Meet the Comms Interns
Gooday! I’m Carl coming to you live from the first ever NYSF Session B in Brisbane. Before I introduce all of the amazing stuff happening on session, here is a little about myself. I’m originally from the Sunshine Coast, however have recently been studying at UNSW Sydney. Last year I completed my Bachelor’s degree in Material Science & Engineering with an Honours project which investigated different ways of reinforcing white cast irons which are used in various mining and material processing applications. I’ve since started working as a Graduate Metallurgist in the R&D team at Weir Minerals Australia where we are developing longer lasting, wear resistant alloys for numerous industries varying in the product application.
I attended Session A of NYSF back in 2013 and was fortunate enough to also attend the National Youth Science Week in South Africa, a former NYSF international program during that same year. This was an eye opening experience getting exposed to a whole new range of science and cultural history. In particular, I gained better understanding of international collaborations and seeing the wildlife management also sparked an interest.
When I’m not busy being the real life (Fe)-man you’ll find me out camping and enjoying the outdoors or under the ocean somewhere doing some scuba diving.
I applied to be a Communications Intern with the NYSF in 2018 because I believe science communication is a fundamental component that is often overlooked in many fields. And what better way to improve and practise my skills than coming back to session and seeing 200 enthusiastic young scientists discovering the numerous avenues available to them within the realm of science?
Yo, my name is George and I’m one of the two communications interns at the NYSF 2018 Brisbane Session. My interest in science was first piqued when I attended NYSF as a student back in 2011 (good lord, that was a while ago now). Since then I’ve completed a Bachelor of Science with Honours in biomed at UQ St Lucia, and just this week I’ve started a PhD investigating cardiac regeneration using human stem cells, also at UQ in the School of Biomedical Sciences. Outside science my interests lie in language, cooking and grime music, so hit me up if you want to discuss how to cure salmon, teach me some Arabic, or talk about Roadman Shaq.
Funnily enough, when I first attended NYSF my interest was in physics and astronomy, and I spent the session in Perth visiting some really inspiring physics labs. But at uni my interests changed and I found myself drifting into biology. Part of the beauty of NYSF for me was that it opened my eyes to the opportunities in all types of science and gave me the intellectual confidence to begin pursuing what was, for me, a totally unfamiliar field. So NYSF was crucial in helping me get to where I am today.
Additionally, my experiences at NYSF in 2011 gave me a massive appreciation for the work of science communicators, who were so integral in sparking my own scientific passion, and this led me to apply for an intern role in 2018. I am truly excited to have this opportunity to learn and to give back to the program… so please do keep an eye on the content by Carl and I over the next couple of weeks to get an idea of what’s new on sesh!