Mar
5
2025
Many tens of millions of government dollars have been spent in recent years to encourage school students to pursue study and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) – yet girls and young women seem to have been left behind. Most STEM subjects in schools and universities continue to be dominated by males, particularly subjects …read more
Mar
5
2025
Ashlee Caddell first began enjoying science when she was 10 years old. Now 28 and a University of Queensland astrophysics doctoral candidate researching dark matter, she has had a long struggle with gender stereotypes – from being one of just a few girls in a Sunshine Coast state high school physics class, to coping with mean schoolboys …read more
Mar
5
2025
Girls still trail boys in mathematics and science in Australia, according to regular nationwide surveys. Despite extensive government efforts to encourage girls to buck historic trends and consider STEM education and STEM career paths, the gender differential has proved hard to shift. Helen Watt, professor of educational psychology at Sydney University, says in one indication, …read more
Feb
27
2025
A geophysicist who worked for decades for a large international firm, Richard Plumb had no superannuation in Australia. Now 65, Plumb and his wife Marisa, a couple of years older and a former teacher’s assistant, were concerned the private company pension offered by his international employer would be considered foreign income and attract tax in Australia. So, …read more
Feb
27
2025
Quantity surveyor Ian Jackson, now 71 and “pretty well retired”, sought expert financial planning advice in 2007, when he was a director of a professional surveying/consulting firm and earning a share of company profits. Initially, Greg Barter, now director and principal financial adviser at Allied Wealth, suggested various strategies to maximise Jackson’s funds, including arranging super …read more
Feb
25
2025
The rust lab at the University of Sydney saves Australian agriculturalists many millions of dollars every year. Led by Robert Park, director of the Australian Cereal Rust Research Control Program at the university, a team of scientists uses pathology, genetics and pre-breeding to develop breeds of wheat, oats and barley that are resistant to the …read more
Feb
25
2025
A molecule discovered in funnel-web spider venom can prevent the cascading cell death that often follows a heart attack or stroke, according to research by Glenn King and a team of his colleagues at the University of Queensland. More than 55,000 Australians have a heart attack each year and 68,000 have a stroke – physical …read more
Feb
25
2025
A smart microscope slide developed by researchers at Melbourne’s La Trobe University could make early- stage cancer detection significantly quicker and easier, which could be key to increased rates of survival. The scientists harnessed nanotechnology to develop the NanoMslide, the world’s first smart microscope slide. La Trobe physicist and professor of optics Brian Abbey and …read more
Feb
5
2025
Diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder a year ago, Stephen Zissermann is now studying a master’s degree in public health online at the University of Technology, Sydney. A school teacher and a public health worker, married with children, and aged 51, he says the degree appealed to him because it is 100 per cent online. “When I was …read more
Feb
5
2025
Romy Stein had trouble finding a suitable placement to complete her Master of Counselling course at Edith Cowan University in Perth. “I originally intended to work with adults, but there is a shortage of placements and sometimes you have to go with what’s available,” she says of her extensive hunt for suitable on-the-job work experience. She was …read more
