STEAM Powered

Amanda Hickie has always been interested in ethical questions - at the age of ten annoying her scripture teacher by asking if it was immoral to lie to a murderer. Despite a passion for writing, she studied Computer Science (but quickly recovered) and Cognitive Science. A change of lifestyle when she and her family moved to Canada resulted in her first novel, AfterZoe. Living down the road from the...

Dr Michelle Wong is a science educator and content creator at Lab Muffin Beauty Science. Drawing on her chemistry PhD and extensive experience in education, she busts beauty myths and explains the science behind popular beauty products in an easy-to-understand way through her blog, YouTube channel and Instagram. In our conversation, we talk about beauty science, pole dancing, and Asian representat...

Professor Janine Illian joined the University of Glasgow as Chair in Statistical Sciences in 2019. Prior to this, she was a senior lecturer in statistics and Head of Statistics, within the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of St Andrews. She held a Professor II position at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 2013-2016. Her work focuses on spatial poi...

Associate Professor Rhea Liang (tw: @LiangRhea) is a general and breast surgeon on the Gold Coast. She is a surgical educationalist, Surgical Discipline Lead at Bond University, and Chair of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons’ (RACS) Operating With Respect Education Committee. She also researches and advocates in diversity and equity issues. On multiple occasions (including recently!) she...

Dr Evelyne Deplazes (tw: @DeplazesEvelyne) is a biophysical and computational chemist who is fascinated by the molecular world. Her research is driven by her passion for science and her innate curiosity to 'solve puzzles'. Evelyne is a Chancellor’s Research Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney and together with other researchers, runs the UTS Membrane biophysics group . In her research, E...

Pauline Belford is an experienced educator who has spent nearly two decades teaching in post-16 education at both Further Education and Higher Education institutions. She was involved in the development of the first Scottish Higher National Diploma in Computer Games Development – a national qualification delivered across Scotland’s Further Education Colleges. She is also an active researcher in th...

Stephanie Suarez (tw: @geologiststephy ) is a PhD student specialising in geochemistry and geochronology. Her research interests include chronology of both terrestrial and extraterrestrial materials. She earned her Bachelor of Science in General Geosciences from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017. As an undergraduate researcher, she determined ages of early land biotas to further understand...

Dr Kat Taylor (tw: @Katselenataylor ), is a researcher at the ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy. Through her work in Perth and regional Australia, she has experience in water policy, wastewater irrigation, household water efficiency and drinking water risk management. Kat is the Managing Editor of Global Water Forum. In our conversation, we talk about dance fitness, water governance, and the...

Karin Stark's (tw: @karinstark79 ) international and professional history combines 18 years of engagement with communities around contemporary environmental issues. She founded the National Renewables in Agriculture Conference in 2019 and is Director of Farm Renewables Consulting. She's a mum, and also works part-time for ReAqua, with previous roles within the NSW State Government and in Landcare....

Dr Lucy Commander (tw: @lucy_commander ) is a restoration seed ecologist who has spent over a decade undertaking scientific research with the mining industry to improve mine restoration. Lucy was also the lead editor of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation's Guidelines for the Translocation of Threatened Plants, published in 2018, and is currently Project Manager for the update of the Flo...

Rebecca Lim (tw: @BiotechBec ) is a scientist working on the clinical translation of cells from the human amniotic sac. She is scientific director for the cell therapies platform at the Monash Health Translation Precinct, and leads the amnion cell biology lab at The Ritchie Centre. Rebecca is also Associate Professor at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Monash University, and a caree...