The University of Newcastle Research Associates
Our People
TUNRA Leadership
Tim Donohue
General Manager
Dr Tim Donohue is the General Manager of TUNRA and has been in this role for over 5 years. Tim completed undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in engineering at the University of Newcastle before going on to provide specialised consultancy services, to predominantly the resource sector, in the early stages of his career. Moving from a technical to management role Tim has subsequently complimented his technical studies with a Master of Business Administration and Graduate Certificate in Law as he progressed into the General Manager role. In this role Tim has been exposed to a wide variety of projects across the spectrum of research fields at the University of Newcastle, with Tim leading a team of 80+ staff who ensure excellence in project delivery through a strong service orientation and a commitment to the provision of high-quality solutions to industry problems. Working with the Board of Directors, Tim continues to focus on identifying new applied research opportunities and initiatives that further the strategic objectives of both TUNRA and the University of Newcastle.
Kendyll Frielick
Executive Officer
Kendyll Frielick joins the TUNRA team as an Executive Officer with over 14 years of experience in executive support, project management and administrative roles. In her role at TUNRA Kendyll provides high level project and executive support to the General Manager, working on a range of operational, strategic and policy related business matters. Prior to joining TUNRA, Kendyll worked in the private sector most recently providing executive and project management support services to the Director of a privately owned property development firm. Kendyll is a commercially minded, driven, and energetic professional with a strong background in administration and client service. She is a highly organised problem solver with a proven ability to plan effectively to maximise opportunities and support businesses to achieve organisational objectives. Kendyll holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Sydney and is currently completing her Master of Business Administration (MBA) through the University of Newcastle.
Dan Smith
Business Lead, TUNRA Connect
Dan Smith leads our TUNRA Connect business unit which provides University experts with a platform to collaborate and deliver research-lead solutions with real world impact. Dan is focused on establishing and supporting collaborative consulting and non-HERDC projects between University of Newcastle Researchers, industry, and the broader community. Dan joins TUNRA with over 6 years’ experience working in research commercialisation and business development most recently at The Sydney School of Entrepreneurship where he held the role of Director of Entrepreneurship. Prior to his roles with SSE, Dan has founded several start-ups and worked with multiple organisations in the drone industry. Dan is an innovative and entrepreneurial business lead and passionate about leading a team that drives real impact.
Jayne O'Shea
Operations Manager, TUNRA Bulk Solids
Dr Jayne O’Shea is one of our experienced Senior Consulting Engineers and Operations Managers at TUNRA Bulk Solids. Jayne has been involved with TBS since 2005, joining us as a lab technician and progressing through to an engineering and researcher role. She completed a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Newcastle (2005- 2009), where she graduated with first class honours and the University Medal. She completed her PhD studies at Newcastle University (2010-2015), focused on the numerical modelling of the indentation rolling resistance associated with overland belt conveying. In addition to her work in the belt conveying field, Jayne has worked on numerous research and consulting projects involving a combination of scale modelling design, experimental measurement, theoretical modelling, and Discrete Element Method (DEM) simulation.Dr O’Shea has successfully contributed to over 100 projects, both in Australia and overseas, across a wide array of bulk materials, including coal, iron ore, gold ore, bauxite, and grains.
Board of Directors
Professor Zee Upton
Professor Zee Upton brings energy, enthusiasm and an entrepreneurial spirt to her current role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation at the University of Newcastle with an extensive research career that’s spread across nations, melding industry and higher education. Professor Upton moved to the University of Newcastle in 2021. She took on the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research, and Innovation in early 2022 after almost a year as Pro Vice-Chancellor of the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing. She has a significant record of research in skin, wounds, and tissue repair, spanning many disciplinary boundaries. Prior to joining the University, she spent six years in Singapore where she was Executive Director of the Skin Research Institute of Singapore (SRIS), a tripartite research institute between Nanyang Technological University, the National Health Group and the Agency for Science, technology, and Research (A*STAR), as well as the Executive Director of A*STAR Institute of Medical Biology. In these roles, she facilitated extensive collaboration with industry, many via the Wound Care Innovation for the Tropics Industry Alignment Pre-Positioning Program that she also established and led. Preceding this, Professor Upon spent 15 years at the Queensland University of Technology where she held senior management and leadership positions, as well as established the Wound Management Innovation Cooperative Research Centre, plus formed a start-up that ultimately listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Zee currently Chairs the Board of Directors at TUNRA.
Alan Broadfoot
Professor Alan Broadfoot has been the Executive Director of the Newcastle Institute for Energy and Resources (NIER) at the University of Newcastle since 2010. At NIER, Alan leads an ambitious agenda linking industry and academia for transformational research in energy, resources, food, and water. Alan holds a Doctor of Philosophy, Master of Engineering and Bachelor of Electrical Engineering (Honours) from the University of Newcastle. Trained as an Electrical Engineer, Alan joined electrical design and manufacturing company, Ampcontrol in 1991 and held senior management positions, including Managing Director and CEO from 2005–2010. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers Australia and was Chair of the Australian Industry Group Hunter Manufacturing Council from 2004 –2009. In addition to his role on of Director on the TUNRA Board, he is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Fellow of The Royal Society of NSW, Chair of the NSW Energy and Resources Knowledge Hub, Deputy Chair of the Hydrogen Taskforce, Board Director of The University of Newcastle Research Associates (TUNRA) and member of the NSW Decarbonisation Innovation Hub Advisory Board.
Professor Rohan Walker
Professor Walker is a senior academic-researcher based at Hunter Medical Research Institute and has interests in training, cognition and performance. Currently, he is the Director of Center for Advanced Training Systems, deputy director of the Centre for Rehab Innovations and is currently the Deputy Head of School for Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy (Partnerships and Commercialization). He obtained his PhD from the University of Newcastle in the field of Neuroimmunology in 2006. He has also recently held the position as a senior fellow for the Centre for Research Excellence in Stroke Recovery and Rehabilitation (2016-2020). Professor Walker is currently engaged with a number of industry partners in developing bio-metrically enhanced performance training and evaluation systems. He also works with partners in the development of scalable biometric monitoring programs and their integration with dynamic analytic frameworks and is a Director on the Board at TUNRA.
Ralph Hardy
Ralph Hardy is a director and senior manager with extensive finance, commercial, and systems experience in the manufacturing and service industries. He has held senior roles with private companies which included leading multinational finance teams, providing the strategic direction, risk management, finance policies and governance framework to all companies in the business. His experience has included being responsible for provision of consolidated financial and management accounting support and reports, multinational shared service centres, treasury, finance funding, tax compliance, statutory compliance and mergers and acquisitions, together with financial management and advice to all levels of management.
Ralph has strong financial management experience in number of jurisdictions in Australia, Asia, Africa and Europe. Ralph is a member of the AICD and has experience with multiple boards. In addition to his role as a Director on the Board at TUNRA, Ralph also is a board member of the Cooperative Research Centre for High Performance Soils (Soil CRC).
Barbara Crossley
Barbara Crosley has been a Non-Executive Director (NED) of The University of Newcastle Research Associates (TUNRA) since 2018. She is an experienced NED having served 3 terms on the Board of Hunter Water Corporation (HWC) from 2004 to 2013. HWC is a State-Owned Corporation delivering water and wastewater services to over half a million people in the lower Hunter Region.
Barbara is also the Managing Director of Umwelt, a Hunter grown, employee-owned business, delivering quality environmental and social consultancy services across Australia. With a team of more than 300 professionals and a presence in most states, Umwelt services all levels of government and many major international and national corporations across the energy, resources, defence, and infrastructure sectors. At Umwelt, there is a strong focus on leading practice, and ‘staying ahead of the curve’ in terms of thought leadership supported by strong science. In her role, Barbara is often engaged in strategic oversight of such programs of work, and/or assists in providing the connection between industry and government needs, and the studies required to influence improved or emerging outcomes.
Kevin Young
Kevin Young Non Executive Director and previous Managing Director with extensive experience in leadership within the water industry in Australia and overseas. He has more than 20 years’ experience as a Director with extensive experience in leadership within the water industry in Australia and overseas. He is currently the Chair TasWater and the Deputy Chancellor of the University of Newcastle. For 15 years he was Managing Director of Hunter Water and then Sydney Water. Kevin has been named four times by the Institution of Engineers Australia as one of the Top 100 most influential engineers in Australia and was also named as the 2019 NSW Water Professional of the Year by the Australian Water Association.
Belinda Grealy
Belinda Grealy is a senior executive with over 30 years’ experience leading commercial, operational, and strategic transformation across mining services, logistics, manufacturing, and telecommunications. Currently Executive General Manager at Ventia, she oversees a national portfolio delivering critical infrastructure across defence, space, utilities, and transport. Prior to Ventia, Belinda held senior leadership roles at Orica, Asciano, and OneSteel, leading global commercial transformation, major hazard risk programs, and enterprise technology upgrades. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (Hons) from the University of Newcastle. Belinda joined the TUNRA Board in 2024.
Contact us
Send an email
Call 02 4921 8784
The University of Newcastle acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands within our footprint areas: Awabakal, Darkinjung, Biripai, Worimi, Wonnarua, and Eora Nations. We also pay respect to the wisdom of our Elders past and present.