My Journey So Far

I was always destined to be a scientist, even if I didn’t realize it at first. Growing up, I was fascinated by questions that didn’t seem to have answers, and I never stopped asking them. If you’d asked high-school me, I would have said I was set on becoming an archaeologist. But that changed when I stumbled across a lecture on iTunes U about galactic archaeology. Suddenly, I realized we could explore the universe's vast history right from Earth. Just like that, I was hooked on astrophysics—and an astrophysicist was born.

I began my formal studies with a Bachelor of Science at Queensland University of Technology, majoring in Physics with minors in Astrophysics and Computational Mathematics. During this time, I took on several short-term research projects, including one with Prof. Karl Glazebrook and A/Prof. Deanne Fisher, calculating star formation rates in gas rich and star bursting galaxies. This project took me to Swinburne University’s Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, where the dynamic environment left a lasting impression, ultimately guiding many of my career choices.

It was during my undergraduate years that my passion for science communication was born. I designed and led physics workshops for school students, discovering the joy of sharing science with young minds. But that’s just the beginning of the story.

Diving Deeper into Astrophysics

For my Honours degree, I decided to immerse myself fully in astrophysics, working on a joint project, with A/Prof. Chris Lidman at the Australian Astronomical Observatory. I simulated millions of supernova explosions to understand core-collapse contamination rates within the Dark Energy Survey. My work also involved my first time observing with Australia's largest telescope, the AAT, measuring distances to distant galaxies. In 2017, I was selected as the sole Australian attendee at the University of Toronto’s Dunlap Summer School and the COSMOAndes workshop in Santiago, Chile. I was able to make of the most of these programs with thanks to multiple scholarships. These experiences fueled my passion for research, and as I looked toward PhD programs, I knew I wanted to specialize in transient astronomy—studying the explosive events scattered throughout the cosmos.

I accepted a PhD scholarship at Swinburne University, joining Prof. Jeff Cooke’s Deeper, Wider, Faster (DWF) program, co-supervised by Dr. Chris Flynn and Dr. Ashish Mahabal at Caltech. My thesis focused on the universe’s fastest transients and the application of unsupervised machine learning for processing astronomical data. As a Kavli Student Fellow, I also spent time at UC Santa Cruz, enhancing my machine learning skills under Dr. Michelle LochnerThis was a wonderful experience and one that allowed me to build connections and friendships for life. I was also selected to attend the GROWTH summer school in Mumbai India, where I was able to expand my multiwavelength transient astronomy skillset. My work during this time expanded beyond the DWF program and into the electromagnetic fellow up on gravitational wave counterparts. I loved my PhD immensely and it solidified my passion for research and academic life. 

Alongside my research, I began mentoring for the SHINE program, guiding students as they designed experiments for the International Space Station. This set the stage for my ongoing commitment to empowering the next generation of scientists.

A New Phase in My Career

Following my PhD, I was fortune to have a choice between multiple postdoctoral opportunities and ultimately chose an interdisciplinary project at Swinburne under Prof. Christopher Fluke. This work allowed me to apply my machine learning expertise to decision support sciences, collaborating with teams from La Trobe University, DSTG, and Swinburne. In parallel, I took on the role of Mission Director for the Swinburne Youth Space Innovation Challenge, which brings student-designed experiments to the ISS. Since 2024, over 250 high school students have participated, learning about space science, astronomy, and microgravity.

My second postdoctoral position broadened my interdisciplinary research even further. In a SmartSAT CRC project with RMIT and CGI Technologies, I used astronomical techniques for space domain awareness. This was followed by a collaboration in the Digital Health CRC project with Swinburne, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and Propel Health AI, applying AI to medical imaging.

Continuing My Journey

In mid-2024, I accepted a permanent position at Swinburne University of Technology. As the incoming Director of Swinburne Astronomy Online and Lead for Microgravity Experimentation within the Space Technology Industry Institute, I am thrilled to continue my interdisciplinary work while mentoring a new generation of students. Together, we’re diving into research on the universe’s most explosive events and expanding our understanding of transient astronomy. This new chapter is a continuation of my lifelong passion for discovery and sharing science, both on Earth and beyond.