Dr Cathy Robinson

Cathy is a Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO who works with Indigenous communities to finds ways to weave technical science with Indigenous knowledge, to find sustainable land management options on Indigenous estates. She leads a range of research programs that respond to a number of conservation and sustainable development issues for Northern Australia.

Cathy specialises in sustainability science and trans-disciplinary research methods and has extensive experience in cross-cultural and collaborative research with Indigenous communities. This involves working with Indigenous and scientific experts to create innovative solutions to tackle contemporary landscape management issues that can also improve economic, cultural and social benefits.

She is also the facilitator of the Indigenous Innovation Alliance. This is led by an Indigenous Steering Committee and involves CSIRO, University of Queensland Business School, and Northern Territory's Charles Darwin University. Together they are co-designing an innovation program that enables Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge and science to support sustainable development on Indigenous estates.

The impact of Cathy’s work has been recently recognised through the 2018 CSIRO Medal for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Engagement, the 2017 Federal Business, Industry and Innovation Women in Stem and Entrepreneurship Award and the 2015 Australian Science and Innovation Forum Innovator of Influence Award.