Dr. Catherine Ball
Scientific Futurist and Professor of Innovation
Adjunct Professor Dr Catherine Ball is an award-winning company director, bestselling author of Converge: A Futurist’s Insights into the Potential of Our World as Technology and Humanity Collide (2022) and The Future of Sleep: A Tech-Fuelled Field Guide to the New Rest Economy (2026), and a futurist working across global projects where emerging technologies meet humanitarian, education, and environmental needs.
A champion of diversity and inclusion, Catherine believes we need points of difference to truly innovate and curate the changes we want to see in the world. Working to protect the natural environment and empowering all members of society through mutual education and respect are core aspects of her chosen projects. As well as supporting Australian start-ups and leaders from all generations; Catherine is particularly passionate about social mobility and equity.
She's proud to be an advisor to a broad range of enterprises and philanthropic organisations; i.e. an international advisory board member for the Schmidt Ocean Institute, and an XPRIZE visioneer and member of their Global Brains Trust. She's also proud to be a member of Australia’s Robotics Advisory Council.Catherine holds a BSc Honours (Environmental Protection), a PhD (Spatial Ecology, Descriptive and Predictive Statistics) both from the University of Newcastle- upon-Tyne in the UK, and recently was awarded a DSc (Doctor of Science Honoris Causa) from Worcester Polytechnic in Massachusetts, USA.
A champion of diversity and inclusion, Catherine believes we need points of difference to truly innovate and curate the changes we want to see in the world. Working to protect the natural environment and empowering all members of society through mutual education and respect are core aspects of her chosen projects. As well as supporting Australian start-ups and leaders from all generations; Catherine is particularly passionate about social mobility and equity.
She's proud to be an advisor to a broad range of enterprises and philanthropic organisations; i.e. an international advisory board member for the Schmidt Ocean Institute, and an XPRIZE visioneer and member of their Global Brains Trust. She's also proud to be a member of Australia’s Robotics Advisory Council.Catherine holds a BSc Honours (Environmental Protection), a PhD (Spatial Ecology, Descriptive and Predictive Statistics) both from the University of Newcastle- upon-Tyne in the UK, and recently was awarded a DSc (Doctor of Science Honoris Causa) from Worcester Polytechnic in Massachusetts, USA.
