By Candice Barnes
He's not based in an operating theatre, or the back of an ambulance, but Professor Peter Klinken is still in the business of saving lives.
As one of the state's top medical researchers, he has lead teams which have probed deadly illnesses, including cancer and leukaemia. The resulting discoveries have led to a greater understanding about the roles genes play in the development of certain maladies.
Professor Peter Klinken is WA's third chief scientist.Credit: Jody D'Arcy
Now, as Western Australia's chief scientist, Professor Klinken is applying that out-of-the-box thinking in a new way.
But he admitted his predecessors, WA Citizen of the Year Lyn Beazley and Order of Australia recipient Bruce Hobbs were hard acts to follow...
As the state's chief scientist, you advise government bodies on issues of innovation. Do you think there is an appetite for innovative practices here in WA?
I really do. Across the board I get a sense of optimism. It's quite uplifting and exhilarating when you come across people who really believe in innovation and want to make it happen - from small companies to big companies who are innovative, to new incubators and accelerators that are being set up. Even organisations like Landgate hosting an innovation month, all of those things I find very exciting.
Are there any particular sectors in Australia where you see great potential for growth?
I see it across all sectors. One of the things I love is people thinking outside of the box, thinking laterally, coming up with new idea and generally being creative.
This country does extremely well in terms of the resources sector, energy and agriculture, but we have superb strengths in other areas that I call the life sciences, like in biotechnology and so on. They hold huge potential for our future.
Innovation comes in many forms - has anything impressed you recently?
There are so many things. I really have been chuffed with wave energy, there are three companies here in WA I'm aware of. One of them is Carnegie, they're powering HMAS Stirling I believe. That sort of stuff excites me no end.
There's another company called Bombora which has a different form of wave technology and that's really innovative thinking, using WA's natural environment as we do get some fantastic swells from the Indian Ocean. To utilise it for energy generation is wonderful.
What needs to happen in order to encourage further innovation in this country?
There are two keys areas – the physical environment and the emotional environment. The physical environment is the buildings, facilities, equipment and the interactive areas. People can be creative and innovative when they're bouncing ideas off of like-minded people. If you can create that physical space, that's really important.
The emotional environment is where you support people and encourage them to take risks. Risk-taking is a big part of innovation because it's new use designing a new mouse trap. For people to take risks like that you need to provide them with the mentoring to help them understand that failure is a part of this and it's not a bad thing.
University and research funding has taken a hard hit in recent years. How crucial is this support when it comes to the success of science and innovation programs?
Research is crucial for solving the problems of the world, there is no other solution I'm aware of. New cures and solutions don't magically fall from the sky, you have to do the hard yakka. Research therefore should be seen as an investment, not a burden.
I find it difficult when people say research is a black hole to which money pours in and you don't get any return. That's the wrong attitude to take. If you have creative, innovative research supported by the environment, you'll come up with all sorts of new things you wouldn't have imagined before.
Professor Klinken will participate in a panel discussion, alongside Perth businessmen Larry Lopez and Zhenya Tsvetnenko, at the third annual WAtoday Entrepreneur and Innovator Awards on 7 May. Tickets can be purchased from the Networking WA website.