Anne Steinemann

Director (Professor of Engineering, Chair of Sustainable Infrastructure, College of Science and Engineering)

Professor Anne Steinemann is internationally recognised for her expertise in engineering and sustainability, with research in climate-related hazards, disaster risk reduction, product emissions and effects, healthy buildings and environments, and safe and resilient infrastructure.

At James Cook University, she holds the position of Professor of Engineering, and Chair of Sustainable Infrastructure. She has a dual appointment as Professor of Civil Engineering, and Chair of Sustainable Cities, at the University of Melbourne.

Her previous academic positions include Program Manager at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego; Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Professor of Public Affairs, and Director of the Water Center, at the University of Washington; and Associate Professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She was also Visiting Professor at Stanford University, Florida Institute of Technology, and Linköping University in Sweden. She received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Stanford University.

For experience relevant to the role of Director of the Centre for Disaster Solutions:

For over two decades, Professor Steinemann has been creating and leading major university-based interdisciplinary research groups and centres, linked with education, industry and agency engagement, and public outreach.

At the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, she was selected to lead the federal drought preparedness program for the State of California. In this role, she brought together and led more than 200 academics and stakeholders, such as industry CEOs and agency officials, to develop the research, resources, and decision-making strategies for dealing with drought. As a result, she received the State of California's Climate Services Award for developing "useful science" to "bridge between the academic research community and practitioners" and for helping "decision-makers incorporate climate science into natural resource and infrastructure management."

Also at Scripps, she managed the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments program, a major research consortium for bridging climate science and society. She led an interdisciplinary team with over 50 academics and staff, and engaged with over 150 partners from industries, agencies, organizations, tribes, and the public. Through these close collaborations, the research was adopted across California to help reduce impacts of hazards such as droughts, floods, fires, storms, heat waves, and sea level rise.

At the University of Washington, in addition to her Professorial roles, she served as Director of The Water Center, an interdisciplinary research, education, and public outreach centre. She led more than 100 academics, researchers, staff, and advisory board members, and engaged with more than 1,000 representatives from industries, agencies, and organizations. She ran an annual research symposium, which generated the highest public attendance of any university research event. She grew the Centre research team from 20 to over 100 people within four years, engaged every college at the university, and increased external research funding for the Centre by more than 500%.

Professor Steinemann has generated and directed more than $24 million in competitive research funding. Her work has resulted in new federal and state legislation, agency policies, and industry practices in areas of environmental hazard reduction.  An interdisciplinary scholar, she has published nearly 90 refereed articles (h-index 40) across leading journals in environmental management, civil engineering, atmospheric sciences, public policy, urban planning, and public health, as well as two textbooks: Microeconomics for Public Decisions, and Exposure Analysis.

Her research has received significant international media coverage, spanning more than 2,000 major newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations, and web-based outlets across six continents, with an estimated global reach of more than 600 million people.

She has conducted more than 200 media interviews, with articles appearing in national and international outlets such as the Washington Post, Time Magazine, Scientific American, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, USA Today, US News & World Report, Discovery Channel Magazine, Prevention Magazine, Daily Mail U.K., Hindustan Times, Singapore National Radio, and over 200 Australia newspapers.

As Director of the Centre for Disaster Solutions, Professor Steinemann brings (i) over two decades of experience with successfully building and leading research teams at universities, unifying academics from across disciplines, (ii) a strong publications record in disaster-related and interdisciplinary research, (iii) an entrepreneurial spirit and ability to generate funding for research and centre activities, (iv) close engagement with external partners and stakeholders to translate research into applications, and (v) a predilection for working with the media and public communications, which can increase the visibility and impact of academic research.