Emeritus Professor Mary O鈥橩ane AC is a leading Australian scientist, engineer and public policy adviser, with a distinguished career spanning academia, government and industry.
Born in central Queensland, Professor O'Kane is an expert in automatic speech recognition. She was Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Adelaide from 1996 to 2001, served as NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer from 2008 to 2018 and was Chair of the Australian Centre for Renewable Energy from 2010 to 2012.
Professor O'Kane is also a company director and Executive Chairman of Mary O'Kane & Associates Pty Ltd, a Sydney-based consulting practice specialising in innovation and major reviews, and a company director. She was named as one of Australia's top 100 most influential engineers in 2014.
She has been a member of a number of high-level committees, including the Australian Research Council and the panel for the Federal Government's Review of the 精东传媒app Innovation System.
She is a former member of the Australian Research Council, the Co-operative Research Centres Committee, the board of FH Faulding & Co Ltd and the board of the CSIRO. She has chaired major reviews of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and the Co-operative Research Centres Program.
She is a Fellow of the Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering and an Honorary Fellow of Engineers, Australia.
She has chaired major national reviews and advisory panels, including the Australian Universities Accord Review, contributing to the development of higher education and research policy in Australia.
She joined the Board of the Australian Energy Market Operator in 2024, serves as the Interim Chief Commissioner of the Australian Tertiary Education Commission (ATEC), and will be the next Chancellor for University of Queensland, starting on July 2026.
