Dr Gregory Staib

Born in Sydney, though have lived in several cities I am proud to have finally settled in Ballarat over a year ago with my wife.

I have had a keen interest in science since a small boy; some vivid memories that come to mind are of my dad taking me on geology trips to collect rocks or plant samples on many bush-walks then we looked them up in books to put name to our discoveries, or of me sitting on my mum's lap with her instructing me how to code a computer when I was five years old. Little did I know that this foundation was instrumental in my life and career.

I have a solid understanding of science and technology but also strong values on how an understanding of and and curiosity about the world is important for Australians to be part of to ensure we can meet the challenges of today and the future.

I have worked in a wide variety of fields in academia, from researching the optical properties of spider web silk when at Macquarie University as a student to developing knowledge the science of coal seam gas when a PhD candidate with the CSIRO and Griffith University. Currently I now head a forecasting team at the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), researching the development of electric vehicles, batteries, solar PV and energy efficiency to ensure Australia's electricity system can integrate them over the coming decades.  These forecasts are published in annual reports allowing Australians access to reliable information and advice on the current state and future possibilities of energy in the next 20 years.

The process I use is a mixture of research and collaboration. I apply my scientific skills in the research and development of data streams and modelling techniques along with computer coding to build forecasting models that can utilise machine-learning on large data sets. For example, recently I found that removing large energy users from historical electricity data I was able to correlate it with long-term economic indicators.  I shared this insight to the broader stakeholder group and we have now adopted this method with support from major industry stakeholders on the appropriateness of this method.

I am also passionate about Ballarat, with my wife and I supporting innovative initiatives such as the Repair Cafe, Wholefoods Ballarat, ShareWaste as well as growing our own food and sharing it with the local community.

Electorate: Ballarat
MP: Catherine King