Speakers and presenters

On the 23rd of September, iAccelerate hosted the #Act4SDGs Challenge Pitch Final event. It was an action-packed evening where innovative and insightful ideas took shape, and we were so pleased to be part of it.

Four teams, consisting of interdisciplinary UOW Dean’s Scholar students, came together to solve social development issues facing the Illawarra. Each deep demonstrated a deep understanding of the problems this regions faces, and judges and audience members were blown away by the ingenious solutions pitched. 

Only one team, however, could take home the winning title, and that was team ‘Full Employment’ for their solution to the rising unemployment rates throughout the Illawarra. Honourable mentions go all the participating teams: team ‘Mt Keira’, the ‘Trash Team’, and team ‘Wet ‘n’ Wild’.

Team – Full Employment

• Sarah Harvey - Bachelor of Creative Arts (Dean's Scholar), majoring in Creative Writing and Creative Arts, 4^th Year
• Mai Dang - Bachelor of Arts (Dean's Scholar), majoring in Sociology, 4^th Year
• Isabella Todd - Bachelor of Conservation Biology (Honours) (Dean's Scholar), 3^rd Year
• Van Vo - Bachelor of Commerce (Dean's Scholar), majoring in Finance and Accountancy, 4^th Year
• Shad Rahman - Bachelor of Computer Science (Dean's Scholar), majoring in Big Data, 4^th Year

Listen to the pitches

A/Prof Jane Herbert is a researcher in the School of Psychology at the University of Wollongong. She is the director of the Wollongong Infant Learning Lab (WILL) and leads the Family, Learning and Interaction (FLINT) research theme at Early Start. She leads an Early Years international research network as part of the University Global Partnership Network. 

A/Prof Herbert’s primary interest is in the first 1000 days. Her research explores how maturation and environmental experiences impact on the developing brain and cognitive abilities during infancy and early childhood, and on understanding and supporting parental wellbeing from pregnancy onwards. Her current ARC funded project examines the relationship between motor development, memory, and communication during the first year of life. She is also working with community partners and families to develop guidance for parents and carers, librarians, and ECEC staff on supporting and promoting early literacy and numeracy experiences for 0-3 year olds.

In addition to conducting basic experimental research, A/Prof Herbert also works within multidisciplinary and international research teams on topics related to maternal and child health behaviours, how parents seek and share information in the digital world, and on early intervention programmes for children at risk of delayed development.

A/Prof Jane Herbert

Prof Clare Paton-Walsh's first professional job started in 1990 as a Scientific Officer in the Radioactivity Group, at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in London. Her work involved developing measurement techniques, quality assurance and uncertainty analysis in the area of radiation physics.

In 1994 She transferred to the Environmental Standards Group at NPL, because they needed researchers to investigate the processes that contribute to stratospheric ozone depletion. Her research involved solar remote sensing of atmospheric trace gases and developing standards for air quality measurements in Europe, and for industrial process control.

In 2002, She emigrated to Australia to start work at the University of Wollongong. Her research involved solar remote sensing of atmospheric trace gases, with a focus on tropospheric pollution and the measurement and modelling of emissions to the atmosphere from agriculture and biomass burning. She completed her PhD in 2009 and started a permanent position as a lecturer in physical chemistry. Her research interests continue to be in the changing composition of our atmosphere and the impacts on air quality and climate. 

Professor Clare Paton-Walsh

Arbab Tufail is a Ph.D. research scholar at the University of Wollongong, Australia. She is currently working on wastewater treatment processes for the complete removal of pharmaceuticals under the supervision of Prof Faisal. I. Hai. She received a joint (UOW-HEC Pakistan) funding for her Ph.D. research. During her Ph.D. research journey, Arbab won the “People’s Choice Award” in the final of “3MT (Three Minutes thesis)” competition for the year 2019 at the University of Wollongong, Australia. She reached the final “3-MT” after the tough competition at School and Faculty level. Recently, she had received ‘’Global Challenges Ph.D. Travel Scholarships’’ from the University of Wollongong, Australia.

Arbab Tufail

Belinda Gibbons is a lecturer in the Faculty of Business, School of Management, Operations and Marketing. Belinda is passionate to develop a new generation of business leaders who can engage with complex issues faced by business and society and her learning and teaching experiences aim to challenge business students, colleagues, and organisations to acquire responsible and sustainable business knowledges. Belinda is a member of the United Nations Advisory Committee for Responsible Management Education and is the PRME (Principles for Responsible Management Education) Australia/New Zealand Chapter Coordinator.

Belinda designed, developed and currently coordinates the interdisciplinary capstone unit at onshore and offshore campuses. Belinda was a recipient of the 2016 Citations for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning for her work titled “For pioneering the design, development and implementation of an interdisciplinary experiential learning environment, as a means of embedding responsible decision-making in business higher education”. Belinda’s experiential learning computer simulation received the NSW Innovation iAwards in 2014.

Dr Belinda Gibbons

Dr Kerrylee Rogers is an Associate Professor in the School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences and GeoQuest Research Centre at the University of Wollongong. She is the Environmental Science Academic Program Director and  Deputy Leader of the Sustaining Coastal and Marine Zones Theme of the interdisciplinary Global Challenges Program at the University of Wollongong. Dr Rogers research focusses on coastal and aquatic ecosystem vulnerability to climate change, adaptations to climate change, and opportunities for mitigating climate change through improving restoration, conservation and management of coastal and aquatic ecosystems. She is particularly concerned about the resilience of coastal wetlands to sea-level rise and anthropogenic pressures. In addition to undertaking her own research and supervising her students, Dr Rogers is a proud Mum to two rapidly growing boys, who she hopes is as passionate about environmental sustainability as she is.

Dr Kerrylee Rogers

The thin layer of air that blankets the Earth provides the oxygen we breathe, the carbon that fuels our agriculture, and the warmth we need to survive. But what happens when human activities change the composition of the air? 

This question is at the heart of Dr Jenny Fisher’s research. As a researcher at the University of Wollongong’s Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry, her work centres on investigating the sources, chemistry, and impacts of air pollution across the globe. She combines advanced atmospheric models with diverse measurements to unravel the environmental cycles of mercury, ozone, and other atmospheric gases that are present in minute amounts but have an outsize impact on health and climate. Her work has taken her to locations as diverse as the Arctic, the Southeast US, and now Australia, with the ultimate goal of increasing fundamental understanding of how human activities and natural processes interact to shape our atmosphere.  

Dr Fisher holds a PhD from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Science from the California Institute of Technology, and previously held a Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Wollongong. She received the 2016 UOW Vice Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award for Emerging Researchers and a 2016 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship and was the 3rd place runner up for Australia for the APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (“ASPIRE”). 

Jenny Fisher, PhD

Vivien Forner (Ph.D., B.Psyc) is the winner of University of Wollongong’s 2019 Three Minute Thesis Competition. Vivien completed her PhD in the Faculty of Business at the University of Wollongong. Her doctoral research has had a significant impact on improving leadership and reducing turnover of volunteers in emergency service organisations in Australia. During her candidate, Vivien obtained several research awards, a funding grant, presented at international conferences and has had her research featured in national media. She is an Organisational Psychologist with over 10 years’ experience working in collaborative industry partnerships, across Australian and global organisations, to create better places for people to work. She held a state committee role within Australian Psychological Society’s (APS) College of Organisational Psychology and is a member of the International Positive Psychology Association (IPPA) and International Leadership Association (ILA). Vivien is an experienced and engaging presenter who loves to share her passion for research and evidence-based practice. 

Vivien Forner, Ph.D. B.Psych. Bio

I am Charbel Tawk, a Mechanical and Robotics Engineer who graduated with high distinction from the Lebanese American University in 2016 with a B.E. in Mechanical Engineering and in 2019 from the University of Wollongong Australia with a Ph.D. in Soft Robotics. 
 
I love to build interactive 3D printable soft robotic devices that are accessible by the community and to combine engineering with arts. 
 
My current research interests include soft and smart 3D printed actuators and sensors, soft and smart prosthetic hands, wearable soft robotic devices and soft human-machine interfaces. 
 
During my Ph.D. I developed novel 3D printable soft and smart actuators and sensors which can be used in diverse soft robotic applications including soft prosthetic hands, locomotion robots, artificial muscles, soft adaptive grippers, parallel manipulators, haptic devices, virtual reality gloves, and human-machine soft interfaces. During my three-year Ph.D., I published 7 peer-reviewed articles in high impact journals and 5 conference papers. Also, I won and received 10 awards in several competitions and travel scholarship challenges and my research work and stories were highlighted in several news articles. 

I am a passionate engineer who wants to make a long-term positive impact on society. I am driven by goals and dreams. I firmly believe that whomever you are you can achieve what you want and realize all your dreams. 

Charbel Tawk, PhD in Soft Robotics

Anna Farmery is a Vice Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS). Her research is centered around terrestrial and marine food systems and the links with human and environmental health. Anna’s background is in natural resource management and sustainable food production in Australia, East Africa and South East Asia. She has published papers on sustainable diets and consumption, life cycle assessment of seafood supply chains, and managing seafood supply chains in a changing climate. Anna is currently addressing policy integration and coherence between fisheries and food governance in Australia, East Timor and the Pacific, and the role of value chains in improving environmental and human health outcomes.

Dr Anna Farmery