Jackie graduated with a PhD in physics from St. Andrews University and worked as a defence scientist for 35 years, in the UK Ministry of Defence and in DST Group of the Australian DoD. She held several senior executive positions within DST Group as a Chief of Division and was a member of the Defence Senior Leadership Group for eight years. She has also held numerous senior executive leadership positions within the five-eyes Defence and Intelligence S&T forums.

Jackie has led large international research programs in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, and Cyber and Electronic Warfare, and has expertise in optoelectronics, space and autonomous systems, and large data systems.

She was awarded the 2001 Ministers Award in Defence Science for her substantial contribution and influence on imagery ISR systems, and has received several awards for scientific leadership from the five-eyes community. She was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) in 2016. In 2020 Jackie was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her work in Defence science.

She is currently an Adjunct Professor within the College of Science and Engineering of Flinders University and a volunteer with the State Emergency Service.

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