Doctor Ilana Feain
BAdvSc(Hons), PhD, GAICD
Special responsibilities – A member of the Industry Engagement Working Group (part of 2023/24), the Board’s representative on AAL’s Industry Engagement Advisory Committee, AAL’s representative on the Astralis Board (part of 2023/24) and Chair of the Australian GMT Committee.
Ilana Feain is an astrophysicist turned medical physicist turned space commercialisation specialist with a background in pure and applied signal processing and deep technology commercialisation. Following a PhD in radio astronomy (2006 University of Sydney), Ilana was awarded a CSIRO postdoctoral fellowship before being promoted to project scientist for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope. In 2014, Ilana left astronomy and joined Sydney University as a senior research scientist in medical physics where she co-founded University of Sydney spinout Leo Cancer Care becoming its full time CEO. She returned to CSIRO until late 2021 to head up commercialisation for its Space and Astronomy division and where she nurtured through to creation venture-backed startup Quasar Satellite Technologies (QuasarSat).
Ilana has run her own advisory firm, Big Science Industry Engagement Services, that provides the astronomy and big science sectors with commercialisation and strategy services. She is also anon-executive director for venture-backed QuasarSat.
Ilana was an Inaugural L’Oreal Australia For Women in Science Fellow, a CSIRO Ruby Payne Scott Fellow, a recipient of the CSIRO Chairman’s Medal (team) and has won numerous other innovation and commercialisation awards.