Dr Rob Hough is the Director of Mineral Resources at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO. He leads CSIRO’s mineral exploration, mining, mineral processing and sustainability research and its translation to industry, performed by a team of over 300 researchers in major hubs around Australia. Rob was appointed as the Director of CSIRO Mineral Resources in December 2021 to work closely with industry across the value chain to grow Australia’s resource base, increase minerals industry productivity and to drive environmental performance. Rob and his leadership team bring together research with global partners in academia, government, and industry to tackle short, and longer-term challenges to the sustainability of the Australian minerals industry. This includes leading Mission directed research to support Australia’s role in how Critical Minerals can support the global energy transformation and grow new manufacturing opportunities.