Professor Batterham, a chemical engineer was appointed Chief of the Division of Mineral Engineering, CSIRO in 1985. From 1988, he held senior positions in Technology Development with CRA Limited (now Rio Tinto Limited). He is currently Managing Director, Research and Technology Support, Comalco and Chief Technologist, Rio Tinto Limited. Since 1990, he has served as a panel member in physical science in the Cooperative Research Centres program, and subsequently as a member of the CRC committee. In 1999 he was appointed as Chief Scientist of Australia.