund University, I am leading a new project with my colleagues on operationally resonsible supply chains. We are looking at the crisis preparedness of agencies responsible for constructing and maintaining public infrastructure assets, such as roads, bridges and utilities.
Why did you choose to work at LTH?
– As Lund University is one of Scandinavia's largest and most comprehensive universities, I am keen to extend my collaboration with them, having worked for some years with a colleague from Lund. Because of this history, I am invested in Lund University’s success, and as a feminist, I am invested in seeing women occupying the most senior positions.
What are your expectations for your role as a Lise Meitner Visiting Professor?
– My aim is to positively influence the career aspirations of junior female staff in my division. I will do this through one-on-one mentoring, and I will also manage a large multidisciplinary research collaboration about crisis preparedness, with women in the division. We need to increase the number of female professors in the academic community!
My related goals are to expand collaborative research between Sweden and Australia, generate high-quality publications, win competitive research funding and develop new research directions in resonsible supply chains.
Ultimately, I aim to establish a lasting research network that continues beyond the professorship and produces meaningful academic and societal impact through more responsible practices in constructing and maintaining a resilient built environment.
Looking back on your career, what are you most proud of?
– As past Director of Post-Graduate Students and Head of the Construction Management Discipline at Queensland University of Technology, I played a big role in helping staff and students to progress within the academic system.
I also effectively taught engineers about the importance of equity and relationship management on large infrastructure projects. My research team was responsible for proving that Alliance contracting methods are an efficient and effective means of delivering such assets.
What have you achieved at LTH so far, and what are you most excited to work on next?
– I am supporting junior female staff and students in our division and will continue to do so over the next three years. Although this mentoring work is largely invisible, it has a big impact.
I have also developed a major research proposal which will involve such staff and students, as a means of progressing their careers. It will be a fun and valuable international collaboration.