By Georgia Barrington-Smith, 31st October 2024
AINSE celebrated another successful year of our Postgraduate Orientation Week (O’Week) during the International celebrations of Nuclear Science Week!
AINSE were delighted to welcome thirty postgraduate scholars and future scholarship applicants to our 2024 Postgraduate Orientation Week, hosted online during Nuclear Science Week from 21st – 25th October.
The week began with introductory panels from ANSTO’s research leaders, including representatives from environment, health, and nuclear materials research and technology. This was followed by comprehensive presentations about the major ANSTO facilities that enable this research, including the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS), Centre for Accelerator Science (CAS), and the Australian Synchrotron. These talks provided the students with a rare opportunity to hear from ANSTO scientists about exciting research across a variety of disciplines including the multidisciplinary project on Neutron Capture Enhanced Particle Therapy (NCEPT), a ground-breaking technique to improve cancer treatment.
The students were also taken on a virtual tour of ANSTO’s world-class infrastructure including the OPAL multi-purpose reactor, hosted by the ANSTO Discovery Centre.
Beyond ANSTO researchers, there were also visits from special guest speakers including Cherry Augustin, a radiation therapist and educator, who shared her experiences working in radiation medicine. Hugh Kearns, an international public speaker, educator, and researcher, shared his expertise for Ph.D. students on how to best manage their supervisors, stay organised, and avoid those mid-thesis blues. AINSE’s Managing Director, Michelle Durant, offered future scholarship applicants a masterclass in applying for scholarship and grant funding opportunities.
Participating partners including the Australian Young Generation in Nuclear (AusYGN), Women in Nuclear (WiN) Australia, and the Australian-American Fulbright Commission spoke to students about opportunities with their organisation. Students also heard from former PGRA scholars Dr Cintya Dharmayanti and Dr Rebecca Duncan about their experiences working with AINSE during their postgraduate research, including details on funding assistance, career support, and networking opportunities across ANSTO.
In celebration of Nuclear Science Week, AINSE also hosted a series of fun social activities throughout the week, including an AINSE trivia night hosted by Dr Michael Rose, AINSE’s Communications and STEM Manager which put students’ knowledge of nuclear science and other miscellany to the test. AINSE also hosted a ‘Great Debate,’ causing some light-hearted tension as students battled to decide the best STEM discipline, ‘how a giraffe would wear a tie’, and other deep philosophical questions.
The last item of the week was the highly anticipated ‘Two Minute Thesis with Paint’, where students creatively illustrated their current research to a captivate audience of their peers and ANSTO researchers. Prof. Ian Gentle, AINSE President, and Michelle Durant adjudicated the event and eventually crowned PGRA scholar Kurt Mills, from the University of the Sunshine Coast, as the 2024 champion!
It was great to welcome our new cohort of postgraduate scholars and future scholarship applicants, and we look forward to seeing the outcomes of their exciting research with ANSTO.
To read more about the fantastic research undertaken by AINSE students visit ainse/research-spolights.
Or to hear more about AINSE scholarships and programs visit ainse.edu.au/scholarships.