The work of an optimisation engineer is a bit like 4D chess, it takes strategy, creative problem solving, and people management. Applied to natural resources, like mining and energy, this chess is on a massive scale and sometimes involves taking a helicopter to get to your desk!

With an early love of making and designing, Kathryn Turkovic Levey is a Chemical Engineer and Mathematician with a career in natural resources. A born problem solver with a passion for thinking big, Kathryn has been involved in multi-million dollar development designs for Australian energy projects and explored mine site worldwide to optimise their production so that more minerals are available for our green energy transition.

Kathryn is passionate about supporting STEM, leads a statewide group of women working in sustainability, is a director of an environmental science education centre and advises museums on aspects of engineering. She is a Fellow of Engineers Australia, and about to commence a PhD into the history of women in engineering, uncovering the wives, secretaries, inventors and trailblazing first graduates who were the inspirational early engineers.

Kathryn is a neurodivergent single mum to two girls and an international marathon runner, the coolest of which was in Antarctica.