The Leadership team

Yvette is a specialist in multi-model data fusion and is dedicated to helping agricultural industries implement profitable and eco-friendly ways to increase productivity in challenging climates. Currently Yvette holds positions as Director of the JCU Centre for Agriculture, Technology and Adoption, Professor in Data Science and Focus Area Chair in the World Meteorological Organisation on Weather and Climate Services for Agriculture.

Associate Professor Mostafa Rahimi Azghadi is an electronics and computer engineer with strong interdisciplinary research interests. He develops hardware and software tools for a diverse range of applications from agriculture to medicine. The common theme in all his projects is developing high-performance tools for automation, decision making, and to help interpret complex systems and extract insights using machine learning and brain-inspired computing.

Dr Eric Wang is a multidisciplinary engineer with more than 10-years’ experience in the Internet of Things (IoT). His research focuses on implementing IoT to assist digital transformation in the industry. His recent research on smart irrigation has helped more than 20 farmers in the Burdekin region solve their irrigation management problems and created a significant impact on the local sugarcane industry.

Zsuzsa has an extensive track record as researcher, spending the last nine years in academia. She completed a PhD in sustainable finance and worked extensively with investors and the not-for-profit sector in the region on topics such as climate adaptation finance, blue finance, and the identification of environmental risks and opportunities.

Rachel Hay is a Social Scientist whose research extends to trans-disciplinary approaches to sustained behaviour change in social marketing, technology adoption and environmental protection interventions. Rachel’s role with AgTAC and TNQ Hub ensures she is in the best position bring together and share knowledge with producers and industry to help influence transformational change of agricultural technology and behaviours.

Dr Connar McShane is a psychological scientist who has engaged with primary producers, industry and regional development groups to identify determinants of and strategies to enhance social and economic growth within rural farming communities. Connar’s expertise lies in identifying the social and psychological characteristics that influence people’s decision-making and engagement in new systems and technologies.