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ROVING SCIENTIST DIRECTORY

Roving Scientists 2024

AiMei Chang
AiMei Chang

AiMei Chang

I am AiMei Chang (章愛梅), a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UTAS from Taiwan. I have a broad interest in both…
Alex Burton
Alex Burton

Alex Burton

I study how Tasmania is imagined as a place to escape to. I am particularly focused on lifestyle migration, climate…
Alex Jordan
Alex Jordan

Alex Jordan

Alex is an Independent Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behaviour. He is interested in how…
Alex Woodworth
Alex Woodworth

Alex Woodworth

Everyone has their own unique DNA sequence, encoded by a DNA molecule approximately 2 metres long. This sequence is like…
Alix de Jersey
Alix de Jersey

Alix de Jersey

Alix de Jersey is a PhD candidate in the Tasmanian School of Medicine at the University of Tasmania. Her research…
Alyssa Marshell
Alyssa Marshell

Alyssa Marshell

Alyssa is a Fisheries Scientist at IMAS/UTAS who investigates key commercial and recreational scalefish species biology and ecology to inform…
Amelie Meyer
Amelie Meyer

Amelie Meyer

Amelie Meyer is a senior climate scientist and oceanographer at the University of Tasmania in Hobart. She has a real…
Angelique Ray
Angelique Ray

Angelique Ray

Antarctic soil is the driest and most nutrient-poor on Earth. Despite this, diverse and under-characterised bacteria survive there. I research…
Anita Butterley
Anita Butterley

Anita Butterley

I research Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement (OAE), an emerging carbon dioxide removal method that harnesses natural weathering and acid neutralisation processes…
Anna MacDonald
Anna MacDonald

Anna MacDonald

Dr Anna MacDonald is a wildlife geneticist. Anna’s research applies genetic methods to learn about the species present in Antarctic…
Antonia Parker
Antonia Parker

Antonia Parker

I'm a PhD candidate at UNSW studying palaeontology, looking at extinct possums from the Riversleigh World Heritage Area in Queensland.…
Anya Reading
Anya Reading

Anya Reading

Anya deploys the most remote seismic detectors on Earth. She records the seismic symphony of cracking and melting ice, revealing…
Ashley Dyson
Ashley Dyson

Ashley Dyson

Geotechnical engineering focusing on landslides and offshore foundations. Research keyword: Engineering
Barry Becker
Barry Becker

Barry Becker

I have Batchelor of Science in Atmospheric Physics and a Post Grad Diploma in Meteorology. I have been interested in…
Bec Banham
Bec Banham

Bec Banham

I am a sociologist exploring the experiences of people living with multiple sclerosis in accessing the National Disability Insurance Scheme…
Bek Smith
Bek Smith

Bek Smith

Bek is the science communicator for the Healthy Rivers to Reef Partnership, a non-for-profit organisation that provides an annual Report…
Ben Arthur
Ben Arthur

Ben Arthur

Ben is a marine ecologist and science educator. He has researched marine mammals and seabirds on several sub-Antarctic islands. Ben…
Bibek Khatiwada
Bibek Khatiwada

Bibek Khatiwada

 I'm researching new genes that cause inherited cataracts in children. This rare condition affects about 2 out of every 10,000…
Brie Sherow
Brie Sherow

Brie Sherow

Brie is a marine scientist, equally passionate about field work and communicating results. She is the technical lead at Healthy…
Brooke Zanco
Brooke Zanco

Brooke Zanco

Brooke is an EMBO Postdoctoral Research Fellow based at UCL. She is an evolutionary biologist with expertise in insect physiology,…
Clare Hawkins
Clare Hawkins

Clare Hawkins

Tasmania is home to hundreds of threatened species, and hundreds more are potentially threatened. Are we succeeding in protecting these…
Corrine Condie
Corrine Condie

Corrine Condie

What to people in Tasmania think about offshore wind farming? and How do they feel about the proposed offshore wind…
Craig Neill
Craig Neill

Craig Neill

Roughly 30% of the CO2 that humans emit into the atmosphere is absorbed by the ocean.  Accurate measurements of the…
Dale Maschette
Dale Maschette

Dale Maschette

Dale is a fisheries scientist working primarily on Antarctic fisheries. The specialize in fish biology and stock assessments for a…
David Craig
David Craig

David Craig

No forecast is accurate, the only question is how inaccurate. Nevertheless, weather forecasts are the basis of many safety decisions…
Deb Holmes
Deb Holmes

Deb Holmes

I am a meteorologist with a passion for Antarctic weather, gained after completing multiple seasons on the ice. I love…
Delphi Ward
Delphi Ward

Delphi Ward

Dr Delphi Ward works within CSIRO’s Valuing Sustainability Future Science Platform, where she works on developing tools and processes for…
Dr Kirsten Banks
Dr Kirsten Banks

Dr Kirsten Banks

Kirsten Banks is not your average astrophysicist. With a passion for unravelling the mysteries of the cosmos and a talent…
Dr Megan Saunders
Dr Megan Saunders

Dr Megan Saunders

Dr Megan Saunders is an interdisciplinary marine scientist who specializes in marine and coastal ecosystem restoration. She works at CSIRO…
Ed Doddridge
Ed Doddridge

Ed Doddridge

Ed Doddridge is a prize-winning jam maker and Research Associate in Physical Oceanography at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic…
Elise Cleary
Elise Cleary

Elise Cleary

Hi! My name is Elise and I'm a PhD student at UTAS studying Behavioural Neuroscience. My research looks at how…
Ella Smalley
Ella Smalley

Ella Smalley

My research focusses on how we can best model genetic lung disease in a laboratory. I use stem cells and…
Elle Leane
Elle Leane

Elle Leane

Elle holds degrees in physics and literary studies, and her research career began in science communication. More recently, she has…
Ellie Paine
Ellie Paine

Ellie Paine

Dr Ellie Paine is a Phycologist and Marine Biologist currently working as a Business Development and Scientific Officer at Marinova…
Eloise Bennett
Eloise Bennett

Eloise Bennett

My research field is seaweed physiology or more simply, how seaweeds function and respond to their environment. To be specific,…
Emily Garratt
Emily Garratt

Emily Garratt

Emily's research is in the field of neuroimmunometabolism and focusses on risk factors for dementia. In particular how obesity can…
Freddie Heather
Freddie Heather

Freddie Heather

Freddie is a marine ecologist. His research focuses on quantifying human impacts on marine ecosystems, and identifying historical baselines. Research…
Gayathry Krishnamurthy
Gayathry Krishnamurthy

Gayathry Krishnamurthy

I am Gayathry Krishnamurthy, researching the shared genetic risk associated with the progression of preeclampsia to heart disease later in…
Gemma Woodward
Gemma Woodward

Gemma Woodward

Phytoplankton at the ocean surface take in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and when they die the carbon in their…
George Anderson
George Anderson

George Anderson

I am a conservation ecologist with an interest in threatened fauna. I am undertaking a PhD at UTas, investigating the…
George Rowland
George Rowland

George Rowland

I use chemistry to understand processes in the ocean at the modern day and 1000s of years into the past.…
Georgia Badgery
Georgia Badgery

Georgia Badgery

I am studying echidna ecology in an agriculturally fragmented landscape. I trained my dog to help me find these elusive…
Georgia Mergard
Georgia Mergard

Georgia Mergard

I currently work for the Macquarie Island Conservation Foundation as the Systems Implementation Manager. The foundation aims to fund and…
Hannah Moloney
Hannah Moloney

Hannah Moloney

Hannah works in the intersection between organic gardening, landscape design, climate action, communication and book writing - all towards helping…
Inna Osmolovsky
Inna Osmolovsky

Inna Osmolovsky

I try to understand why plants are trying to escape climate change by moving to warmer, seemingly unsuitable, climates. I…
Isaac Forster
Isaac Forster

Isaac Forster

Isaac has over 20 years professional experience in coordinating marine scientific research, fisheries management, and local and international policy forums.…
Jacob Thorstensen
Jacob Thorstensen

Jacob Thorstensen

I am a neuroscientist, and my work involves the use of non-invasive brain stimulation to study and modulate the human…
Jake Gruythuysen
Jake Gruythuysen

Jake Gruythuysen

Jacob is a field scientist involved in estuarine monitoring across Queensland. Seagrass, water quality, mangrove leaves, plankton tows, crustaceans, and…
Jared Magyar
Jared Magyar

Jared Magyar

My research focusses on monitoring glaciers based on vibrations, or ‘seismic waves’, in the ice. As water flows through a…
Joel Williams
Joel Williams

Joel Williams

I am interested in understanding the distribution of fish in relation to their habitat and how this is being influenced…
Johanne Hus
Johanne Hus

Johanne Hus

I'm a Ph.D. student researching ocean turbulent mixing beneath Antarctic sea ice. Turbulent mixing, characterized by chaotic water movement, plays…
Julie McInnes
Julie McInnes

Julie McInnes

Julie McInnes is a wildlife ecologist who works predominantly on Southern Ocean seabirds and mammals, with a focus on applied…
Kalina Makowiecki
Kalina Makowiecki

Kalina Makowiecki

My research looks at how nerve cells and other brain cells work together to control brain activity, learning, and behavior.…
Karen Wild-Allen
Karen Wild-Allen

Karen Wild-Allen

Karen researches marine plankton, nutrient and oxygen cycling using numerical (computer) models and observations. Her recent research has focussed on…
Kate Hutson
Kate Hutson

Kate Hutson

 When I was a little girl my mother, a science teacher, showed me a head louse under a microscope! I…
Katherine Bennell-Pegg
Katherine Bennell-Pegg

Katherine Bennell-Pegg

Katherine Bennell-Pegg is an Australian Astronaut and Space Systems Engineer. She is the first person qualified as an astronaut under…
Kathryn Wheatley
Kathryn Wheatley

Kathryn Wheatley

Kathryn is an Associate Principal Scientist at BMT. Her background is marine mammal ecology and now specialises in sampling design,…
Katie Marx
Katie Marx

Katie Marx

With the southern polar region facing a host of environmental and political challenges, one thing is certain - Antarctica needs…
Katy Baker
Katy Baker

Katy Baker

Did you know aliens live among us? Tiny creatures with gooey bodies, see-through heads, and glowing skin might sound like…
Katya Bandow
Katya Bandow

Katya Bandow

Katya is a PhD student working with Prof. Greg Jordan and Prof. Tim Brodribb at the University of Tasmania and…
Kristian Mikhel
Kristian Mikhel

Kristian Mikhel

I am exploring the ways to communicate the risks of pollution and the importance of clear air initiatives to the…
Kritika Sharma
Kritika Sharma

Kritika Sharma

My current PhD research project focuses on radiata pine, a globally important species for softwood plantations, with the scope to…
Krystyna Saunders
Krystyna Saunders

Krystyna Saunders

My research involves studying lake sediment and peat cores from sub-Antarctic islands, as well as elsewhere in the Southern Hemisphere.…
Lachlan Hart
Lachlan Hart

Lachlan Hart

I am a vertebrate palaeontologist, which means I study the skeletons of extinct animals. I have worked on many groups,…
Lily Bennett
Lily Bennett

Lily Bennett

The first land plants were short and had to grow near water because they couldn't control water flow in and…
Lisa Gershwin
Lisa Gershwin

Lisa Gershwin

You may know of Dr Lisa Gershwin as the jellyfish lady. She’s discovered more than 200 new species of jellyfish…
Madi Rosevear
Madi Rosevear

Madi Rosevear

Madi studies how the ocean melts Antarctic Ice Shelves from below. I study this using high-resolution ocean models, and by…
Madison Farrant
Madison Farrant

Madison Farrant

I am an Antarctic Biologist and PhD candidate, and I love all things Antarctica! Currently I am researching at Monash…
Mari Kondo
Mari Kondo

Mari Kondo

Mari transitioned from being a neuroscientist working on gene-environment interactions in neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders to managing the EMCR (Early-…
Maya Jakes
Maya Jakes

Maya Jakes

Physical oceanographer studying the ocean currents and whirling eddies that control the transport of heat towards Antarctica, influencing global climate…
Mei Du
Mei Du

Mei Du

As a bioinformatician, I draw from computer science and statistics to investigate large biological datasets, particularly genomic, and develop analysis…
Michelle Hollister
Michelle Hollister

Michelle Hollister

I've moved from the world of Antarctic weather to station operations - where everything is still dependent on the weather!…
Naomi Monk
Naomi Monk

Naomi Monk

Naomi Monk is a PhD student at Monash University with a background in alpine conservation and an interest in the…
Natalie King
Natalie King

Natalie King

I am researching how problems with blood vessels contribute to diseases like Multiple Sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, and stroke. If you're…
Nick Fountain-Jones
Nick Fountain-Jones

Nick Fountain-Jones

My research focuses on using DNA to help untangle disease ecology in wildlife, humans and livestock. In particular, I utilize…
Nick Roberts
Nick Roberts

Nick Roberts

Tasmania was the only part of Australia to have abundant glaciers during the Pleistocene Epoch, Earth’s most recent ice-age interval.…
Noemie Sheppard
Noemie Sheppard

Noemie Sheppard

I am a PhD student at Monash University passionate about understanding the impacts of climate change on conservation. Currently, I’m…
Paula Ruiz Ruiz
Paula Ruiz Ruiz

Paula Ruiz Ruiz

My PhD in Biological Sciences focuses on researching the mechanisms that promote the stability and instability of turf community states,…
Philip Boyd
Philip Boyd

Philip Boyd

I use robots deployed from ships in the Southern Ocean on multi-year missions to follow the annual cycles of plankton…
Rebecca Jordan
Rebecca Jordan

Rebecca Jordan

Plants, from miniature mosses to towering trees, are fundamental for healthy ecosystems that support our lives. But what happens when…
Robyn Sewell
Robyn Sewell

Robyn Sewell

I'm a previous UTAS honours student looking at the symbiotic relationship between plant hormones, orchid seeds and orchid mycorrhizal fungi.…
Roisin Moloney
Roisin Moloney

Roisin Moloney

Roisin is studying the effects of rare genetic mutations on multiple sclerosis pathology. She is particularly interested in how these…
Sadhani Karunarathna
Sadhani Karunarathna

Sadhani Karunarathna

I have a background in medical imaging and neuroimaging. My research focuses on discovering novel motor biomarkers of dementia and…
Sam Beale
Sam Beale

Sam Beale

My research is focused on using functional traits to develop a better understanding of how vascular plants on the sub-Antarctic…
Sammy Burke
Sammy Burke

Sammy Burke

Samantha (Sammy) Burke got her PhD from UNSW Sydney with her thesis on coral diseases. Sammy holds a BSc in…
Samuel Verne
Samuel Verne

Samuel Verne

Physics studies a massive range of phenomena, from the ethereal nature of light waves, to the quantum behaviour of atoms,…
Scott Condie
Scott Condie

Scott Condie

Coral reefs throughout the world are under increasing pressure from climate change, with coral bleaching becoming more frequent. Our research…
Sherrie Evans
Sherrie Evans

Sherrie Evans

Sherrie-Lee Evans is a PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania who has been using archival research and oral history…
Stephanie Hutt
Stephanie Hutt

Stephanie Hutt

I’m exploring alternate drivers of dementia, focusing on whether our brain's immune cells, called microglia, are part of the problem.…
Susi Seibt
Susi Seibt

Susi Seibt

Imagine a world without animal testing, where new medications are developed without harming animals. While we might never be able…
Tegan Clark
Tegan Clark

Tegan Clark

Tegan Clark researches Australian dust storms using satellites. Her research seeks to improve how Australian dust storms are detected so…
Thomas Verne
Thomas Verne

Thomas Verne

My research is both the text book example of poor plant care, and the hunger games for plants. I study…
Ting Zhao
Ting Zhao

Ting Zhao

 A health economist in chronic disease areas, including multiple sclerosis, osteoarthritis, diabetes, analysing the economic burden of the disease, examining…
Tom Guinan
Tom Guinan

Tom Guinan

My research focuses on computational analysis of big datasets generated by cutting edge molecular biology techniques to investigate glaucoma and…
Vaibhavi Dwivedi
Vaibhavi Dwivedi

Vaibhavi Dwivedi

Vaibhavi is an interdisciplinary social scientist with background in law and environmental management. She has previously worked in conservation projects…
Vicki Heinrich
Vicki Heinrich

Vicki Heinrich

Vicki’s psychological sciences PhD examines human behaviour, weather-related decision-making and safety. That is how people find, interpret, use and respond…
Victoria Roy
Victoria Roy

Victoria Roy

Hello! I'm Victoria, a dedicated Master's student in Laboratory Medicine at the University of Tasmania. My academic journey centers on…
Vimarsha Kodithuwakku
Vimarsha Kodithuwakku

Vimarsha Kodithuwakku

My research focuses on early vascular aging in children, adolescents, and young adults. By analysing data from around the world,…
Vini Drozdowski
Vini Drozdowski

Vini Drozdowski

My research is about everyday, domestic life in Antarctica during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration (1893-1922). By focusing on…
Virginia Andrews-Goff
Virginia Andrews-Goff

Virginia Andrews-Goff

I am a marine mammal research scientist at the Australian Antarctic Division. I’ve specialised in the movement of whales –…
Yuhang Liu
Yuhang Liu

Yuhang Liu

I’m a Physical Oceanographer and a PhD student in Australian Antarctic Program Partnership (AAPP) in Hobart. I study the ocean…
Zac Ashby
Zac Ashby

Zac Ashby

Hi there! My name is Zac and I work at a printed circuit board manufacturer just outside of Canberra. I…
Zane Farnum
Zane Farnum

Zane Farnum

I am investigating how life stress affects brain health as we age, particularly concerning neurodegenerative conditions like dementia. My study…

About the BEAKER STREET ROVING SCIENTIST PROGRAM

Each August, hundreds of Roving Scientists descend upon Hobart, filling up pubs and chatting to strangers as part of Beaker Street Festival. Discover a new world down the lens of microscope, and joining the least-boring bar conversations you’ve ever heard and these free (the chats – not the drinks) events.

For Scientists, Beaker Street’s Roving Scientist Program offers an excellent outreach, professional development, and networking opportunity. It’s the nerdiest and funnest way to share your research with the public, expand your network, and be inspired by leaders in all sectors of science and science communication. 

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