Young Researchers Forum “Got PhD, What Next?” – at UNSW Sydney

Young Researchers Forum brings together young researchers in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) fields. This Forum provides a vibrant location to network, discuss research ideas and practice professional skills.

Why you should be there:

1. Exchange your research ideas
2. Enhance your scientific presentation skills
3. Expand your professional skills toolkit
4. Extend your professional network

First time in NSW and hosted by FLEET @ UNSW this “Got PhD, What Next?” Forum will discuss various career options for STEM PhD graduates and ECRs. You will hear from academics, entrepreneurs, business development and research managers, who will share their career journeys and top tips on making the most of your PhD training.

Participants will have chance to ask our guest speakers the hard questions and advice during the panel discussions. All post-doctoral fellows, MSc and PhD students welcome so share the love and share the event flyer with your network.

The venue is in rooms G59 and G60, Ground floor of Old Main Building, next to the Physics Lawn, please see K15 on map.

Please register by Monday 8 October 2018 for catering purposes.

Program:

10:00-10:30 Registration, Welcome & Introduction Dr Tich-Lam Nguyen Chief Operating Officer, ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies, FLEET

10:30-12:00 Careers in Academia Part I: panelists sharing their career journeys (45 minutes) Part II: Panel discussion, Q & A (45 minutes)

Dr Thanh Vinh Nguyen ARC Future Fellow, Senior Lecturer, School of Chemistry, University of New South Wales Vinh received his PhD in organic chemistry from the Australian National University in 2010, developing new synthetic methodologies for application in natural product synthesis and worked on the design and synthesis of enormoussynthetic host molecules for drug-delivery modelling. His postdoctoral research was in organocatalysis at the Institute of Organic Chemistry, RWTH Aachen, Germany under the auspices of an Alexander von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellowship. Upon moving back to Australia in 2013, he start his own independent research group at Curtin University. He joined UNSW in 2015 as a Lecturer and was promoted to Senior Lecturer July 2018. His current research interests are organocatalysis, aromatic cation activation, synthesis of naturally occurring and bioactive compounds, asymmetric synthesis and medicinal chemistry.

A/Prof Yvonne Wong ARC Future Fellow, Senior Lecturer, School of Physics, University of New South Wales Yvonne is a senior lecturer in the School of Physics at UNSW Australia.  Yvonne received her Bachelor of Science with Honours and PhD from the University of Melbourne. She went on to do postdoctoral work at the University of Delaware, DESY in Hamburg, the Max Planck Institute for Physics in Munich, and at CERN in Geneva, and was Junior Professor at RWTH Aachen in Germany before returning to Australia in 2013. Yvonne's research interests include cosmic structure formation, cosmic microwave background, particle comosology and astroparticle physics.

Prof Oleg Sushkov ARC Australian Professorial Fellow, School of Physics, University of New South Wales Oleg is an expert in quantum many body theory and strong correlations, including in graphene, topological materials, and semiconductors. He is currently a Chief Investigator at FLEET, leading two theoretical programs for the Centre.

13:00-14:30 Careers outside of academia Part I: Three panelists sharing their career journeys (45 minutes) Part II: Panel discussion, Q & A (45 minutes)

Dr Julie Wheway Manager, Strategic Engagement, Gemaker As a STEM commercialisation specialist, Dr Julie Wheway combines her passions for scientific research, science communication, and technology transfer. Her strong marketing and communications skills come from extensive commercial experience in the education and science sectors. In her role at gemaker, Julie helps to take new ideas to market by developing and implementing commercialisation, funding and marketing strategies for research organisations and innovative businesses. Julie also trains researchers to navigate the cultural differences between academia and business and develops and facilitates networking events to promote and enable research-industry collaboration. Prior to joining the gemaker team, Julie worked as a researcher and lecturer in the field of immunology at the University of Sydney. Julie’s 15 year academic career saw her complete a PhD in Immunology at UNSW before going on to become a Young Garvan Postdoctoral Fellow in 2007, and an NHMRC Postdoctoral Fellow in 2009. During her 8 years at the Garvan Institute of Medical research, Julie was awarded named the 2004 QANTAS Australia Young Scientist of the year.

Dr Mathew David Centre Manager, ARC Training Centre for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites Matthew David holds a doctorate in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Stuttgart, Germany. He has more than 10 years of experience with composites for both aerospace and automotive applications beginning with his time at Airbus working on a research project on composite stiffened wing panels as an Aerospace engineering undergraduate from RMIT University. Dr David began his formal career at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) as a research engineer focused on activities in the field of crashworthiness and composite bonding technologies. He later joined Multimatic, a Tier 1 Canadian automotive parts supplier, and was a key contributor to the development of performance enhancement composite parts using advanced modelling and simulation tools for Mercedes-Benz and Mercedes-AMG. Dr. David is currently Centre Manager of the ARC Training Center for Automated Manufacture of Advanced Composites (AMAC). This UNSW led Centre is a collaboration between the Australian National University (ANU), the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and several industry partners. AMAC’s vision is to incubate the next generation of automated composite manufacturing innovations and innovators to drive future business in a highly collaborative environment.

Dr Tzipi Cohen Hyams Microscopy Facility Manager, Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research Tzipi completed her PhD in Materials Sci. and Eng. at the Technion, Israel. She then continued with postdoctoral research at UC Berkeley (Fulbright Fellowship) specialising in in-situ Raman spectroscopy. After finishing the postdoc fellowship, she was appointed as a staff scientist at the Nanotechnology Research and Development Institute in Israel. Her expertise includes advanced microstructural characterisation including FIB nanopatterning and failure analysis processes. Since 2016, she's been working at the Ingham Institute developing new imaging protocols and microscopy applications.

14:30-15:00 Afternoon Tea Break

15:00-16:30 Careers outside of academia Part I: panelists sharing their career journeys (45 minutes) Part II: Panel discussion, Q & A (45 minutes)

Dr Victoria Coleman Section Manager, Nanometrology at National Measurement Institute Dr Victoria Coleman has a PhD in Physics from the Australian National University where she focussed on the study of defects in semiconductor grade zinc oxide. Following a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Ångstrom Laboratory, Uppsala University, Victoria returned to Australia in 2008 to join the newly established Nanometrology group at Australia’s National Measurement Institute. Since that time, Victoria and the team have worked to establish an instrument capable of making measurements at the nanoscale that are directly linked to the SI metre as realised at NMI, as well as a comprehensive nanoparticle characterisation laboratory, establishing a key resource for accurate and reliable measurements to support Australia’s nanotechnology industry. The group links with researchers, research organisations, industry, government and the community to provide internationally recognised measurements, an accessible facility and advice. In addition, Victoria is currently serving as the Chair of the Asia Pacific Metrology Programme’s Technical Committee of Materials Metrology, a group of metrologists from NMIs in the Asia Pacific region who are focussed on development of measurement standards for materials.

Dr Anthony Morfa Business Development Manager, NSW Smart Sensing Network Anthony engages with government departments and industry to facilitate beneficial interactions with NSW's leading universities and academic experts. Anthony knows how difficult it can be to bridge the divide between applied research and real world applications from his time working in printed electronics, and believes that working with universities should be easier and mutually beneficial for all involved. In his time working at InnovationLab GmbH in Heidelberg, Germany, Anthony saw firsthand how seamless the university-industry transfer of knowledge and  expertise could be, while providing invaluable resources to academic researchers. Anthony has a PhD in physical chemistry, from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an MBA, from Mannheim Business School.

Dr Anna Wright CEO and Founder, Bindimaps Dr Anna Wright is the CEO and Founder of BindiMaps - a navigation app revolutionising the way we navigate indoors spaces. Launched in January 2017, BindiMaps is an award-winning smart cities technology startup, bringing accessibility to people and places currently out of bounds for people who are vision impaired. Anna developed the idea for BindiMaps after undergoing years of major surgery to save her own eye-sight - a daunting experience that led her to ask the question "how can we make the world more accessible for people with vision impairment?". Prior to launching BindiMaps, Anna had helped many other businesses move from startup through to IPO, as a consultant specialising in Business Development and Business Analysis. She holds a PhD and has built an academic career as a Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, researching and teaching in the areas of Innovation and Valuation. Less than two years since launching BindiMaps, Anna is now is a recognised leader in the startup ecosystem, lighting a path for non-technical founders to start and build tech companies that can change the world. It is her passion for impact that has seen Anna nominated for 2019 Australian of the Year, in recognition of her leadership and commitment to creating a more inclusive world through BindiMaps.

16:30-17:00 Networking