Margaret Sheil

Margaret Sheil was born in Goulburn, New South Wales[4] in August 1961. As a teenager, she regularly visited the Department of Chemistry at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) where her mother, a nurse, was seconded to work on a scientific study to monitor lead levels in the blood of children exposed to petroleum. Obtaining a Bachelor of Science and a PhD in Physical Chemistry from UNSW,[5][6] Sheil accepted her first post-doctoral position at the University of Utah,[7] followed by another at the Australian National University.[5]

Returning to Australia in 1990, Sheil accepted a lectureship in chemistry at the University of Wollongong. She was promoted to Professor of Chemistry in 2000, the first female chemistry professor in Australia,[8][9] before becoming dean of science in 2001.[10] The University of Wollongong Council appointed her to the role of Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) in 2002, and then Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC Research) in 2005.[10] As DVC Research, Sheil led a major change at the University of Wollongong with the aim of boosting research outcomes and developing a high performance research culture. She has been acknowledged for boosting the national/international research reputation of the university, and supporting female academics, during her time at the University Of Wollongong.[11][12]

As well as successful university leadership roles, Professor Sheil's career has also been the chief executive officer[13][14] of the Australian Research Council (2007-2012).[15] In that role she led the development of the Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) evaluation of Australian University Research,[16][17] whilst also leading the development of a range of new funding schemes.[18] Also in this role, Sheil sought to increase research funding for women researchers,[19] and has been acknowledged for her efforts, for keeping women in research and attracting Indigenous Australians to academia.[20] Professor Sheil was Provost of the University of Melbourne, from 2012 to 2017.[17] She was appointed to the role of Vice-Chancellor and President of Queensland University of Technology in February 2018.[3]

Professor Sheil is a member of the Advisory Council of the CSIRO Science Industry Endowment Fund (SIEF),[21] a member of the Clunies Ross Awards Committee of ATSE[22][23] and the Australia Indonesia Centre.[6] In 2016, Professor Sheil joined the Board on the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO)[2] and the ATSE Board.[21][24] She has previously been a member of the Prime Minister's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC),[2][25] a member of the University Advisory Board for Coursera,[15][26] the National Research Infrastructure Council,[23] the Cooperative Research Centre Programme[23] and served as an Education Specialist on the Board of the Australian National Selection Commission for UNESCO.[22][27] Throughout her career, Sheil has sought to find ways to progress the participation, success and recognition of girls and women in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics) fields. Professor Sheil gave the 2014 Diana Temple Memorial Lecture[28] at the University of Sydney charting her own experiences and life history against the backdrop of the changing constraints and opportunities that applied to women during those decades.[29]

Professor Sheil has been a recipient of the Morrison Lecture, for her contribution to mass spectrometry in Australia,[12] and was a finalist in the AFR 100 women of Influence for 2012.[30] The Royal Australian Chemical Institute's Margaret Sheil Leadership award was established in recognition of her work.[31]

She is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI),[8][32] the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE),[32] and was made an inaugural fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Society for Mass Spectrometry (ANZSMS) in February 2014.[8][32]

In 2017, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia, for services to science and education.[2][1] She was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in May 2021.[33]

Margaret has recently been criticised for her leadership as vice-chancellor at Queensland University of Technology, which educates more than 52,000 students each year and employs 12,000 staff. She was the highest paid Queensland university VC in 2020 with a package worth at least $1.2m.

In response to claims that a lavish personal bathroom had been constructed at the university, during cuts for staff and programs, Professor Sheil stated, "one private bathroom plus an end-of-trip facility had been added during renovations to the heritage-listed Chancellery building, as were some marble finishes in public spaces as recommended by heritage architects".[34]

• Media related to Margaret Sheil at Wikimedia Commons