Biography:

Dr. Cathy Foley is the Chief of CSIRO’s Division of Materials Science and Engineering. Previous to her current appointment, Cathy was involved in CSIRO’s Superconducting Devices and Applications Project developing superconducting systems for mineral exploration, detection of metal for quality assurance in manufacturing, terahertz imaging, and UXO detection. This multiple million-dollar project assisted with the discovery and delineation of the BHPB Cannington Silver mine and her team is currently commercialising their systems. Her group was the first team to successfully fly superconducting systems.

Cathy has a world-class reputation in her field, being: Fellow of the Institute of Physics in the UK; Past President of the Australian Institute of Physics; Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ASTE); Past President of Science and Technology Australia (formally Federation of Australian Science and Technology Societies, FASTS); and a Member of the Prime Minister Science Engineering and Innovation Council (PMSEIC).

Cathy was awarded a Public Service Medal on Australia Day in 2003. In the same year, she won the Eureka Prize for the promotion of Science and in 2009 she was the NSW and National winner of the Telstra Women’s Business Award for Innovation. Cathy was also the recipient of the AUSIMM MIOTA award for LANDTEM as a mineral exploration tool and in 2013 she was awarded the NSW Premier’ |Award for Woman of the Year.

Presentations:

• Business and industry, communities and controversy: what role does science communication play in public engagement?
• Science communication and leadership (part 1): Learning from our journeys
• Science communication and leadership (part 2): Shaping our culture