Professor Gras has a proven track record translating laboratory research into industrial practice. She is Director of The ARC Dairy Innovation Hub, a collaboration between two universities, four major Australian manufacturing companies and Dairy Australia in a program of over $16 million. Her research has been applied industrially to assist process upgrades, to provide quality assurance and to enable the removal of technical barriers preventing entry to new markets. Professor Gras will be a very strong contributor to the Academy having already contributed broadly to the formulation of national science and technology policy.