Honorary Associate ProfessorJames Mullins

James’ Deakin journey began as an undergraduate and Deakin’s first (and only) Robotics Engineering graduate in 2002.  Continuing with Deakin into a PhD he worked at IISRI (then ISR lab as part of the school of engineering) and completed a medical robotics (haptics) thesis in 2009.  

James has worked on over 180 applied research and development projects within IISRI in the Defence, emergency services, industrial, aerospace and healthcare domains.  

In 2018, James was seconded to FLAIM systems as founding researcher in the role of CEO and then CTO and helped lead the growth of the company to over 40 staff, supplying technology to over 48 countries.  James as Chief Technologies lead FLAIM through multiple funding rounds, most recently receiving funding from Breakthrough Victoria.  

James works closely with the Australian Defence Force (ADF), internationally with all four services within the US and throughout Europe and the UK.  James has a passion for supporting talent, creating high performance teams, and translating concepts to reality for real-world impact and looks forward to collaborating across the university.

James currently leads the Deakin Defence and Security, Strategic Partnerships team, driving collaborative Deakin partnerships, focusing on the critical areas of defence, foreign interference, humanitarian effort, disaster relief and emergency services, cyber security, national security, aerospace as well as advanced manufacturing and innovation.  In June 2024 James was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to science and to the community.