Monash University has appointed two women to its Faculty of Engineering staff as part of the University’s continuing drive to recruit more women into the fields of science, technology, engineering, medicine and maths.
Dr Julie Karel and Dr Faezeh Marzbanrad are taking up Research Fellow positions which have been designed specifically for women and structured to allow maximum flexibility for each candidate and their particular career stage and career development needs.
“We understand that to be at the top of our field we need the best ideas, and that the best ideas come from a diverse team," said Professor George Simon, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Engineering.
"We strongly support and encourage women to join the faculty and develop their careers, and we have a number of senior women in academic and leadership positions. With these new positions, we’re aiming to develop the next generation of engineering leaders and put them on the track towards tenured teaching and research roles.”
Dr Karel is a specialist in nanoelectronic and magnetoelectronic applications for use in computers and data storage devices. Originally from the US, she previously worked for Intel, where she developed new thermal interface materials to improve the performance of mobile devices, and has most recently worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids in Dresden, Germany.
Her area of focus within the field of nanoelectronic and magnetoelectronic applications sees her working on magnetic thin films, which are essentially tiny magnets that enable hard drives to function.
“I use specialised techniques to prepare and manipulate the properties of these thin films, which are tens of times thinner than the diameter of a human hair," said Karel.
"Then I study them using a host of different methods, including high intensity x-rays from a synchrotron source such as the Australian Synchrotron.”
Dr Marzbanrad is an Iranian-born biomedical engineer who is working on an inexpensive device that could be used by midwives and doctors in developing countries to detect health problems in foetuses during pregnancy.
“My ambition is to develop an affordable and easy to handle new device to help prevent and reduce foetal morbidity and mortality which is high in developing countries and remote regions,” she said.
“At Monash I have a fantastic opportunity to work with other engineers, as well as the medical department and hospitals like Monash Health. I think that with the help of my collaborations both within Monash and overseas, we will be pretty close to reaching our goal.”
[Dr Julie Karel (left) and Dr Faezeh Marzbanrad. Photos: Monash University]
The business imperative for diversity in your engineering team will be the subject of a panel discussion at the Australian Engineering Conference 2016 in Brisbane on November 23-25.