Ian Watt to Take Over from Terry Moran as Secretary Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. (August 5, 2011)

Prime Minister, Julia Gillard has appointed Ian Watt, the current Secretary of Defence, to replace Terry Moran as Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet beginning September 5, 2011.

Dr Watt, prior to becoming Secretary of Defence was secretary of the Department of Finance and Deregulation (formerly Finance and Administration), from 18 January 2002 to 30 August 2009, having been pinched  from the Department of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts.

His online thumbnail public service biography also notes that he spent a couple of months (9-11, 1999) doing the Advanced Management Program at the Harvard Business School.

Whether or not that will make him more receptive to interacting with academia than was his predecessor remains to be seen. Perhaps he might start by having Professor Chubb and the Chief Scientist's Office moved over from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research as well as helping resurrect the Prime Minster's Science, Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC) from its state of suspended animation.

Well, it's just a thought.