Biography
Dr Nigel Johnson
Dr Nigel Johnson has been Chief of CSIRO Textile and Fibre Technology (CTFT) since
1 November 2005. CSIRO is Australia’s national research organisation and CTFT conducts
fibre and textile research in support of the country’s wool, cotton and textile industries, and
also develops fibre-based solutions to other sectors.
Nigel joined CSIRO from Canesis Network in New Zealand where he was Deputy CEO and
General Manager of the Textiles Division.
A graduate in Textile Physics from the University of New South Wales, Dr Johnson
completed a PhD in yarn spinning research at Leeds University, UK.
Initially employed at Ilkley, UK, by the International Wool Secretariat, he returned to Sydney
as a Lecturer in Textile Technology at the University of NSW before joining the Wool
Research Organisation of New Zealand (WRONZ), which evolved into Canesis, now part of
AgResearch Ltd.
With a background in innovation and development related to fibre processing and textile
product development, Nigel’s current focus is on leadership in strategy development,
research and innovation based on fibres. He places emphasis on delivering research
outcomes that have economic and/or social impact.
He believes the fibre and textile industries have entered a new era. The performance of
traditional products, such as apparel and furnishings, will be enhanced, and advanced fibrous
materials and structures with totally new properties will find uses in many sectors.
Dr Johnson says thin, flexible fibrous structures could have much to offer in the solution of
problems tackled in many areas of research.
He is a Fellow of the Textile Institute; Associate Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of
Management; Graduate of the Australian Institute of Physics; and a member of Australian
Institute of Company Directors.
Nigel is a Member of International Editorial Boards of Journal of Textile and Apparel,
Technology and Management (JTATM), North Carolina State University, and of Indian
Journal of Fibre and Textile Research, India, and previously Deputy Editor of the Journal of
the Textile Institute (the foremost international scientific journal in the sector).
He has been a Keynote speaker at international conferences on topics such as "Transforming
Australasia's Textile Industries"; “Wool in Technical Textiles”; "Sciences, Materials and
Technologies Converging with Textiles"; “Textiles of the Future”.
He has recently been Acting Group Executive of CSIRO’s Manufacturing, Materials and
Minerals Group.