Katherine Woodthorpe named Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering president

Australia's eminent science, technology, engineering and maths professionals elected Dr Woodthorpe to lead the academy for the next three years, taking over from Professor Hugh Bradlow.

With an honours degree in chemistry from the University of Manchester, a PhD in chemistry from the University of Leicester and an honorary doctorate from the University of Technology Sydney, Dr Woodthorpe has established a varied career in science industries over four decades.

Dr Woodthorpe describes her work as bridging the gap between business, academia and other research organisations to deliver practical outcomes.

As a climate advocate, she said chairing the Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre 20 years ago taught her the worrying tipping points the planet was racing towards.

She said it was an honour to be elected president at a time when more ambitious climate action was crucial and the academy was in a position to foster action between government, industry and academia.

"Australia is awakening to the critical role of science and technology in shaping a better world," Dr Woodthorpe said.

"There is a resurgence in realising the value that science and evidence have in informing better decisions and outcomes."

She said, by the end of her tenure, she hoped to say the academy had made a real impact in supporting women through the early years of their careers, and that there'd been a marked increase in women in senior leadership in STEM.

Dr Woodthorpe said, in 2022, she shouldn't be the first ever female president of the academy.

"I've broken a few glass ceilings in the past, so I'm willing to be that first," she said.

"But we really need to make it ordinary to see women at all levels."

Dr Woodthorpe said she was proud to lead an academy that was proactively shaping Australia's technology-led transition to net zero emissions and supporting the research workforce to commercialise their innovations.

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She said she hoped the recent trust placed in medical professionals when it came to inform policy during the pandemic would be extended to fellow scientists in years to come.

"The pandemic was the first time that scientists, in that case medical scientists and doctors, were listened to and their advice incorporated into decision making," she said.

"They were at the table and the evidence they gave to support that advice was then taken up and used as an input.

"I would like to see that broaden across all of science and some of the key scientists in our climate space get a better year from the public, from the media, and from the government."

Dr Woodthorpe will take up her tenure on January 1, 2023.