The School of Natural and Physical Sciences is proud to count among its graduates some of Papua New Guinea's most distinguished leaders, scholars, and professionals. Their achievements inspire current students and reflect the enduring impact of a UPNG education.
Chemist; pioneer of PNG natural-product research
Took his first degree at UPNG and a PhD in chemistry at the University of East Anglia at 27. A professor in this School whose plant collection work produced hopeaphenol, a compound from Anisoptera thurifera now studied as a candidate treatment for HIV and Covid-19.
Former DuPont research manager; Secretary for Public Enterprises
Bachelor of Science (Honours) at UPNG and a PhD at the University of Queensland. Research manager with DuPont Agricultural Biotechnology in Delaware from 2001 to 2012, later Secretary for Public Enterprises and a member of the UPNG Council.
Biodiversity scientist and conservation leader
Bachelor of Science in botany and plant biology, 1982, and a PhD in ethnobiology at ANU. A UPNG lecturer, then Executive Director of the Mama Graun Conservation Trust and a biodiversity adviser in PNG's LNG sector. The damselfly Nososticta moginae is named for her.
Director, Research and Conservation Foundation of PNG
Bachelor of Education at UPNG after a teaching diploma at its Goroka campus, then a PhD at Waikato as the first Zena Daysh Doctoral Fellow for Sustainability. Leads conservation research and environmental education in the Crater Mountain Wildlife Management Area.
CEO, Transparency Solomon Islands
Bachelor's degree in tropical agriculture at UPNG and a master's in crop-protection biotechnology in Britain. The Solomon Islands' first national Government Plant Pathologist and first woman Secretary to Cabinet; won Transparency International's Amalia Award in 2019.