Women in STEM in the spotlight for National Science Week: interesting people to interview and stories up for grabs now around Australia
- Performance art in zero gravity; habitat beyond Earth; and the Celestial Emu – Sydney Science Festival goes off planet with women in STEM
- “It’s a vagina, not a piña colada!”: Meet the internet’s OB/GYN Dr Jen Gunter – Sydney
- Hedy Lamarr’s Hollywood glamour and scientific genius on stage – Canberra & Victorian tour
- Meet the woman who invented green steel from old tyres – Canberra
- Art-science exhibition explores science fiction – Melbourne
- Today’s women in science on their historical foremothers – State Library of Victoria
- The Love Lab: discover what really matters, from sex to wearing shoes indoors – Sydney
- Where the krill are going, and the whales are following – online via Tasmania
- How science got a woman released from prison – Melbourne
More on these below and visit ScienceWeek.net.au/events to find more stories in your area.
Scientists, experts, performers and event organisers are available for interview throughout National Science Week.
Direct contact details for each event are below or contact Tanya Ha on tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863.
Media centre here. Images for media here.
Individual event details and media contacts
Performance art in zero gravity; habitat beyond Earth; and the Celestial Emu – Sydney Science Festival goes off planet with women in STEM
- Building sustainable habitats beyond Earth, with Indian spaceship designer, entrepreneur, climate action advocate, and space diplomat Susmita Mohanty
- Celestial Emu: Gamilaroi astrophysicist Karlie Noon and Bangarra Dance Theatre dancer Daniel Mateo share Indigenous astronomy in a short film directed by Olivia Costa.
- Creativity in space: Australia’s first female astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg in conversation with visiting Asian American artist and engineer Xin Liu.
Hear from compelling speakers on science’s hot topics. Sydney Science Festival is back with events in multiple locations around Sydney and online.
Saturday 10 – Saturday 17 August. Multiple dates and locations.
Many of the speakers and international visitors are available for media interviews.
Media enquiries: Michelle Lollo, media@powerhouse.com.au or 0419 523 735.
The Vagina Bible author on menstruation, menopause, and medical mythology – Kensington, NSW
“It’s a vagina, not a piña colada.”
Canadian-American gynaecologist Dr Jennifer Gunter’s 2019 book The Vagina Bible became a New York Times best seller. Then she followed it up with The Menopause Manifesto:
“If we applied that same tone to erectile dysfunction, we’d expect textbooks to declare that the penis is worn out. In medicine, men get to age with gentle euphemisms and women get exiled to Not Hotsville.”
Over half the world’s population have had a period or could be having a period right now – so why do menstruation and menopause remain such medical mysteries?
Jen Gunter is in Australia for National Science Week to demystify female anatomy and women’s health.
She will debunk misinformation, discuss why women are sidelined by the medical profession, and outline the steps we need to take to put women’s bodies and healthcare in the spotlight. She’s in conversation with cancer researcher and STEMMinist Book Club founder Caroline Ford at the UNSW Centre for Ideas.
Thursday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/jennifer-gunter-menstruation-menopause-and-medical-mythology/kensington
Media enquiries: Todd Eichorn, t.eichorn@unsw.edu.au or 02 9348 2482.
Hedy Lamarr’s Hollywood glamour and scientific genius on stage – Canberra & Victorian tour
Hedy Lamarr, glamorous star of the silver screen, also invented Frequency-Hopping Spread Spectrum Technology that makes the world of wireless communication tick. From Austria to Hollywood, WWII, torpedoes, ecstasy, and intrigue to the very cell phone in your pocket, Hedy Lamarr is there!
American actor and writer Heather Massie, who also studied astrophysics, enchants the audience as Hedy Lamarr, along with Jimmy Stewart, Bette Davis, Louis B Mayer, and more in a one-woman solo play with 36 characters. She’s coming to Australia with her award-winning show, touring Victoria and ACT.
“In Lily Tomlin-esque fashion … Massie channels the iconic star … vividly yet matter-of-factly, and often very humorously … In a balance of high energy and poise, Heather Massie is no less than captivating.” Jed Ryan - The Huffington Post.
More information: www.heathermassie.com.
Heather Massie is available for media interviews.
Media enquiries: Helen van de Pol, hjvandepol@icloud.com or 0448 920 235. Heather may be contacted directly via What’s App +1(212)600-0514.
Making steel from old tyres – Parkes, ACT
Meet the engineer who invented technologies that turn waste into green building materials and business opportunities.
Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla invented technology that uses recycled tyres in steel production.
She and her team also invented an e-waste microfactory that harvests metals from old laptops, circuit boards, and smartphones, and technology that makes ceramic tiles and kitchen benchtops from waste clothes and glass. Now they’re targeting plastic, turning hard plastics into feedstock for 3D printing.
Veena will share her vision for a sustainable future at the annual Ann Moyal Lecture at the National Library of Australia. Veena is director of the Centre for Sustainable Materials Research & Technology at UNSW and heads the ARC Industrial Transformation Research Hub for ‘green manufacturing’.
Monday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/ann-moyal-lecture-scientia-professor-veena-sahajwalla/parkes
Veena Sahajwalla is available for media interview.
Media enquiries: Stuart Snell, s.snell@unsw.edu.au or 0416 650 906.
Art-science exhibition explores science fiction – Parkville, VIC
The free exhibition SCI-FI: Mythologies Transformed at Science Gallery Melbourne offers fresh insights on science fiction – a genre built on envisioning alternative futures and imaginary realms.
The lines connecting science fiction with ancient philosophy and mythologies are brought to light by Asian artists and collectives. Shown in Australia for the first time, this narrative is expanded to incorporate First Nations perspectives and knowledges.
The science fiction has been dominated by male creators from Western cultures. SCI-Fi shifts the focus to female, Asian and Indigenous artists and authors.
Image credit: Miko No Inori (1996) by Mariko Mori.
From Saturday 10 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/sci-fi-mythologies-transformed/parkville
Media enquiries: Katrina Hall, kathall@ozemail.com.au or 0421 153 046.
Women in science on their historical foremothers – State Library of Victoria
From Mary Anning’s Jurassic fossil discoveries to Rosalind Franklin’s contribution to uncovering the structure of DNA, women have led significant contributions to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for centuries.
‘Salon After D'Arc – Trial and Error’ dives into the profound revelations and accidental discoveries in the world of STEM with award-winning Australian environmentalist Tanya Ha.
Hear from co-founder of Women in STEMM Australia, Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea AM and doctor and author, Dr Preeya Alexander as we celebrate the women whose work has changed the way we think, as well as the times when the science didn’t exactly go to plan.
View rare books by and about women who made significant contributions in STEM, including a first edition of Institutions de Physique from key Enlightenment figure Émilie du Châtelet, and academic articles from Marie Curie and Laura Bassi, the first woman to receive a doctorate in science.
Thursday 15 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/salon-after-darc-trial-and-error/melbourne/
Media enquiries: Kate Brereton, kbrereton@slv.vic.gov.au (Monday to Friday) or Carly O'Donovan, codonovan@slv.vic.gov.au or 0438 434 447 (Wednesday to Friday).
Find love at the Love Lab – Sydney, NSW
Move over, CupidGTP! Exit swipe right and join ‘The Love Lab’ – a scientific experiment that marries the ancient art of village matchmaking with speed dating, without skirting the tough questions on what really matters.
Like, sex, climate change, or wearing shoes inside the house.
“We’re not saying there’s a right answer but there is probably a scientifically correct answer,” say Love Lab copilots, aka Dr Naomi Koh Belic (she/her – a biracial, bisexual first-generation university graduate with a PhD in stem cell biology) and Shu Ezackial (they/them – a queer, mixed-race science communicator and engagement specialist).
The Love Lab is an inclusive, sex-positive experiment aimed at making science accessible, while helping people form meaningful connections.
Tuesday 13 August: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/the-love-lab/sydney
Dr Naomi and Shu are both available for interviews. Photographs: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1kLW6bEDHglVh3pPUhc7sXr-T4jvBpzq_?usp=sharing
Media enquiries: Dr Naomi Koh Belic, drnaomikohbelic@gmail.com or 0422 213 119.
Where the krill are going, and the whales are following – online via TAS
Paige Kelly is back from Antarctica where she’s worked out where the wild things are and where they’re going as the oceans warm. She’s an expert in cold-loving krill, and other marine species.
The Southern Ocean is warming three times quicker than any other sea, making it too hot for the shrimp-like krill that whales usually eat, but perfect for other species like the jellyfish-like salps, which are blooming like weeds. Join Paige in this cartoon-based talk to learn about where the wild things are going in a warming ocean.
Monday 12 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/species-that-like-it-hot-uctv-alive-for-kids-webinar-with-dr-paige-kelly/
Media enquiries: Tess Crellin, tess.crellin@utas.edu.au or 03 6226 7536.
Paige Kelly is available for media interviews.
How science got a woman released from prison – Melbourne, VIC
Kathleen Megan Folbigg was arrested in 2001. Accused of murdering her four infant children. She was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to 40 years imprisonment with a non-parole period of 25 years.
In 2020, 90 eminent Australian scientists and medical professionals petitioned the NSW Governor to pardon Kathleen Folbigg, demonstrating that all four deaths for which she was convicted could be explained as the effects of very rare genetic factors.
Hear from experts and key members of Team Folbigg about the challenges of bringing science into the justice system in an emotionally heightened case with enormous media interest in an event at the Royal Society of Victoria.
Speakers and panellists:
- Peter Yates: chair of the Australian Science Media Centre, the Royal Institution of Australia
- Anna-Maria Arabia: neuroscientist turned advocate and CEO at the Australian Academy of Science
- Professor David Balding: statistical geneticist with expertise is in the evaluation of DNA profile evidence
- Tracy Chapman: a lifelong friend of Ms Folbigg.
Wednesday 14 August. Event details: www.scienceweek.net.au/event/science-media-and-the-law-lessons-from-the-kathleen-folbigg-case/melbourne
Prof Matthew Cuthbertson is available for media interviews. He has qualifications in science and law.
Media enquiries: Matthew Cuthbertson, matthew.cuthbertson@vctf.com.au.
About National Science Week
National Science Week is Australia’s annual opportunity to meet scientists, discuss hot topics, do science and celebrate its cultural and economic impact on society – from art to astrophysics, chemistry to climate change, and forensics to future food.
First held in 1997, National Science Week has become one of Australia’s largest festivals. Last year about 2.7 million people participated in more than 1,860 events and activities.
The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government, CSIRO, the Australian Science Teachers Association, and the ABC.
In 2024 it runs from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 August. Event details can be found at www.scienceweek.net.au.
Contact details:
Direct contact details for each event are in the media release or contact Tanya Ha on tanya@scienceinpublic.com.au or 0404 083 863.
