Development

Early Career Researcher Committee Report

In 2022, many members of the Early Career Researcher Committee (ECRC) departed the Centre for exciting new opportunities. This left the Committee down to one standing member from the previous year.

Your author, Dr Anjay Manian, took up the reins as chair, and many others also chose to stand up and represent their cohort. They include Dr. Mina Barzegaramiriolya (University of Melbourne), Dr. Alicia Schuitemaker (University of Sydney), Dr. Zachariah Levey (UNSW Sydney), Dr. Renzo Fenati (Monash University), Dr. Sebastian Furer (Monash University), and Dr. Francesco Campaioli (RMIT University). These names will likely change in the coming year, but those kind enough to contribute in the future will surely do so with brilliance.

The last 12 months were particularly challenging, as the impact of two years disrupted by COVID-19 continued to be felt. As such, the ECRC worked hard to pick up everyone's spirits, contributing strongly to training, panel sessions and social activities during the Annual Workshops and quarterly seminars hosted by Exciton Science.

The latter events in particular were less research-focused and more oriented toward breaking down walls between colleagues and fostering greater cross-node and international collaboration. An important milestone here was multiple ECRC members running training or workshop modules on various skills, such as for Python coding or LaTeX usage. The Committee is firmly of the belief that these events were a major success.

In the coming year, the Committee believes there needs to be a better balance between the Centre's research goals, and the mental health of its researchers. That is not to say the centre does not care. Quite the contrary; key platform members are very conscious of the effect this work can have on people, and offer advice and action where required to ERCs and students alike.

Research activities combined with teambuilding and the pursuit of hobbies may invigorate and embolden all involved. Consequently, the Committee intends to stage more workshops, such as teaching simple theoretical modelling, or how to perform some common experimental practices and/or measurements for more junior members.

The goal is to identify new volunteers from the cohort to run these modules, which we know from experience are well received. Others are keen to get involved in more casual events, ranging from lowkey social gatherings to paintball involving the whole Centre.

We didn’t get to do everything we wanted this year – a video-game competition outside of working hours and surfing sessions fell by the wayside, but overall the Committee is proud of its efforts and confident it has satisfied those it works to represent.

inSTEM Conference

The inaugural edition of the inSTEM Conference was held at the University of Queensland in July 2022. The conference was focused on networking and career development for marginalised and underrepresented people in STEM. It was organised collaboratively by the ARC Centres of Excellence in Exciton Science, EQUS and TMOS.

Led by Katrina Tune, Chief Operating Officer of EQUS, the purpose of inSTEM was to provide marginalised and underrepresented groups opportunities they may not have been afforded previously. The conference was designed as safe space for attendees to learn skills and form new networks.

Dr Francesco Campaioli chaired the Program Committee and sat on the Steering Committee, while PhD student Samantha Zaman was also part of the Program Committee. Chief Investigator Professor Jared Cole was invited as a panellist to participate in a discussion about using privilege and power for good. Jared spoke about the work he does to help the neurodiverse community as well as his commitment to increasing the gender balance of his research group. Former Centre member Siobhan Bradley was invited as a panellist to discuss careers outside academia, telling the audience about her experience entering industry. Many Exciton Science members also travelled to Brisbane to attend the conference as participants. It was excellent to see Exciton Science and its Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee represented throughout the conference.

The conference commenced with a Welcome to Country performed by Songwoman Maroochy, Elder of the Turrbal people and graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne. This was followed by a welcome address by Professor Deborah Terry AO, Vice-Chancellor and President of UQ. The conference featured many speakers distinguished in the field for promoting equity, diversity and inclusion, including keynote presentations delivered by Distinguished Professor Chennupati Jagadish AC, president of the Australian Academy of Science, and Lisa Annese, CEO of Diversity Council Australia. The conference concluded with a panel discussion challenging people in positions of power to change the status quo and advocate for tose with less privilege.

The first of its kind, the inSTEM conference was a success, with attendees providing positive feedback about how they both enjoyed themselves and gained important knowledge.

By Dr Francesco Campaioli & Samantha Zaman

Mentoring Program

The Exciton Science Mentoring Program entered its third year in 2022, with participants offered new and engaging connections from across the Centre.

The program continued to include Partner Investigators, Associate Investigators and Centre alumni, as well as individuals outside the research sector to serve as specialist mentors for some operations staff.

Following two years interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemics, mentors and mentees were able to meet in person, enhancing their experience and fostering stronger interpersonal connections.

PhD student Eliza Rokhsat said: “Over the past year, the mentoring program has proven to be an invaluable tool for my journey through the end of my PhD, as it has provided means for accurate planning and gaining the knowledge and guidance from my experienced mentor. Associate Professor Nicholas Ekins-Daukes supported me to overcome challenges and achieve personal and professional goals. One of the most impressive aspects of the program has been Ned’s wealth of experience and knowledge, and his genuine commitment to help me develop my skills through my PhD. He showed exceptional dedication and enthusiasm in sharing his insights and perspectives with me, which helped me to foster my goals.”

A similarly positive experience was reported by PhD student Samantha Zaman:

“Through the mentoring program, I was fortunate enough to be partnered up with Prof Jacek Jasieniak. Having Prof Jacek as my mentor has been a wonderful experience. As a first year PhD student, it was excellent to receive advice from someone so prominent in the nanomaterials field. Often, it is difficult to be able to connect with academics outside of our departments, so the mentoring program was especially helpful to create these kinds of networks. In particular, it was nice to be able to speak to an academic that is not on my supervisory panel. This meant that I was able to freely discuss any topic related to my PhD and receive objective feedback and advice. I felt genuinely cared about by Prof Jacek and thoroughly enjoyed all the sessions we had. The mentoring program and my meetings with Prof Jacek meant that I was able to begin my PhD in the best possible way.”