Professor Bronwyn Harch

Specialist Director

BSc/Hons (Env), PhD (Biometrics), FTSE, FQA, FAICD

Professor Bronwyn Harch has significant research and higher education leadership experience and is passionate about innovation that makes our communities more secure, resilient and sustainable.

Bronwyn is currently the interim Queensland Chief Scientist and has three key responsibilities in this role:

1. Leading science strategy across government;
2. Increasing engagement and participation of the Queensland community in science-based activities; and,
3. Promoting Queensland Science.

As an ambassador for research, she fosters cooperation and collaboration amongst the government, research, industry and community sectors; and engaging the community in better understanding the importance of science, research and innovation for future economic, social and environmental wellbeing.

As The University of Queensland Deputy Vice-Chancellor & Vice-President (Research & Innovation 2018 to 2022), Bronwyn was responsible for enhancing the University’s performance and reputation in research, commercialisation and innovation, research training, and research and innovation collaboration with external stakeholders, nationally and internationally. She led the bid for the Federal Government’s successful Trailblazers Commercialisation Program for the Food and Beverage Accelerator (FaBA).

Whilst Executive Director of the QUT Institute for Future Environment (2014 to 2018), Bronwyn led digital transformation projects in the agri-food sector as bid co-lead, and Research Director for the Food Agility CRC. She developed engagement and commercialisation strategies with governments and industry.

Bronwyn also worked as a researcher and research leader at CSIRO (1995 to 2014). Her own research has focused on the statistical design of landscape-scale sampling protocols and monitoring programs, as well as the statistical modelling of complex systems, particularly agricultural and environmental systems.

Bronwyn's Board experience includes current membership of Queensland’s Innovation Advisory Council, the Cooperative Research Centres Advisory Committee, AgResearch NZ’s Science Advisory Panel and CSIRO’s Environment Advisory Board. Bronwyn is also Professor at QUT Entrepreneurship and is part of the QUT/Queensland Government team delivering the Queensland Connects regional entrepreneurship acceleration program.

In her role on the APL Board, Prof. Harch is Chair of the APL Investment Committee and a Director of Australasian Pork Research Institute Ltd (APRIL).