Dr Mary O’Kane AC is an Australian scientist and engineer.
In 2008, Dr O'Kane was appointed by then NSW Premier Nathan Rees as the state’s first chief scientist & engineer. In 2018, she resigned to become chair of the Independent Planning Commission of NSW (formerly the NSW Planning Assessment Commission).
Dr O'Kane received the Peter Nicol Russell Memorial Medal – the most distinguished engineering prize in Australia - in 2017, and the Pearcey Medal in 2014 to honour her contribution to the development and growth of the ICT professions, research and industry.
In 2016, she was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to science and engineering, as a contributor to national policy development and governance, to the promotion of technology research and future energy supply, to higher education, and as a role model for young scientists.
