Susan Margaret Pond is an Australian scientist and technologist, active in business and academia, and recognised for her contributions to medicine, biotechnology, renewable energy and sustainability. She is the current president of the

Royal Society of New South Wales The Royal Society of New South Wales is a learned society based in Sydney, Australia. The Governor of New South Wales is the vice-regal patron of the Society. The Society was established as the Philosophical Society of Australasia on 27 June ...

Early life and education

Born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Susan Pond qualified in medicine at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

, receiving the

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...

degrees in 1969. She then undertook postgraduate study at the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...

, where she was awarded the Doctor of Medicine degree and at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, where she was awarded the

Doctor of Science Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...

degree.

Career

Susan Pond was the first woman to be appointed to a Personal Professorial Chair in the Department of Medicine at the University of Queensland, the first woman to receive the Wellcome Australia Medal, and the first female Managing Director of a Johnson & Johnson Company in Australia. From February 2017 to May 2018 she was the director of Sydney Nano (The University of Sydney Nano Institute) and she is currently Chair of th
NSW Smart Sensing Network
(NSSN). From 1994 to 1996 she served as chairman of the

Australian Drug Evaluation Committee {{Use Australian English, date=October 2016 The Australian Drug Evaluation Committee or ADEC, was a committee that provided independent scientific advice to the Australian Government regarding therapeutic drugs. The committee was originally formed ...

. From 2010 to 2014 she served as a director of the

Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) is a statutory body of the Australian government, formed in 1987 to replace the Australian Atomic Energy Commission. Its head office and main facilities are in southern outs ...

. Previous positions have included: adjunct professor, faculty of engineering and information technologies, University of Sydney; Chairman & Managing Director of Johnson & Johnson Research Pty Limited;Pond, Susan Margaret
MB BS 1969 MD (UNSW) DSc (UQ) FTSE FRACP, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney Adjunct Professor in sustainability, United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney; Professor of Medicine at the University of Queensland 1984–1996.

Distinctions and awards

Susan Pond is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales, of the

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...

, of the

Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences The Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences is an academy to promote health and medical sciences in Australia. It was established in June 2014. It cites "The Academy will serve the three purposes identified as of high priority in the 20 ...

, of the

Royal Australasian College of Physicians The Royal Australasian College of Physicians (RACP) is a not-for-profit professional organisation responsible for training and educating physicians and paediatricians across Australia and New Zealand. The RACP is responsible for training both ...

, and of the

Australian Institute of Company Directors The Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD) is a non-profit membership organization for directors. The AICD is a founding member of the Global Network of Director Institutes (GNDI). History The origins of the AICD can be traced ba ...

. She was made a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 1994

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...

Honours for services to Clinical Pharmacology and ToxicologyPOND, Susan Margaret - Member of the Order of Australia (AM)
26 January 1994, It's an Honour. and in 2001 she was awarded a

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

for service to Australian society in therapeutics.POND, Susan Margaret - Centenary Medal
1 January 2001, It's an Honour In 2013 she was awarded the Doctor of Medicine degree ''honoris causa'' by the

and in the same year she was named as one of Australia's Top 100 Women of Influence by

The Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

. Pond served as Vice President of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, and Chair of the Clean Technology committee. In April 2021 Pond was elected President of the Royal Society of New South Wales, only the third woman to be elected to the post.

References

External links

Prof Susan Pond
ATSE Workshop August 2011, pg.42 {{DEFAULTSORT:Pond, Susan Members of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Fellows of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Fellows of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Living people University of Queensland faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the Royal Society of New South Wales