A scientist working on the Australian Synchrotron has been chosen to join the Homeward Bound STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medicine) leadership program.
Katie Sizeland (pictured) a Postdoctoral Fellow on the Small Angle X-ray Scattering Beamline at the Synchrotron, is taking her commitment to leadership to the end of the Earth as a Homeward Bound participant in 2019.
The 12-month program ends up in Antarctica.
Homeward Bound is a global leadership initiative for women with a background in STEMM. Its aim is to equip a collaboration of 1,000 women over a 10-year period, who were in leadership roles or aspired to leadership, as a way of increasing the visibility of women in both academia and industry.
The program includes online learning to increase leadership capacity, strategic capability and collaboration, and culminates in a meeting of all 100 participants from around the world in Ushuaia, Argentina before embarking for Antarctica at the end of 2019.
Originally from New Zealand, Dr Sizeland obtained a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering and Nanotechnology and a PhD in Engineering from Massey University before moving to Melbourne in 2016.
Her research explores the nanostructure of collagen, one of nature’s building blocks, and bridges the gap between synchrotron-based science and industry, leading to real-life benefits in the biomedical and agricultural industries.
“Although there have been improvements in the number of women in STEMM in the last decade, we still need to do better,” Dr Sizeland said.
“I am passionate about science communication, outreach and gender equity in STEMM and hope to inspire the next generation of women.”
Dr Sizeland’s profile, as well as other participant’s details, can be accessed at this PS News link.
