Professor Lachlan Blackhall
My time at ANU not only gave me the freedom to pursue deep academic studies but also to better understand how my studies could influence the world through innovation, teaching and outreach.
As an enthusiastic entrepreneur with experience in founding and growing start- up companies, Professor Lachlan Blackhall has combined his love of business and skills in engineering and mathematics to become an inspiring teacher, mentor and innovator.
While completing his PhD studies in engineering and applied mathematics at ANU, Lachlan founded InnovationACT, a business planning and entrepreneurship outreach program. Seven years later, InnovationACT has given out more than $300,000 in awards and grants to business ideas and entrepreneurs. It has more than 1,000 university staff and students participating in its activities and has led to the formation of many high-tech start-up companies.
InnovationACT is now a major part of the ACT innovation community and was awarded the Best Community Engagement and Outstanding Excellence in Collaboration awards by the Business and Higher Education Round Table in 2012.
After finishing his PhD, Lachlan co-founded Reposit Power, a technology company that designs systems for grid-deployed energy storage. It supports the addition of renewable power onto the national energy grid. Reposit Power has raised funds from private investors and has received a number of federal and state government grants.
Professor Blackhall is currently Entrepreneurial Fellow and Head of the ANU Battery Storage and Grid Integration Program (BSGIP) at ANU. His research and development activities focus on supporting and accelerating the global energy transition to address the existential challenges of climate change.
Lachlan is a passionate advocate of education and outreach in entrepreneurial and innovation circles. He has led outreach activities—mostly robotics workshops—for primary, secondary and tertiary students independently and through Questacon. Lachlan also teaches in Malaysia, Pakistan, Uganda and Kenya.
Recognising his contribution to innovation and entrepreneurship in the Canberra region, Lachlan was named as an ACT finalist in the 2015 Young Australian of the Year.
