Director's Welcome, August 2026
Dear All,I hope that your year is going well. At the SMI we have been busier than ever, and we are continuing to engage across the spectrum of seminal resource sector challenges. We have also had a huge run of important milestones over the past few weeks
We farewelled Melissa Glendenning as Director Institute Operations after more than ten years in the role. Melissa has played a key leadership role over that time in so many ways that it would be impossible to list them here. She is transitioning to a well-deserved retirement after more than 27 years with UQ working in a number of senior roles.
We also welcomed Elizabeth Delgado Alcantarino as the SMI’s new Director Institute Operations. Elizabeth brings strong experiences in the resource sector on the strength of her long period as Operations Manager for the Gas and Energy Transition Research Centre. She comes to the SMI after over a year as Acting Director Institute Operations for the Queensland Brain Institute. We are all happy to have such an experienced and capable DIO in the role.
Those of you visiting the Indooroopilly site over the past year may have noticed the temporary fencing around the headframe, installed in response to the instability and subsidence being experienced around the structure. We have now reached a point where the headframe has to be taken down for safety reasons, which will happen over the coming months. We have separately circulated further information on this to SMI and university staff and stakeholders.
Last week the SMI celebrated its 25th anniversary with a large group of alumni, staff, patterns and supporters at Customs House.
Speeches from Vice Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AC and Former Premier Dr Peter Beattie AC celebrated the vision of the Queensland State Government and UQ in 2001 to support the founding of the new Institute.
We also had recorded messages of congratulation from founding Director Professor Don McKee and past Directors Professor Chris Moran and Professor Neville Plint.
Another highlight of the evening was the two panels: a group of SMI partners and stakeholders looking at the impact of the Institute; and a group of SMI staff and HDR researchers looking at the future of the SMI.
It was wonderful to reconnect with so many of the people who played such a key role in the success of the SMI. There were many great quotes from the evening, but my favourite one was “bring us your biggest challenges!”
On a sad note, last week we also farewelled Paul Rogers at a memorial service in his honour. The service was well-attended by former UQ colleagues from both inside and outside the SMI. He will be sorely missed.
As 2026 continues to unfold, I wish you all the best and look forward to staying in touch. We would be delighted to hear from you.
Kind Regards,
Professor Rick Valenta
SMI Institute Director