Professor Bronwyn Harch

For Professor Bronwyn Harch, a career in science has been a wide-ranging journey in which Griffith University has been dotted serendipitously along the way. From growing up as a curious helper on the family farm to occupying the most senior state-level role in science alongside the Queensland Government, Professor Harch looks back on her career to date with pride and fondness.

“I feel proud of what I've been able to catalyse for other people. Much of what I achieved in my roles in government agencies and universities was about making it better for businesses and governments in their decision making.”

“Now I can see that some of my practices and thinking are out there broadly in the community. And many years after I’ve interacted with researchers and organisations, they still seek my advice, which I think is a great legacy of impact.”

Professor Harch grew up working her family’s Lockyer Valley farm, helping her parents and their horticultural efforts to grow cabbages, cauliflowers, potatoes, onions and more for productive harvests year after year. The variability of weather, humidity, and soil and its impact on growing plants sparked the interest of the budding statistician in the making—she just didn’t know it at the time.

“It all started with my parents, teaching me about the many interactions to be considered when growing crops: when to plant; when to add water and fertiliser at just the right time in the growing cycle of the different vegetables; when to harvest for optimal productivity; and how season and consumer demand affected prices in the market.”

“So, I think that's where I got interested in science broadly. I just didn't know it was STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) at the time. I just knew I was curious about how everything worked on the farm.”

While at boarding school at Ipswich, Professor Harch was exposed to the lives of other students who had parents with jobs she had never heard of at the time, like geologists, surveyors and pathologists.

“I was amazed about the diversity of jobs and careers people pursued. At school, I really enjoyed the environmental sciences of biology and geography and had a natural ability for mathematics.”

“My parents encouraged me to explore professions like teaching and law, but I thought there must be other options that would suit my strengths and ambitions.”

And while that sparked awareness and interest in the potential science fields that young Professor Harch could one day consider, it wasn’t until a cohort of visiting Griffith University lecturers came to her school to talk about the range of STEM-based courses on offer that she found a pathway for her passions.

“I can still vividly remember being in a classroom with these enthusiastic lecturers from Griffith, talking about their degree programs where you could combine environmental science and mathematics.”

“And I just thought, ‘I don't have to choose; I can actually do both?’ It was like I could have my cake and eat it too.”

“So that was a critical initiative for me, that Griffith sent lecturers out to the beyond-Brisbane locations. And I finally found something that wasn't pigeonholing me into a single profession with one area of focus, so I was quite enamoured with the broad nature of what I could study at Griffith.”

Professor Harch’s Griffith journey began in 1986 when she commenced her Bachelor of Science at the Nathan campus. Living on campus meant that she could regularly connect with her lecturers and be exposed to various opportunities put forth by academics who could see her potential. And there was also no need to shatter the ‘academic in the ivory tower’ trope because it simply didn’t exist for Professor Harch.

“There was no exclusive staff room as such, you would find yourself with your lecturers in the morning and afternoons in the common areas making a cuppa alongside you, so it was very easy to connect with them.”

“I always thought that was pretty special and a unique social construct that this equality between students and lecturers resonates in my memory.”

“And the opportunities were life-changing. My lecturers brought their research practice into their teaching practice. One of the defining moments for me was when my statistics lecturer and Honours lead supervisor, Professor Janet Chaseling, took me to an international biometrics conference on the Gold Coast and persuaded me to give a talk on my Honours research—and it’s where I met my eventual PhD supervisor. So that one opportunity really shaped my path.”

Griffith has been a recurring theme in Professor Harch's career since completing her PhD in statistics and evaluating germplasm collections for agriculture at The University of Queensland (UQ). She reconnected with her Honours co-supervisor, renowned Griffith rivers expert, Professor Stuart Bunn. At CSIRO, she collaborated with his research team and other research and government agencies on river ecosystem health monitoring and modelling. She also enjoyed giving back and co-supervising Honours and PhD students at Griffith.

Senior executive research and innovation roles at QUT, The University of Queensland, and various state and federal government advisory committees formed the remainder of Professor Harch’s rich career tapestry before she was announced as the Interim Queensland Chief Scientist in 2022.

“Courage goes with vulnerability; you can't have courage if you're not vulnerable in your leadership. So, I hope people will reflect on what I achieved in various leadership roles and how I engaged and operated in the roles.”