Dr McCarthy was commenting in an address to about 500 Otago graduands in several disciplines, including science, commerce and surveying, during a capping ceremony at the Dunedin Town Hall yesterday.
She told graduands they had received a quality education that had given them the tools to think broadly and critically and to "sift ideas and information, to understand and appreciate the lessons of history, and to make wise and informed judgements".
Otago University ranked among the "very best in the world".
She noted Otago had achieved the greatest representation of any university or Crown Research Institute at a recent royal society honours event - awards having been won by five Otago researchers: Profs Warren Tate, Frank Griffin, Richie Poulton, Stephen Robertson and Keith Gordon.
Scientific knowledge and technological application had developed at an unprecedented rate in the 20th and 21st centuries.
"The pace of scientific discovery continues to accelerate, with great potential to improve the lives and livelihoods of us all and with profound implications for our economy.
"The role of science and technology in promoting long-term economic growth, providing an enabling environment for innovation and research, and in building a scientifically literate society is indeed critical to our future as a nation."
Equally critical was the link between science and business.
Science was producing new opportunities, both in how to do business and where commercial opportunities might lie, she said.
New Zealand generally had a history of "coming up with great ideas and inventions".
"We need some business graduates in the audience today to pick them up and create successful business from them."
The world faced many challenges, including whether there would be viable alternatives to cheap oil and whether an effective vaccine could be found for HIV, which devastated the lives of millions of people around the world.
Many exciting challenges and opportunities lay ahead for graduates, but they also bore an equally large responsibility to "do right by humankind in your research and future careers".