Our founders and supporters
SAGE was originally funded as an initiative of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, with funding from the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, as well as individual donors and institutions.
We wish to acknowledge the following individual and organisational donors, whose vision for a more equitable sector has made years of progress possible:
Australian Academy of Science
Founding MemberThe Australian Academy of Science provides independent, authoritative and influential scientific advice, promotes international scientific engagement, builds public awareness and understanding of science, and champions, celebrates and supports excellence in Australian science.
SAGE began as an initiative of the Australian Academy of Science and the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE). The two academies joined to launch the Athena Swan program in Australia. They remain SAGE members.
Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE)
Founding MemberATSE is a Learned Academy of independent experts helping Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems.
SAGE began as an initiative of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and the Australian Academy of Science. The two academies joined to launch the Athena Swan program in Australia. They remain SAGE members.
Department of Industry, Science and Resources
The Department of Industry, Science and Resources works to enable growth and productivity for globally competitive Australian industries by supporting innovation, science and commercialisation; growing business investment and improving business capability and streamlining regulations.
The department provided funding to establish SAGE and grow in our first years.
Professor Nalini Joshi AO FAA
Sponsor, co-founder and co-Chair of the SAGE establishment Pilot Steering CommitteeProfessor Nalini Joshi AO is Chair of Applied Mathematics at the University of Sydney, and a Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellow.
Professor Joshi’s research focuses on mathematical methods to study integrable systems, which arise as universal models everywhere. She was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2008, won an Australian Research Council Georgina Sweet Australian Laureate Fellowship in 2012 and was the 150th Anniversary Hardy Fellow of the London Mathematical Society in 2015.
Nalini has a keen interest in diversity and her Laureate Fellowship had a component to attract and retain female researchers in STEM.
Professor Brian Schmidt AC FRS FAA FRSN
Sponsor, co-founder and co-Chair of the SAGE establishment Pilot Steering CommitteeProfessor Brian P. Schmidt is the Vice-Chancellor and President of ANU. One of Australia’s most eminent scientists, he is winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, alongside many other academic awards and distinctions. Professor Schmidt spent most of his academic career as an astrophysicist at the ANU Mount Stromlo Observatory and Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics before becoming Vice-Chancellor.
Professor Tanya Monro FAA FTSE FOSA FAIP GAICD
Professor Tanya Monro AC is Australia’s Chief Defence Scientist, head of Defence Science and Technology Group (DSTG) and Capability Manager for Innovation, Science and Technology within the Australian Department of Defence.
In June 2022, Professor Monro was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in for eminent service to scientific and technological development, to research and innovation, to tertiary education, particularly in the field of photonics, and to professional organisations.
Professor Monro is extensively awarded for her work in physics and service to the sciences. She was closely involved in the establishment of SAGE and the Athena Swan program in Australia and continues to champion diversity and inclusion at the Department of Defence.
Professor Mahananda Dasgupta FAA
Professor Dasgupta is a world leader in measuring and understanding the complex quantum interactions occurring in collisions of heavy nuclei. Through the development in Australia of novel instrumentation and clever experimental and analysis techniques, Dasgupta made pioneering measurements of nuclear fusion with unmatched accuracy and precision.
Dr Catherine Offord
Dr Catherine Offord is Manager of Horticultural Research at The Australian Botanic Gardens, Principal Research Scientist and manager of the Australian PlantBank.
She is the foremost expert on plant germplasm conservation in NSW, leading the Rainforest Seed Conservation Project, and has played a pivotal role in research into the Wollemi Pine and its protection.
Professor Kate Smith-Miles
Kate Smith-Miles is a Professor of Applied Mathematics in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at The University of Melbourne, and holds a five year Laureate Fellowship from the Australian Research Council.
Professor Smith-Miles is actively involved in mentoring, particularly with the aim of encouraging greater female participation in mathematics, and she is Chair of the Advisory Board for the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute’s Choose Maths program.
Emeritus Professor Susanne von Caemmerer
Professor von Caemmerer is Professor of Molecular Plant Physiology at the ANU Research School of Biology. She was elected to the Australian Academy of Science and Leopoldina (the German Academy of Science) in 2006.
Her research focuses on photosynthesis and stomatal function, with an emphasis on the mathematical modeling of the carbon acquisition of plants, the biochemistry of carbon dioxide fixation and regulation of carbon dioxide diffusion in leaves.
Professor Neville Fletcher AM FAA FTSE
Professor Neville Fletcher (1930-2017) was a professor of physics with research interests in musical acoustics and studies on the physics of ice and water.
In 1983 Professor Fletcher was appointed Director of CSIRO’s Institute of Physical Sciences, later becoming the Institute’s Chief Research Scientist. He later became a full-time Visiting Fellow in the ANU Research School of Physical Sciences and Engineering, and an Adjunct Professor of the University of NSW.
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