18 Facts About Cathy Foley

Catherine Patricia Foley was born on 10 October 1957 and is an Australian physicist.

Cathy Foley was the Chief Scientist of Australia from January 2021 to December 2024, before which she had been the chief scientist for the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation since August 2018.

Cathy Foley's research is in solid-state physics and its applications in superconductivity, combining material science, quantum physics, and research translation.

Catherine Patricia Cathy Foley was born on 10 October 1957 in Darlinghurst.

Cathy Foley attended Macquarie University for her undergraduate degrees, studying a Diploma of Education in high school physics and a Bachelor of Science majoring in physics.

Cathy Foley remained at Macquarie to do a PhD in physics investigating indium nitride, under the supervision of Trevor Tansley.

Cathy Foley spent six months on a scholarship as a research fellow, department of electrical engineering, at Oregon State University, US, in Corvallis while writing up her PhD.

Cathy Foley joined CSIRO in 1985 as a national research fellow and was promoted to senior research scientist in 1991, principal research scientist in 1996, senior principal research scientist in 2000, and chief research scientist in 2008.

Dr Cathy Foley was previously the deputy director of CSIRO's manufacturing business unit, as well as chief of the Division of Materials Science and Engineering in 2011 CSIRO's Materials Science and Engineering division.

Cathy Foley joined the editorial board of the physics journal Superconductor Science and Technology in 2003 and subsequently became its editor in chief.

On 1 January 2021, Cathy Foley replaced Alan Finkel as Chief Scientist of Australia.

Cathy Foley made significant contributions for the comprehension of superconducting materials and to the evolution of devices that use superconductors to detect magnetic fields and locate deposits of minerals.

The work of Tansley and Dr Cathy Foley is considered central to the development of semiconductor lasers in the blue-green region of the spectrum.

Cathy Foley's awards include the 2015 Australian Academy of Science's Clunies-Ross Award, 2013 Premier's Award for Woman of the Year, and in 2011 the AUSIMM MIOTA prize.

Cathy Foley has been president of Science and Technology Australia, where she represented 68,000 Australian scientists and technologists.

Cathy Foley was awarded a public service medal on Australia Day in 2003 and in the same year won the Eureka Prize for the promotion of science.

Cathy Foley sits on the Scientific Advisory Committee of Australia's Centre for Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies.

In May 2020, Cathy Foley was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and in the 2020 Queen's Birthday Honours she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for "distinguished service to research science, to the advancement of women in physics, and to professional scientific organisations".