Career pathways in Earth sciences
WOMEESA Network is organising a workshop for postgraduate student members, in which we will have three outstanding WOMEESA members of different backgrounds (industry, government and academia) sharing their career progression, challenges and recommendations to early-career professionals. After the panel discussion, we will run a Q&A session with questions from the audience.
Meet the panel
Mikayla Sambrooks, MSc, Geophysicist at Newcrest Mining
I am a Geophysicist at Newcrest Mining (soon to be Newmont!). I studied a bachelor’s in science and a Masters in Earth Science, majoring in geophysics, both at the University of Melbourne. After submitting my thesis and securing a position on the Newcrest Graduate program to commence a year later, I moved to Townsville in far north QLD and worked as a field geologist for TerraSearch. There I gained experience in acquisition, QAQC & interpretation of a range of geophysical, geotechnical, geological & petrophysical data. I then moved to Perth to begin my 2-year grad program in exploration geology at the Havieron Project, inland from Telfer gold mine. Before the two years was up, I transitioned into my dream role as full time geophysicist in November of last year. Throughout my career I have been lucky to have incredible role models and mentors beginning with my master’s supervisor up until my current supervisor at Newcrest.
Dr. Jessica Stromberg, Team Leader, Mineral Footprints Team, CSIRO
Jess is a Senior Research Scientist in the Mineral Resources Business Unit of the CSIRO, Australia’s National Science Agency, where she leads the Mineral Footprints Team and is chair of Pride@CSIRO. She works at the interface of research and the minerals industry developing tools and applications of spectral datasets from the X-ray to far-infrared for critical minerals exploration.
Dr. Indrani Mukherjee, Lecturer at the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UNSW
Indrani Mukherjee has always been fascinated with the fact that the transition of a simple cell into a complex one, billions of years ago, is the reason we share the planet with millions of species today. Her research focuses on “what drove that biological transition?” The approach involves a nuanced understanding of ancient marine environments, via novel and cutting-edge geochemical techniques. Her research questions key concepts, and explores links between early Earth evolution, the origin of complex life and formation of precious mineral deposits. Indrani earned her BSc Honours and Masters in Geology at the University of Delhi. She completed her PhD at UTAS in 2018 where she worked as a lecturer and postdoctoral researcher in Earth Science until 2022. She then went on to pursue the Roger E Deane Fellowship at the University of Toronto. Currently, Indrani is a lecturer and researcher in Earth Sciences at the University of New South Wales. She is a massive foodie, loves all things pyritic and Tassie bushwalks. She has only recently moved to Sydney and is thoroughly enjoying the diversity of delights Sydney has to offer.