Professor Ian Chubb AC was Australia’s Chief Scientist from 2011 to 2015. Professor Chubb has a highly distinguished record of university administration across two decades adding to his strong academic record in neuroscience prior to the positions he held as Vice-Chancellor and Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor in three of Australia’s leading universities. Professor Chubb was President of the Australian Vice-Chancellors’ Committee during 2000 and 2001. He was Chair of the Group of Eight universities from 2003-2005. In 1999, Professor Chubb was made an Officer in the Order of Australia and in 2006, he was made a Companion in the Order of Australia (AC) for “service to higher education, including research and development policy in the pursuit of advancing the national interest socially, economically, culturally and environmentally, and to the facilitation of a knowledge-based global economy”. Professor Chubb is specifically interested in research development at USC making a deliberate choice to be present at official openings. He was the main speaker at the launch of USC’s Collaborative Research Networks Project which received funding of $5.4 million to support strategic research-focused appointments designed to advance USC’s research profile, performance and culture. Professor Chubb was appointed to the panel that recommended USC’s status as an independent University in 1999 and has been a strong supporter of the development of the University from the beginning.