The Faculty of Science Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Awards category recognises and celebrates outstanding contributions to initiatives that promote a more inclusive and equitable environment.
This award recognises and celebrates outstanding contributions to the Faculty of Science to programs promoting equity, diversity and inclusion made by individuals or teams.
The nominees are:
Stuart’s Element Sets project has brought hands-on chemistry education to secondary school students across Australia, with a particular focus on rural, regional, remote and under-resourced communities. More than 1,600 free kits containing samples of 37 chemical elements have been distributed to schools nationwide, including some of Australia’s most remote locations. Designed to make high-quality STEM resources accessible regardless of geography or school resources, the initiative is expected to benefit around 1.5 million student lessons on the periodic table over the next decade.
Melissa is a Senior Lecturer and ARC DECRA Fellow in the School of Mathematics and a committed advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion. She has developed innovative modelling approaches to understand how recruitment, retention and promotion contribute to gender representation across academic levels in the Faculty of Science. Melissa has extended this work through interactive models and visualisations that allow schools to explore the potential impact of different interventions, providing an evidence base to inform gender equity initiatives across the Faculty.
Dr Amy Chen, Associate Professor Amelia Liu, Namrata Sharma, Dr Sridevi Sureshkumar and Professor Vanessa Wong
The Culturally and Racially Marginalised (CARM) in Science Leadership Team has led initiatives to raise awareness of racism, foster belonging and address structural barriers affecting CARM staff and students. The team has delivered events celebrating cultural diversity, including Diwali and Lunar New Year celebrations, and initiatives marking the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It has also helped shape the Faculty’s response to the Racism @Uni report through an anti-racism awareness campaign and the co-design of an anti-racism strategy workshop for Faculty leadership.