Sarah Hartman

Sarah is a CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellow with a focus on “Developing a Trusted AI Agronomist.” The project couples deep learning with the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM), a biophysical agricultural model. It also involves stakeholder engagement to identify key considerations for a trustworthy and successful agronomist.

Sarah has spent her career working in environmental engineering and science, where she designs and executes low- and high-technology projects focusing on water, agriculture, and community-led growth in collaboration with public and private sector stakeholders. Sarah is passionate about making science and technology accessible to the public via thoughtful translation. She also has a strong commitment to improving technical issues through a cultural and policy lens.

Before starting at CSIRO, Sarah completed a PhD at the University of California, Berkeley in Environmental Science and Policy with a focus on the sustainability of local agricultural systems embedded into the global supply chain. She is the recipient of three US National Science Foundation fellowships for her PhD research and a Truman Scholarship for her commitment to public service. She also received a Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy fellowship that put her in Washington D.C. to support a climate and economic justice project out of the White House and a Fulbright Research Fellowship to conduct research on water resource sustainability in the Philippines.