Professor Tanya Monro AC

Professor Tanya Monro commenced as Chief Defence Scientist in March 2019. Prof Monro is head of Defence Science and Technology Group and Capability Manager for Innovation, Science and Technology in the Australian Department of Defence.In June 2022, Prof Monro was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) 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.

Prof Monro also holds the Bragg Gold Medal for the best physics PhD thesis in Australia, Prime Minister's Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year, SA Australian of the Year, and the Eureka Prize for Excellence in Interdisciplinary Scientific Research.

Prof Monro obtained her Doctor of Philosophy in physics from The University of Sydney, and was awarded a Royal Society University Research Fellowship at the University of Southampton. Previous roles include Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and Innovation at the University of South Australia and inaugural director of the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale Bio Photonics at the University of Adelaide.

For contributions to optics engineering and advancing Australian national security, Prof Monro is an International Member of the United States National Academy of Engineering. Prof Monro is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the Optical Society of America and an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics.