Women in STEMM

“I have been hooked on astronomy since I first saw Halley’s Comet. While I don’t remember this event, as I was just a baby when my Dad held me up to the telescope eyepiece, I believe this was the defining moment of my life. As a teenager, I was given my own telescope and was blown away by the beauty of the skies and compelled to learn how it all works. In our infinite Universe, there is an infinite number of astronomical objects to study. Everywhere I look using powerful telescopes, I see something no one has ever seen before.”

“I am fascinated by innovation in teaching and research which motivated me to develop Virtual Reality simulation teaching programmes to enhance student learning. My drive is to mentor students to embrace non-traditional initiatives in STEMM to which they might otherwise not be exposed. I was attracted to STEMM because of the cohort of interesting and energised female colleagues who are such an enthusiastic group of contemporaries and who are not afraid of change or risk. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been associated with the people who are STEMM.”

“How can a tablet help your headache when absorbed in your stomach? As a child, this puzzle got me thinking about medicines. As a teenager, I recall using an inhaler and discovering that it could fix my breathing almost instantly, while a tablet took at least thirty minutes to work and made my heart race. Consequently, I chose a career in pharmacy, specifically in pharmaceutical science, because I wanted to work to make better medicines. My research today is focused on using technology to target drugs to their site of action for better health outcomes.”

“My love for science began in childhood when I grew crystals with a chemistry set. I have always been curious about the natural world. During my twenties, I made an early career change from zoology to nutrition when I discovered first-hand the importance of nutrition to health. My passion for science is now focused on helping to develop the evidence we need to make lasting beneficial changes to the health of populations through nutrition. I enjoy supervising and mentoring students as they develop their research skills and, in many cases, discover their own appetite for research.”

“I’m the type of person who craves independence and flexibility on a day-to-day basis. I don’t work well in contexts where I have a set start time, end time, tea-break time, etcetera! I also love ideas – coming up with new ways to look at existing problems or new ways to solve problems. These two reasons are why an academic career suits me. I am passionate about teaching and research and my mission is to facilitate the development of future health professionals so that they can be effective in supporting people living with chronic and life-limiting health conditions, and providing end of life and bereavement care.”

“As someone who always found maths exciting and interesting, it is saddening to learn that many in the community do not enjoy maths and some find it stressful and anxiety-inducing.

My role gives me the honour of working with preservice early childhood educators and a large proportion of that time is working with them to re-envision mathematics – what it is, what it can be, their personal capabilities, and their confidence in engaging with maths. This role has dual opportunities – directly with people to provide new experiences with maths and the flow-on, through them, to the young children they’ll work with.”

“I enjoyed science and maths at school and was lucky to have an inspirational biology teacher. He encouraged me to sit the Oxbridge admissions test and I subsequently won a place at Merton College reading pre-clinical medicine. This included an intercalated Master of Physiology (Natural Science), which allowed me to further delve into non-clinical medicine prior to completing my clinical medicine at University College London, where I was further inspired by a female orthopaedic surgeon. A career in STEMM has opened international opportunities for me and has allowed me access to a variety of fascinating career options.”

“I entered research from a practitioner background having trained and worked as a town planner. I’m passionate about research that can be directly applied to improving the way we live, work and play in our cities. Bringing insights into transport planning and city design from a female perspective is highly relevant, especially in a field that is male-dominated.”

“I have always been fascinated by microbiology: from playing a crucial role in making this planet habitable for life to therapeutics and bioremediation, the potential of microbes has always surprised me. The curiosity to know more and more about these tiny creatures motivated me to pursue a career in microbiology.

Born, raised and educated in India, a country where females still have fewer opportunities than men in education and workplace, I was fortunate to have a mother who was a school teacher and my role model. Whenever I will watch mum giving lectures to her students, I will feel so inspired and always wanted to be like her. Mum always said, “Do what you love and love what you do” and always supported me in whatever career choices I made.

It was during my Master’s that I came to know about the pivotal role that microbes play in creation of marvellous geological structures like corals, stromatolites and this ability can be harnessed to build sustainable engineered materials by bio-mimicry of nature; this exciting idea propelled me to pursue my PhD in this multidisciplinary area and create a non-traditional/ unconventional career path for myself.

I am passionate about science communication, motivating other women into STEMM programmes, mentor university students and public speaking. My work gives me the opportunity and platform to achieve all these goals and keeps me going.”

“For as long as I can remember I have wanted to help find cures for diseases and injury. As I learnt more about the nature of medical research, I realised that a good way for me to achieve my goal was to get a degree in science, then a PhD and build a career as a medical researcher. I consider myself enormously fortunate to have a day job where I answer questions that help us understand the nature of changes to cells following an injury to the brain and help improve lives for people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury.”

“The idea of science and the processes it involves first attracted me to a career in STEMM; I’m constantly amazed that we can test hypotheses in the real world and make new discoveries based on evidence. Since learning this in high school I knew a career in STEMM was for me. Now, as a planetary scientist, I see myself as a space detective. I love that I can look at rocks from another world and piece together the evidence of how that world came to be and how it has changed over time. Our solar system truly is a fascinating place.”

“I love how research methods can help us to understand and unpack complex problems and phenomenon. In my work, I use research methods, in partnership with people with lived experience of disabilities, to understand their experience and find the most effective services and approaches for meeting their needs. To me, science is about making a better tomorrow for everyone, including people living with disabilities. Every day is different. I get to work with people who inspire me – my researcher and lived-experience colleagues and my students. I often think they have taught me more than I have taught them.”

“I pursued a career in STEMM because I loved chemistry, art and worked as a veterinary assistant. I had exceptional teachers and role models in chemistry and art. I enjoy being able to think in a creative way – reconstructing ancient environments involving the evolution of animals. I love to share my enthusiasm with students as they obtain exciting scientific data.”

“I chose to pursue architecture because through it I could combat real-life challenges, make a difference in people’s lives, and bring joy. I now engage with local and international communities in countries like USA, Australia, China, India, and Iran to come up with environmental design solutions for improving people’s well being. These strategies have included urban noise reduction studies, energy conservation strategies, safer cities for women, shelters for homeless people, and bicycling in urban environments. Architecture to me is not a profession, it is a passion.”

“As a child, I always wanted to know why and how – why was the sky blue, how do particular objects work? I felt that knowing why and how would always help you understand, and if you understood, you could change things. While I didn’t know I wanted to be a scientist at that point, I always enjoyed learning about how the world operated and the underlying forces of nature. It wasn’t until I got to university that I realised I wanted to become a scientist as a career. To this day, I’m still asking how and why! These days I like to ask questions about how crystals form and how additives impact on them. This has uses in a whole range of fields like pharmaceuticals to kidney stones.”

“It all started years ago when I finished my first degree in science (microbiology) and was successful at obtaining two internships with industry at the end of my studies. The two internships had different purposes but both involved participating in research aiming at developing and applying novel technologies to solve environmental and equipment integrity issues; importantly, I learnt to problem-solve and think analytically, skills at the heart of STEMM studies. I immediately realised the importance of developing knowledge that will have a direct impact on our society and that will contribute to our economy and sustainability, then I certainly became passionate about pushing our understanding to solve real-life problems.”

“I work in the field of Operations Research, which involves using mathematical techniques to optimise real-world systems. I love this field because it has applications to almost every industry. For example, in mining, the problems often involve determining the extent and sequence of extraction from an orebody to maximize profit. These problems have a massive number of potential solutions to consider. The number of possible extraction sequences for a toy-size mine can easily exceed the total number of atoms in the universe. This overwhelms even supercomputers and our work involves developing smart mathematical techniques for handling this complexity.”

“When I started out my career as a Clinical Psychologist I was passionate about improving the lives of my clients but also frustrated by the limited effectiveness of treatments for problems such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). I was motivated to engage in research to study OCD and other psychological disorders to contribute to scientific knowledge regarding the factors involved in the onset and maintenance of psychological disorders. I love the fact that my career in health sciences allows me to utilise my creative side, to approach research questions with an open mind and to always consider where opportunities for innovation might exist.”

“Being deeply passionate about natural heritage, and inspired by discovery and research, a career in STEMM seemed like the only logical pathway. Success in a STEMM career is not just about H-indexes and citations, it is about setting and achieving goals and inspiring others. To me, if you can honestly say you have tried your best, you are successful.”

“I remember the first time I saw Saturn’s rings through my grandpa’s telescope. Such awe and excitement come from the mysteries of space. I loved all my school subjects, especially Maths and Art. When I finished high school, I took a career test that said my ideal career would be a chimney sweep. That couldn’t be the only job that ticks the box “enjoys getting their hands dirty”?

Then I found Geology. Now I’m hooked on Planetary Science since starting my PhD with the Desert Fireball Network at Curtin. We observe fireballs to find the origins of life on Earth.”

“I was interested in maths and science from a young age. I chose to pursue chemistry, as it was the perfect combination of hands-on laboratory experience while still being able to use my maths skills. I was the first person in my family to attend university, and certainly didn’t expect it to translate into a successful research career!

After gaining research experience at three universities across two continents my research brought me to Curtin, which is where I have been for the past ten years. I enjoy the challenge of discovering new things and passing my knowledge down to the next generation of scientists.”

“I grew up around science and engineering – my Dad was an engineer in the Snowy Mountains (NSW). We had great fun hanging about and seeing bridges and roads being built, drafting tables scattered with plans, pencil sharpeners and high chairs that spun around. What kid wouldn’t be excited? We’d take back roads on adventures, always with a sense of curiosity about the bush and nature. That was the start of my interest in science. I was also lucky to have great science teachers. This background has been key to the exciting experiences and people I have met and worked within my area of translational pain research.”

“I have always been curious about the natural world. I loved to learn how things work, how animals develop and how they communicate. Much later, during my undergraduate studies, I developed a passion for the ‘languages’ that cells use to communicate in health and disease, and especially in cancer. Over the years I realised that you have to keep an open mind in research. Negative findings are great opportunities to step back, critically evaluate our current thinking and potentially find the missing piece in the puzzle of cell signalling and biological outcomes.”

“As a youngster, I was passionate about designing and creating things. However, during the 1980s, disciplines of architecture and engineering attracted more males, since these jobs involved working on sites, while it was preferred for the women to have an office or home-based jobs. However, this aspect of the work where you work directly and collaboratively with the client and the community, where you take your ‘office’ into the public domain and are able to see the immediate impact of your work, carried a great appeal for me and I became one of 15 female students in an engineering institute of around 1500 students.”

“As a child, I always wanted to know why and how – why was the sky blue, how do particular objects work? I felt that knowing why and how would always help you understand, and if you understood, you could change things. While I didn’t know I wanted to be a scientist at that point, I always enjoyed learning about how the world operated and the underlying forces of nature. It wasn’t until I got to university that I realised I wanted to become a scientist as a career. To this day, I’m still asking how and why! These days I like to ask questions about how crystals form and how additives impact on them. This has uses in a whole range of fields like pharmaceuticals to kidney stones.”