• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • Book
  • Contact

Member of the Order of Australia (AM)

Published: Thursday, 10 October 2019

To my great surprise, I was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) this year, announced on the Queen’s Birthday Weekend. This means I now get to write my name as "Marita Cheng AM".  Most people who get this recognition are over 40 years older than me - the person awarded after me was 88 years old!

In the Australian honours system, appointments to the Order of Australia confer the highest recognition for outstanding achievement and service - mine was “for significant service to science and technology, particularly to robotics.” Consideration of a nomination can take between 18 months and two years - so I would have been nominated in 2017!

Over the past 11 years, I’ve been very lucky to have worked with amazing people across my teams at Robogals, Aubot, Aipoly, and Saxton to impact the lives of millions of people around the world. Thank you to you all - I couldn't have done this without you.

Growing up in regional Far North Queensland, I didn’t know much about the Order of Australia recognition at all, but I’m very honored to be a part of this group now and will wear my badge proudly.

I try to continuously challenge myself and put myself in situations where I am enthusiastically learning and growing.

I don’t know who nominated me - I found out when I got it - so it was an unexpected surprise and a lovely acknowledgment of all the work that I’ve done so far. It definitely inspires me to continue to be courageous and bold going forwards!

The Australian wrote more about my inclusion in the Order of Australia here:  https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/changing-the-world-with-robots/news-story/89610fe46c0cbefa6b4a8c64b6d92bbe

These awards were designed “to recognise Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or meritorious service.” There are many people I respect and admire who have received the post-nominal in the past, and who are receiving their post-nominal alongside me.  You can see the full list of my fellow Queen's Birthday Weekend awardees here:  https://www.theage.com.au/national/extraordinary-australians-honoured-in-annual-queen-s-birthday-ceremonies-20190606-p51v6q.html?fbclid=IwAR1Js-kFAp34JIYT7mpUhXhMaZkLlxJdjwT40_0_qW1zzocpcUkc-Hhwn90

On 17 September 2019, the Governor of Victoria presented me with the Member of the Order of Australia (AM) medal at Government House in Victoria.

About Me

Marita ChengForbes named me a world's top 50 woman in tech & 30 Under 30. I founded Robogals and Aipoly and was Young Australian of the Year 2012. Currently working on robotics company Aubot. I'm the youngest Member of the Order of Australia (AM) and I give speeches around the world.

I tweet @maritacheng and I'm on Facebook.

Subscribe

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Random Articles

  • Brains vs focus & time

    Andy Warhol had an IQ of 86, Richard Branson has an IQ of 92, Muhammed Ali has an IQ of 78, and David Ogilvy had an IQ of 96.  They are all below the...

  • Clarity in thought

    Clear away some space and time for yourself. Without the pressure of someone bursting in and occupying your space. By giving yourself the time and...

  • Phoenix, Arizona

    I love exploring new cities! So I was super thrilled to visit Phoenix in Arizona, and speak at ASQ’s Lean and Six Sigma Conference as their opening...

  • Hundreds of decisions everyday

    Answer the phone. Reply to the email. Follow up with the guy you met last week. Go to the meeting. Don't go to the meeting. Don't become a board...

  • Nancy Fairfax Churchill Fellowship

    From January to March this year, I travelled to Germany, the UK, the USA and Jamaica to study "Strategies to get girls interested in science,...

  • No overnight success: Geoffrey Rush

    When I was touring schools with Geoffrey Rush and we were answering questions in front of hundreds of kids, lots of them said, "I really what to be...

  • YouthActionNet Global Fellowship Day 4: Meeting an alumni's project

    We had the chance to visit one of the previous YAN Fellow's projects in Mexico. I chose to visit "Deport-es para Compartir" (or "Sports to Share")...

  • Greater than 0.00%

    No matter what choices you make every single day, life is unpredictable - everything is unpredictable. So all you can do is prepare the best you can...

  • Lifetime goals

    Don't be scared of achieving your lifetime goals.  You can always make up new goals after you've achieved these.

  • Be a fool

    When you learn something for the first time, everything is new to you. So you explore, you try different things, you fall down, you fail, you fail, and...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top