Professor Alex Zelinsky AO is Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Newcastle. Prior to joining the University in 2018, he was Australia’s Chief Defence Scientist and leader of Defence Science and Technology within the Department of Defence.

Professor Zelinsky’s previous roles include Group Executive for Information Sciences at CSIRO, and Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Seeing Machines, a computer vision technology company now listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company was a start-up from the Australian National University, where he was a Professor of Systems Engineering.

Professor Zelinsky holds a Bachelor of Mathematical Sciences (Honours), a Doctor of Philosophy and an Honorary Doctor of Science from the University of Wollongong. He is an Officer in the Order of Australia, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Institute of Engineers Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors