In a brief break between Victorian lockdowns in May, I was fortunate to be able to do fieldwork for my Honours project 🛣️🚗
As part of this field trip, I traveled to the beautiful lands of the Adnyamathanha, an area you may know as the Flinders Ranges and surrounds 🌄
My motivation to undertake fieldwork was to collect samples of rocks from the early #Cambrian period, over 500 million years ago!
These rocks contain all sorts of treasures, including fossils of the very wacky-looking Archaeocyatha, like in this awesome @melbournemuseum model
For me, a day in the field starts with discussion and planning the night before around the fire! 🔥
This is when we decide where we are going to try and get the next day and what the goal will be 🌟
Good planning and a bit of luck results in great outcrops like these!
These rocks have preserved not only fossils organisms from the past, but clues about the environment that they were living in – this is what I’m really interested in 🧩🔍🧭
Back in the lab (👩🔬), we look at very thin slices of the collected rock to reveal details about the textures and minerals that are in them!
We also zap crystals within rocks with a laser to determine the proportion of different elements, to help to uncover the rocks secrets 🤫
I love geology because of the power it gives us to understand the history of the Earth!
Geology gives us the tools to translate the message and read the history of the landscapes around us, without it rocks are like a language we can’t translate. What could be cooler than that!
We are stocked to have In2science mentor Annelisa (@RigoniStella) from @RMIT take over our Twitter for #TakeoverThursday!
Annelisa is a PhD candidate in Chemistry, who is going to talk about some of the things they have learnt during their past 8 years of study in STEM at RMIT!
First up – my very first few years at @RMIT! Completing 2 degrees in Applied Science & Nanotechnology, I learnt so much about how the world around us works on the smaller scale – and also how to make cool compounds in the chemistry labs!
During these first four years completing these degreed, I also had the opportunity to tour the Australian Synchrotron @ANSTO, which I learnt is currently used to carry out crucial research in Australia!
This year we rolled out the Mentor Leaders Program. In2science mentors were paired with STEM Professional Mentors to facilitate career discussions and filter it down to secondary school students!
Tomorrow we celebrate the mentor's commitment and achievements at @Toyota_Aus 🎉🧵
In2science mentors and their STEM Professional mentors will meet, network and reflect on their involvement in the program.
We then invite all guests to engage in a panel discussion exploring 'STEM graduate pathways - navigating challenges & creating opportunities'.
We are excited to be joined by 4 panel members from various fields in STEM.
First up we have Catherine Hart, a senior sustainability & environmental consultant 🌱👷♀️@Toyota_Aus. Cat will be talking about how the industry has changed since she started working.
Stefany is in her 2nd year of a Bachelor in Biomedicine @latrobe and aspires to be a doctor!
To do this, Stefany must complete a Doctorate of Medicine (MD), but let's break down the steps to get there!
The first course you would complete is an undergraduate course in biomedicine. This involves completing lectures, quizzes, exams and assignments that you need to do well in to score a high Grade-Point Average (GPA).
A high GPA will improve your chances of getting into medicine
Yanghan moved from New Zealand to @UniMelb to pursue a Bachelor of Science as this course allowed him to pick a variety of subjects from different disciplines.
Yanghan felt @UniMelb was a great choice he was surrounded by people from different backgrounds, that wanted to learn!
Yanghan was inspired to pursue a career in STEM as he was always curious, often asking his parents 'why?'.
He really wanted to know how purely theoretical knowledge could be applied in the real world, for example, engineering with the application of maths and physics 💻⚙️
In the chemistry field, @DaleAOsborne mentions when he gets stuck on an experiment, he takes a break or switches tasks, then comes back with a fresh mind to solve the problem.
Dale would like to tell future STEAM students 👇
Georgia is a science student @UniMelb majoring in computing and software systems 💻
Georgia believes the technology field is rewarding as it allows us to solve problems and help connect people (especially during the lockdowns)!
Today we are thrilled to have @CatrionaNR (aka the singing scientist) from @TheDohertyInst@UniMelbMDHS share what she's excited about for the future of STEM!
In fact, she's an In2science mentor because she wants to support young scientists who will one day take the reins.
One thing @CatrionaNR loves seeing is more creativity being mashed with science. #SciArt is an amazing space and provides great ways to explore and engage more people in STEM - from songs & comedies to images & nerdy tees. She sums up it up in @museumsvictoria's 10s challenge:
More and more #WomeninSTEM are taking a stand 👩🔬 Women are poorly represented in the STEMM workforce, comprising <30% of researchers worldwide.
But there are programs that lift #WomeninSTEMM up, and they are banding together to create change.