When did you first become interested in science?

 

I think it was at the end of grade 9. I liked maths but never gave much thought to science until I aced my grade 9 science exam. First time I had ever got full marks for an exam.

 

What path did you take to your career?

 

In year 12 I had big dreams of getting into a career that sounded cool like neurosurgery or aerospace engineering. I didn't get into an undergrad medicine program so I chose aerospace engineering. Turns out I got bored learning about very small mechanisms. I switched to civil engineering in 2nd year uni and stumbled into specialising in geotechnical engineering (foundations). It's a cross between geology and civil engineering. I get to be creative, a problem solver and a

scientist at the same time. 

 

What is an average day like in your job?

 

In my job, I could turn up to work with absolutely no idea of what the day will bring. With one phone call, the day could change in a flash. It could be an urgent design change, or a site visit where something unexpected was encountered, or a day trawling through fresh data collected from the field to develop a cool design. Some people would hate the uncertainty in my job but I love that no two days are ever the same and there is always something new to learn. 

 

What is the best thing that has happened in your job? 

 

I'm fortunate to have worked on several big profile, major infrastructure projects often which appear on the news and talk back radio ( dams, tunnels, airport runways etc). I just finished 18 months in Christchurch, New Zealand, working on the earthquake reconstruction. It was a very cool experience in a field of engineering we don't really have in Australia and just great to be helping out a community.

 

What advice would you give to a young aspiring scientist? 

 

Being an expert doesn't mean you have the answers. It just means you know more of the questions to ask. There is never such a thing as a dumb question so feel free to ask it. Some of the simplest questions are the most important ones. My favourite question is "What if...?"