Summary:
As you watch the video, listen to what Rachel has to say about the path she has taken in her career and how it differed from what she expected it to be.
Captions:
Student: When you left high school, was the career path that you anticipated the same as the one that eventuated
Dr Rachel Caruso: No it wasn’t. When I was at high school I was very much interested in physics and maths and I decided
I’d go on and do a Bachelor of Science but I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go once the Bachelor of Science
was completed, and so, I hadn’t planned a career path as such. I didn't know
exactly where I’d go after my Bachelor of Science and it wasn’t until I was doing my Bachelor of Science
and doing the research associated with the fourth year of that, that I decided that it was research I wanted to do.
So, you can’t tell until you’re actually doing your studies sometimes where you’re going to go with your career.
Summary:
As you watch the video, listen to what Rachel has to say about:
Captions:
Were you excited by chemistry at high school
or did this occur to you when you saw greater real life applications at University?
Dr Rachel Caruso: I really enjoyed chemistry at high school.
There are a lot of things and a lot of real life applications for chemistry.
And chemistry is applied in the preparation of drugs for pharmaceutics it can be applied for
material science where you’re looking at how materials can be applied in the real world,
but I guess I wasn’t aware of that so much during high school.
I did have a really good teacher who tried to get us out and exposed to different areas.
And so she took us into universities and exposed us to people doing research
and so I was aware of some of that as a high school student.
But, until you’re actually in the labs and doing the research yourself,
that’s when you really become excited about the chemistry and the research. Yeah.
Summary:
As you watch the video, listen to what Rachel has to say about maintaining a work life balance, the importance of prioritising your work and having good family support.
Captions:
You have managed to balance a highly successful career with being the mother of two children.
How do you manage the competing demands of two full time jobs?
Dr Rachel Caruso: This is a really good question.
There is always, when you’re at work you’re always thinking well: should I be spending more time with the children?
When I’m with the children I’ve still got all that work to do before I get into work tomorrow
and so it is always a juggle or a balance trying to control the two.
I think what’s really important is you prioritise and you have good support.
So in prioritising obviously you have to work out what’s most important for the immediate future.
What has to be done next, and keep that priority list there so you’re not spending time on things
that are not as important as other things that need to be done.
In terms of actually having support, I have a very supportive family around me
and so if I need a bit of extra time then I can always have family to help out with the children.
But it’s a big juggle trying to balance the two, but it can definitely be done.
I guess also with being an academic there’s a lot of flexibility in your working hours.
You don’t have to be at work and clock on and clock off and this is good and bad.
You have a little extra time - say if you’re dropping the kids off at school before you go into work.
The problem with that can sometimes mean you don’t clock off as such. You come home, you put the children to
bed and you jump back onto the computer and your working again so it’s important that you try
and keep the limits of the work and the family life separate in that regard. So, yeah.
Summary:
As you watch the video, listen to how Rachel describes environmental impact ‘If you don’t respect it you lose it’.
Rachel refers to our over-use of certain elements in our environment and the need to recognise that there is a planned cycle in the environment. She suggests that it is important to be educated on the impact humans have on the environment and to take simple practical measures to make a difference.
Captions:
Why is it important for humans to reduce their environmental impact,
and how can teenage women aim to reduce their carbon footprint?
Dr Rachel Caruso: Environmental impact. I guess with everything if you don’t respect something you lose it
and the environment is one of those things where we have to be very careful how we use
the things in the environment and whether we’re over using or under using certain aspects.
And just a simple example would be wood. If we want wood to light fires, to cook food etc:
we cut down the trees and if we do too much of this we lose other aspects of what the tree
can do for the environment and it’s the same with all things in the environment.
There’s a very planned cycle in the environment and it’s important for us not to over-use certain aspects.
In terms of what young women can be doing to reduce their impact.
I think being educated in terms of what impact human beings are having on the environment is important
and in educating yourself as to what you could do.
Whether its simple things like keeping power points turned off when they shouldn’t ...
aren’t needed to be on; planting trees - just little things that individuals can do to make a difference.
This can also, once, once you’re aware of this you can then tell others and it’s that
spreading of the word, where people go out and tell other people that hopefully one person doing
something does make a big difference in the long run.
Summary:
Rachel refers to choosing materials with a spongy nature that allow the flow of liquids through it. She explains that her choice of materials is based on its morphology rather than trying to emulate nature. But that there are areas of science that study biological processes.
Captions:
You have done a considerable amount of work with sponges to soak up radioactive elements.
Does the basis of this type of work evolve from how nature works such as the sea sponge?
Dr Rachel Caruso: A lot of the materials I’m working with are porous and very spongy in their actual morphology
or structure I guess I didn’t initially think, here is a sea sponge and this is how a
sea sponge works therefore let’s make a material to work in that same way.
It was just the fact that that spongy nature generally has a very high surface area
and allows the flow of liquids through it and this is very important for the type of applications
that I’m looking at using my materials in. So I guess it didn’t come from looking at nature
and then seeing how I could use nature in my own research
at the same time there’s a whole area of science which studies biology,
different biological processes and looks at how we can apply those processes and material properties
in samples or things that we’re trying to make ourselves.
and that the whole area of biomimetics, so mimicking biology is a very large research area.
A lot of people working on this research which is fascinating work as well. Yeah.
Summary:
Rachel explains that she had good maths, physics and chemistry teachers at school and university and she was inspired by their enthusiasm. When you have enthusiastic teachers, that enthusiasm is contagious.
Captions:
Student: Was there a particular teacher or mentor who influenced you into becoming a scientist?
Dr Rachel Caruso: No, there’s not a particular person that I would pull out and say this is the person
who has really lead me in this direction.
Throughout high school I had really good maths, physics and chemistry teachers and I learnt a lot from them
and I guess I was inspired by their enthusiasm and that continued through university study as well.
When you’re sitting in lectures and you see your lecturers really enthusiastic about what they’re teaching
you also become enthusiastic about that.
And I think even as a researcher there are always other people who are conducting research
and you watch their research, how they’re doing their research and you can be inspired by them as well.
So, I can’t single out a single person
but there are many who have had an influence on the actual path my research has gone along.
Summary:
Rachel advises young women to think about what they are passionate about so that they will enjoy their future careers.
Captions:
Student: What advice could you offer to young women considering a career as a material scientist?
Dr Rachel Caruso: I would very much encourage a young person to think about what their passions are.
It’s very important that you’re passionate about the work you’re wanting to do
and in doing this – if you’re passionate you’ll enjoy your work and you’ll do well in your work.
So somebody whose thinking about material science, obviously they have to be very passionate about
what it is they’re wanting to do in the area of material science.
Whether it is the chemistry, the physics, the maths or something,
the biological area that they’re very interested in.
It has to come from within and if you’re interested and keen to do something then that’s where
you can really achieve amazing things.
Student: Thank You
Dr Rachel Caruso: You're welcome
Music: Music