New South Wales Chief Scientist and Scientific Engineer

BSc, PhD

Professor Mary O'Kane is the New South Wales Chief Scientist and Scientific Engineer, and also executive chairman of Mary O'Kane & Associates Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based company that provides strategic advice to governments, universities and the private sector.

She is also chair of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy, chair of the Development Gateway and the Development Gateway International, chair of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Spatial Information, and a director of PSMA Ltd and Business Events Sydney.

Professor O'Kane was Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Adelaide from 1996-2001, and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) from 1994-96. Before that, she was Dean of the Faculty of Information Sciences and Engineering at the University of Canberra. She is a former member of the Australian Research Council, the Cooperative Research Centres Committee, the board of FH Faulding & Co Ltd and the board of the CSIRO.

She holds an honorary doctorate from Central Queensland University, Macquarie University and University of Canberra. She is also a fellow and vice-president of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and an honorary fellow of Engineers, Australia.