Australian-UK dual national scientist Hugh Durrant-Whyte barred from nuclear duties

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This was published 6 years ago

Australian-UK dual national scientist Hugh Durrant-Whyte barred from nuclear duties

By Nick Miller
Updated

London: A respected Australian scientist has been barred from overseeing Britain's nuclear weapons program because Australia isn't a nuclear power, the UK's Sunday Times has reported.

The Pentagon refused to share nuclear information with Hugh Durrant-Whyte, a robotics expert from Sydney University, the newspaper said.

Professor Hugh Durrant-Whyte

Professor Hugh Durrant-WhyteCredit: Michele Mossop

Mr Durrant-Whyte, who has both UK and Australian nationality, was appointed the UK's Ministry of Defence chief scientific adviser in April, on a salary of £140,000 ($244,000) a year.

The MoD was forced to transfer about a third of his job to the Foreign Office, to satisfy the US, which, like the UK, is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Hugh Durrant-Whyte, as CEO of NICTA in Canberra in 2014.

Hugh Durrant-Whyte, as CEO of NICTA in Canberra in 2014.Credit: Andrew Meares

The treaty is aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and prohibits the transfer of technical information about nuclear weapons to a non-nuclear state.

The lost responsibilities include overseeing British military science and technology programs including the manufacture of nuclear warheads.

Sir Mark Welland, who held the MoD post between 2008 and 2012, told the Times: "The holders of that post have always done the nuclear brief. It's a big part of the job."

According to the Minsitry of Defence, Mr Durrant-Whyte's job is to "keep the armed forces at the cutting edge of new technological developments", and advise ministers and senior officials.

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A Trident II missile launch. The UK relies on submarine-launched nuclear missiles.

A Trident II missile launch. The UK relies on submarine-launched nuclear missiles.Credit: AP

Mr Durrant-Whyte moved to Australia in 1995 and established and led a robotics centre at the University of Sydney, then became CEO of the National Information and Communications Technology Authority. However he left NICTA in 2014, following funding cuts to the tech research operation by the Abbott government.

He is a world-renowned expert in robotics, developing 'field' robots for use in agriculture, mining and defence work, according to his biography at the Royal Society.

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He also worked to develop algorithms used in self-driving cars. In 2010 he was NSW Scientist of the Year.

He has worked with BAE Systems, one of the world's biggest defence manufacturers.

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