The Kids Research Institute Australia brain cancer researcher, Kamilaroi woman and Forrest Fellow Dr Jessica Buck will today join the ranks of a select group of brilliant female scientists from across the country when she is named one of Australia’s official Superstars of STEM.
Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews will announce those chosen for Science & Technology Australia’s game-changing Superstars of STEM program in 2021-22.
Sixty women working in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines across Australia are selected every two years to take part in the program, designed to turn them into confident and highly visible media role models, expert commentators, and advocates for STEM.
The program aims to smash society’s gender assumptions about who can work in STEM, improve media representation of women working in STEM fields, and create role models for girls and young women working in – or who aspire to work in – the STEM sector.
The program includes training workshops and opportunities for participants to share their expertise at schools, in the media, and other public settings.
Dr Buck, a postdoctoral research associate with The Kids Cancer Centre and The University of Western Australia, was the first Aboriginal Australian woman to graduate from Oxford University with a PhD and was named Young Australian Achiever of the Year in the 2019 Australia Day Foundation UK Awards.
Through her research, she is working to help find more effective and less damaging treatments for children’s brain tumours, which kill more Australian children than any other disease.
She is passionate both about mentoring the next generation of women in STEM and encouraging more Indigenous students to become involved in science, and said the Superstars in STEM program was an exciting opportunity to promote those passions.
“The cliché is ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’ but it really does ring true a lot of the time,” Dr Buck said.
This program will really help to put women in STEM out there in the public eye and I’m so excited to be a part of that.
Science & Technology Australia Chief Executive Officer Misha Schubert said the program gave women in STEM stronger skills and confidence to step into expert commentary roles in the media.
“It’s hard to be what you can’t see,” she said. “Women are still seriously under-represented in STEM leadership roles.
“The Superstars of STEM program sets out to smash stereotypes of what a scientist, technologist, engineer or mathematician look like – these powerful role models show girls that STEM is for them.
“We can’t thank the Australian Government enough for its strong support of this important program, which is already having a profound impact.
“Sustaining this type of program for the long-term is more important than ever amid the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in the STEM workforce.”
Dr Buck said she was thrilled to have been chosen from a very competitive national field.
“I’m so excited to be able to get the message out there to young women and girls, especially Aboriginal girls, that a rewarding career in STEM is something that’s possible for them too,” she said.
Previous program participants include current Superstar Dr Kudzai Kanhutu, who appears regularly on ABC’s The Drum to share her expertise in frontline health challenges, technology and current affairs.
Another current Superstar, Dr Kate Cole, generated front-page media in May that led to a ban on hundreds on unsafe masks, protecting frontline healthcare workers and the Australian public.
“There is no way I would have spoken to the media before the Superstars of STEM program, and if I hadn’t done that, more than 600 questionable masks would still be on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods,” Dr Cole said.
Supported by the Australian Government’s Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, these next 60 Superstars of STEM will participate in the program in 2021 and 2022.