Professor Hanna Neumann is an algebraist who has made many contributions to the modern algebraic theory of groups. Many of these have been concerned with the existence and nature of embedding groups. With her other contributions to group theory and to geometric axiomatics these discoveries have made her one of the best known present day algebraists. As head of the department of Pure Mathematics in the School of General Studies of the Australian National University she has contributed greatly to mathematical education in Australia and has helped in building a highly active research school.