Keystories at ResBaz 2017!
At a typical academic conference keynote presenters will talk about their research. While that’s all well and good, what you don’t get to hear so much about is their story. How did they get to where they are today? Why are they so passionate about what they do? We’ve picked some of the most interesting people we know in research & data science and have asked them to present a “keystory” instead. Here’s a little about each of them:
Tuesday 21 February
‘Finding your voice: the value of community’
Kim Doyle | @kim_doyle1
Kim is a PhD student in Media and Communications. Her thesis explores programming in journalism, aka data journalism. In her role with Research Platforms, Kim teaches the Natural Language Toolkit, a library of the programming language Python.
Before meeting and working for Research Platforms, Kim had no prior training in computer science. She learnt all her skills in the community and is full of the revolutionary zeal of the newly converted (and also prone to dramatic overstatement).
If you have any questions about web/social media scraping, textual analysis, computational linguistics or digital humanities, Kim is happy to talk your ear off. Ping her @kim_doyle1.
Nikki Rubinstein | @nikkirubinstein
PhD student, Department of Optometry and Vision Sciences, The University of Melbourne
Research Community Coordinator Manager, Research Platforms. Nikki is your typical perpetual student type. Although she promises that once her PhD is finished, she will leave the academic bubble and explore the world beyond!
Currently in her final year, Nikki has been working on developing novel algorithms for visual field tests. These tests are used to probe the integrity of peripheral vision (or side vision) in diseases such as glaucoma.
Having immensely enjoyed scaling the learning curve to programming, Nikki loves sharing her experience and knowledge with others, and Research Platforms is the perfect platform (it’s in the name!). Nikki is passionate about creating communities around digital tools and promoting collaborative learning. Research degrees can be challenging and lonely. Let’s ease the burden by helping each other!
Wednesday 22 February
“From Illuminated Manuscripts to Unicode 9.0″
Lilly Ryan | @attacus_au
After embarking upon a graphic design degree, Lilly Ryan realised that her true love was medieval history, and switched courses after one year of designing posters. This led to several more years studying witches, Latin, state-sanctioned persecution, and torture, and culminated with an Honours thesis which focused on the heretic-hunting texts produced by the Catholic Inquisition in the 14th century.
In the background, Lilly was simultaneously tinkering with Linux, writing shell scripts, and learning to solder. She participated in her first hackathon less than a year after graduating with First-Class Honours in Theology, and began teaching Python through the OpenTechSchool. Although she had intended to go back for her PhD after a year in the workforce, by 2016 she had become a senior software engineer for a multinational consultancy, and had acknowledged her other true love: technology.
Lilly is now combining these two passions by running workshops and giving talks on digital security and privacy in a hyperconnected world. These topics merge her love of new tech with her knowledge of historical surveillance states. She enjoys using her knowledge of technology to help others retain their human rights while using it, and aims to bring new perspectives to a discipline which often believes history began in 1970.
Thursday 23 February
“Find your inner lapidarist”
Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea | @MVEG001
Dr Marguerite Evans-Galea is a scientist and the inaugural Executive Director of the Industry Mentoring Network in STEM with the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (ATSE). With over 15 years of experience leading translational medical research programs in the United States and Australia, her work has been internationally recognised with numerous awards. Dr Evans-Galea has chaired several executive committees and served with advisory groups in state and federal governments. Strongly committed to empowering early career researchers, Dr Evans-Galea regularly mentors students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty. She has developed graduate mentoring programs in the US, was founding chair of the EMCR Forum with the Australian Academy of Science and chairs the Australian Science and Innovation Forum with ATSE. An internationally recognised advocate for women in STEMM, Dr Evans-Galea currently serves on the Science in Australia Gender Equity Expert Advisory Group and is co-founder and CEO of Women in STEMM Australia. Twitter: @MVEG001
