Year 10 Careers in Science

PART 2  

R. R. Jiang

Two weeks ago, we covered the first of two Careers In Science events, where our Head of Science, Victoria Hunter, invited Old Boys to talk with Year 10 students about their career highlights in the fields of Science.

The first presenter was Mr Evan Bailey (’11), a PhD student in developmental neuroscience at UQ. He works on the genetic modification and development of brains in animal embryos. Most of his work consists of bioinformatics: the application of tools of computation and analysis to capture and interpret biological data in computer science. His presentation revolved around life in university, research labs, and the social aspect of it all: “hanging out with a bunch of other nerds”. It was really interesting to have an insight into the frontlines of scientific research and development, and it was definitely an engaging topic area.

Next was Mr Jason Carr (’04), who began as a hydrogeologist building dams and sustainable development for GHD, ranked 16th in Financial Review’s annual top 500 private companies in Australia. Later, he received an executive MBA in entrepreneurship and began a startup company Arbiter integrating autonomous robots for monitoring, automation, and human input for Defence and space. It was interesting seeing his career shift from geology to entrepreneurship and how much science is involved in modern-day businesses every day. For anyone looking to learn where science can get you in the future, this was a good presentation to whet their palate. 

We ended with Mr Richie Hodgkinson (’08) and Mr Tom Mackellar (’00), who both work at Lendlease. They highlighted how crucial it is to think critically and analytically about everything, and to make plans to solve problems that will inevitably arise in the process. They showed us their life story growing up and highlighted how although chemistry was more enjoyable, they found that they used physics more in the field. Then we saw some projects they had completed, such as the Salesforce Tower at 180 George St.  It was simply invigorating to see how much physics is used in the real world.

Thank you to all the presenters who contributed to this inspiring event.