Did you know that the Indian continent use to be a part of Western Australia and that the tallest mountain range in the world formed from a rising ocean? When the Himalayas first begun to form, it took along fragments of oceanic sediments from the Tethys Sea that separated India and Asia landmasses, before colliding many million years ago. The calendar for these events in Earth’s history is a very important variable because they link fundamental questions about the interconnected processes that characterise the complex Earth system and shape our planet’s future.

Dr Sarah Kachovich is the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) manager for Australia and New Zealand (ANZIC). Her main research is using deep-marine fossils, radiolarians, found all over the world, from oceans to the Himalayas, to date critical environmental and geological past events, processes, and changes to our planet.

Her collaborative experience onboard the one-of-a-kind scientific ocean drilling vessel, the JOIDES Resolution, for six two-month long expeditions spread across the globe, has provided her with a conceptual foundation in many key aspects of the program: Earth sciences, oceanography, research management and cultural communication.

Dr Sarah Kachovich is a Superstar of STEM.