ANSTO Celebrates its Incredible Women in Science

ANSTO Celebrates its Incredible Women in Science

ANSTO is privileged to be home to an incredible array of outstanding women in science. On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science we wanted to thank each one. Thank you! 

ANSTO employs around 190 women in science related roles. It’s impossible to highlight them all, but here’s a small sample: 

Dr Helen Maynard-Casely, is an expert in small molecules and ices, a Principal Instrument Scientist at the Australian Centre for Neutron Scatteringand is co-responsible for the Wombat high intensity diffraction instrument, Dr Maynard-Casely researches the mineral building blocks of our solar system, specialising on materials that only form at cryogenic temperatures.   

Dr Karin Soldenhoff, is a Principal Consultant within ANSTO's minerals area, managing process development and research groups. Dr Soldenhoff is widely recognised for her innovative contributions to solvent extraction and is very active in the processing of critical minerals including rare earths.    

Dr Rosemary Young, an X-ray Chemist and Instrument Scientist on the Macromolecular Crystallography Beamlines at ANSTO’s Australian Synchrotron. Dr Young is a bright star in investigations of the 2025 Nobel Award winning field of Metal Organic Frameworks—MOFs.  

Nikki Keighran, an ANSTO Radiation Protection Advisor, specialises in radiation safety, nuclear forensics and crime scene examination. A recent Superstar of STEM recipient, Nikki is deepening her understanding of the power of effective science communication and using it to demystify nuclear safety for the broader community. 

Dr Floriana Salvemini, an instrument scientist on ANSTO's neutron imaging instrument DINGO. Dr Salvemini is an expert in neutron imaging and diffraction for investigations into cultural heritage. Her work focuses on metal technology, from modern materials to ancient artefacts (she uses non-invasive ways to study historical art and other archaeologically significant items).  

Dr Mitra Safavi-Naeini,is the Principal Physicist and Acting Leader of the Centre for Accelerator Science, and a prolific researcher in the fields of particle physics and medical radiation physics. She’s currently leading a project to develop a new class of precision radiotherapy for aggressive brain cancers.    

Karyn Wilde is a microbiologist and biotechnologist by training, a protein labelling specialist and our National Deuteration Facility’s (NDF) user program manager. The NDF is unique to the Southern Hemisphere, offering biodeuteration and chemical deuteration. Ms Wilde’s role facilitates an astonishing array of work in areas like materials science, health, life sciences and structural biology.  

Julie Mulholland is a member of ANSTO’s exceptional education team. She’s a familiar face and source of knowledge to VIPs and school children as an education officer and Lucas Heights campus tour guide, but she’s also a passionate STEM advocate and is pivotal in distilling complex scientific data sets into engaging, accessible formats for science educators to use with their students.  

Dr Jessica Veliscek-Carolan is a nuclear chemist in nuclear science and technology, specialising in nuclear materials. She’s an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at UNSW Sydney, a member of Women in Nuclear Australia, a prolific publisher of papers and one of Australia’s most talented nuclear experts.  

Dr Lidia Matesic is our Radiopharmaceuticals Research Manager. She leads a multidisciplinary team researching the use of therapeutic radioisotopes to advance the development, manufacturing and translation of radiopharmaceuticals into preclinical and clinical studies.  

Dr Cath Hughes, Principal Research Scientist, Isotope Hydrology, works in water resource management and climate science. Her role in understanding the age, movement and origin of water enables us to effectively manage vital, limited freshwater resources, protect ecosystems and assess contamination and climate change risks.  

Play

In this video one of ANSTO’s youngest women in science, Charlie Stanwix, a Process Engineer in minerals, describes working on projects for the mining and critical minerals industry. 

In another celebration of women in science ANSTO is hosting the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) flagship Lise Meitner Programme (LMP) from9 to 20 February, welcoming 22 early-to-mid career women professionals to our Lucas Heights campus.