The Director of Water Science is Professor Barry Hart. Prof Hart retired from Monash University in 2003 and is an Emeritus Professor at Monash.

He has established an international reputation in the fields of water quality management, environmental risk assessment and environmental chemistry (heavy metal and nutrient biogeochemistry).

Barry has published over 160 refereed papers and 12 books, and is on the editorial board of 5 international journals. He has received several awards, including the Limnology Medal (1982) from the Australian Society for Limnology, the Environmental Chemistry Medal (1996) and Applied Chemistry Medal (1998) from the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and in 2003 a Centenary Medal for services to water quality management and environmental protection.

Barry is well known for his sustained efforts in providing leadership in the development and implementation of knowledge-based decision making processes in natural resource management in Australia and south-east Asia.