STEAM Powered

Science communication comes in all mediums, from film-making to journalism, even Dungeons and Dragons, and Shamini Bundell does it all. Shamini is an award-winning filmmaker, a writer, and a journalist, working on the Nature YouTube channel, podcast, and magazine online. She is also one of the members of RPGeeks, combining Dungeons and Dragons with science. Join us as we speak about Shamini's jour...

Have you ever looked at a business beyond their visual branding and thought about who they are and what they stand for, and who the owners are and what they stand for? Branding is more than just an aesthetic. It's about connection. Join us as we speak with Ari Krzyzek, CEO and Head of Strategy of Chykalophia about Ari's journey to creating her own brand agency, the potential of FemTech to change t...

Bias and discrimination are everywhere. It's something we as a society are generally trying to improve. But when it comes to solutions, there is nuance in terms of cultural and social context, personal perceptions, and privilege that can complicate matters. Join us as we speak with Raksha Kumar, an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker with a focus on land, forest, and human rights is...

If you can't decide between two career paths, try exploring both. Krithika Chandramouli found biomedical engineering to be a sweet spot between health sciences and technology and was able to explore both pursuits before she found her way to software engineering. Join us as we speak about Krithika's path to software engineering, contributing back to the community through her work and mentorship, an...

Compassion in healthcare is about operating with respect in more ways than one. We've spoken previously about the cultural side of medicine and the program Operating With Respect, but today I speak with Leah Elson about developing technology and procedures that can create psychologically and physiologically better patient outcomes, and also about getting people excited about science again. About L...

Dr Kandis Leslie Abdul-Aziz  is an Assistant Professor in the Chemical and Environmental Engineering department at the University of California, Riverside. She joined the University in 2018 after receiving her Ph. D. in Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining UC Riverside, she was a Provost postdoctoral fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, where she...

Shirley Yu is the CEO and Founder of Choosii, the community app for everyone that loves to collect (including herself and her friends - crazy plant collectors). Prior to launching Choosii, she discovered her creative side in high school, studied computer science at Rutgers, and then started an award-winning creative production studio where she created environmental portraiture and conceptual still...

Dr Parwinder Kaur is an award-winning scientist, a passionate leader and positive role model as a mother, and a professor in science for the next generation of diverse scientists to pursue their passion for science and discovery. She leads cross-disciplinary biotechnology research investigating Earth’s biodiversity and natural environments to ensure sustainable futures. She uses her expertise to r...

Dr Jessica McCarty is currently a tenured Associate Professor of Geography and Director of the Geospatial Analysis Center at Miami University in the United States. She has more than 15 years’ experience in remote sensing and geospatial science to quantify wildland and human-caused fires, fire emissions, agriculture and food security, and land-cover/land-use change. She is a NASA-funded investigato...

Anna Ritzema is a passionate STEM educator, working in rural and regional Western Australia. In 2020 she was named WA Science and Engineering Teacher, having led her school to the finals of the Governor's STEM awards and becoming a Teacher Development program for STEM and Science. She was awarded the School Plus 2021 Teaching Fellowship. Anna currently works at the Polly Farmer foundation and is a...

Gry Stene loves to share her observations from her 30+ years as an "IT Girl" aka Woman in Tech. When it came to choosing a career, Gry only had a couple of criteria… Firstly, she wanted to help people solve problems and create a better world. Secondly, she wanted to prove that girls were as capable as boys. Given her proficiency in maths and science, information technology (IT) was a very real opt...

Erin Macdonald (PhD, Astrophysics) is a tattooed one-woman STEM career panel, with recognition as a researcher, speaker, engineer, and consultant before her current career. She lives in Los Angeles working as a writer and producer and is currently the science advisor for the entire Star Trek franchise.   In our conversation, we talk about Erin's journey through academia, industry, and entertainmen...

Kira Dineen, MS, LCGC, CG(ASCP)CM, has a decade of podcast experience fueled by a passion for science communication. She has hosted and produced 6 podcasts. Her main show, "DNA Today", is in the top 1% of podcasts globally. Listeners Discover New Advances in the world of genetics through Kira’s interviews about genetic technology, disorders, and news. The show won the Best 2020 and 2021 Science an...

Robin Wiener is a nationally recognised leader and change agent in healthcare IT and patient engagement. She brings more than 20 years of experience in business development, management and product strategy to her position as president and founding partner of Get Real Health. Ms. Wiener leads business development and marketing efforts for Get Real Health, leveraging her outstanding people skills an...

Kate Kirwin is a passionate advocate for women in STEM and the innovation ecosystem. Founder of She Codes, she has led the steep growth of the project since 2015. Thanks to her work, more than 6000 women have learnt to code. She has hustled to source more than a million dollars from government and industry to support women in STEM. With a regional upbringing, she strongly believes in empowering wo...

Dr Kari Pitts is a Forensic Chemist and Mineralogist in the Physical Evidence Team of ChemCentre’s Forensic Science Laboratory. She holds a PhD and a Masters in Forensic Science from UWA, and a Bachelor of Science with Honours from Curtin University. Working at ChemCentre for nearing 16 years, her expertise is trace evidence; including paint, glass, gunshot residue, soils, fibres, and anything els...

Dr Nicole Tschierske is a scientist and positive psychology coach who helps experts and teams in STEM do better work. Nicole works with her clients improve their collaboration and communication skills so their work gets the momentum and recognition it deserves. She also helps construct ways of working that reduce stress, increase motivation and engagement, and deliver results. Nicole lives in Hamb...

RJ Andrews is author and founder of Info We Trust . He is also the editor of the Information Graphic Visionaries book series. RJ's talent is helping organisations solve information problems. His passion is studying the history of information graphics to discover design insights.   In our conversation, we talk about Florence Nightingale's intriguing story, and how she used data visualisation in her...

Jocelyn James is an engineering manager whose previous careers have included teaching, refugee services, and mental health research. As a disabled woman with a background in human rights, Jocelyn is passionate about inclusivity in engineering and ensuring that those with non-traditional routes into the field are not only included but celebrated.  Jocelyn lives in Manhattan with her 12-year-old Ita...

Rachel Lee Nabors has worked in the web development industry for over a decade, working on web animations APIs and tooling with Mozilla, Firefox and the W3C; and working on browsers at Microsoft; and spearheading developer education on React and React Native teams at Meta. They are currently Technical Program Manager leading developer education on AWS Amplify. In our conversation, we talk about de...

This week STEAM Powered is doing an episode swap with History Detective by Kelly Chase. History Detective is a podcast for teachers, students and lovers of history. It delves into stories from the past that don't always get told in the textbooks. This episode is about Janine Haines. Janine Haines was a teacher with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English and Mathematics. She was a passionate advoca...

Dr Jenine Beekhuyzen OAM is a futurist who believes existing structures in the technology industry must change in order to serve tomorrow's digital landscape, and that our children's future job prospects depend on it. Her focus is on leadership, innovation, and education to champion Australian tech entrepreneurship, and address the necessary rebalancing of gender roles within the traditionally mal...

Mild-mannered scientist by day, Dr Naomi Boxall is an intellectually curious, creative, change agent: always seeking to use my talents to improve health for the population. This has been within multiple fields so far, including public health and pharmacoepidemiology…what might be next? In our conversation, we talk about epidemiology, leadership, and the art in scientific enquiry. Show Notes ( link...

Gabriella Martini is a curious, dynamic and adaptive engineering professional with a proven record of managing a portfolio of engineering projects from concept to implementation. She focuses on embedding sustainable business processes while generating and maintaining relationships, is dependable and a structured thinker who thrives on solving problems in challenging, fast paced and pressurised env...

Dr Audrey Lobo-Pulo currently works at LinkedIn and holds a PhD in Physics and a Masters in Economic Policy. She is also accredited by the International Bateson Institute to host and conduct Warm data labs. A member of the World Economic Forum Expert Network for the Future of Digital Economy and Society, Civic Participation and the Future of Government, Audrey is passionate about how technology ma...