• Blog
  • Archives
  • Bio
  • Projects
  • Awards
  • Speaking
  • 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

  • Jevaroo - lift capabilities

    We filmed some more videos of our Jevaroo robot arm in action!  Here it is demonstrating its load and lift capabilities. It can lift 2.32kg at the...

  • How to expand

    Are you doing the same old things that you know how to do, that you know won’t fail, that you know won’t make you look bad, over and over again?  It...

  • I've done what I've done

    When I became Young Australian of the Year a year ago, I wanted to give as many speeches as I physically could, I wanted to contribute to the...

  • Sandra Sully AGENDA coffee book

    Through speaking on stage together at Vogue magazine’s Vogue Codes event together in Sydney in 2018, Sandra Sully invited me to take part in her...

  • Aurukun Advance Queensland

    As part of my Advance Queensland Hot Desq tenure, I was granted the unique opportunity to visit a remote Aboriginal community, Aurukun, to encourage kids into...

  • My lockdown life

    Lockdown is certainly a change of pace for me. I used to fly around the world twice a month! Now I’m stuck inside my 768 sq ft apartment for months...

  • I don’t have time for that

    Do you ever think to yourself that you can’t do this? That you’re not smart enough? That you haven’t practised enough? That you’re not ready? That...

  • The Sandbox Global Summit

    How to create a Sandbox Global Summit Carefully select over 4 years, a group of 650 under-30 year-olds from around the world and cultivate...

  • One meeting can change your life

    Go out and make those connections, meet people, have conversations. It may land you a dream job.  My friend got an engineering internship in China by...

  • Perfection is an oasis

    Perfection is unattainable.  You're never going to get something that's perfect, done.  Not with your budget.  Not with your timeframe.  Not so that you...

Enter your email address to receive my latest blog posts: 

 

Scroll to Top