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CSIRO Education enquiries: Program enquiries: | Physics, engineering, robotics and related areasAlex Argyros, Optical Fibre Technology Centre, University of Sydney - Light Episode
Alex's favourite part of research is getting things to work and understanding how they work. This involves both theoretical and experimental work. This may mean some programming, running calculations and analysing the results, or being in the lab and the fabrication facilities making optical fibres and testing them in different ways with different applications in mind. ^TOP Dr Piers Barnes, Physicist, CSIRO Industrial Physics - Numbers Episode
He thinks it is good to feel that you are working on something that could make a difference one day. The actual science is really interesting and full of new concepts to understand. Of course there are also lots of fascinating problems to solve experimentally and theoretically. Outside work he likes to surf, see the world and eat pasta, ice cream and doughnuts. ^TOP Dr Charlie Barton, President of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Magnets Episode
He is currently organising an Electronic Geophysical Year for 2007-2008 (www.egy.org). He is always on the go, skiing, bushwalking or rock climbing. He even emailed us his profile from the University of Colorado in the USA! ^TOP Dr Sam Behrens, Research Scientist, CSIRO Energy Centre - Renewable Energy Episode
Body boarding is the one thing that almost distracted him from a science career until his parents deftly persuaded him otherwise. "Surfing as a career is good but you can only do it for so long, whereas research is something you can continue for many, many years". However the passion still seems high on his priority list. "If I'm not at work, I'm generally in the water". ^TOP Dr Mark Boland, Accelerator Physicist, Australian Synchrotron - Light episode
Mark's role at the Australian Synchrotron in the Accelerator Physics Group is to produce a high quality electron beam that is super stable and that lasts up to 24 hours. To do this he works with computer models of magnets, radio frequency systems and particle dynamics as well as making high precision measurements down to millionths of a metre and trillionths of a second resolution. ^TOP Marshall Brewer, Race Car Engineer, Fastrack Racing - Racing Car Science
When he finished his apprenticeship he started working for different engineering businesses so he could learn from others. In the 1970's he modified the Panard bar (prevents sideways rear axle movement) so it worked better on race cars, soon all cars had them. Although he still loves racing, these days he mostly builds "purpose built" race cars, unlike most in Australia. His kids play other sports, mainly because being a racing driver is expensive. These days no matter how good a driver you are, you will not become a racing driver without some money. You can't work 3 jobs and get $500,000.00 a year and that is what it takes at least to get a drive. His advice" Choose your career carefully and enjoy it!!!" ^TOP Stuart Bull, 3D Modeller - Construction Science Episode
In 1995 he transferred to Hong Kong to work on the new Hong Kong International Airport , which sparked his interest in 3d computer aided design. Stuart rates the best thing about his job being the satisfaction of seeing a building he worked on finally constructed and being able to say 'I was part of the team that designed that!' Most days involve talking to engineers and architects about buildings and design, modelling geometry in 3d using various software packages and producing drawings so people on building sites can actually build the buildings. ^TOP Carmen Calle, Technical Officer, CSIRO - Metals Episode
Carmen enjoys the hands on work the most - setting up experiments, observing, recording and analysing. She’s not so keen on washing up! A typical day may consist of setting up a leaching rig and running it for eight hours. Samples are taken at various intervals then filtered, washed and dried. These samples are then prepared and sent to the analytical lab for analysis. Then the washing up starts…yuk! The analysis is then put together and a report is written. ^TOP Bianca Capra, PhD student, University of Queensland - Space Episode
Bianca studies at the University of Queensland in the Centre for Hypersonics. Her research involves testing small models of spacecraft in high speed wind tunnels called expansion tubes. These tunnels are capable of creating flow speeds as high as 11km/s - that's almost 40 000 km/hr! Her models have gauges that measure temperature changes so she can calculate how spacecraft heat up as they re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. Bianca decided to become an aerospace engineer because she was always curious about how things worked (especially aeroplanes) and she's always been fascinated by space and space travel. Bianca says "the best part about my research is that the data I collect can help in designs of future spacecrafts that will explore our solar system! It's also a lot of fun testing models in the expansion tube." ^TOP Tristram Carfrae, Structural Engineer - Construction Science Episode
Tristram believes that good buildings should consume less materials, energy, time and money while at the same time providing greater amenity. He has a reputation for challenging the established way of doing things, to explore better solutions, moulding both materials and people to his vision. In 2005 Tristram was named as one of Australia 's Top 100 most influential engineers, a big honour indeed. ^TOP Steve Cassidy, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Language Technology, Macquarie University - Sound Episode
Most of his job is as a teacher and teaching is one of the best ways that he learns new things. One of the best things he takes part in is an international conference where everyone tries to do the best job of processing some recordings of meetings and afterwards they get together to share ideas. When not trying to decipher speech, he is learning Spanish (hola amigos!) or fiddling with things in his shed, making machines out of old junk. ^TOP Roberto Calati, Electronic Engineer, Nanotechnology Victoria Ltd - Nanotechnology
He loves being part of a company that helps to bring cutting edge technology into our everyday lives, and he likes the people he work with too. He also trains in Capoeira (a Brazilian martial art), plays bass guitar in a band and plays a little basketball. ^TOP Bobbie Corbett, Engineer - Surfing Science Episode
^TOP Peter Corke, Robotics Engineer, CSIRO ICT Centre - Robotics Episode
Peter also set up CSIRO's Autonomous Systems Laboratory, which takes robots into the real world - into mine sites, underwater and into the air. Nowadays, Peter has moved into a management role, overseeing the work of other robotics engineers. He says he enjoys being able to come up with lots of ideas and pass them on to other people to test out. "I have more of my ideas checked out now - that's probably the best thing about my job." ^TOP Tom Christodoulou, Business Development Manager, Concentric Asia Pacific - Lasers Episode
He spends most of his days talking with clients, planning work with the team and inspecting prototype designs. The beauty of 3d laser printing is that the machines make the parts for you! ^TOP Dr Brian Cox, School Of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester - Deep Space Episode
By that time, Brian was Dr Brian, having gained a first class honours degree in physics, and a PhD in High Energy Particle Physics. In 2005, Brian was granted a Royal Society University Research Fellowship. He is based in Manchester and at the CERN laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland. He has received many awards for his work in publicising science, including being elected an International Fellow of the Explorers Club in 2002, an organisation whose members include many eminent scientists and explorers. ^TOP Tristan Doust, Windana Research - Magnets Episode
He really enjoys being able to contribute to developing new ideas in the field of transport and energy, especially being involved with a technology which would benefit Australia and its transport needs. A typical day involves a lot of computer related work like checking through emails and maintaining a website, but he also gets to brainstorm possible new directions in current projects and test new ideas. Check out their website for how to make a maglev model. http://www.windana.com/education/model.html ^TOP Dr Michael Drinkwater, Physicist, University of Queensland - Deep Space Episode
Michael also gives lectures on astronomy to students at UQ, but on the research front the Dark Energy project was recently given approval and funding to start a huge project on the Anglo-Australian Telescope to measure 400,000 galaxies. That's the largest galaxy survey ever done on the telescope. He also likes to read Harry Potter and the Artemis Fowl series. ^TOP
Dr Noel Duffy, CSIRO - Electricity Episode 
Noel has always had a passion for the sciences and especially the physical science subjects. When he was in high school he used to read his older sister’s university physics books and always thought he’d end up as a scientist (or astronaut). After getting his PhD in chemistry in New Zealand, he headed to the UK where he worked on solar cells and the like for five years before shifting to Australia. The thing he really enjoys about science is the challenge of figuring out the hows and whys, then using his and his colleagues’ brains (and experiments) to get the answers. The other challenge Noel regularly faces is adventure races (kayaking, running, biking, climbing) and he is also regularly crew on two racing yachts as bowman (both inshore and offshore races). ^TOP Matthew Dunbabin, Robotics Engineer, CSIRO ICT Centre- Robotics Episode 
Matthew is a robotics engineer with CSIRO's ICT Centre. His team works on field robotics; that is, robots that are used and operate in the real world - on land, in the air, in the sea and underground. Matthew's main projects at the moment are underwater robots, like this autonomous submarine, and mining robots. Matthew says that all the members of his team come from different backgrounds, so they are constantly learning from one another and they each approach problems in different ways. Matthew's background is in aerospace engineering, and he's also done research into road trains in the Northern Territory and ship engines in Sweden. Matthew loves going out into the field to test his robots - last week, he was working from an island in the Great Barrier Reef! When he's in the office, he also loves the inspirational environment he works in. " We are faced with new challenges everyday, and we have the freedom to explore new ideas that might provide a solution to these challenges." ^TOP Michael Eaddy, Wind Engineer - Construction Science Episode
The challenging part of his job is that engineers and architects are continuously dreaming up new and interesting buildings and structures that push the boundaries of our current engineering knowledge. His time is divided between performing wind tunnel research on buildings and structures (including full scale on-site measurements) and assisting final year Mechanical Engineering students with experiments in the wind tunnel. ^TOP Daniel East, Metallurgical Engineer, CSIRO - Metals Episode
The use of metals is very widespread so by studying metals and their applications he has been able to work in a variety of industries from automotive to consumer electronics. He likes making improvements to products that we use every day, like working on light weight alloys for automotive applications or making production processes more efficient so that stronger and lighter materials can reduce their cost to such a level that they can be widely used and not just used in high-end applications like aerospace and defence. Currently he runs casting experiments to try and improve the productivity and quality of casting processes. He and his team are also trying to minimize wastage and the amount of defects in castings in order to produce better products. ^TOP Phillip Fox, Note Printing Australia - Plastics Episode
It's Phillip's job to investigate new technologies that might be useful in developing security features for banknotes, to prevent them from being counterfeited. Phillip is a physicist, and works with other research scientists including a chemical engineer, a materials scientist and an ink specialist to consider technology such as advanced materials, optics, lasers and new types of ink. Assessing technologies means that Phillip needs to be able to pick up ideas quickly, understand technologies and solve problems. He also needs to write clear reports for others at Note Printing Australia, so he says that science communication skills are essential. What does he like about his job? "I really enjoy being exposed to new technologies and being at the cutting edge of research in a variety of science areas." ^TOP Professor Graham Galloway, Professional Research Fellow, Centre for Magnetic Resonance - Magnets Episode
Finding new ways of using magnetic resonance to discover more about the human body, diseases and treatments. My job is to work out new ways of using the physics of MR, and I work with a wide range of colleagues who specialize in medicine, engineering, computer science, biochemistry and psychology. My typical day is helping students understand the concepts behind magnetic resonance and solving problems that arise on the six imaging systems that are at the University of Queensland. Because I have studied physics, physiology, medicine and computer science, a big part of my job is helping the scientists from all these different areas to talk to each other. ^TOP Joel Gilmore, physicist, University of Queensland - Theme Park Science Episode
Joel has been hooked on physics since picking up a popular science book about cosmology when he was 12. He studied physics in high school and did a science degree in maths and physics at university. His honours research was in a mathematical topic, but for his PhD project he wanted to concentrate on a more 'real world' area, so his supervisor suggested the hot topic of biophysics. Joel loves the thrill of uncovering new ideas in his research, and the excitement of studying something that no-one else knows much about. He is also passionate about communicating science to others, and spends his spare time doing school visits and running workshops all over Queensland. ^TOP Andrew Keir, physicist, Queensland University of Technology - Theme Park Science Episode 
Andy works for the Queensland University of Technology on their robotic observatory, which is part of the international Telescopes in Education program. The program allows students around the world to control telescopes via the internet so they can carry out experiments and observations from their own classrooms. It aims to inspire students into pursuing further study in the sciences and engineering. Andy initially studied maths and physics at university because he's always wanted to know how things work and, he says, "because abstract ideas appeal to me." Andrew was also interested in space and astronomy thanks to his grandfather, who worked as a jackeroo on cattle properties in Northern Australia and who often pointed out things of interest to Andrew. Andy took some astrophysics subjects as electives at university. He loved them, and eventually completed a Post-graduate Diploma of Astrophysics which led to his current job. Andy says he enjoys the range of science disciplines that are combined in astrophysics. "It uses everything from chemistry to quantum physics." ^TOP Nathan Langford, physicist, University of Queensland - Theme Park Science Episode 
Nathan didn't know what he wanted to do when he left school. He enjoyed both science and humanities subjects, and wanted to keep up all of them for as long as possible. So he chose to do a double degree - arts and science - in which he studied physics, chemistry, maths, music and German! Part way through his science degree Nathan realised that physics was the subject that he found most enjoyable and most challenging, so that was the subject he chose for his honours degree and PhD. He selected quantum information and computing as his research area because it allowed him to study fundamental questions about physics and because it is a very new and exciting area of study. Nathan hasn't given up his German and music, but they are now hobbies that he does outside work. He is also regularly involved with science outreach activities at the University of Queensland . His advice to students making decisions about their future is to "choose subjects because they're fun and you enjoy them - the rest will take care of itself." ^TOP Keith Leslie, CSIRO Industrial Physics - Mining Episode
In 1974, he joined the CSIRO to work as an electronics engineer; his initial projects involved working on a computer with a whole four kilobytes of magnetic core memory. In 1989, he began working on applications for SQUIDs, included scanning brains for weak magnetic signals and looking for minerals from aircraft. LANDTEM is the major success story to come out of this period of work. He really enjoys building commercial products based on their superconducting research and working in the laboratory testing new sensors. He is also a keen sailor, racing small dinghies with a fellow scientist. This involves lots of "discussions" about how, in theory, to improve our performance: they never do! ^TOP Melbourne University Race Team - Motor Car Science Episode 
The Melbourne University Race Team (MUR Motorsports) is both a final-year engineering design project and part of the Formula SAE national competition. The team is made up of 18 engineering students from Melbourne University who work together to design a prototype race car, with each member of the team focusing on a different part of the car design. The Formula SAE competition started in the USA, and is now run around the world. In Australia, most universities send a team to the annual competition in Werribee, Victoria, where they compete in design and dynamic events. The teams earn points for their design and their business and budget presentations as well as for the car's handling in acceleration, endurance and other events. The team members featured in the Motor Car Science episode were Sam Gualtieri (Coordination and Integration), Sergios Miltiadou (Suspension and Steering), Matthew Scally (Brakes and Drive Train), Robin Stephenson (Electrical), Carolyn Tan (Chassis) and Trifon Tsioutras (Engine). ^TOP Jamos McAlester, Maths Squad, Questacon - Numbers Episode 
Jamos has always enjoyed learning stuff. He went to university in Scotland and studied biochemistry, which is basically about how life works on a molecular level. After returning to Australia, he did a Masters in Science Communication and while doing that, started working for Questacon - The National Science and Technology Centre. Jamos’ challenge is changing people's perceptions of maths, and he does that with the Tenix Questacon Maths Squad, a free educational programme that travels across the country showing people what they can use maths to do. On the road, he visits schools to do a mixture of multimedia presentations and maths-puzzle workshops, as well as sharing ideas with teachers. And in Canberra, he gets to come up with new puzzles and riddles and write new shows about interesting bits of maths and science. All in all, it's a GREAT job. His pastimes include Judo, wave skiing and riddles (making them, sharing them and solving them). ^TOP Valeri Melik, Operations Manager - Motor Car Science Episode 
Valeri and his team in the test centre of Autoliv are an important part of the safety of our cars. They test a range of car safety components such as seat belts, airbags, steering wheels and seats to make sure they meet safety standards. Valeri oversees three laboratories: an airbag test lab, a seatbelt test lab and a crash test lab. Valeri has a background in electrical engineering and also worked as a mechanic and tank driver in the army! His team at Autoliv includes a combination of mechanical and electrical engineers as well as test technicians, assistants and the very important (but poorly paid) crash test dummies. Valeri says he is pleased that his job provides a lot of variety, with different roles and responsibilities each day. It requires plenty of thought and he has to come up with lots of new ideas, so it's never routine. "I don't like to be bored," he says. ^TOP Jeff Moncrieff, Technical Services Manager, Xstrata Zinc - Mining Episode
Each job has been quite different but he has enjoyed the challenge in all of them, whether it is the thrill of discovering a gold nugget, or mining over 80,000 tonnes of rock a day from an Open Cut mine. His current role centres around making sure that the mining is on track for the day, week and month and that they have the necessary people and equipment to get the job done. For the most part his role is about people management and he really enjoys it. ^TOP Andy Moore, Project Manager, Environmental Hydrology Associates - Water Episode
^TOP John O'Connor, Physicist, University of Newcastle- Board Sports Episode
And that is what he likes, the challenge of explaining physics ideas in the simplest manner possible so that they can be grasped by as many people as possible. How the world works is a fascinating story. Much of his day is consumed with administration and emails, but the more interesting parts involve giving lectures or working with students in the laboratory to guide them through the process of making new discoveries for themselves. ^TOP Brad Paroz, Fire Safety Engineer - Fire Science Episode
Brad has always enjoyed science subjects, and chose to study chemical engineering at university so he could apply science principles to the real world. A university thesis on passive fire protection sparked his interest in fire, and helped him to decide to take a job as a fire safety engineer with CSIRO when he finished university. Brad says that there is lots of variety in his work, which might involve studying residential apartments one day, and a train station the next. "I enjoy studying all the different design problems that can influence how smoke travels through the building and how quickly it can be evacuated," Brad says. ^TOP Joe Patuto, process engineer, Kangan Batman TAFE - Plastics Episode
Now, Joe works as a lecturer at Kangan Batman TAFE, where he trains students to become operators and polymer technicians. He is also working towards a Masters in Manufacturing Engineering. He is working on two areas of research at the moment: whether adding recycled plastic to PET bottles will make them more suitable for filling with hot liquids; and the philosophy of competitive manufacturing. Joe is thinking about moving on to a PhD once his Master's degree is complete, but he can't decide which of his two research areas he'd like to focus on. But it seems likely that his interest in plastics (particularly recycled plastics) will be in demand. "Australians are some of the best plastic recyclers in the world," he says. ^TOP Allan Paull, Aerospace scientist, University of Queensland - Space Episode
Allan is part of a team at the University of Queensland that designs scramjets (supersonic combustion ramjets), which are a type of engine that can travel ten times faster than a normal jet engine. There are about ten people working in the team, including six or seven who are engineers like Allan. Allan started out studying applied mathematics and physics. He says that maths particularly appealed to him because it "leaves no loose ends", but he was most interested in applying maths to real things - that's why he moved across into engineering. Allan says he loves the variety that his job offers. As well as allowing him to travel overseas to sell his team's research and ideas, a typical day in the office might include writing equations, analysing phenomena, researching in the library, making equipment or testing things in the lab. Allan says that the excitement of discovery is one of the best things about his job. "It's a dull day if we don't discover something," he says. ^TOP Commander Forbes Peters, Engineer, Royal Australian Navy - Buoyancy Episode
Why submarines? "Submarines are very cool and being in the Navy is hard work but very challenging and rewarding." When at sea on a submarine he is involved in exercises with other submarines and warships, firing missiles and torpedos and looking through the periscope. He visits other countries and conducts naval exercises all over the world. When he is not at sea he maintains submarines and does training. When not at work he most enjoys fishing and anything to do with the ocean. ^TOP Josh Price, Lasers and Optoelectronics, University of NSW - Lasers Episode
One particular book he recommends is "Unweaving the Rainbow" by Richard Dawkins. People used to think rainbows were magic - and they were considered spectacular and amazing. But understanding the wave nature of light and how a drop of water can transform the light from the sun into the rainbows we see is even more amazing. Working to unravel these wonderful mysteries of nature is what he loves about science. Lasers are just one area of study in his physics major, he also studies various other disciplines in science like quantum physics, biophysics and more. And the rest of the time he is playing sports, going to the gym, walking his dog and going to movies. ^TOP Russell Quinlan, LCE Services - Lasers Episode
After the training and a further 2 years of work he found another job and eventually bought the business after 2 years of working there. He has been a business owner for 12 years now, and has grown into 2 businesses employing 32 staff. Even after all this time he still really enjoys finding out how things work especially with all the new products and machinery that are entering the Home Entertainment Industry. ^TOP Jenny Riesz, physicist, University of Queensland - Theme Park Science Episode
Jenny has always enjoyed science because she loves learning about the way that the world works. She chose to study physics at university because she found it the most challenging of the sciences, and therefore the most exciting! She now studies biophysics because it's a fascinating unexplored area - the overlap of physics and biology. Jenny also co-coordinates the Physics Demo Troupe at the University of Queensland , which presents science shows, talks and hands-on workshops to school students around Queensland . "I have always found science fascinating, but lots of people lose the joy of science because they find it difficult" Jenny says. "I want to remind students that science is exciting!" ^TOP Jonathan Roberts, Aerospace Engineer, CSIRO - Flight episode
A typical day goes like this. Ride to work. Talk with the team about how our robotics projects are running. Plan what they are going to do. Maybe meet with some external 'clients' and show them how things are going. Read a few papers from other groups around the world. If he is lucky he writes some computer code! When the day is over, he rides home. ^TOP Marty Ross, Mathematician, University of Melbourne - Numbers episode
Mathematicians try to discover new facts or new theorems. Often they get lost in the jungle of ideas, but occasionally they see a clear path to really cool new ideas. His area of maths is called geometric analysis, which is the use of calculus (which you begin to see in Year 12) to study geometry. A typical day for him is kind of weird. He has no laboratory (except for his brains), and rarely uses computers (because he's interested in the ideas, not the numbers). So, it's simply a matter of taking a pencil and paper, and a cup of coffee, and pondering and playing around with the equations (ideally in cafes, parks and other relaxed places). There is also time spent lecturing students and in his office. Marty has also just learned to scuba dive and collect movies with maths in them (a self confessed nerd-trait). ^TOP Rachel Rothwell, CSIRO - Electricity episode
Realising she enjoyed teaching science, she then did an education degree, after which she worked at various science museums and institutions and taught in high schools, then moved to CSIRO Education. All the while her main passion has remained making science exciting for kids. At CSIRO, her day mostly starts early, packing the work car with experiments and going out to a school. She sets up, runs a few classes, then packs it all up and heads back to the office. Rachel is also the organiser of the Double Helix Science Club in Sydney, so that keeps her pretty busy. ^TOP Dr Andrew Short, Biomedical Engineer - The Games Episode
Mostly what he does is write scientific reports for big sport injury events determining what the contributing factors were. He also develops prototype science devices and the video goggles are one of them. "There is often a technology solution to everyday problems, but the key is to make it palatable and user friendly", says Andrew. Most of his days are spent researching new developments in his area and also doing some programming. Outside of work hours, he coaches a rowing team (featured in the story) and rows himself. ^TOP Cavin Talbot, physicist, University of Queensland - Theme Park Science Episode Cavin was a late convert to the wonders of physics. He enjoyed physics, chemistry and maths at high school, but was determined to fly planes and didn't consider any other career options. When he missed out on the Royal Australian Air Force selections, he took the first job that came his way - as a grounds keeper for the local golf club. Some years later, Cavin realised that he was tired of pushing his body to the limits, and decided to stretch his brain instead. He enrolled in university (first at Murdoch University , then the University of Queensland ), studying physics, maths, chemistry and computer science. Cavin loves the physics he is studying in his PhD now. He is working with the Centre for Magnetic Resonance trying to find better ways to take images of people's lungs for medical diagnosis. "I like learning new things and discovering stuff," he says. ^TOP Justin Terhorst, Structures Engineer , Boeing - Flight Episode
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Mark W Tilden - Robotics Physicist, ex NASA - Robotics Episode
He has two entries in the Guinness Book of World Records for building the smallest walking robot and the cheapest research robot and has worked for a huge range of US science agencies including NASA, the US Army and the Johnston Space Centre. He has even been a science adviser to ex-US President Bill Clinton! Now, Mark spends most of his time creating robot toys as a consultant for the WowWee Robotics Corporation - what a cool job! He designed the hugely successful Robosapien and this year released Roboraptor - the winner of the 2005 Australian 'Toy of the Year'. Mark is very proud that none of his 400 solar-powered robots at home, in his office or in science museums around the world, have ever terrorised a single lab assistant! ^TOP Dr Greg Timms, Microwave Physicist, CSIRO - Famous Scientists Episode
He chose microwaves as a topic, because he enjoyed the experimental work, the large number of applications (mobile phones, imaging, heating up plasmas, etc) and that he got to play with liquid nitrogen, liquid helium and very powerful magnets. He has worked at CSIRO for the last four years, looking at using microwaves in future communications and imaging systems. The favourite part of his work is testing the imager. It's very exciting when an idea works, realising that this might be the first time that this has been done anywhere in the world! ^TOP Matthew Tubb, Engineer, Airship Solutions - Buoyancy Episode
They started out with a concept, and then spent a considerable amount of time and money developing the concept, until the product was born. The success is through a lot perseverance, and support of friends and family. Most days Mat is responding to inquiries from the US/South America and ordering components and scheduling manufacture in the morning and in the afternoon, answering local questions, and responding to requests from Europe and the Middle East. ^TOP David Uhlmann, Chemical Engineer, University of Queensland - Climate Change Episode
Most days involve a lot of lab work; mixing new solutions and making them into membranes, testing gas permeations through membranes, analyzing membrane chemical compositions, analyzing membrane structures. He also has to read a lot about what other people are doing in his research field, in order to try and stay ahead. ^TOP Phillip Valencia, Robotics Engineer, CSIRO - Space Episode 
Phil works in a team at CSIRO called the Autonomous Systems Laboratory. They develop robots for a wide range of uses, including mining and space. Their main space project is looking at digging on the moon to help build a base station for astronauts to live in while they are there. They are also working with another CSIRO team on the 'Ageless Aerospace Vehicle' (AAV) Project which was featured on SCOPE. At university, Phil studied electronic engineering and information technology (IT). During the course he developed basic robots that could navigate a corridor or push another robot out of a sumo ring. These sound simple, but remember that this was before Lego Robotics came along! Phil loves robotics because it has helped so many people already and there are still lots of future challenges where robots can be used to help even more. And also because, as he puts it, "robotics is just cool!" ^TOP John Woodland, Water Supply Manager, Melbourne Water - Water Episode
He feels it is a privilege to have such an integral role is supplying an essential service to most of a city, and it certainly makes it easier when the people he works with are very passionate about what they do. He also does a lot of travel as the water supply system is very large, and he is involved in all aspects of not only running the water supply system on a day to day basis, but ensuring they are planning for a sustainable water future. ^TOP Scott Wordley, Aerodynamicist, Monash University - Extreme Sports Episode
Most aerodynamics jobs involve testing new car and aeroplane designs, but all new buildings must also be aerodynamically tested before they are built to make sure they don't create wind problems, particularly for pedestrians walking past them. Using aerodynamic testing to improve athletes' performances is quite new, but Scott says this research has a lot of potential to help people go faster in a number of different sports. Scott studied mechanical engineering at university because he enjoyed maths and science at school and because he has always been interested in cars and mechanical things. Scott says he loves the challenges his job provides - he really enjoys coming up with ideas and then testing them in the wind tunnel to see how they work. ^TOP Gordon Wyeth, Mechatronic Engineer, University of Queensland - Robotics Episode
Fate played a big role in Gordon's introduction to robotics. In 1988, a Japanese visitor to the University presented a robotics kit to Gordon's boss, who immediately passed it on to Gordon to try out. Gordon says that he wasn't really interested in robotics beforehand, "but once I'd made that robot, I was!" Now Gordon spends his time teaching university students about robotics as well as working on robotics research. His team focuses on 'biologically inspired' robots - for example, they use research into rats' brains to design a robot that can navigate around a workplace. So far, he has designed and constructed more than twenty robots, including flying robots, wall-climbing robots, high-performance wheeled robots and a humanoid robot. Why does he like his work? "I get to play with robots all day. Do I need any other reason?" ^TOP
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It was during his first year of postgraduate study (Honours) that Alex joined the Optical Fibre Technology Centre to work on a new type of plastic optical fibres. The project went really well and it interested Alex, so he stayed on to do a PhD in the same area and was hired once he graduated.
Piers arrived from England via Antarctica after drilling a very old ice core there. Before this he studied physics and then ice for his PhD. In Australia he has been working on using sunlight to generate hydrogen fuel renewably with the CSIRO. The idea is to solve the world’s energy problems by using cheap materials to collect the sun’s energy and transfer it to water which splits it into hydrogen and oxygen gasses – but it is not easy.
Charlie has packed a lot into his life. After spending 10 years mucking about in Africa teaching in Uganda, Kenya, and exploring for oil in the Sahara; he did a Ph.D. in palaeomagnetism. With his doctorate in hand he resumed touring the world on post-doctoral fellowships (Scotland, USA, Ethiopia and Bolivia). Finally he convinced the Geoscience Australia (as it is now) to give him a permanent job running the Australian Geomagnetic Observatory and Geomagnetism program, where he developed and interest in the magnetic poles.
All Marshall ever wanted to be was a racing car driver. He did an apprenticeship as a motor mechanic and worked an extra 3 jobs so he could afford to go racing. As he could never afford new tyres or pay people to make parts for his car, he learnt how to do it himself, eventually becoming a specialist in fabricating parts.
After completing a degree in Civil Engineering, Stuart joined Arup (
Carmen started as an assistant photographer then went on to become site photographer after completing an Advanced Certificate of Photography. After a few years of managing the photographic department at CSIRO she decided she needed a change and CSIRO gave her the chance to move into the research side of things. 
In another life, Tristram might have been a racing car driver, as besides what he does for a job, it is certainly one of his big passions. Since leaving University, he has worked for Arup in the UK , USA , Japan and Australia.
Steve did a degree in Physics and Astrophysics followed by a Masters in Artificial Intelligence where he learned a lot about making clever computer programs that use human language. He worked for a while in the computer industry and then did his PhD in New Zealand studying how children learn to read. Then he moved to Macquarie to work on computer speech processing and eventually ended up in the Computing Department.
After 5 years of studying Electronic Engineering and Science at Swinburne University, Robert joined Nanotechnology Victoria. He spends most days scouting around for breakthroughs in technology in Australia and around the world, and working out how to incorporate this technology into products that we can use. So he is often meeting with scientists and researchers to talk about their work and how to commercialise it. 
When Bobbie is relaxing she is normally at the beach swimming, surfing or diving. Strangely, she is often at the beach for work too. She did a Bachelor of Civil Engineering concentrating on coastal engineering, then started working with 
Peter started getting excited about robots when he was studying engineering at university, and he joined CSIRO so that he could do research into robotics. Most of his early projects were in the areas of computer vision and designing robots for the manufacturing industry, including a robot that was designed to sort pieces of ginger at the Buderim ginger factory in Queensland and 'safety cams' that can be seen on major highways in New South Wales.
Tom's favorite part of his job is the variety of different projects he works on. From model boats.to race car parts.to architectural models.to mobile phones.to anatomical models for hospitals.and the list goes on! He also likes traveling and meeting the leaders of different design fields, and working with them on their design projects. He gets to see the next-generation of products before market release. 
Tristan has an Advanced Diploma in Computer Systems Technology which he found to be a good grounding, but, it wasn't until he joined Windana Research that he really started to learning on the job from the staff's experience and knowledge.
Michael has always loved science, which led him to study science at the Uni of Sydney. During that time he got to spend a week working on their radio telescope near Canberra. They got to stay up late using the telescope, were fed lots of nice food and made some fun observations. He was hooked and have been doing this sort of thing ever since! The highlight of his work so far has been going to wonderful observatories in places like Hawaii - and our own New South Wales of course - to use the best telescopes in the world to see things no one has seen before.
Michael was always interested in engineering (maths and physics) at high school and went on to complete a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) and a Masters of Engineering (Mechanical) before being awarded a scholarship to complete a PhD. He studied the area of wind engineering, investigating wind forces on structures in a wind tunnel, and upon completion he was employed at Monash University to continue research in the wind tunnels.
Growing up in Tasmania, Daniel enjoyed making and fixing things and the difference in material properties fascinated him. Why do some metals rust and some don’t? Why are some magnetic, why are some brittle and others soft? So he decided to study metallurgy at university. 
Phillip is a senior research scientist at 
I started doing pure physics at university, as I didn't even like biology at school. But during my undergraduate studies I found that I enjoyed biochemistry, and studied protein molecules with NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance). I then went on to do a PhD in pharmacology and physiology studying anaesthetic deaths and cot deaths, and started studying pieces of muscle with NMR. From there I went to Oxford University, where I was involved in some of the first Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy studies on humans, and obtained the first human brain, heart and liver spectra. I was also the guinea pig for many early studies and spent over 300 hours in the magnet.
Joel is doing a PhD in biophysics at the 
Keith grew up on a farm which was an ideal place to observe the wonders of the night sky. The excitement of following the space race between the USA and USSR played a big part in forming his life-long interest in science. He went on to study science at Melbourne Uni, but after second year, changed course and ended up completing a Masters Degree in electronics.
Jeff began his career in mining by doing a Bachelor of Science degree, majoring in geology, and he also studied mining engineering for a further two years. Over the next 20 years he worked in Victoria , New South Wales , Western Australia and Queensland . His work involved exploring for gold, mining for gold and finally mining for copper, zinc, lead and silver in Mt Isa from both open cut and underground.
Andy has a degree in Civil Engineering, 3 years in a design office, 15 years working on sites all round Australia (mostly miles from anywhere!). But when you look after water, everyone needs you. He might be building a road, then your building a Dam or a Water Treatment Plant or even running a major Groundwater project! Never time to get bored. The biggest challenge for the Groundwater Project has been the very short delivery timeframe. Work on the feasibility, investigation, design and construction phases is all happening currently and it is Andy's job to procure and co-ordinate these resources and provide leadership and direction to ensure the project is delivered on time. And when he isn't looking for water he is usually following a boat around on a pair of water ski's (for fun, not work).
John's favourite part about his job is discovering new things. Sometimes learns about others scientific discoveries and other times it is completely new things that he is the first to discover as a result of experiments. In either case, it is this knowledge that helps him make sense of how the world works.
Brad works for CSIRO's Fire Science and Technology Laboratory. His role is to study the impact of fires on buildings. He does this with a combination of computer models and site visits, in which he looks for problems with fire safety in the buildings and suggests ways to improve them.
Joe has been a plastics fan since he started part-time work trimming plastic bottles when he was 15. He was fascinated by the factory machinery and processes, and eventually became the manager. 
Forbes went into the Defence Force recruiting centre in Brisbane and joined the Navy when he was 16 years old. After twenty years of service he is now a Commander engineer in submarines.
Josh has always been fascinated by science, especially physics. He read many popular science books growing up, and studied maths, physics and chemistry in high school, before picking up physics as his Science major at Uni.
When Russel first started out, he really enjoyed taking things apart and working with his hands and learning how things work made it even more interesting. Russell started as an apprentice Electronics Technician and he completed TAFE courses and on the job training. 
Jenny is currently working on a 
Jonathan studied an Aerospace Systems engineering degree at university and then did a PhD in robot vision systems. In 1995 he moved from the UK to Australia and joined CSIRO. His passion for his job is working with a great team of people and trying to develop robots that one day can help people.
What Marty loves about mathematics is the feeling of exploration. He's always been interested in maths, so it was natural for him to end up at a university (he did his PhD at Stanford University in the USA).
Rachel studied science at school, then continued the theme with an Honours degree in science at university. While all this was happening, she was also brushing up her performance skills by doing lots of uni shows.
Andrew has a PhD in Orthopaedic Engineering but it wasn't until he bumped into a professor at the airport at 4 am one morning that he began his current career at 
Justin did work experience program at Boeing, working with F-111's while he was completing a mechanical engineering degree. He enjoyed the experience so much that he jumped at the opportunity to work full time in the company's Commercial Aviation Services team providing structural repairs for the F-111. These days his job involves repairing structural damage discovered on commercial aircraft during service / maintenance. Typically this involves developing a set of repair instructions for the damage reported and ensuring the repair provided is structurally sound. 
Mark is obsessed by robots! He started out studying Systems Engineering and TV electronics, but quickly switched to a robot focus, soon becoming a robotics physicist in the USA.
Mat graduated as an Electrical and Computer Systems Engineer, and his first couple of jobs involved managing computing systems at various companies. But he really wanted to get away from the office environment, and what better way to do that than with Airships. 
There were several factors that sent David along the road he traveled. An interest in high school science, his high school chemistry teacher suggesting chemical engineering, then a degree in chemical engineering, an interest in clean energy and being offered a PhD, especially one where he may be helping future generations. He also likes writing programs; he wrote some animations for the clean coal story on SCOPE..
John has always worked in the water industry (starting with the Rural Water Commission as a graduate), but for the last eight years he has worked at Melbourne Water in a variety of roles. To get there he first completed a Bachelor of Civil Engineering (Hons.), then a Graduate Diploma in Water Engineering and one in Energy and Resources Law.
Scott works at Monash University studying the effect that wind and airflow have on different objects. Scott and his colleagues use a wind tunnel and other sensors to test just about anything that moves through the air or that might be affected by the wind, including cars, aeroplanes, buildings and even athletes! 
Gordon is the director of the