Ronald Lindsay Sandland
Early years
Ronald (Ron) Lindsay Sandland was born in Marrickville (Sydney) on 13 April 1947 and completed his secondary education at the Kingsgrove High School.
Tertiary education and early career
Ron graduated from the University of Sydney in 1969 with a BSc (Hons). He gained actuarial qualifications in 1974 and his PhD from the University of New South Wales in 1980. His research interests were in applying statistics to the solving of challenging real problems in areas as diverse as growth of organisms, analysis of mark-recapture experiments, ore reserve estimation and quality improvement.
Time at CSIRO
Ron joined the CSIRO Division of Mathematics and Statistics in 1969.
He became Chief of the Division of Mathematics and Statistics of CSIRO in 1988, later managing its merger with the Division of Information Technology into what became CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences.
In 1999 he became Deputy Chief Executive of CSIRO. This involved bringing together six major cross-disciplinary research programs to address problems of national priority. He was awarded the CSIRO Medal for Lifetime Achievement in recognition of 37 years of divisional and organisational leadership that culminated in the successful implementation of the Flagship and Science Planning Initiatives which are acknowledged as playing a critical role in shaping the organisation.
Career highlights at other organisations
Dr Sandland has held appointments on a range of advisory councils and boards including the Australian National Data Service. He chairs the boards of three University centres based in the Faculty of Science – the Centre of Excellence for Biological Risk Assessment (CEBRA), the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS) and The Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI). Since beginning this service to the Faculty 10 years ago, his Chairmanship has been marked by exceptional strategic leadership and vision. His political skills and advocacy have been valuable for each of the Centres in negotiation and partnership building with government departments and other institutions.
Honours and awards
| 1980 | Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) awarded by University of New South Wales |
| 1998 | Honorary Life Member of the Statistical Society of Australia |
| 1999 | Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering |
| 2006 | CSIRO Medal for Lifetime Achievement |
| 2007 | Member of the Order of Australia (OAM) |
| 2016 | Honorary DSc awarded by University of Melbourne |
| 2019 | Distinguished Service Award, Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute |