By Georgia Barrington-Smith
In a week of global events, AINSE marked the 2025 Postgraduate Orientation Week (O’Week) alongside the international celebrations of Nuclear Science Week!
Last week, AINSE was delighted to welcome thirteen postgraduate scholars and twenty-four prospective scholarship applicants to our 2025 Postgraduate Orientation Week, held during Nuclear Science Week from 21–24 October.
The week commenced with an inspiring Understanding of Country led by Brett Rowling, an Analytical Chemist at ANSTO and a direct descendant of national figures Bungaree and Matora of the GuriNgai and Awabakal peoples of the NSW Central Coast. Brett shared unique insights into Indigenous knowledge systems and the deep scientific traditions embedded within the rich history of First Nations cultures.
Dr. Jamie Schulz, Director of ANSTO’s Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS), delivered a comprehensive introduction to nuclear science technologies and the broad spectrum of research undertaken at ANSTO.
The program continued with in-depth presentations and virtual tours led by scientists from ANSTO’s renowned research facilities. During the first day of O’Week, the ANSTO Discovery Centre conducted a virtual tour of the Lucas Heights and Clayton campuses, highlighting significant infrastructure such as the OPAL multi-purpose reactor.
Attendees subsequently heard from key researchers representing ANSTO’s principal facilities: Dr. Rachel Williamson of the Australian Synchrotron, Dr. Jamie Schulz of the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ACNS), and Dr. Mitra Safavi-Naeini of the Centre for Accelerator Science (CAS).
Throughout the week, students attended additional sessions highlighting ANSTO’s three Research and Technology Groups: Environment (Dr. Karina Meredith), Health (Dr. Ryan Middleton), and Nuclear Materials (Prof. Michael Moody), as well as presentations from the Nuclear Stewardship team (Dr. Debbie Mackay) and the National Deuteration Facility (Dr. Tamim Darwish). These sessions provided a valuable opportunity to engage directly with ANSTO scientists and gain insights into the cutting-edge research across a wide range of scientific disciplines.
Beyond ANSTO researchers, there were also presentations from special guest speakers including Cherry Agustin, a radiation therapist and educator, who shared her experiences working in radiation medicine. Dr. Thomas McGoram, CEO of the Heavy Ion Accelerator Facility (HIAF), delivered a special presentation outlining exciting opportunities for research collaboration at HIAF, as well as personal insights into his own STEM journey.
Scholars also heard from AINSE’s newest industry member, AtkinsRéalis, as Systems Engineer James Hedgley spoke about opportunities at AtkinsRéalis, his work on the AUKUS program, and offered valuable advice on career growth and progression.
A new addition to the program this year was two insightful panel discussions. The Science Communication panel, featuring Dr. Tom Cresswell (ANSTO), Dr. Melanie Ferlazzo (ANSTO), and Dr. Cintya Dharmayanti (Scientell), allowed students to hear from experienced presenters and gain insight into how to become effective communicators to promote their research to broader audiences. The Student Life and Experiences panel, featuring AINSE PGRA scholars Kyle Portwin, Larissa Lopes Cavalcante, and Marco Vas, gave this year’s cohort the chance to ask questions about their experiences working with and being supported by AINSE and ANSTO.
The final day of O’Week featured two concurrent workshops: The PhD Experience, delivered by Hugh Kearns from IThinkWell, and the Scholarship Applications Masterclass, led by AINSE’s Managing Director, Michelle Durant.
O’Week concluded with the return of the 2-Minute Thesis competition, where nine AINSE scholars and one future applicant challenged themselves to present their PhD research in under two minutes using only one MS Paint slide. Congratulations to Louisa Sheridan, who won the Judge’s Award for highest score, and to Patrick Kennedy, who received the People’s Choice Award.
The event closed with addresses from Michelle Durant, AINSE President Prof. Ian Gentle, and ANSTO CEO Shaun Jenkinson, who commended students on their presentations and extended their best wishes for future research and academic endeavours.
AINSE extends its sincere thanks to all the guest speakers who contributed to making O’Week another successful event. We were delighted to welcome our new cohort of postgraduate scholars and future scholarship applicants and look forward to seeing the outcomes of their exciting research with ANSTO.
Learn more about AINSE scholars’ research at ainse.edu.au/research-spotlights/ and find details on scholarships and programs at ainse.edu.au/scholarships.