ACIAR Research Directors identify opportunities and partnerships for international agricultural research and capacity development. They do not undertake research directly.
Dr Steven Crimp
Dr Steven Crimp joined ACIAR from the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, where he was Deputy Head of Climate. His research has focussed on examining opportunities for improved climate risk management within primary industries, both in Australia and internationally. He has worked at a range of scales from individual farmer to multi-national and global food producers.
Steven has over twenty years of experience designing, implementing and managing research to improve climate risk management, for national and international primary industries. He has been a contributing author and expert reviewer of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 2001 and was a recent member of the IPCC TG-Data expert panel tasked with promoting improved data findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability for researchers.
Steven has over 10 years’ experience managing research partnerships focussed on enhancing the resilience of Indo-Pacific food systems to the impacts of climate change.
Dr Suzie Newman
Dr Suzie Newman joined ACIAR from The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited where she founded and led their International Development Unit. Established in 2017, the Unit has a portfolio of horticultural and seafood sector projects across Asia, Africa, the Pacific and the Caribbean. Dr Newman has extensive leadership and program management experience in international development having worked in both government and academic sectors. She brings strong technical skills in agribusiness, horticultural production and postharvest management research and extension.
From 2009-2016, she was based in Hanoi, Vietnam leading a series of regional projects in Vietnam, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar for ACIAR. She has also worked in Papua New Guinea, China and Africa. She is an experienced leader of complex, inter-disciplinary and multi-partnered projects. In 2012, she was awarded the MARD Medal for her contribution to Agriculture and Rural Development in Vietnam and in 2016 the Vietnam Women’s Union award for contribution to women’s development and empowerment in Vietnam. She holds a PhD in Plant Science (Postharvest Physiology) and a BHortSci (Hons) both from Massey University, New Zealand.
Dr Ingrid Van Putten
Before joining ACIAR, Dr Ingrid Van Putten was a senior research scientist with CSIRO, improving marine and fisheries management. In this interdisciplinary capacity she has worked in Australia, the Pacific and Asia, as well as South America and parts of Africa.
With a PhD in Economics and a Master of Environmental Studies from the University of Tasmania, Ingrid has extensive experience in economics and an interest in applying behavioural economics to address fisheries, climate change, and natural resources management problems. She has published over 180 peer reviewed papers and is topic editor for several journals.
Ingrid has worked as a Project Officer for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, a Research Officer for a Sustainable Forestry CRC and has consulted for various State and Commonwealth departments. She is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Marine Socioecology at the University of Tasmania, and she sits on several Scientific Advisory Committees, Steering Committees, and Boards.
