Masterclasses

[Music plays and a split circle appears with photos in each half of the circle flashing through of various CSIRO activities and the circle then morphs into the CSIRO logo]

[Image changes to show Dr Sarah Pearce talking to the camera and text appears: Dr Sarah Pearce, Acting Chief Scientist, CSIRO, Deputy Director, Astronomy & Space Science]

Dr Sarah Pearce: Hello everyone. I’m Dr Sarah Pearce. I’m the Acting Chief Scientist at CSIRO and Deputy Director of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science.

[Images flash through of a rear view of a male walking through a laboratory and then a close view of a researcher putting on gloves, and then two researchers working in a lab]

Welcome to the Generation STEM Masterclass series. You’re in for a treat.

[Images flash through of two researchers in conversation, a digital model on a laptop screen, a close view of a piece of equipment, a female looking at a circuit board, and researchers working in a lab]

Get ready to step outside the classroom, albeit virtually, and enter the fascinating world of science, technology, engineering and maths, or STEM for short.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

STEM is powering some of the fastest growing industries of our time, industries that are shaping the world we live in today, and the world where you’ll live and work in the future.

[Images flash through of three floors of a cross section of an office building, people walking through an airport, a male looking at an iPhone, highways in a city, and people looking at iPads]

Thanks to the rapid advance of technology there’s been an explosion of new STEM career opportunities for young people like you.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

Demand for bright, skilled people in STEM is growing almost twice as fast as for other jobs.

[Images flash through to show a researcher looking at a Smart microscope slide, a microchip strapped onto a bee’s back, a 3-D printer, and a road leading into a city lit up at night]

This series will be a window for you into what those industries and jobs will look like and how your interests could lead you to an exciting and rewarding career in STEM.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

At your age I wanted to be an astronaut and that led me to a career in physics, working in the areas of Space and Astronomy.

[Images flash through of a car moving past telescopes, an aerial view of cars moving through the ASKAP array, a close view of a telescope, and a close view of swirling colours morphing into an eye]

I’ve managed some of the biggest telescopes in the world including one coming soon that will let us look right back to the beginning of the universe. It sounds unbelievable but it’s real and it’s my job.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

You’ll hear from some of Australia’s most talented experts throughout this series and see how STEM can lead you to a career in sustainability, health, agriculture, aerospace, or any one of a number of other areas.

[Image changes to show a rear view of a male looking out over a city and then the image changes to show a close view and then a profile view of a male looking into a microscope and looking at a screen]

But not everyone needs to be a scientist or engineer.

[Images move through of a female looking up, a researcher looking through a Google glass, a female looking into a microscope, a female wearing a wearable headset, and a close view of a camera lens]

There’s an enormous range of careers in STEM that require a broad variety of skills from communications, to law, to creativity and design.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

There is something for everyone and I hope you’ll find something for you. Good luck and enjoy the Masterclass.

[Music plays and the CSIRO logo and text appears: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

[Images move through to show a rear view of Dr Sophie Calabretto walking towards the Gadi supercomputer, Sophie exiting the data hall and entering another data hall at the supercomputer]

[Image changes to show Sophie talking to the camera and text appears: Dr Sophie Calabretto, Applied Mathematician & Fluid Mechanist]

Dr Sophie Calabretto: Hi. My name is Dr Sophie Calabretto and I’m an Applied Mathematician and Fluid Mechanist. We’ll talk a little bit about what that means later on. Today we will be exploring the fascinating world of Supercomputers.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking]

I’ll be talking about how I use Supercomputers in my work and how Supercomputers help scientists all over the globe, tackle some of the biggest problems the world faces today.

[Images move through of a spinning globe, a satellite weather model, cross-section models, a temperature deviation modelling map, and various weather maps and text appears: NCI is supporting researchers at ANU in their efforts to learn more about Earth’s Inner Core]

Supercomputers have over the past 20 years become central to modern science. From climate modelling and weather forecasts to molecular simulations and human genomics, supercomputers help scientists understand the complexity behind some of the most complex and important phenomena of the natural world.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

In the coming decades, supercomputers will help us design drugs to treat deadly diseases, build more efficient planes, predict extreme weather events far in advance and much more.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking on the right and text appears on the left: In Today’s Lesson, What is a supercomputer?]

Today in this lesson, we will we answer the question “What is a Supercomputer?”.

[Image changes to show a facing and then profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and new text appears on the left: History of supercomputers, We’ll meet Gadi]

We will explore the interesting history of supercomputers and introduce you to Gadi, the most powerful supercomputer in Australia, and talk about the development of the Setonix supercomputer and other supercomputers in Australia.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

I’ll discuss my own career path and the importance of being open and curious, when paving your own STEM career.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking and new text appears on the slide: How supercomputers can solve real world problems]

We’ll take you on a journey to see how supercomputers solve real world problems and learn some new skills along the way.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and new text appears on the slide: STEM careers]

Finally, we’ll show you the wide range of STEM careers available to you, if you’re interested in working with supercomputers like me.

[Music plays and text appears on a dark blue screen: What is a supercomputer?]

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a blue screen showing text x=100²]

Here is an example of a mathematical problem that you can easily solve.

[Image changes to show a light blue screen and text appears on the screen: (x-100)^2.173= 12.3729]

Now consider this problem. You can solve this, but it requires many more steps and probably a calculator.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a long equation on a blue screen]

However, we can solve this easily and in a fraction of a second – it took about 0.1 seconds on my laptop – with any linear algebra application, such as MATLAB, which will run on your laptop or desktop computer.

[Image changes to show another equation on a light blue screen]

Now imagine you have a set of equations that look like this. These equations describe how fluids, such as water flow, and are what I deal with on a daily basis.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

A linear algebra package like MATLAB cannot solve these in this form, and a regular computer would struggle to do it in a reasonable amount of time.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

To solve these equations, we need a very powerful computer to perform a lot of calculations very quickly.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

In this situation we would use a supercomputer.

[Image changes to show a view of the data hall in a supercomputer and then the image changes to show a close view of the computer processors]

A supercomputer is made up of thousands of connected computer processors designed to work together at the same time.

[Image changes to show a close view of two processors working together and then the image changes to show a view of the data hall again]

We call this working in parallel.

[Images move through of various very close views of parts of the supercomputer]

A supercomputer can solve large, complex scientific research and modelling problems. For comparison, most of our laptops would only have two or four processors.

[Image changes to show the NCI Australia sign on the side of the supercomputer]

In fact, my laptop can’t even solve that set of equations in the way I want it to.

[Camera pans along the side of the supercomputer]

If I tried, it would crash my laptop every time, which is why I need to use a supercomputer.

[Music plays and text appears on a dark blue screen: Why are supercomputers important?]

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Supercomputers are an increasingly important tool for scientists working on some of the biggest questions in science today.

[Image changes to show a spinning world globe and then the camera zooms in and in on the world globe and then images flash through of close view of bubbles, an eye, a brain, and a galaxy]

Some kinds of natural phenomena are so complex and wide-ranging, and require so much data, the only way to truly understand them is to replicate them with the computer models.

[Image changes to show a researcher looking through a microscope, and then the image changes to show a male looking at a piece of equipment]

There’s only so much that we can do with physical experiments.

[Image changes to show a male looking at another piece of equipment, and then the image changes to show a close view of a lens, and then the image changes to show a digital landscape model]

Answering questions about how bushfires spread, what molecules are doing when they interact with cells, and how planes create turbulence as they fly, needs simulations run on a supercomputer.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

In the area of health, researchers are studying the COVID-19 virus to understand exactly what it does to the human body and the cells it interacts with.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

They are also comparing it to their existing database of medical drugs to see if some existing ones could be useful in responding to the pandemic.

[Images move through to show different digital weather maps and climate model maps, and then the image changes to show Sophie talking to the camera]

Climate change is already impacting us in a big way, and researchers using supercomputers in Australia involved in all aspects of it, climate models about how fast the world is warming, improved extreme weather forecasting, inventing new battery technologies, and making more efficient planes and ships.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

A supercomputer lets us respond during bushfire emergencies, and then learn from them afterwards as well. Supercomputers allow deep and complex analysis of datasets, simulations and models, which can be referred to as deep learning. Those findings can then  be applied to everyday situations.

[Images move through of different views of cars moving along various highways]

For many years, supercomputers were tasked with analysing road and traffic data to undertake deep learning, which has now led to new features in modern cars such as drive assist.

[Image changes to show a computer modelling programme of simulated model cars moving along a road]

Drive assist allows cars to read the road and automatically react accordingly.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Think sensors on the windows that pick up the absence of other cars, cars that brake to respond to road conditions.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

These technological advancements are driving the future of self-driving cars.

[Music plays and the image changes to show text on a dark blue screen: What are some applications of supercomputers?]

[Images flash through to show a facing view of Sophie talking, a close view of the Covid-19 virus, small particles falling through tessellated wire rolls, and various weather modelling maps]

Some applications of supercomputers include solving questions that benefit us all; world class discoveries; critical response systems for emergencies; and playing a key part in the incremental research and national science priorities.

[Images move through to show various bushfire modelling simulation maps]

Some examples are: Bushfire modelling – The Bureau of Meteorology is developing a specific fire version of their national weather model that can help us respond quicker to fires and learn about how they spread.

[Image changes to show a male working on a laptop and then the image changes to show the laptop screen he is working on]

This has already led to improvements to procedures following an at-the-time unexpected fire event in Western Australia some years ago.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then images move through of a close view of simulated models of Covid-19 at work, and drugs defeating Covid-19]

COVID-19 - Understanding the structure of the virus proteins, how they infect human cells, how we might counter them using drugs we already have or develop vaccines or other drugs that can respond effectively.

[Images move through of various atmospheric pollution simulation modelling maps]

Atmospheric pollution simulations – An atmospheric chemistry researcher is looking at urban and industrial pollution and how it spreads and travels through the atmosphere.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a close view of a turbine spinning]

Or, in applied fluid simulations a bunch of people are doing huge fluid simulations around engines and turbines and how to increase efficiency for plane engines and gas turbines.

[Images move through of a close view of a jet engine, a jet moving along a runway, and then Sophie talking to the camera again]

Even a 1% increase in the efficiency of jet engines would save huge amounts of emissions. This includes looking at hydrogen combustion engines as well as future power generation options.

[Music plays and the image changes to show text on a dark blue screen: What is the history of supercomputers?]

[Image changes to show Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking]

Supercomputers as we know them today have been around since the 1980s, but technology continues to advance rapidly.

[Image changes to show Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking]

A current iPhone is about as powerful as the National Computational Infrastructure’s supercomputer was from 2004.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

There are two national scale supercomputers in Australia, and a dozen or so smaller ones.

[Image changes to show the NCI Australia and the Pawsey logos on the screen and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

NCI and the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre are at the petaFLOP scale. That’s a quadrillion calculations per second.

[Image changes to show the NCI building and then the image changes to show the inside of the building and the camera pans around]

NCI houses the Gadi supercomputer and a huge number of data collections and virtual environments for data analysis and collaboration.

[Image changes to show an aerial view of the Pawsey Centre and then images move through of the inside of the building and then a Pawsey Supercomputing Centre sign on a door]

The Pawsey Centre houses the Magnus and Galaxy supercomputers and hosts the Nimbus cloud, which is specially designed for data-intensive research work in cutting-edge fields such as space science.

[Image changes to show Sophie talking to the camera]

CSIRO houses Pearcey and Ruby and is in the process of developing an even more powerful new supercomputer.

[Image changes to show a rear view of a male walking inside the Pawsey Centre and then the image changes to show a male working on a laptop inside the building]

The Pawsey Centre is developing the Setonix supercomputer which will become the fastest in the Southern Hemisphere in 2022.

[Image changes to show two males looking at the supercomputers and talking and then the camera pans around the room and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking]

To give you an idea about the plan for the extra power, the existing supercomputer at the Pawsey Centre, Magnus and Galaxy together have 1.83 petaFLOPS of raw compute power.

[Images move through to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera, a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then a facing view again]

Setonix is forecast to deliver 50 petaFLOPS of power, enough to keep a single person busy calculating for 1.5 billion years just to match what it can do in an instant.

[Images move through of the interior of the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, a male opening one of the doors of the supercomputer, and then the camera panning up the supercomputer]

The system has been designed to give Australian researchers an edge in emerging research fields such as artificial intelligence and machine learning.

[Music plays and the image changes to show a dark blue screen and text appears: Welcome to Gadi]

[Image changes to show a view of the NCI Centre and the camera pans over the roof of the building and then the image changes to show an aerial view looking down on an oval outside the building]

As I mentioned before, Australia’s current fastest supercomputer Gadi is housed in the NCI Centre.

[Image changes to show a view of the NCI centre and the camera pans in an anticlockwise direction]

The NCI sits on the land of the Ngunnawal people, the Traditional Owners of the Canberra region.

[Image changes to show Sophia talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophia talking]

NCI supercomputer’s name, Gadi, comes from the Ngunnawal language. It means “to search for”, which is a great representation of the search for knowledge that NCI and all of my fellow researchers are pursuing.

[Image changes to show the Gadi supercomputer inside the NCI building and then the image changes to show Sophie walking around the side of the computer and looking at the painting on it]

What’s more, the Gadi supercomputer’s artwork, is also painted by a local Ngunnawal artist, Lynnice Church.

[Image changes to show Sophie opening the doors of the Gadi supercomputer and entering the data hall]

The two big circles represent the Traditional and the western knowledge systems, coming together guided by the Ngunnawal Elders over many generations.

[Images move through of Sophie walking towards the supercomputer inside the building, and then a male walking around the supercomputer in the building]

Gadi is massive and fast. At the time of launch in 2020, Gadi was the 24th fastest supercomputer in the world.

[Image changes to show Sophie walking down the data hall corridor in the Gadi supercomputer]

It can do 9.3 quadrillion calculations per second.

[Image changes to show the data hall corridor in the supercomputer and then the image changes to show Sophie opening a door on the supercomputer]

It has 180,000 processors.

[Image changes to show a close view of hard drives in the supercomputer]

Remember, your laptop would usually only have two or four.

[Image changes to show a close view of Sophie pulling out the hardware tray in the supercomputer and then the camera pans up to Sophie’s face]

It has 640 GPUs and it can do data transfer at 200 gigabits per second.

[Image changes to show Sophia talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophia talking]

So how is GADI so fast? Supercomputers work in parallel, sharing operations across hundreds or thousands of processors all accessing a shared pool of data storage.

[Image changes to show Sophia talking to the camera]

You need: Fast networks; Fast processors; Organised data stores and; High-performance code.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Sophie walking down the corridor in the data hall of the supercomputer]

Some of the biggest supercomputing projects are also big users of data.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie walking towards the camera in the data hall of the supercomputer and then the camera follows her around the outside of the supercomputer]

Gadi is so useful for researchers, not just because of the computing power, but because of the integration with more than 50 petabytes – 50,000 terabytes – of research data.

[Image changes to show Sophie talking to the camera]

That includes thousands of satellite pictures of the Earth, climate model data, human genomes, molecular structures and more.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

For researchers working in environmental science for example, they now have easy access to high-resolution images of Australia that they can use to understand bushfire risk, erosion, water flows, flooding and much more.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

What does it take to keep a machine like this running?

[Images move through of the corridor of the data hall, inset glass panels in the floor looking into the floor below, and the cooling and electricity systems in the floor below the super computer]

Behind and under the main data hall are all sorts of electricity, cooling and back-up systems that keep all of NCI’s various data and computing systems operating.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

There are batteries that kick in automatically in case of a black-out, and diesel generators that can keep hard drives spinning if the black-out lasts more than a few minutes.

[Images move through of chilled water tanks in the building]

There are also large water tanks here that provide a stock of water for cooling.

[Images move through to show chilled water tanks and pipework, a close view of green pipework, and then steam rising above the outside roof]

Water is piped in over the processors to take up the heat they produce, and that hot water is taken off to the roof to evaporate away.

[Images move through of the water vapour above the building]

On a cold winter’s morning, that’s the cloud of water vapour that you can see above the building.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

But Gadi is also energy efficient. It is eight times more powerful than the supercomputer that came before it, but only uses twice as much power.

[Images move through to show views of the NCI building and then various views of the solar panels on the building roof]

NCI also has solar panels covering the roof of the building, which along with the ACT’s 100% renewable energy supply, goes a long way to reducing the GADI supercomputer’s environmental impact.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Supercomputers are a critical part of science all around the world. Sometimes they let researchers look in detail at natural phenomena that are impossible to accurately measure or observe.

[Images move through to show various digital maps of the Earth’s surface, tessellated wire roll type designs, and then various coloured shapes moving through the tessellated wire rolls]

At other times, they speed up the research process by working alongside experiments, like with material design and clinical medicines.

[Images move through of various digital maps and then the image changes to show Sophie talking to the camera again]

Big data plays a big role in all these fields of science, and analysing, processing, and storing and sharing all that data is why a national facility like NCI and the GADI supercomputer is so necessary.

[Image changes to show Sophie exiting the area of the GADI supercomputer and then walking towards the camera]

There are thousands of research supercomputers around the world, mostly run by national science infrastructure or partnerships, universities or other research bodies.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

In the race for the fastest supercomputer in the world there have been some big players such as Japan, the USA, and China.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

On a world scale, Australia punches above its weight which is pretty impressive.

[Music plays and text appears on a dark blue screen: The ‘M’ in STEM]

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Now I’ll share a little about how I use supercomputers in my work as an applied mathematician.

So firstly, what is an applied mathematician?

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and text appears: The Mathematical Sciences, Pure Maths, Applied Maths, Statistics]

The mathematical sciences are broadly split into three categories: Pure Maths, Applied Maths and Statistics.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Statistics is the collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of data. Pure Maths is the study of mathematics itself whereas Applied Maths is using maths to solve real-world problems.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and text appears: Applied Mathematics, Mathematical Biology]

Some of the different branches of Applied Maths are: Mathematical Biology – which is the modelling of biological processes, everything from cancer modelling to neuroscience to migration behaviour in animals to epidemiology.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and new text appears on the left: Optimisation]

Optimisation is finding the optimal solution which is relevant to a variety of fields such as electrical, civil or control engineering, economics and finance, operations research and industry.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and new text appears on the left: Dynamical Systems, Material Science]

Dynamical Systems which is the study of things that evolve in time, such as population growth or celestial motion. Material Science is using maths to determine the interesting and important properties of natural and manufactured materials.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and new text appears on the left: Financial Maths, Fluid Mechanics]

There’s Financial Mathematics and of course there’s Fluid Mechanics.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Fluids are everywhere. Air is a fluid, so is water, blood, toothpaste, Jupiter and yet we do not always understand them at a fundamental level.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

By that I mean, we can solve certain fluid flow problems. For example, let’s consider laminar flow in a pipe.

[Image changes to show a close view of a blue fluid flowing in a layer through the centre of a pipe of clear fluid]

By laminar I mean that the fluid is nicely behaved and flows in layers.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

We can write down equations that describe the movement of fluid in a pipe and we can solve those equations that is we can find a solution that will tell us exactly what the fluid is doing anywhere in the pipe at any time in the future.

[Image changes to show a close view of a blue fluid flowing in a layer through the centre of a pipe of clear fluid]

However, we can’t find solutions for a lot of other fluid flow problems.

[Image changes to show a close view of a blue fluid flowing randomly through the centre of a pipe of clear fluid]

For example, turbulent or messy flow in a pipe. But why is that? It’s because turbulent fluid flow is governed by chaotic dynamics and we can’t predict chaos.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Mathematical chaos, in a nutshell, is unpredictability. You may have heard of this in terms of the butterfly effect.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

A small change can result in large differences in a later state. For example, a butterfly flapping its wings in Brazil can cause a hurricane in Texas.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

This isn’t true but it’s meant to describe the sensitive dependence on initial conditions which is a very important trait of chaotic dynamics.

[Image changes to show a pendulum swinging back on forwards on a black screen]

Consider a single pendulum. A single pendulum is not chaotic. This is because we can write down a straightforward equation that captures the physics of the pendulum system, and we can solve it. At any time in the future, we know exactly where the pendulum is going to be and how fast it will be moving.

[Image shows the pendulum having an extra arm added to it and the image shows the pendulum swinging erratically using the extra arm]

Now imagine that the pendulum has an extra arm attached to the end. Rather than swinging back and forth, it can now trace out a completely erratic path.

[Image changes to show two double pendulums swinging in the identical erratic paths]

However, if I let a double pendulum go from exactly the same spot, it will trace the same crazy path, but it has to be exactly the same.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

This is because the double pendulum is deterministic. There is no randomness to the way it moves. If it were random, dropping the pendulum from the same spot would result in a different path.

[Image changes to show the two double pendulums being started from a slightly different position and the image shows two erratic but different pendulum paths being traced]

But if I let the pendulum go again, changing the initial position by just a fraction, what starts off looking like almost the same path, completely diverges and ends up tracing out something that is completely different.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

This is an example of chaos. A small change initially can lead to huge unpredictable changes in the future.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Some fluid flow problems are easy to solve like the single pendulum but a huge number of them cannot be solved like the double pendulum.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

But why do we care? Because chaotic fluid exists everywhere, in your coffee cup, in a river, in the atmosphere and yet we can’t predict what it does. If you want your bridge to stay up, or your plane to fly smoothly, then we need a better idea of how turbulence works.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

And these problems are too hard to solve ourselves. We need to use other methods to try to understand what is happening.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

We can use supercomputers to solve the equations that govern all fluid flow.

[Image changes to show the Navier-Stokes equations on a light blue screen]

All fluid motion is governed by a set of equations called the Navier-Stokes equations. They’re basically Newton’s Second Law as applied to the movement of a mass of fluid.

[Image changes to show Sophie looking at a whiteboard and the camera zooms out to show Sophie writing equations on the whiteboard and the camera zooms in on her hand, and then on the equation]

The Navier-Stokes equations are too complicated to solve by hand. In fact, the Clay Mathematics Institute in the US will pay you $1,000,000 USD if you can solve them.

[Image changes to show Sophie working on a laptop computer]

However we can use supercomputers to find extremely good approximations to solutions for us.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Rather than being able to write down a solution that tells us what will happen at every point in space for all of time, it will compute the values of the velocity and pressure at the points in space for the times we tell it to.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

An example of this is the flow over an aerofoil or a plane wing.

[Image changes to show a diagram of air flow over a plane wing and text appears: Laminar boundary layer over a ‘nice’ wing]

What we want is for the incoming air to flow smoothly around the wing and detach off at the back in a nicely controlled way. What happens in reality is that the layer of fluid can detach early, before it reaches the trailing edge of the wing.

[Image changes to show a digital image of turbulent air movement behind a plane wing]

When that happens, the detached layer of fluid gets buffeted around and forms vortices, which become turbulent, creating a turbulent wake behind the wing, which then causes drag.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

This is exactly what we do not want to see happening on the surface of an aeroplane. More drag means increased noise and energy dissipation, making planes less fuel efficient and compromising control.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Plane wings are a complicated geometry for a computer to deal with if you want to solve the Navier-Stokes equations in their full form.

[Image changes to show diagrams of three dimensional shapes mimicking air flow around those shapes and a scale can be seen in the centre of the screen and the image shows seconds counting up]

So I spin three-dimensional shapes that are easier to deal with mathematically in computational fluid to mimic the physical processes that happen on the surface of more complicated objects like an aerofoil.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Supercomputing is only growing as a key part of the scientific process.

[Images move through of various digital maps of the Earth and also various digital medical models]

A lot of the understandings we need to improve our world, like new technologies, medicines and industrial practices, will come from the simulations and models that research produces with supercomputers.

[Images move through of various simulation modelling maps and modelling tools for extreme weather events]

The way we track flooding, bushfires, drought, and extreme weather events is evolving right now as big earth-observation satellite data becomes plentiful and easily accessible.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Supercomputers are being upgraded all the time which is exciting for the future.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

For example the World’s First Market-Ready Diamond-based Quantum Accelerator will be installed at the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

This means it harnesses synthetic diamonds to build quantum accelerators.

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This will develop cutting-edge applications in machine learning, logistics, defence, aerospace, quantum finance and quantum research.

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In the supercomputing industry, scientists leading the research are equally as valuable as the people managing the systems, providing support, and building new tools for analysing scientific data.

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To help explain how supercomputers work, we now invite you to pause this video to undertake a couple of exercises.

[Music plays and text appears on a blue screen: Take a pause and learn more about how supercomputers work]

[Image changes to show new text on a dark blue screen: A STEM career pathway]

[Music plays and image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

So, I’ve always been interested in STEM because I always liked learning new things but I didn’t really know what I wanted to do when I grew up. So, when I went to university I decided that I really liked physics and that Space was cool. So, I thought I would become an astrophysicist. But then going to university I had to do all the maths I needed to do the physics and I realised it wasn’t actually the physics that I enjoyed. It was applying maths to physical problems. So, it was taking mathematics, applying it to the real world to solve those problems, and that’s Applied Mathematics. And so, I accidentally became an applied mathematician instead of an astrophysicist but it’s worked out really well.

[Image changes to show Sophie walking along the footpath outside the NCI building and then the image changes to show a close view of the building]

So, I really discovered my love for STEM as a six year old.

[Image changes to show a close view of Sophie walking past the NCI sign and then the image changes to show Sophie walking into the entrance of the Australian National University]

I loved sharks and I loved the ocean and so I decided that I wanted to be a marine biologist.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie entering the university and the camera zooms in on Sophie as she walks towards the camera]

But then I worked out how scary sharks were and it just seemed a little bit too much and I ended up more at the physics and maths end of STEM. So, in Year 11 and 12 I did those STEM subjects, along with some Art subjects too because I really loved those.

[Images move through to show a profile view of Sophie at work, a close view of Sophie’s hands typing on a laptop, and then Sophie at work again]

So, at university I did a Science/Arts double degree so I could do astrophysics as well as picking up all of those other Arts subjects that I was still really interested in.

[Image changes to show a close view of Sophie taking a sip from a coffee cup and then the image changes to show Sophie talking to the camera]

And then it was when I was at university that’s when I found out I didn’t want to become an astrophysicist.

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And in fact it was taking the maths and applying it to the astrophysical problems that I really enjoyed and then that became an all-encompassing thing.

[Image changes to show a close profile view of Sophie at work]

I realised I could take maths and I could apply it to any real world situation and I could solve that problem.

[Images move through of a close view of Sophie’s hands typing on the laptop keyboard, Sophie looking down, Sophie typing again, and then a rear view of Sophie working on a laptop]

After my Science/Arts degree I did Honours in Applied Maths and I looked at problems in neurophysiology. So, we were looking at mathematical models of neuron firing, so neurophysiology from a mathematical point of view and I had no idea I could do that. So, from then on I was an applied mathematician and I got into fluid mechanics.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera, and then the image changes to show a profile and then facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

And it means that now I can still study sharks, and I can study fluid flow around sharks, and why they move so fast, and why they’re designed the way that they are, or why nature designs them the way that they are without having to get up too close and personal to sharks like the six year old me was terrified of.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

So, now as an applied mathematician I can work with everyone.

[Image changes to show a facing and then a rear view of Sophie walking along past the GADI supercomputer]

I can dip my toe into all the sciences that are out there. And what’s amazing about this is we don’t know what’s coming.

[Image changes to show a close view of Sophie walking down the data hall in the GADI supercomputer]

We don’t know what the problems are we need to solve in the future.

[Image changes to show a view of Sophie bending down and looking at something in the data hall and then walking towards the camera]

And because of my background in maths and my ability to use a supercomputer it means that I’ve made myself future proof and I’m really excited about the things that we’re going to tackle next.

[Image changes to show a facing and then profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

I am so jealous of the future scientists of the world because there are so many different things out there.

[Image changes to show Sophie exiting one side of the data hall of the GADI super computer and then entering the other side of the data hall in the GADI super computer]

So, my advice to everyone would be try as many things as possible, keep your options open, embrace your passions, because what you don’t want is a career that you’re stuck in.

[Image changes to show Sophie leaning on the supercomputer and smiling at the camera]

You want something that you love to do every single day.

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So, students think about how you could use super computers in your future career.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

This path can lead you into a range of exciting STEM jobs such as a research scientist, engineers, computer operators and technicians, visualisation programmers, and include jobs that haven’t even been invented yet.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera and then the image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

Remember mathematics is crucial to a career in STEM and working with supercomputers. Have we sparked a new interest in you and supercomputers?

[Image changes to show a profile view of Sophie talking to the camera]

There are plenty of places you can go to learn more about this topic and explore this career.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Sophie talking to the camera]

We encourage you to pave your own STEM path.

[Music plays and the image changes to show the CSIRO logo and text on a white screen: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

[Image changes to show the NSW Government and the Science and Industry Endowment Fund logos and text appears: Generation STEM is managed by CSIRO and made possible by an endowment from the NSW Government to the Science and Industry Endowment Fund]

[Image changes to show the NCI Australia logo and text appears: Thank you to our content collaborators, NCI Vizlab, Professor Richard Sandberg, Professor Andy Hogg, Professor Todd Lane, Dr Claire Vincent, Dr Alejandro Di Luca, professor Jason Evans, Professor Hrvoje Tkalcic, Professor Ben Corry, Bureau of Meteorology, ARC Centre of excellence for Climate Extremes]

[Music plays and a split circle appears with photos in each half of the circle flashing through of various CSIRO activities and the circle then morphs into the CSIRO logo]

[Image changes to show Dr Sarah Pearce talking to the camera, and text appears: Dr Sarah Pearce, Acting Chief Scientist, CSIRO, Deputy Director, Astronomy & Space Science]

Dr Sarah Pearce: Hello everyone. I’m Dr Sarah Pearce. I’m the Acting Chief Scientist at CSIRO and Deputy Director of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science.

[Images flash through of a rear view of a male walking through a laboratory and then a close view of a researcher putting on gloves, and then two researchers working in a lab]

Welcome to the Generation STEM Masterclass series. You’re in for a treat.

[Images flash through of two researchers in conversation, a digital model on a laptop screen, a close view of a piece of equipment, a female looking at a circuit board, and researchers working in a lab]

Get ready to step outside the classroom, albeit virtually, and enter the fascinating world of science, technology, engineering and maths, or STEM for short.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

STEM is powering some of the fastest growing industries of our time, industries that are shaping the world we live in today, and the world where you’ll live and work in the future.

[Images flash through of three floors of a cross section of an office building, people walking through an airport, a male looking at an iPhone, highways in a city, and people looking at iPads]

Thanks to the rapid advance of technology there’s been an explosion of new STEM career opportunities for young people like you.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

Demand for bright, skilled people in STEM is growing almost twice as fast as for other jobs.

[Images flash through to show a researcher looking at a Smart microscope slide, a microchip strapped onto a bee’s back, a 3-D printer, and a road leading into a city lit up at night]

This series will be a window for you into what those industries and jobs will look like and how your interests could lead you to an exciting and rewarding career in STEM.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

At your age I wanted to be an astronaut and that led me to a career in physics, working in the areas of Space and Astronomy.

[Images flash through of a car moving past telescopes, an aerial view of cars moving through the ASKAP array, a close view of a telescope, and a close view of swirling colours morphing into an eye]

I’ve managed some of the biggest telescopes in the world including one coming soon that will let us look right back to the beginning of the universe. It sounds unbelievable but it’s real and it’s my job.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

You’ll hear from some of Australia’s most talented experts throughout this series and see how STEM can lead you to a career in sustainability, health, agriculture, aerospace, or any one of a number of other areas.

[Images move through to show a rear view of a male looking out over a city, and then a male looking into a microscope and looking at a screen]

But not everyone needs to be a scientist or engineer.

[Images move through of a female looking up, a researcher looking through a Google glass, a female looking into a microscope, a female wearing a wearable headset, and a close view of a camera lens]

There’s an enormous range of careers in STEM that require a broad variety of skills, from communications to law, to creativity and design.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

There is something for everyone and I hope you’ll find something for you. Good luck and enjoy the Masterclass.

[Music plays and the CSIRO logo and text appears: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

[Images move through to show different views of the Energy Centre, two males walking towards the Centre, the males climbing the stairs inside the building, and Chris Knight talking to the camera, and text appears: Chris Knight, Aerospace Engineer]

Chris Knight: Hi everyone. My name is Chris Knight and I am an Aerospace Engineer and I work with CSIRO in energy research at the Energy Research Centre in Newcastle. Today I’m going to be talking to you about project management. Along the way I’ll be explaining what I did at school, at university, and in the early part of my career to get here.

[Image changes to show a side view of Chris talking to the camera]

The good thing about project management is you don’t need any specific skills. You don’t need to be an engineer. A little bit of logic and common sense will get you all you need.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

In fact you are probably using that project management skill at high school right now.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera on the right, and text appears on the left: In Today’s Lesson, Project Management, Applied in the workplace, Who are Project Managers?, Future applications]

In this Masterclass you will hear about project management and how it is applied in the workplace, a little bit about me, and finally some information on the future applications.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Let’s talk a bit about project management. The first thing you need to do is stop wasting five syllables when two will do. So, let’s call it PM.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Chris and another male walking in the Renewable Energy Integration Facility, and then the camera zooms in on a CSIRO sign in the building]

PM is not really a field of science as much as it is a process used by almost every field.

[Image changes to show a close rear, then side view, and then facing view of Chris and the male walking in the building]

At its most basic it is a process that takes an idea, any idea, and helps to turn it into an outcome.

[Image changes to show a close facing, and then side view of Chris and another male looking at a laptop together]

The idea can be small – like having a barbecue, or large – like building an aircraft.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

I have done both of those things with some degree of success. Importantly, the process for both is very similar.

[Image changes to show a facing and then side view of Chris talking to the camera on the right, and text appears on the left: The Five Phases of Project Management, 1. Conception, 2. Planning, 3. Execution, 4. Monitoring, 5. Closeout]

PM usually has five phases: Conception; Planning; Execution; Monitoring; and Closeout, CPEMC.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: 1. Conception – What are you trying to achieve?]

In the conception phase the goal is to define what it is you are trying to achieve, hold a barbecue or build that plane.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

It is here that you determine what kind of barbecue you want to have. Does anyone else want some of your barbecue? How much food do you want to make? It is at this point that you start talking to other people who might want to eat some of your food.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

These people are called stakeholders.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: 2. Planning – Set your goals or outcomes]

In the planning stage, the goals or outcomes are set. You should start by being specific about the outcome.

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What sort of meat are you going to cook?

[Images move through to show facing and side facing views of Chris talking to the camera]

What about the salads? What are you going to drink? How many people are coming that have food allergies? Where are you having this barbecue? And so on.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

The third stage is execution. Ideally, you aren’t killing anyone although if you’ve eaten a barbecue, or flown in a plane I have designed that’s always a risk.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: 3. Execution – The actual work is done]

This stage is where you do the actual work. You prepare the meat, make the salad, set the table, turn on the barbecue.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

If the project is complex enough, then each of these stages could be their own project.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

This means going through the five phases for each of those little sub projects.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Now, it might seem odd to go through this process for the step of turning on a barbecue. To this I say, how many times has your family started the barbecue only to find out you have no gas in the tank?

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Hopefully, you only do that once.

[Image changes to show a facing, and then side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

This makes it look like building a plane is as difficult as cooking a barbecue, although anyone who has eaten food I have cooked might be inclined to agree that I make it look as difficult.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Remember, if it is a big project then break it into smaller chunks.

[Image changes to show a diagram of a plane broken down into the individual parts, and text appears: Project Management of a Plane Build]

For a plane you might break it down into wings, fuselage, tail, avionics, engine, landing gear, and so on.

[Image changes to show a plane engine diagram on the screen]

The engine might be broken down into a fuel system, a compressor, a combustor, a turbine, and so on.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

If these steps are still too large, then they can be broken down further. So, if it’s a really big plane like a Boeing 787, then there might be three wing teams. There might be three or four fuselage teams.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: 4. Monitoring – Delivering the project as promised]

The fourth stage is monitoring. This is a process of confirming that you are delivering what you said you would, when you said you would, and for the prices you agreed.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Although I don’t charge for my barbecues.

[Image changes to show a diagram of a loop, and symbols appear below of a notepad, a pencil and ruler, a cog, a clipboard, a microscope, and a rocket, and text appears along the loop: Plan, Design, Develop, Test, Deploy, Review, Launch]

The main process here looks like a loop. Every time you make a plane, or a wing, or an engine, you check it. If you get it wrong, then you make changes to the process.

[Image changes to show Chris and another male walking in a workshop, and then the image changes to show a close rear view of Chris operating the control panel on an electric car charger]

Stage 3 and 4 are where the key skills of a project manager come into play.

[Camera zooms in on the control panel, and then the image changes to show Chris and the male looking at the charging station and talking]

The main job during these two stages is to communicate often with team members. Ask them what they are going to be doing next.

[Image shows Chris and the male walking past a CSIRO vehicle]

Check that what they have delivered matches with what they said they were going to do last time you spoke.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

If it doesn’t, then find out what went wrong.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Why does the salad have kale in it but doesn’t have any lettuce? Perhaps they could not find the lettuce in the fridge. Perhaps they thought kale was lettuce. It most definitely is not. Now is the time to find out and fix the problem.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: 5. Closeout – Debrief and analysis]

Closeout is the final step and it is almost always forgotten.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

The reason it is forgotten is that often at the end of a project you are so sick and tired of the project that you just want it to go away.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

But if you don’t debrief then you will repeat the same mistakes each time.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

That means more cold steaks, more hot drinks, and more burnt sausages.

[Images move through of three employees looking at computers together, a close view of one of the males looking down, the female pointing to the screen, and then the three looking at the screen]

One of the interesting things about project management is that it requires people from all sorts of backgrounds.

[Images move through of a finger pointing at a circuit board on a computer screen, a male and female looking at an actual circuit board, and employees walking past circuit boards in a factory]

Typically you don’t do a project management degree, though you can do Masters and further qualifications.

[Camera pans around the room showing employees at work, and then the images move through of a male opening up a machine, and then a male and female looking at a circuit board]

However, as we have just covered, you actually do PM in all sorts of places.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Every group project you’ll have a project manager. Every assignment you do has a project manager, or it should.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

So, let’s have a quick look at a recent project I managed.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: Project Example, Predicting the flow of solar energy]

This was a multiyear, $3.4 million project,

[Image changes to show the CSIRO, UNSW Sydney, University of South Australia, and IMC logos]

that was run as a partnership between CSIRO, the Universities of New South Wales and South Australia, and a great local engineering company based in Newcastle called Industrial Monitoring and Control or IMC.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

So, let’s have a quick look at the structure of this project.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Firstly, something that runs over multiple years and costs millions would be considered a complex project.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

That means more like a plane than a barbecue.

[Image changes to show Chris and another male walking along a mezzanine corridor in fast motion, and a rear view of Chris and a male talking together]

In this case, the project was being led by IMC.

[Image changes to show a diagram with IMC at the top, and then linked by an arrow to the CSIRO logo, which is then linked by arrows to the UNSW and UniSA logos]

So, there was a chap called Tim at IMC who was responsible for the overall project. I was responsible for the CSIRO bit, and the two universities who are subcontracted to us.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Now, that just means that I was also responsible for making sure they delivered their bit.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

That included a woman called Malindi, who was responsible for the University of New South Wales work, and finally John from the University of South Australia.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Now, let’s talk a little bit about how the electrical grid works. Australia has one of the largest electrical grids in the world. It stretches all the way from Far-North Queensland, into New South Wales, through Victoria and ACT, and down to Tasmania, and it ends in South Australia.

[Images move through of a view looking up at power lines, and the camera zooms in, a side view of the power lines and poles, a very close view of the lines, and then two males looking at the lines]

At any given point in time the amount of energy being generated, solar PV, wind turbines, gas or coal fired power stations, batteries or hydro dams has to be exactly balanced by usage such as running the TV, running the dishwasher, or operating an aluminium smelter.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

If there is too much energy being produced, then the voltage or frequency rises a little bit. And if there’s not quite enough energy being supplied, the voltage or frequency drops a little bit.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

The grid operator’s role is to stabilise the grid in five minute blocks.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

The way it does this is to ask for all of the generators – PV plants, wind turbines or power stations – to tell them how much energy they can make in the next five minutes.

[Images move through of a hydro dam, a gas fired power station, a view looking up at a chimney at the power station, solar panels on a solar farm, and then wind turbines on a wind farm]

For something like a battery or hydro dam or a gas or coal fired power station that is relatively easy to predict. For something like a solar or wind generator, that relies on an energy source that is out of your control, and thus a prediction has to be made.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

This project was all about energy prediction.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera, and text appears on the left: Energy Prediction Project Planning, 1. Conception]

So, on with our project planning. The first stage is conception. That usually starts with some sort of problem definition. What problem are we trying to solve?

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

The specific problem we have here is to predict how much an individual solar plant will generate in the next five minutes.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

The technology we have at hand comes from each of the partners.

[Image changes to show a satellite moving past the Earth]

The University of New South Wales are experts in satellite prediction.

[Image changes to show a satellite image of clouds off the coast of Australia, and then different digital images move through on the screen]

They use satellite images to look at clouds from orbit and determine where they are going to be in relation to the solar farm.

[Image changes to show a male walking into a supercomputer room, and then the image changes to show a male working on a computer next to the supercomputer as another male approaches]

The University of South Australia are statistical experts. They look at historical numbers for the particular farm and they make predictions about how much energy will be produced in the next five minutes.

[Image changes to show a bank of skyward looking cameras]

The CSIRO uses a skyward looking camera.

[Images move through of different cloud footage]

It looks at the clouds from ground level with a wide angle lens. It takes a picture every ten seconds, uses that to predict where the clouds will be for the next 30 minutes.

[Images move through of various views of a male working on three computer screens, a view of the supercomputer, and then a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

So, the concept of this project is to take all of the data needed for each of the four prediction methods, feed that data to each model to get an output for that method, combine the prediction methods like this into an ensemble forecast, and then submit that forecast to the grid operator to allow stability in the grid.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

All of this was planned to happen at five different solar farms, every five minutes, every day.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera on the right, and text appears on the left: 2. Planning]

In the planning phase we determined what sort of data we would need, how much of that data we would need, how often we need that data, where we were going to store all of that data,

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

and how we were going to get that information back from the farms, which are usually remote to a central area where it can be processed.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera on the right, and text appears on the left: 3. Execution]

In the execution phase we started working to the plan.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

As is often the case, the plan is not quite right. In fact, it’s almost always wrong but you can’t start without one.

[Images move through of a view looking down on a bank of skyward facing cameras, and then three males talking and looking at computers]

Some of the problems we encountered were that the data we thought was going to come from the farms, well they couldn’t supply it.

[Image changes to show a male entering the CSIRO Stored Energy Facility, and then images move through of a group of employees working on computers]

There was some supply issues with getting the cameras and other equipment out to the farm sites. And there were some delays setting the various pieces up.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

It is important to note that there will always be issues like this.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Sometimes you can anticipate these problems but more often than not there are things that you haven’t thought of.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

The trick here is during the planning phase, to add specific bits of time as contingency for when things go wrong.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

A good way to handle these problems is to not leave the work to the last moment.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

For example, if you have an assignment due in two weeks, don’t wait until two days before it’s due to start, because the problems you discover at that point may not be able to be solved.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera on the right, and text appears on the left: 4. Monitoring]

Next is the monitoring phase. As I noted before this looks a bit like a loop.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

We start at one farm, and when problems were discovered, we changed our plan for the next farm. That is a normal process. Also, during the monitoring phase is the process where the data from the solar farms starts to come in.

[Image changes to show the GADI supercomputer, and then the image changes to show a rear view of a female walking down the corridor of the GADI supercomputer]

The various data flows are then taken to the different models, and those models generated outputs.

[Image changes to show a facing view of a female walking down the corridor of the supercomputer, and then opening a door and looking at the wiring]

We were using a machine learning process. In this process, the more data you’ve got, the better the prediction becomes.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

This is also part of the monitoring, that process of learning as you go and improving the solar prediction.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera on the right, and text appears on the left: 5. Closeout]

Finally, the closeout process.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera on the right, and text appears on the left: Energy Prediction Project Planning, 1. Conception, 2. Planning, 3. Execution, 4. Monitoring, 5. Closeout]

As this project has only just ended we have not run a formal closeout

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

but in the next month or so I will collect all of the information gathered during the project.

[Images move through to show Chris and another male sitting at a table and looking at a laptop together, a close view of the laptop screen, and the male typing on the laptop keyboard]

Then I will write a very short report that outlines why we did the project, how we did the project, how much did we say the project was going to cost, how long did we say it was going to take, how much did it actually cost, and how long did it actually take.

[Images move through of Chris and the male looking at a screen on the wall and talking together]

In addition to these items we identify any problems that came up and how we solved them and what we would do next time to prevent the same problem.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

That’s it for the project management process.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: What are the most important skills for a Project Manager?]

The most important skill a project manager needs is an ability to organise and attack problems logically.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

These are precisely the same skills that most technical roles have.

[Image changes to show Chris fiddling with a technical type puzzle while another male looks on, and then the image changes to show the other male fiddling with the puzzle while Chris watches]

Most professional project managers tend to have an engineering or science background.

[Camera zooms in to show their hands fiddling with the technical puzzle, and then the image changes to show Chris smiling and nodding]

So, the subjects studied at school will be common to those careers. For me that was Maths Extension 1, Chemistry, Physics, Engineering Science, and English.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: A STEM career pathway]

I grew up in regional New South Wales. I was always fascinated by aircraft so a logical choice was aerospace engineering.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

I studied this at the University of New South Wales which required me to move away for uni.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

This was actually a great opportunity to get some independence. From there I moved to Melbourne to work for the Department of Defence at the Aeronautical Research Labs.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

My work there was in helicopter structural engineering. This involved flight test engineering, and testing of individual components on a helicopter.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

I also spent some time at Boeing in Seattle designing aircraft components for commercial aircraft like the 737 and 747.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

There is one thing about a technical career, it will take you anywhere in the world you want to go. I did not appreciate that when I started down this path but it has provided some great opportunities.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

When I returned to Melbourne and Defence, I did more flight testing, some accident investigation, and determining which helicopter the Army should buy as an attack helicopter.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Chris moving over to a power grid simulator, and the camera zooms in on the simulator, and then zooms in on the power meters on the simulator]

At each stage I was given a bit more responsibility. This started with being part of a project team, taking control of a part of the project, and then finally to managing my own small projects.

[Image changes to show a facing and then side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

In early 2008, I moved from Melbourne to Newcastle to work for CSIRO. CSIRO does not have any aerospace engineering projects.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

But by this time in my career it was less about the specific degree I’d studied, and more about the types of experience that I had.

[Image changes to show Chris and another male working at a computer together and talking]
For me, that was project management.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Chris pointing at data on the computer screen, and then the image changes to show Chris looking at the screen]

At CSIRO, I managed larger and larger projects, starting in the field of energy harvesting, then the sorts of projects I was speaking about previously.

[Image changes to show Chris and another male looking at the computer, and then the camera zooms in on the screen they are looking at]

The size of the projects grew from one to two people and $200,000 budgets to ten to 20 people and $5 million budgets.

[Image changes to show a side view of Chris talking, and then the image changes to show a close view of data on the computer screen he is looking at]

I don’t know where technology is going to take us.

[Image changes to show Chris working on a computer looking at data on the screen]

But it will be amazing and when we need technology there will be a future for scientists and engineers.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

And as long as the world needs projects to be delivered there will always be a need for good project managers.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Now, let’s have a little break so that you can put some of what you’ve just learnt into practice. Remember project management is all about a team coming together and working just like that, a team.

[Music plays and the image changes to show text on a dark blue screen: Take a Pause, and learn more about project management]

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

So students, think about how you could use project management in your future career.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

This path can lead you into a range of exciting STEM jobs including jobs that are yet to be invented.

[Image changes to show a facing and then side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

In fact, an understanding of project management will be required for any job, in any field, in every industry in the future, including your everyday barbecue. So, don’t forget to engage with all your stakeholders.

[Image changes to show a facing and then side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Let me finish with one of the most common issues a project will have. This is likely to occur in any project that has multiple people in it, and you probably have found this in your own work.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

Group projects can often have people who are less motivated to do the project. Projects work really well when everyone is working as hard as they can.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

My advice to you would be, always strive to be the person that others want to work in a project with, because that is much easier.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Chris talking to the camera]

If you continue to be the person that everyone else thinks doesn’t pull their weight, then you’ll find it harder and harder to finish projects, and to be on projects that have successful outcomes.

[Music plays and the image changes to show the CSIRO logo and text on a white screen: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

[Image changes to show the NSW Government and the Science and Industry Endowment Fund logos, and text appears: Generation STEM is managed by CSIRO and made possible by an endowment from the NSW Government to the Science and Industry Endowment Fund]

[Image shows the CSIRO logo, and new text appears: Thank you to our content collaborators, CSIRO Newcastle team]

[Music plays and a split circle appears with photos in each half of the circle flashing through of various CSIRO activities and the circle then morphs into the CSIRO logo]

[Image changes to show Dr Sarah Pearce talking to the camera and text appears: Dr Sarah Pearce, Acting Chief Scientist, CSIRO, Deputy Director, Astronomy & Space Science]

Dr Sarah Pearce: Hello everyone. I’m Dr Sarah Pearce. I’m the Acting Chief Scientist at CSIRO and Deputy Director of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science.

[Images flash through of a rear view of a male walking through a laboratory and then a close view of a researcher putting on gloves, and then two researchers working in a lab]

Welcome to the Generation STEM Masterclass series. You’re in for a treat.

[Images flash through of two researchers in conversation, a digital model on a laptop screen, a close view of a piece of equipment, a female looking at a circuit board, and researchers working in a lab]

Get ready to step outside the classroom, albeit virtually, and enter the fascinating world of science, technology, engineering and maths, or STEM for short.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

STEM is powering some of the fastest growing industries of our time, industries that are shaping the world we live in today, and the world where you’ll live and work in the future.

[Images flash through of three floors of a cross section of an office building, people walking through an airport, a male looking at an iPhone, highways in a city, and people looking at iPads]

Thanks to the rapid advance of technology there’s been an explosion of new STEM career opportunities for young people like you.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

Demand for bright, skilled people in STEM is growing almost twice as fast as for other jobs.

[Images flash through to show a researcher looking at a Smart microscope slide, a microchip strapped onto a bee’s back, a 3-D printer, and a road leading into a city lit up at night]

This series will be a window for you into what those industries and jobs will look like and how your interests could lead you to an exciting and rewarding career in STEM.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

At your age I wanted to be an astronaut and that led me to a career in physics, working in the areas of Space and Astronomy.

[Images flash through of a car moving past telescopes, an aerial view of cars moving through the ASKAP array, a close view of a telescope, and a close view of swirling colours morphing into an eye]

I’ve managed some of the biggest telescopes in the world including one coming soon that will let us look right back to the beginning of the universe. It sounds unbelievable but it’s real and it’s my job.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

You’ll hear from some of Australia’s most talented experts throughout this series and see how STEM can lead you to a career in sustainability, health, agriculture, aerospace, or any one of a number of other areas.

[Images move through to show a rear view of a male looking out over a city, and then a male looking into a microscope and looking at a screen]

But not everyone needs to be a scientist or engineer.

[Images move through of a female looking up, a researcher looking through a Google glass, a female looking into a microscope, a female wearing a wearable headset, and a close view of a camera lens]

There’s an enormous range of careers in STEM that require a broad variety of skills, from communications, to law, to creativity and design.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

There is something for everyone and I hope you’ll find something for you. Good luck and enjoy the Masterclass.

[Music plays and the CSIRO logo and text appears: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

[Images move through to show a facing view of Narelle walking past a building, a close rear view of Narelle walking towards a building, a view of the building, and then Narelle looking up]

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera, and text appears: Narelle Underwood]

Narelle Underwood: Hi, my name is Narelle Underwood, and I’m the Surveyor General of New South Wales. Thank you for joining me today for a Master Class on surveying and geospatial science.

[Image changes to show a profile and then facing view of Narelle talking on the right, and text appears on the left: In Today’s Lesson, The Disciplines of Surveying & Geospatial Science, A STEM Career Path, NSW Spatial Digital Twin, Links for further information]

In our time together today we’re going to explore some of the different disciplines of surveying and geospatial science, quickly touch on my career path, explore the New South Wales Spatial Digital Twin through a demonstration, and provide you with links so you can find out more information about career and work experience opportunities.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

Surveying and geospatial science offers a really wide range of career options and specialisations.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking on the right, and text appears on the left: Survey and Geospatial Science, Natural Disasters]

If we think about natural disaster response and recovery,

[Image changes to show a satellite map showing a spreading coloured section appearing over an area, and then the image changes to show a digital map of bushfires]

this involves utilising imagery from satellites or drones to assess impacts of events like bushfires, floods, and tsunamis,

[Image changes to show a person climbing through a rocky area, and then images move through of the climber looking out over the view, and new text appears on the left: Environmental/Cultural]

whereas environmental and cultural mapping includes capturing the natural environment to capture details about our endangered or at risk flora, fauna, and sensitive ecosystems,

[Image changes to show a facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

and capturing things like the location of both our European and First Nations cultural heritage items.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Narelle talking, and then the images move through to show a satellite moving around the Earth, and new text appears on the left: Geodetic surveying]

If we think about more traditional surveying careers, geodetic surveying is all about measuring and modelling the shape of the Earth,

[Images move through of side by side maps, various satellite maps, and four maps showing the same area in four different years, and text appears: 1987, 1991, 2000, 2012]

taking into account factors like gravitational fields and the curvature of the Earth, and the impacts they have on measuring distances.

[Image changes to show a cross-section block appearing in a grid, and then the image changes to show a male looking at maps on a computer screen]

Thinking technology like satellites and GPS, or GNSS technology, using those to monitor things like tectonic plate movement, sea level rise, and even earthquakes.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Narelle talking to the camera]

A bit of a fun fact, Australia is the fastest moving continent on the planet, and is moving north-east at about 7cm per year.

[Images move through of surveyors surveying an open cut mine, and new text appears: Mining surveying]

In the world of mining, mining surveying,

[Images move through of various types of mining machinery moving around on an open cut mine]

which includes the planning, construction and operation of various types of open-cut and underground mines.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

This includes coal, metalliferous – think metals for your phone, gold, silver, and includes mineral sands.

[Image changes to show a side facing and then facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

Activities can include setting out drill patterns excavations, conveyer belts, roadways, locating underground roadways and voids to provide safety for our miners, taking measurements for volume calculations, monitoring ground movement, land management, and also preparing statutory mine plans.

[Image changes to show a male surveying on a property, and new text appears on the left: Land surveying, Cadastral surveying]

Land surveying, also referred to sometimes as cadastral surveying, involves measuring and determining property boundaries

[Image changes to show a female looking through a piece of equipment mounted on a tripod, and then the image changes to show a rear view of a male and female overlooking a building site]

which forms a basis for all property transactions and underpins our economy with opportunities to work in both urban and rural environments.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

If you think about it, banks lend people millions of dollars against their property. Think about your house.

[Image changes to show a side profile view of Narelle talking to the camera]

That’s because a registered land surveyor can certify that your house, a unit, or the shop is built on your land.

[Images move through of a female setting a drone on the ground, and then using a controller to fly it in the air, and then the image changes to show a view looking down on a track through a paddock]

If we think construction, engineering surveyors undertake measurements and place marks to ensure construction works are built in accordance with approved design plans.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

They can be found working on construction sites, setting out works for things like bridges, roads, buildings and tunnels.

[Image changes to show a bridge building project in progress, and then the image changes to show an underground boring machine punching through the end of a tunnel]

Think about that money shot when a bridge meets in the middle, or when there’s an underground boring machine, and there’s all the media there and that punches through so the two ends combine.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

Surveyors make that happen.

[Images move through on the right to show a view looking down on a research vessel in the sea near an ice floe, a view of the Investigator, and a multicorer being lowered into the water, and text appears: Hydrographic surveying]

Let’s think about the water, hydrographic surveying which involves undertaking measurements under the surface of the sea, harbours and rivers, and on their adjacent shores.

[Image changes to show an underground map of the sea floor, and the camera pans over the surface of the sea floor]

These measurements are used to prepare charts of waterways and the sea for use by ships and boats to ensure a safe passage, and for the design of infrastructure such as docks and jetties in ports and harbours.

[Image changes to show a whale surfacing near the Investigator research vessel, and then the image changes to show a facing view of the Investigator research vessel in the sea]
Using sonar scanners they are able to provide a picture of the seabed without people needing to get their feet wet.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

Unfortunately, we actually haven’t mapped most of our ocean bed floors and so this is a growing area as we move forward.

[Images move through on the right to show a digital model rotating, a male and female looking at the model on a computer screen, and a virtual building being added to a map, and text appears on the left: The future]

If we’re thinking about the future, building information models, digital twins, augmented reality, and virtual reality are areas of growing interest and emerging technology

[Images move through of two males looking at a model on a laptop and talking, a male and female shaking hands, two people looking at a building and a laptop, and a model on the laptop]

as we attempt to visualise the physical world in a digital environment to allow for better planning, impact assessment, asset management, and better decision making.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: A STEM career pathway]

For me personally, surveying is all about community and place.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

I’ve been fascinated by buildings and towns since I was a young child and I spent quite a lot of my spare time playing with Lego, designing and building towns and cities.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Narelle talking]

I have to admit SimCity was my favourite computer game as a kid. It doesn’t quite look the same way today as it did back then I have to admit.

[Image changes to show a female looking at the camera, and then the image changes to show a close view of a piece of surveying equipment mounted on a tripod and the city in the background]

So, for me I guess you could say that I always knew that I wanted to work in the built environment.

[Image changes to show a piece of surveying equipment mounted on a tripod near the beach]

I wanted to influence the design and layout of our communities, the areas we live in, the areas we enjoy.

[Image changes to show a male setting up a tripod near an airport, and then the image changes to show a surveyor looking over the mountains while standing near a tripod and equipment]

I originally considered architecture but during Year 11 and 12 I changed my mind and decided on a degree in civil engineering.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

During my second year of uni, I actually managed to secure a job with a private surveying firm that specialised in land development and I absolutely fell in love with surveying, and that inspired me to change my degree programme and I haven’t looked back.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Narelle talking]

When I finished uni I joined a graduate programme with Roads and Maritime Services, which is now part of Transport for New South Wales. And I worked on a wide range of road infrastructure projects.

[Images move through to show a female surveyor smiling at the camera, the female surveyor looking through a theodolite, a close view of a tripod with equipment, and a male surveyor at work]

In 2010 I completed my exams to become a registered land surveyor, a professional accreditation and license, granted to me by the Government that allows me to define people’s property boundaries.

[Image changes to show a tripod with equipment on a red dirt road, and then the image changes to show surveying equipment in a paddock next to a ute]

Think of it as being comparable to the bar exams for a lawyer, or becoming a chartered professional accountant.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again and then the image changes to show a side facing view of Narelle talking]

This process involved the completion of five projects across urban surveying, rural surveying, strata and community title, town planning, and engineering.

[Images move through to show a female in a helicopter, a male looking through a theodolite on a mining site, and a male walking through a paddock carrying a surveying tool]

I’ve honestly had the opportunity to work in some amazing parts of New South Wales, from busy construction sites and major highways,

[Image changes to show a male and female looking at a piece of equipment and standing next to a river, and then the image changes to show a group of cows looking at the surveying equipment]

to quiet green paddocks with beautiful rivers, and cows who were way too interested in our surveying gear.

[Image changes to show a female surveying on a red dirt road, and the image changes to show a close view of an emu]

And it’s taken me all the way to the outback where the dirt is red, and you really need to watch out for those emus.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

Surveying is also a global career that really offers many different opportunities. I’ve had the privilege of being able to travel quite a bit for my work including places like London, Rome, Helsinki, Hanoi, and Istanbul.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

I have to admit that a career highlight was being paid to travel to Japan, California, and New Zealand to research the impacts of natural disasters on property boundaries.

[Images move through to show Narelle and a group of students walking towards the camera, Narelle and the students looking at a map, and Narelle and two males looking at paperwork on a desk]

While I personally enjoyed the fieldwork component of surveying, I knew that my strengths lay elsewhere and so I moved into management.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Narelle talking to the camera again, and then the image changes to show a facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

In 2016, I became the Surveyor General of New South Wales, the first female, and the youngest in 200 years, which means I am now responsible for regulating about 1,000 land and mining surveyors, providing advice to the Government on matters related to surveying, and geospatial science, as well as things like place names and even electoral boundaries.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

One of my favourite projects during my time as Surveyor General has been the Anzac Memorial Centenary Project, which combined my love for modern history, place names, and surveying. It doesn’t happen very often.

[Image changes to show a view looking at the Anzac Memorial, and then the image changes to show a close view of the Anzac Memorial]

As part of the celebrations of the Centenary of World War 1 the Office of the Surveyor General collaborated with the Anzac Memorial and Office of Veteran Affairs to identify the 1701 hometowns of all of our First World War enlistees.

[Image changes to show Narelle and a group listening to a male talk near the wall of soil samples, and then images move through of students looking up at the wall of soil samples]

We then co-ordinated the collection of soil samples from each of those locations around the state with the help of volunteer surveyors, and community members, including school children, for them to be displayed in the Hall of Service at the Anzac Memorial in Hyde Park.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

Next time you visit the Memorial, I encourage you to find the Tibooburra sample. If you look hard enough you’ll actually see the gold flakes that were added to the soil.

[Image changes to show a Tibooburra sign with the setting sun behind it and figures of working men either side]

Why gold? The flakes were actually collected from the grounds in Tibooburra.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

You can also visit the Anzac Memorial’s website to find out more information about the project, including a map showing all of the sites.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: Welcome to the NSW Spatial Digital Twin]

[Image changes to show the Spatial Services webpage]

Alright so to access the Spatial Digital Twin, we come to the Spatial Services website, spatial.nsw.gov.au. To help with the demonstration today what I’ve done is built a story that will help us navigate through the data that we want to look at.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Narelle talking, and then the image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at a map of Australia on a large screen]

The brilliance of creating a story is that you, as a student, can create a series of maps and views and share that story with either your friends or your teacher.

[Image changes to show a close view of the map of Australia on the screen, and then the image shows the camera zooming in on NSW, and then zooming in on Penrith]

In this instance we can zoom out and see all of Australia. We can the move in to cover the extents of New South Wales, and zoom in further again looking at Penrith.

[Image shows the cursor pointing to the train station area on the map]

For those of you that aren’t familiar with Penrith, this area in particular is around the train station. And so what you can see coming up now is the live locations coming from all of the buses and trains that are at that train station.

[Image shows the camera zooming in to show the train station in 3D, and then the image shows the camera zooming in again to show the buses moving around]

And looking at information like this in 2D is helpful, but what’s kind of cool, from my perspective, is being able to zoom in even further and see those little buses actually in 3D. Actually let’s say 4D because there is that time component as well as the x, y, and z. So, every four seconds you’ll see them move around as they’re travelling.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at the map on the screen on the wall again]

We can bring all sorts of different sorts of data into the visualisation service.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Narelle talking]

As a surveyor, one of the things that I like to look at is survey control marks. So, these are marks that you often find in kerbs and gutters, and information, and surveyors use this to co-ordinate people’s property boundaries.

[Image changes to show a view looking down on the map of Penrith, and then the image shows the cursor selecting a survey mark, and then making selections in a drop down box on the left]

They’re not just pictures. They’re actually pieces of information attached to those and so if we click on one of those survey marks we can bring out all of the spatial attributes attached to those marks

[Image shows the cursor continuing to make selections, and a drop down box appearing over the map, and the cursor making new selections from the drop down box]

and find out information including their co-ordinates, when they were placed, and other information that surveyors might need to access in terms of undertaking their everyday work.

[Image changes to show the map of Penrith, and the image shows two pink maps of Penrith, and the image shows the cursor dragging one map over the other to show the suburb in 2004]

One of the exciting tools within the Spatial Digital Twin Viewer is to be able to split the screen and see two different time series of information. And so what we’ve got at the moment is a cadastre being brought across in people’s property boundaries.

[Image shows the cursor dragging the 2021 map back over the 2004 map]

And so on the left hand side we’re looking at data from 2004 and on the right hand side we’re looking at data from 2021.

[Image shows the cursor moving the 2004 map over the 2021 map, and then the image shows the cursor dragging the 2021 map over the 2004 map again]

And you’ll be able to see as I move this swipe across the screen just how much development and change has happened in this area since 2004.

[Image shows the map appearing in colour again]

And so we can see now that there’s lots of properties, but back in 2004 that was just one big green property.

[Image changes to show the pink coloured map appearing again, and the camera zooms in on the map]

And again, while looking at this information in 2D is exciting, the part that is most exciting is that we can now move into looking at things in 3D.

[Image shows the map tilting up to appear in 3D, and the image shows a unit complex in the foreground of the map]

With almost 50% of new entitlements for people’s properties being in units, what we want to see is people’s information. A lot of people live in what we call strata or unit developments, and so now we can bring those up.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at the 3D map of the unit complex on the screen on the wall]

And so if we look at this building, this unit here on the corner, and again bring up information.

[Image changes to show the unit complex on the screen, and the image shows the cursor making selections from a drop down box on the right hand side of the screen]

So, this is Unit 80 within this strata plan. If we click on the little block next to it we can see that it’s the balcony attached to Unit 80. And while I’m not exactly sure where Unit 80’s carpark is, I’ve managed to pick Unit 81’s car space below.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Narelle talking, and then the image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at the 3D model map on the screen on the wall]

So, for the first time ever we can actually see how that interacts in the world and people can see where their unit is in relation to things like hallways, and common property, or their neighbours as well.

[Image changes to show the 3D model map on the screen, and then the image changes to show a photo reality mesh being superimposed onto the map on the screen]

And looking at this information is one aspect. But what we also have is photo reality meshes that we can bring in so that you can actually see the real world context for those buildings.

[Camera zooms in on the buildings on the screen]

And we can turn the strata layer off, to be able to clearly see the information that’s in there and be able to have a look at the buildings in clearer details.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at the Sydney Harbour on the screen on the wall]

If we jump out to something quite iconic, Sydney Harbour Bridge, Sydney Harbour area, we can see in this imagery. We can also see the Opera House.

[Image shows the camera zooming in on the map, and then the image changes to show a photo reality mesh over Fort Denison on the map]

If we zoom in closer, into a place known as Fort Denison, where you can again see a photo reality mesh.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at the photo reality mesh on the screen on the wall, and then the image changes to show a profile view of Narelle talking]

And so what’s fascinating about this is that we have the opportunity to show developments or models in context.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at the map on the screen on the wall]

So, you can zoom all the way out to see the Sydney CBD, and broader Sydney areas, and then zoom in using the same interface to see information in a quite detailed model, to the point where you can actually start to read the text that’s on signs.

[Image changes to show the screen on the wall, and the camera zooms in on the map, and the image shows the warning signs on the ferry dock]

And so, we can see warnings about slippery when wet, around the ferry services, or this sign here for instance is a warning that drone capture is being undertaken, things like the traffic cones or even this little area here is the target that is used to help co-ordinate the drone imagery.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Narelle talking, and then the image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at the map on the screen, and the camera zooms in on the map on the screen]

And one of the other aspects that we can see within this visualisation service is not just what’s already existing in terms of development but we can also bring in things like building information models to be able to see proposed infrastructure.

[Image shows the camera zooming in on a train station, and the image shows the cursor selecting a park bench, and the image shows the cursor making selections in a drop down box on the right]

So, while this one’s loading, if we start to zoom in, this one’s a train station, as we zoom in to this information, it’s actually Smart information with attributes attached to it. So we can click on these objects and I can tell you that this is a three seater park bench.

[Image shows the cursor selecting the fencing on the station platform, and then the image shows the cursor pointing to the staircase on the platform]

You can also look at information such as the type of fencing that’s been built, or information about the staircase.

[Image changes to show the map of Penrith on the screen again, and the image shows the camera zooming out, and out again]

So, that’s just a quick overview of the Spatial Digital Twin Visualisation Service. As a new platform, we’re continuing to develop the tools and abilities that we can provide to people, not only new data sets but also new visualisation capabilities as well.

[Image changes to show a profile view of Narelle talking]

What’s exciting is that as we use this information we can help the Government to make better decisions about the planning in the future. So, creating those communities for the future and utilising geospatial information to help inform those decisions.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: An exciting future ahead]

[Image changes to show a facing view of Narelle talking to the camera again]

One of the most exciting things about surveying and geospatial is there’s actually an increasing demand across New South Wales, Australia, and internationally,

[Images move through of a group talking around a table, a female placing a post-it-note onto a whiteboard, two female presenters conducting a training session, and a person using a Smartphone]

a growing demand for people with surveying and geospatial expertise, with applications across all sectors.

[Images move through of a male talking to a group of people, a male pointing to a 3D model on a wall screen, the group listening to the male talking, and a male working at a laptop while having a coffee]

The majority of students are actually like me and get a job with a surveying or geospatial firm while studying, which allows you to apply what you’re learning at uni, at work, and vice versa.

[Images move through of a female using a computer to zoom in on a 3D model, and two people in conversation while looking at two digital models on side by side screens]

At least 95% of graduates get a job within four months with an average starting salary of over $67,000.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: Technology and the future of Geospatial Science]

[Image changes to show two males walking towards the NSW Government offices, the males entering an office and starting to work, and a male presenting to a group showing a digital model on a screen]

The use of technology is rapidly changing and advancing surveying in geospatial science, from how we capture data using a wide variety of different technologies and techniques, including things like GPS,

[Images move through of a four way split screen showing a male looking at a tablet in the bottom right, and then various maps in the other three sections]

total stations, laser scanners, drones, and satellite imagery to name just a few,

[Image changes to show a digital map on the screen, and the image shows the map rotating in a clockwise direction, and then the image changes to show a photo reality mesh of a bus station]

to how we process and display that data with developments in computer and software providing an endless amount of opportunities.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: What are the typical interests of Surveyors and Geospatial Scientists?]

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

If we’re thinking about typical interests, the type of people that become surveyors and geospatial scientists, they love a balance of both the indoors and outdoors. They’ve gotten involved in programmes like Scouts, Guides, or even Orienteering, really love solving puzzles and problems, get really excited about gadgets and technology, and I’ll throw in Lego because I’m a real Lego nerd.

[Image changes to show Narelle standing at touch control table and looking at a picture on the wall, and then the image changes to show a rear view of Narelle looking at a map on the wall]

And the typical types of subjects that you enjoy in school as a combination – you don’t have to love all of them – are things like Maths,

[Camera zooms in on Narelle operating a touch screen, and then the image changes to show Narelle manipulating the map by touch]

Geography, Environment, Science and Physics, ISTEM and ICT.

[Image changes to show a rear view of Narelle operating the touch table and manipulating a map on the screen]

There are actually a variety of educational options available depending on the type of surveying or geospatial professional you’d like to be.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

If you’re thinking TAFE, a VET education, Cert III, Cert IV, and Diploma options are available. You can of course go to University, and after that if you’re interested move on to Registration for Land and Mining Surveying.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: For more information – www.Surveying Careers.com.au, www.alifewithoutlimits.com.au, www.geospatialscience.com.au]

For more information you can head to SurveyingCareers.com.au, or alifewithoutlimits.com.au, or geospatialscience.com.au.

[Image changes to show Narelle talking to the camera again]

And not only have we got information about career opportunities and education pathways but you can also sign up and we can help you find work experience.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen with text: Take a Pause and learn more about surveying and geospatial science]

[Image changes to show a facing view of Narelle talking to the camera again]

Surveying is a career that has existed since ancient Babylonian and ancient Egyptian times. Throughout history it has morphed and changed as technology and the needs of society have changed.

[Images move through to show a side facing view of Narelle talking to the camera, a male looking at a Smartphone, a female using a tablet, and a close view of a map on the tablet screen]

The introduction of geospatial science has introduced a new dimension, and that will continue to change and morph the profession as we move forward and people become more used to using digital technology to help make their decisions.

[Images move through of various types of digital maps and views]

What that means for you as students is a career in surveying and geospatial science is a bright future ahead.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Narelle talking to the camera]

Being able to utilise those skills and that technology not only opens you up to options in traditional career opportunities, but who knows how the demand is going to change in the future and that opportunity is right there for your taking.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Narelle talking to the camera again]

Even if a career in surveying and geospatial science isn’t for you, those foundational STEM based skills will set you up for success and opportunity in the careers that exist today, and those that we haven’t yet even imagined.

[Music plays and the image changes to show the CSIRO logo and text on a white screen: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

[Image changes to show the NSW Government and the Science and Industry Endowment Fund logos and text appears: Generation STEM is managed by CSIRO and made possible by an endowment from the NSW Government to the Science and Industry Endowment Fund]

[New text appears: Thank you to our content collaborators, NSW Department of Customer Service, NSW Surveying Taskforce]

[Music plays and a split circle appears with photos in each half of the circle flashing through of various CSIRO activities and the circle then morphs into the CSIRO logo]

[Image changes to show Dr Sarah Pearce talking to the camera and text appears: Dr Sarah Pearce, Acting Chief Scientist, CSIRO, Deputy Director, Astronomy & Space Science]

Dr Sarah Pearce: Hello everyone. I’m Dr Sarah Pearce. I’m the Acting Chief Scientist at CSIRO and Deputy Director of CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science.

[Images flash through of a rear view of a male walking through a laboratory and then a close view of a researcher putting on gloves, and then two researchers working in a lab]

Welcome to the Generation STEM Masterclass series. You’re in for a treat.

[Images flash through of two researchers in conversation, a digital model on a laptop screen, a close view of a piece of equipment, a female looking at a circuit board, and researchers working in a lab]

Get ready to step outside the classroom, albeit virtually, and enter the fascinating world of science, technology, engineering and maths, or STEM for short.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

STEM is powering some of the fastest growing industries of our time, industries that are shaping the world we live in today, and the world where you’ll live and work in the future.

[Images flash through of three floors of a cross section of an office building, people walking through an airport, a male looking at an iPhone, highways in a city, and people looking at iPads]

Thanks to the rapid advance of technology there’s been an explosion of new STEM career opportunities for young people like you.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

Demand for bright, skilled people in STEM is growing almost twice as fast as for other jobs.

[Images flash through to show a researcher looking at a Smart microscope slide, a microchip strapped onto a bee’s back, a 3-D printer, and a road leading into a city lit up at night]

This series will be a window for you into what those industries and jobs will look like and how your interests could lead you to an exciting and rewarding career in STEM.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

At your age I wanted to be an astronaut and that led me to a career in physics, working in the areas of Space and Astronomy.

[Images flash through of a car moving past telescopes, an aerial view of cars moving through the ASKAP array, a close view of a telescope, and a close view of swirling colours morphing into an eye]

I’ve managed some of the biggest telescopes in the world including one coming soon that will let us look right back to the beginning of the universe. It sounds unbelievable but it’s real and it’s my job.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

You’ll hear from some of Australia’s most talented experts throughout this series and see how STEM can lead you to a career in sustainability, health, agriculture, aerospace, or any one of a number of other areas.

[Images move through to show a rear view of a male looking out over a city, and then a male looking into a microscope and looking at a screen]

But not everyone needs to be a scientist or engineer.

[Images move through of a female looking up, a researcher looking through a Google glass, a female looking into a microscope, a female wearing a wearable headset, and a close view of a camera lens]

There’s an enormous range of careers in STEM that require a broad variety of skills, from communications to law, to creativity and design.

[Image changes to show Sarah talking to the camera again]

There is something for everyone and I hope you’ll find something for you. Good luck and enjoy the Masterclass.

[Music plays and the CSIRO logo and text appears: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

[Images move through to show different views of the Western Sydney International Experience Centre, Renee Wooton walking up to the centre, and a facing view of Renee talking, and text appears: Renee Wooton, Aerospace Engineer]

Renee Wooton: Hi there, my name is Renee Wooton, and I’m a proud Tharawal woman, an aerospace engineer, and commercial pilot, and a Strategy and Planning Manager at Western Sydney Airport building the new Western Sydney International Nancy Bird Walton Airport.

[Images move through to show a profile and then rear view of Renee looking over the future airport site, a truck carting dirt, a rear view of Renee watching the truck, and a close view of the truck]

Western Sydney International is the lynchpin of the extraordinary transformation currently underway to develop Sydney’s third city, an aerotropolis.

[Image changes to show a view looking down on a digital map of the proposed airport, and the camera shows the digital map rotating in a clockwise direction]

One of the largest infrastructure projects underway in Australia, Sydney’s new airport will open to international, domestic, air cargo services in late 2026, and will eventually grow to be one of Australia’s biggest gateways to the world.

[Image changes to show a view of a digital walk through the proposed new airport terminal, seating area and passenger arrival zone]

It will also be the catalyst for the creation of tens of thousands of high-quality jobs and opportunities across Western Sydney, in areas such as education, manufacturing, engineering, and defence.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Western Sydney Airport wants to inspire and empower you to take up a career in STEM and perhaps one day work at Western Sydney International.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking]

Whether it be protecting critical infrastructure through a career in cyber security, or building tomorrow’s technology as a robotics technician, the possibilities are endless.

[Images move through of planes in construction inside a factory, and a male looking up at a digital view of a large plane]

A career in aviation is life changing.

[Images move through of a view of a turbine engine, a male standing on a platform near a plane, a Space shuttle blasting off, the Space shuttle in the air, and views of a satellite orbiting the Earth]

From working on turbine engines, improving battery technology, and expanding our reach to enter the depths of Space, there really is no end to the possibilities.

[Images move through of digital views of the surface of Mars, and a satellite in orbit]

We are seeing the human race go further, faster, and with less impact on the world.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

However, with so many challenges and exciting projects ahead, we need you to be the next generation to build the skills and knowledge to play a part in reaching the next feats of human reach.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking]

So, who wants to be the next aerodynamic engineer at SpaceX working on recycled rockets and capsules, or the next electrical engineer working on improved battery technology to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels?

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Or will you be working with me as we build Sydney’s airport of the future, which will offer passengers and airlines an experience unrivalled among Australian airports.

[Image changes to show a facing and then side facing view of Renee talking on the right, and text appears on the left: In Today’s Lesson, Being an Engineer, Challenges vs successes, Busting some myths, A day in the life]

Today I’d really like to take you through what it takes to be an engineer, the challenges that I have faced amongst the successes. I’d also really like to bust some myths around STEM and paint a day in the life of a real world STEM professional.

[Image changes to show a child carrying a foam toy plane through a paddock of ripe grain]

So, why would you want to become a pilot?

[Images move through of a plane landing and then taking off, and then a side view of a plane moving through the air with a sunset in the background]

Well, of course the most well known perk of becoming a pilot is being able to travel to different countries and cities around the world, and getting paid to do it.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Being a pilot gives you the freedom to travel, allowing you to explore different places, people, and cultures, making it both an educational and enjoyable experience.

[Image changes to show a facing and then side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

The skills required to be a pilot include handling high pressure situations calmly, processing mathematical and physics based problems quickly, and possessing great English, reading, writing and comprehension skills, make safe and sound decisions under pressure and can understand the technical details of the aircraft systems.

[Images move through of a rear view of Renee watching plane landing on a large screen, and then a profile view of Renee looking up at data on the screen]

One of the most rewarding things that a pilot can do is use his or her flying skills to help others in the community at large.

[Image shows Renee looking at a plane on the tarmac on the large screen]

Even in non-disaster times volunteer pilots regularly fly patients to treatment, rescue animals, support environmental efforts, and serve many other public needs.

[Images move through to show Renee looking down, Renee operating a tabletop touch screen, Renee looking down, and Renee operating the touch screen again]

And during disasters pilots can survey areas, provide fire relief, and during the Covid-19 pandemic helped bring Australians home, and send emergency relief supplies to countries such as India.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Now, I grew up on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, in a small, regional town, where farming was abundant, and corporate careers and further study was never really visible for me.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking, and then the image changes to show an Australian Air Force Cadets badge, and then the image changes to show a side view of Renee talking]

However, at 15 years old I found my passion, aviation, through a programme called Airforce Cadets, which absolutely changed my life forever, and led to some of the most amazing experiences in my life.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

As a result I was the first in my family to go to university, and experience an incredibly rewarding and exciting STEM career and what it has to offer.

[Images move through to show side facing and facing views of Renee talking]

From defying gravity and learning to fly, to solo travel in British Airways in London, to benchmarking best practice maintenance, to improving on time performance for the A380 large passenger jet, and developing algorithms to optimise flight routes in the coldest temperatures at 40,000 feet, to teaching myself how to code, reducing fuel burn in daily operations by introducing single engine taxi procedures, to reducing landfill from passenger waste on large passenger jets.

[Image continues to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Most recently, I have also upgraded aircraft simulators to train military pilots.

[Images move through of Renee looking up, a digital map of an airport on a screen, Renee looking up at a screen, and Renee walking away from the screen]

Aviation has transformed our society, the way that we can do business, unlocked accessibility to the world, improved our reach as far as Space, and advanced safety to such a level that you’re actually 19 times safer in a plane than in a car.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Now, I’m not so sure if the odds are as favourable when it comes to Space shuttles, which is why we need you.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: Let’s bust some myths]

So, let’s bust our first myth.

[Image changes to show new text on a dark blue screen: Myth – Engineers need to be maths wizards, Fact – The level of maths varies between careers]

Myth – Engineers need to be maths wizards. Fact – The level of maths involved varies between careers.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

It certainly helps to be a smart mathematician but that won’t necessarily make you the best engineer.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

And there are so many different types of engineers that you only need very basic math to do well in your job.

[Images move through to show a facing and then side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I won’t lie, the first year of engineering courses is pretty maths heavy, but when you get into the workforce it’s more about applying those skills rather than performing complicated Calculus wizardry.

[Images move through of three males in front of a bank of computer screens and the camera pans in a clockwise and then anticlockwise direction around the room]

Most engineers use physics, chemistry, geometry, trigonometry, and algebra,

[Image changes to show a rear view of a male looking at the bank of computer screens, and then the image changes to show a close view of a male’s face, and then a close view of the bank of screens]

with more complicated maths performed computationally.

[Images move through to show a male picking up a circuit board and comparing it to a circuit board on a computer screen, a close view of the circuit board, and three males looking at a computer screen]

Some engineering roles are more technical while others are more project/manager based.

[Images move through of a male looking at a piece of equipment, a female holding up a scanning tool, and a group of males gathering around a table looking at circuit boards]

So, the level of maths involved varies drastically between engineering roles.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera, and text appears on the left: Skills that make a great engineer, Maths skills, Communication, Leadership, Interpersonal skills, Critical reasoning, Creativity, Innovative, Enthusiastic]

So, whilst maths skills are important, other skills that also make an engineer highly sought after include things like: communication, being able to talk to your team; leadership; interpersonal skills; critical reasoning; being really creative; innovative; and enthusiastic about what you do.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Additionally I didn’t study the traditional science based subjects in school and I still became a successful engineer. I studied the things that I enjoy the most like Chemistry, English, Advanced Mathematics, Geography, and Earth and Environmental Science.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

So, let’s move on to our next myth.

[Image changes to show text on a dark blue screen: Myth – Engineering is one singular profession, Fact – There are over 30 engineering professions]

Myth – Engineering is one singular profession. Fact – There are actually so many different types of engineers. In fact, there’s almost 30 types of engineers.

[Images move through of a researcher looking through a microscope, various males looking at equipment in cabinets, and then a close view of the equipment]

As a pharmaceutical engineer you could design and develop equipment that produces life saving drugs and medicine.

[Images move through of a male writing on a glassboard, and then a female wearing a Google glass and scrolling with her finger on the side of the frame]

These drugs need to be made in very precise ways in both small and large quantities.

[Images move through of a group of engineers looking down, a close view of a petri dish, and three males looking up and talking together]

Engineering teams work closely with medical research teams to achieve the most effective results.

[Images move through of a view looking down on a city, a view looking down on farming land, and two people using a Smartphone and a laptop which are placed on top of paper maps on a table]

Much of the physical infrastructure of our modern society is provided by civil engineers.

[Images move through to show a digital view of a large dam in construction, cars moving over a bridge, and then a digital view of the cars moving over a bridge]

Civil engineers are concerned with all types of structures including dams, bridges, pipelines, roads, towers, and buildings.

[Images move through of a male working on a saildrone, a female and two males looking at the saildrone, the saildrone being carried on a forklift, and the saildrone being put into the water]

Hydraulics – water engineering, is concerned with planning and organising how water is provided and removed both for large and local schemes.

[Images move through of the saildrone floating in the water, three people in a boat, and two saildrones moving through the water]

Hydraulics engineers also deal with the treatment of waste from industry, the control of rivers and floodwaters, and the protection of the coastline and careful planning of our harbours.

[Images move through of a snow covered landscape, a large penguin in the snow covered landscape, large vehicles moving through the snow, and a male looking up]

Environmental engineers are concerned with protecting the environment by assessing the impact a project has on the air, water, soil and noise levels in its vicinity.

[Images move through of the male using a screwdriver to make adjustments to some equipment, the male looking at the equipment, and then a female looking at a water sample in a flask]

This is done by studying the project’s design, construction and operation, and minimising any adverse effects that it may have on the environment.

[Images move through of the Investigator research vessel moving past a large iceberg, a facing view of the Investigator, and a view looking down on the Investigator in the ocean]

Then we have marine engineers that are involved in designing, testing and improving machinery and equipment used at sea.

[Image changes to show two males walking towards a plane in a factory, and then the image changes to show a close view of a plane]

And then there’s aerospace engineering.

[Images move through to show a male standing on a platform next to a plane, a male standing next to a plane turbine, and a Space shuttle moving into the air and then landing on the ground]

Aerospace engineers evaluate the design to see that the products meet engineering principles. Aerospace engineers design primarily aircraft, spacecraft, satellites, and missiles. In addition they create and test prototypes to make sure that they function according to design.

[Image changes to show a male and female looking at a laptop and talking in a plane factory, and the camera zooms in on them talking]

But they do so much more than that too. Aerospace engineers may be responsible for investigating faulty engines or other components, and for developing repair systems.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

They may be involved in designing improved air conditioning or fuel systems for aircraft, or ground based systems for operations such as flight control.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee on the right talking to the camera, and text appears on the left: Working in the Aerospace Industry, Design & Manufacture, Research and Development, Airworthiness Operations.

There are three main areas of work in the aerospace industry: Design and manufacture; Research and development; and airworthiness operations.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

So, what have we achieved with aerospace engineering throughout history?

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

We’ve pioneered and invented flight. We have sent people to Space and walked on the Moon. And we’ve sent probes deep into our solar system and beyond.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking]

Now, we’re seeing reusable rockets landing upright in the middle of the ocean, and looking to leap through low Earth orbit to reduce travel time on a commercial flight from Sydney to London.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

The aerospace field is an incredibly diverse and rewarding industry where the limits are being continuously pushed to new extremes.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking]

The feats listed here are only a drop in the ocean and the future of aerospace is an exciting one.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Leonardo da Vinci said it best, “Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the Earth with your eyes turned skyward.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking]

For there you have been and there you will always long to return”.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

So, let’s move on to another myth.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: Myth – Engineers can only work as engineers, Fact – Engineering provides you with foundational skills]

Myth – Once you become an engineer you can only work as an engineer. Fact – Completing an engineering degree provides you with foundational skills in problem solving, resilience, self-learning, challenging the status quo, and innovation.

[Images move through to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera, a rear and then facing view of a female walking, a male climbing down from a satellite dish, and three males at work]

Engineering is one of the most well respected degrees to obtain, but more importantly sets you up with the foundational skills to enable you to succeed in multiple teams, environments,

[Images move through to show a rear and then facing view of a female, and then the image changes to show another female looking up towards the sky]

and solve some of the world’s most challenging projects across multiple fields.

[Images move through of a view looking down on a solar farm, a hexapod moving across the dirt, a robotic vehicle moving across a flat area, and a view looking down on the solar farm again]

Did you know that more top performing CEOs now have engineering degrees than MBAs?

[Images move through of a hexapod in the foreground and a satellite dish in the background, a close view of a sensor camera rotating, a view looking down on a solar farm, and views of the ASKAP array]
From technical to non-technical, from junior to senior roles, engineering can take you anywhere, and the skills you build along the way are far ranging.

[Image changes to show text on a dark blue screen: A STEM career pathway]

Take my journey as an example.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I started my engineering degree in 2011 when I entered my first year at university, and was fortunate enough to commence an internship with Qantas in their Engineering Department.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking, and then image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I worked in that department for four years until I graduated, after which time I left engineering to join the Qantas Graduate Programme, where I worked in airports, customer service, network strategy, group fuel and environment, Qantas loyalty, and then a tech start-up where I worked as a Business Development Manager.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I left engineering for three years, however I continued to build skills that would help me become a better engineer and business leader.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

In 2019, I re-entered an engineering role in Qantas Link Flight Operations supporting the Qantas Link aircraft fleet in a technical role providing on call support, performance data modelling, and project management.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

In 2020, when the pandemic hit, I moved on from Qantas and started a job as a project engineer managing the upgrade of military aircraft simulators to improve training outcomes for military pilots.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

In July 2021, I expanded my skills further in strategy and planning joining Western Sydney Airport to build Australia’s newest gateway to the world.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Now, let’s move on to our next myth.

[Image changes to show a dark blue screen, and text appears: Myth – Engineering is too hard/too much work, Fact – Engineering is challenging, but very rewarding]

Myth – Engineering is too hard and too much work. Fact – Engineering is challenging but you can actually achieve almost anything you want in life with the right mindset.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Engineering is a lot of work but once you’ve finished that degree you are set for life and can take your career literally anywhere.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

So, you might be wondering, what did it take to become an engineer.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

For me, I found that motivation was key to being successful. I did want to give up several times but I persevered because I love what I was learning even though it was incredibly challenging at times.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I had to be resourceful which meant asking people for help, advice, or to seek information to find answers quickly.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I learnt to back myself by developing my self confidence through overcoming challenges and succeeding which led to more confidence in tackling the next problem I faced.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I exercised regularly to make sure I looked after my mental and physical health, and I also really loved learning about technical systems and the information.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

So, I spent many years developing my technical knowledge to ensure I was well informed to understand problems from many perspectives.

[Image changes to show a view of a small airport with planes in the sky above, and then the image changes to show Renee looking at paperwork in the cockpit of a plane]

I love the technical systems so much so, that I decided to learn to fly.

[Images move through of Renee putting on headphones while seated in the cockpit, and then taxiing along the runway]

Now flying is all about managing your systems, your passengers, and your vehicle, communicating clearly, and following rules and regulations whilst navigating, knowing the law and bounds of where you can fly.

[Image shows Renee in the cockpit of the plane looking out the window as she flies, and then images move through of a view looking down on the ground from the plane, and then up at a plane in the sky]

You need to understand the weather, managing your fuel and time, and knowing how to manage an emergency at any time, whilst also reassuring your passengers that the view outside of that window is one of the most incredible feats of human engineering to exist.

[Image changes back to show Renee flying in the cockpit of the plane, and then images move through of a close view of the instrument panel as Renee comes in to land]

The skills that flying have provided me go hand in hand with managing stress on the ground in projects as well as up in the air.

[Image changes to show Rene standing in front of a plane and smiling at the camera, and then the image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I have learnt to deal with high pressure situations as I have become more confident in my experience and learnt to make the best and safest decisions because of my experience as an engineer, a business woman, and a pilot.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

So following my passion, asking a lot of questions, managing my time, and looking after my health enabled me to become the engineer that I am today.

[Image changes to show text on a dark blue screen: An exciting future ahead]

The future of aviation is certainly an exciting one.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

We’re on the cusp of a new revolution in aerospace and there are so many challenges and opportunities ahead.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

So, what engineering challenges do we face in aviation?

[Images move through to show a facing view, side facing, and then facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Sustainable propulsion technology through solar and wind power, reducing weight of aircraft to reduce fuel burn, hydrogen powered flight and improving battery technology.

[Images move through of a Space shuttle launching, a view looking down on the Space shuttle, a view looking up at the bottom of the Space shuttle, and a view of a satellite orbiting the Moon]

Simultaneously we’re at the dawn of a golden age of Space exploration which will transform our relationship with the Earth to open Space up to everybody.

[Images move through of a satellite in orbit, the satellite moving through the sky, a hexapod on the soil, images of the surface of Mars, and a digital view of the Mars Rover on the surface of Mars]

Whilst we have put a man on the Moon, we have our sights set on continuing to understand our greater universe, how far our solar system stretches, and how we can sustain life on Mars thanks to incredible engineers like Elon Musk who remains highly confident that SpaceX will be able to land humans on Mars by 2026 potentially even 2024.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Starting your career in STEM can truly take you anywhere, from Mars to the marine environment. The solar system is your playground and it’s up to you as to where you want to apply yourself and what problems you want to help the world solve. So the question is, do you want to be a part of a team developing new aviation fuels, new technology, or exploring life on Mars?

[Images move through to show side facing and facing views of Renee talking to the camera on the right, and text appears on the left: Setting Yourself Up For Success, Be diligent, Never give up, Be resourceful, Set your eyes on a challenge]

And if the answer is yes, then the best way you can set yourself up for success is being diligent, never giving up when it gets too hard in school or university, being resourceful, and asking for help when you need it, and setting your eyes on the challenge you want to be a part of, and tell as many people as you can.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Your networks of friends, family, teachers, and mentors may give you a piece of advice or connection to someone that can help you on your way to achieving your dreams.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

For me, that was joining Airforce Cadets, which led to aerospace engineering, which led to an internship at Qantas, which led to becoming a pilot, which led to me believing that I could one day possibly be an astronaut.

[Image changes to show a side facing view of Renee talking to the camera, and text appears on the left: Believe in yourself]

And the most important piece of advice, believe in yourself even when no one else does.

[Image changes to show a facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

I came from a small regional town. I didn’t have the greatest relationships with my parents, and I didn’t grow up with a lot as a kid.

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You can achieve the same as me, if not more, if you put the work in and back yourself.

[Image changes to show Renee standing in front of a small plane and smiling at the camera]

I look forward to working with you in the future as we solve some of humanities greatest problems.

[Image changes to show text on a dark blue screen: Take a Pause, and learn more about the aerospace industry]

[Image changes to show a facing and then side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Engineering skills in the future will continue to include: the scientific method; social, cultural and economic awareness; mathematics; biology, chemistry, physics and other areas of science; creativity, and teamwork.

[Image changes to show a facing and then side facing view of Renee talking to the camera]

Some resources to look at if you’re thinking about becoming an engineer include: reading through the different types of engineering that are available to you on the Engineers Australia website; seeing what exciting projects are underway at SpaceX, Virgin Galactic, Airbus, Boeing and NASA; and what universities to study at in Australia or overseas.

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The majority of future jobs of your generation don’t exist yet, so you have the power to determine your own future but the first step to achieving that future is through education.

[Music plays and the image changes to show the CSIRO logo and text on a white screen: CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency]

[Image changes to show the NSW Government and the Science and Industry Endowment Fund logos and text appears: Generation STEM is managed by CSIRO and made possible by an endowment from the NSW Government to the Science and Industry Endowment Fund]

[Image show the NCI logo and new text appears: Thank you to our content collaborators, NCI Australia]

[New text appears: NCI VizLab, Professor Richard Sandberg, Professor Andy Hogg, Professor Todd Lane, Dr Claire Vincent, Dr Alejandro Di Luca, Professor Jason Evans, Professor Hrvoje Tkalcic, Professor Ben Corry, Bureau of Meterology, ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes]