A growing number of Parliamentarians seeking regular expert advice on complex science and technology issues has seen Science & Technology Australia appoint a record-breaking 26 new STEM Ambassadors in 2023.
The STEM Ambassadors program was created by Science & Technology Australia in 2019 to expand access to expert advice on exciting opportunities emerging from science, technology, engineering and maths.
The 2023 intake of STA STEM Ambassadors – announced today – will meet regularly with their matched federal MP or Senator over the next two years.
Science & Technology Australia Chief Executive Officer Misha Schubert said a record-breaking number of MPs and Senators join the program in 2023 to deepen their access to expert insight on emerging capabilities.
“We’re at a remarkable point in history where an explosion of complex science and technology advances are about to dramatically reshape our economy, our lives and our jobs,” she said.
“And what we’re seeing in response is a strong surge in the need for expert advice as lawmakers seek to keep pace with those developments and learn more about new technologies and their implications.”
“Through this unique program, we match MPs and Senators with their own STA STEM Ambassador to give them regular access to a powerful network of Australian STEM experts to inform policy development.”
“We’re delighted to welcome our 2023 STA STEM Ambassadors and thank them in advance for sharing their expertise and developing a strong working relationship with their MPs and Senators.”
A record-breaking number of MPs and Senators requested a STEM Ambassador in 2023.
The 26 new Science & Technology Australia STEM Ambassadors and their Parliamentarians are:
- Dr Margo Adler, Founder & Executive Director of Beaker Street (Senator Wendy Askew, TAS)
- Dr Maja Arsic, Winanga-y CERC Postdoctoral Fellow CSIRO (Angie Bell, MP for Moncrieff, Qld)
- Dr Jodie Avery, Senior Research Fellow and Imagendo Program Manager at The University of Adelaide (Senator Marielle Smith, SA)
- Dr Sze How Bong, Senior Operations Manager, Australian National Phenome Centre at Murdoch University (Sam Lim, MP for Tangney, WA)
- Professor Rachel Burton, a molecular biologist and Head, Department of Food Science, The University of Adelaide (Louise Miller-Frost, MP for Boothby, SA)
- Dr Lars Esser, CSIRO biomaterials research scientist (Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah, MP for Higgins, VIC)
- Dr Julia Gilmartin-Thomas, an expert in medicine safety, and Associate Professor of Allied Health at La Trobe University (Dr Carina Garland, MP for Chisholm, VIC)
- Brianna Gordon, PhD Candidate in Environmental Chemistry at the Australian National University (Senator David Pocock, ACT)
- Jonathan How, a meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology (Peter Khalil, Member for Wills, VIC)
- Dr Jacob Martin, a materials scientist and nanotechnologist working on green technologies at Curtin University (Senator Matt O’Sullivan, WA)
- Dr Nina Wootton, marine researcher at The University of Adelaide (Senator Karen Grogan, SA)
- Alan Robertson, Founder of ClearSKY Genomics and PhD candidate, Digital Health CRC (Terry Young, Member for Longman, QLD)
- Professor Alessandra Sutti, Deakin University Team Leader & Senior Scientific Advisor NAVIGATE Program, Defence Science & Technology Group (Andrew Wallace, MP for Fisher, QLD)
- Dr Simon Speirs, Head of Research & Development at New Edge Microbials (Sussan Ley, Deputy Opposition Leader and MP for Farrer, NSW)
- Professor Virginia Kilborn, Chief Scientist at Swinburne University of Technology (Maria Vamvakinou, MP for Calwell, VIC)
- Dr Sandra Garrido, a Senior Research Fellow in mental health at Western Sydney University (Dai Le, Member for Fowler, NSW)
- Dr Susan Wilson, an environmental pollution expert and Associate Professor at the University of New England (Meryl Swanson, MP for Paterson, NSW)
- Dr Jennifer Wood, an expert on microbial communities in ecosystems and Lecturer at La Trobe University (Dr Anne Webster, Member for Mallee, VIC)
- Dr Linda Stalker, National Geosequestration Laboratory Science Director & Senior Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO (Nola Marino, Member for Forrest, WA)
- Allison Hortle, a petroleum hydrogeologist and Acting Science and Deputy Director for the Energy Business Unit at CSIRO (Tania Lawrence, MP for Hasluck, WA)
- Daniel Rodwell, Associate Director (Storage) at National Computational Infrastructure (Paul Fletcher, Member for Bradfield, New South Wales)
- Dr Angela Noack, Institute Manager, Robinson Research Institute at The University of Adelaide (Rebekha Sharkie, Member for Mayo, South Australia)
- Professor Anna Peeters, Director of the Institute for Health Transformation and a Professor of Epidemiology and Equity in Public Health at Deakin University (Senator Sarah Henderson, VIC)
- Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt, a radio astronomer and Director of the Curtin Institute for Data Science at Curtin University (Melissa Price, Member for Durack, WA)
- Professor Geoffrey Brooks, a metallurgical processing expert and Professor of Engineering at Swinburne University of Technology (Aaron Violi, Member for Casey, VIC)
- Dr Amanda White, General Manager and co-ordinator of the RoboTradies program at Freelance Robotics (Henry Pike, Member for Bowman, QLD)
Media contact: Martyn Pearce 0432 606 828
