Industry leader Katherine Woodthorpe named President of ATSE

Scientist, industry leader and climate champion Dr Katherine Woodthorpe AO FTSE — known as one of Australia’s most influential people in innovation — has been elected the next President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). Upon taking up her three-year tenure on 1 January 2023, she will become the first woman to lead the Academy in its 47-year history.

Born in Malaysia and raised in Hong Kong, Woodthorpe was deeply inspired by her teachers growing up. She graduated with an honours degree in chemistry at the University of Manchester then a PhD in chemistry from the University of Leicester and has earned an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Technology Sydney. Her first job was in a laboratory in Kalgoorlie at a time when women were discriminated against and this experience shaped her varied career journey from international sales executive through to leading Australia’s largest and most innovative organisations spanning health care, renewable energy, climate change, finance and research. She has consistently been an advocate for recognising the unsung leadership of women in STEM and for addressing the underrepresentation of women in leadership and chairing roles.

Woodthorpe has been a professional director for over 20 years including as Chair of Natural Hazards Research Australia, the Antarctic Science Foundation and the HEARing Cooperative Research Centre. She has been a Director of the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Bioplatforms Australia (NCRIS), the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Vast Solar and listed companies Sirtex and Anteotech. She previously chaired the National Climate Science Advisory Committee and currently chairs the government’s Vision 2040 committee reviewing the strategy for investment in medical research for the next two decades.

Woodthorpe is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has been a Fellow of ATSE since 2015. In 2017, she received an Order of Australia for her ongoing service to research and technology innovation in Australia. She will be the 10th President of ATSE since its founding president was elected in 1975; she succeeds Professor Hugh Bradlow FTSE, whose six-year presidency has seen a growth in the Academy’s capacity to provide evidence-based advice.

“It is an honour and a privilege to be elected President by over 900 of Australia’s brightest minds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Woodthorpe said. “At a time when more ambitious climate action is crucial and building a skilled workforce fit for an uncertain future is urgent, ATSE and its Fellows are in prime position to foster evidence-based action between government, industry and academia.

“I am incredibly proud to lead an Academy that is proactively shaping Australia’s technology-led transition to net zero emissions; supporting our research workforce and industry to translate and commercialise their innovations into economic benefits; and preparing our children for whatever the future brings by exciting them in STEM and supporting their career journeys.

“The Academy plays a critical role providing independent and authoritative advice to support government and industry decision-making. We have a golden opportunity to bring these diverse perspectives to political leaders and CEOs and create better results for Australia’s sustainability and prosperity.

“Put simply, we need more applied scientists, engineers and technologists at both the political and industry decision-making tables.”

Image caption: Dr Katherine Woodthorpe AO FTSE.

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