August has been a month of celebration! ChemCentre’s STEM SuperStar, Forensic Scientist, Dr Kari Pitts kicked off the celebrations at the launch of National Science Week 2022, with her keynote address on the role of glass in criminal forensic investigations, in line with this year’s theme ‘Glass: more than meets the eye’.
Throughout the month, ChemCentre staff got involved in a range of events and activities to explore and celebrate science including career expos, panel discussions, and hands-on workshops.
ChemCentre CEO Peter McCafferty and Outreach Officer Jane Mitchell attended the Curtin Chem Club industry night, where current Curtin chemistry students were able to find out about ChemCentre, what types of chemistry skills are required, work experience and volunteering opportunities.
Senior Research Scientist Dr Kathryn Linge took part in an industry-focused panel for second and third year Curtin University Advanced Science students. Discussion focused on career pathways and in particular, the value of undertaking a PhD if you are not considering an academic career. The panellists came from a wide range of scientific backgrounds, including physics, data science, and chemistry, and highlighted the wide range of ‘research’ opportunities in industry, even when that is not formally part of the job title.
Two programs returned to National Science Week this year – a special request for the take-home chemistry kits came from the Shire of Ashburton, so 20 kits were posted to Community Development Officers at Paraburdoo to run after-school activities with local children. We also had a contingent of forensic staff – Kari Pitts, Melissa Dawes, Rebecca Tidy, Ryan Fillingham, Hannah Green and Sheena Trigg – return to Clontarf College to run hands-on science activities including elephant toothpaste, chromatography investigations and an enjoyable (but messy) cloud dough activity with students in years 7-10.
Lab technician Chloe Gaborit and Forensic Scientist Ryan Fillingham participated in the Chemistry Party @ ECU collaboration, where Chloe attended the student workshops over two nights onsite at the SuperLab at Edith Cowan University in Joondalup, and Ryan participated through a number of ‘live crosses’ to the Forensics laboratory here at ChemCentre. The workshops involved students from years 7-10 using spectrophotometers to perform mouthwash investigations and were led by ECU educators. Across the evenings Chloe and Ryan had opportunities to explain how they used spectrophotometry and micro spectrophotometry in their laboratory work and participated in Q&A sessions with students, which was the highlight of the whole workshop for some attendees!
