Science and innovation will be top of the agenda when Australia's Chief Scientist Dr Alan Finkel visits Charles Sturt University (CSU) in Orange on Monday 10 October to deliver a free public lecture.

As part of the CSU Explorations Series, Dr Finkel will deliver a speech from 6pm called 'Science for Regional Australia in the Third Millennium'.

Dr Finkel will examine how science and innovation are already a major part of everyday life. He will look over the horizon to a world of driverless cars, super-efficient farm machinery and business success based on creativity and imagination.

"Technology is often accompanied by side effects, such as pollution, but it can also bring solutions and the promise of a better quality of life," Dr Finkel will tell the audience.

With a focus on everyday science, Dr Finkel will explore the origins of the humble carrot. The carrot when it was discovered was white and barely distinguishable from a parsnip. Today, thanks to human ingenuity, there are many varieties of carrots but the best known carrots are orange and full of vitamins and minerals.

With a background as an engineer, neuroscientist, educator and an entrepreneur who founded a company in Silicon Valley, Dr Finkel is Australia's eighth Chief Scientist.

The lecture is free and open to the public. It'll be held in lecture theatre 3, room 120, building 1004 at CSU in Orange. Light refreshments will be served after the talk.

The University's Explorations Series is part of the Community-University Partnership program and aims to engage rural and regional communities in discussion and debate about major issues.