Katrina Wruck

Dr Katrina Wruck is a proud Mabuyag woman descended from the Panay Tribe of Western Zenadth Kes (Torres Strait Islands) and has heritage spanning Europe and the Middle East. She is an award-winning industrial chemist, science communicator, and Lecturer in Chemical and Sustainable Process Engineering at QUT. Her research focuses on sustainable chemical innovation by reverse engineering nature’s chemistry to tackle environmental challenges – including the removal and destruction of persistent “forever chemicals”. Named 2025 Young Australian of the Year, and recipient of both the 2023 Outstanding Doctoral Thesis Award and the 2022 QLD Women in STEM Award, she is a passionate advocate for Australian First Nations representation in STEM. Her commitment to reshaping the academic landscape is grounded in improving cultural competency across teaching and research – through respectful engagement with Indigenous cultural intellectual property and communities, guided by the principle: nothing about us without us.