The UQ Centre for Natural Gas is pleased to announce that Professor David Close has commenced as Director following an extensive recruitment process to replace Professor Andrew (Alf) Garnett, who led the Centre and has been integral to its success over the last 12 years.
David is an experienced research geoscientist and energy industry executive who has studied and worked across the UK, North America, and Australia. He holds a D.Phil. in Marine Geophysics from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and a B.Sc. (Hons 1st Class) from the University of Tasmania. David has extensive technical, commercial, and operational experience, and has led stakeholder engagement, land access, management and environmental approvals on a variety of projects. David has extensive expertise in the international and domestic oil and gas industry and has a deep interest in the broader energy industry, and energy and environmental policies.
UQ Centre for Natural Gas
David's arrival at UQ coincides with a pivotal phase in the energy transition. The Centre plays a vital role in undertaking leading-edge, independent and rigorous research to inform the natural gas and broader energy industry as it responds to the various national and international social, technical, economic and environmental challenges of decarbonisation through the energy transition, as well as informing new energy projects and technologies.
David is excited about the opportunity – "…it's an honour to be given the chance to build on the legacy that Alf and the Centre team have built over the last 12 years. I'm looking forward to working with the research chairs and together leading a transition of the Centre to best serve the research needs of all stakeholders during the energy transition. We have expertise and deep understanding across all aspects of the gas supply chain and project development and experience examining technical, policy, access, engagement and approval challenges".
