Professor Emily Hilder is Chief Platforms in Defence Science & Technology Group.

As Chief Platforms Professor Hilder is responsible for leading research and development supporting science and technology capability for crewed, uncrewed and autonomous platforms across all domains. She is also currently Executive Chair of the Maritime Systems Group for the Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) and Co-chair of the Science and Technology Steering Group within the USN-RAN Strategic Dialogue.

Emily joined Defence as Chief Maritime Division in DSTG in November 2020. Prior to joining Defence she was Director of the Future Industries Institute (FII) and Deputy Director of the ARC Research Hub for integrated devices for end-user analysis at low levels (IDEAL) at University of South Australia.

She is a graduate of the University of Tasmania where she completed her PhD in analytical chemistry in 2000. Following postdoctoral positions at Johannes Kepler University (Austria) and the E.O. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (USA) she returned to Australia and University of Tasmania in 2004 where she held two ARC Fellowships (APD, Future Fellowship) as well as positions as Assistant Dean of Graduate Research and Head of Chemistry. She was inaugural Director of the ARC Training Centre for Portable Analytical Separation Technologies (ASTech) before relocating to the University of South Australia in 2016. Her research is the field of analytical chemistry and materials science and is focused on the design and application of new materials that can be used to improve analytical measurements. Her work has led to commercial and field adoption in separation science, bioanalysis, disease diagnosis, environment and food science, defence and national security.

Emily is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) and has been recognised by a number of awards including the Eureka Prize for Outstanding Science in Safeguarding Australia (2019), RACI Doreen Clarke Analytical Medal (2016), UTAS Foundation Graduate Award (2010) and has been included in the Analytical Scientist Power Lists from 2013-2017, 2019-2021 including the 'Top 40 under 40' and as one of the top 10 leaders in analytical science. She is an Associate Editor of Analytical Chemistry (ACS) and a member of the Advisory Board of the Australian Maritime College (University of Tasmania).