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Dr Monique Fernandez (’13) graduated in 2021 with a Doctor of Medicine at The University of Melbourne and has since been working as a Doctor at the Austin Hospital. Monique shares her personal experience about being a woman working in the STEM field, where she is still witness to gender stereotypes around the role of a Doctor being a male dominated career path. However, Monique uses this as an opportunity for education and discusses how it is becoming increasingly prevalent to see women in STEM careers and how these old traditions are being challenged.

Dr Kathleen McInnes (’79) leads the Climate Extremes and Projections group in the Climate Science Centre in CSIRO’s Ocean and Atmosphere business unit. Her work deals with how climate change will affect severe weather and coastal extreme sea levels in Australia and the Pacific. Her work assists local government to manage and adapt to climate change. She was a lead author on the IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in 2019. She currently serves as a co-chair of the World Climate Research Program Grand Challenge on Regional Sea Level Changes and Coastal Impacts. Read below for the full interview with Kathleen.

Dr Lynda Chambers has a career spanning over 30 years in the science field. She has been involved in developing seasonal rainfall forecast systems for the Bureau of Meteorology, assessed the effectiveness of a cloud seeding project for one of Melbourne’s water catchments with the CSIRO and has completed her PhD in Zoology plus many more exceptional achievements. Lynda shares advice to students interested in a career in a STEM field and some of the challenges women face pursuing work in her industry. Read on to learn more about Lynda’s career.