Cathy Foley is chief of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation ’s Materials Science and Engineering division, and is responsible for around 900 people and a budget of more than $60 million.
Education
Foley got a diploma in education, High School Physics, at Macquarie University in 1979. A Bachelor of Science (Honours 1), majoring in Physics from Macquarie University in 1980 and Doctor of Philosophy in Physics, Macquarie University, 1984. She spent six months on a scholarship as a Research Fellow, Department of Electrical Engineering, at Oregon State University, United States of America in Corvallis while writing up her Doctor of Philosophy.".
Career
Her research expertise covers solid state physics, such as semiconductors, magnetics, superconductivity and nanotechnology." Foley and her group at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation performed pioneering work on SQUID systems for geomagnetic exploration of minerals, which were transitioned to industry and resulted in the discovery of mineral ores worth many billions of dollars. "Her team is responsible for the development and commercialization of LANDTEM which has led to the discovery of over $6B of mines worldwide." At Macquarie University, Foley and T. L. Tansley authored a series of highly regarded papers on indium nitride semiconductor films. The work of Tansley and Foley is considered central to the development of semiconductor lasers in the blue-green region of the spectrum.