About People of Earth Science
People of Earth Science is a place for future and current Earth scientists to learn about the exciting and highly varied career pathways available to them.
People of Earth Science is for my past self - the geoscience student who thought the only career options available to her were academia or the mining industry.
To 2014 me I say: Hey girl, here’s a spoiler for you - you won’t work in either of those traditional jobs. You’ll have a diverse and rewarding career where you’ll do things you never thought you would or could do. Oh and while I’m dishing out spoilers, buy some BitCoin. Trust me.
But really People of Earth Science is a place to celebrate Earth science and learn from our colleagues about the many different ways to have an amazing Earth science career.
Meet the founder
Dr Emily Finch
Dr Emily Finch shoots x-rays at stuff. Emily is a Beamline Scientist at the Australian Synchrotron and is part of a team building new machinery that will shoot a beam of x-rays at all kinds of things to learn about their structure and chemistry. Once this beamline is built, Emily will work with scientists from around the world to solve scientific problems like toxins in soil and how drugs are absorbed by the body.
Emily is also a geologist, and studies ways to target critical minerals needed for technologies such as solar panels and electric cars, by studying how elements move around Earth’s crust. This work is becoming increasingly important as the known supply of minerals needed to make green technologies is shrinking and current methods of exploration cannot keep up with increasing demand. By understanding how elements move around the crust, researchers like Emily can better predict where to explore for them.
After completing her PhD in geosciences at Monash University, Emily worked in science policy at the Australian Council of Learned Academies and the Academy of Technology and Engineering, where she provided evidence-based policy advice to government. She was proud to work on the Women in STEM Decadal Plan: a project to attract more women into science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) careers, and to support women to have great STEM careers. This project ignited Emily’s passion for improving equity and inclusion for minority groups in STEM workplaces.
Emily is a 2021-2022 Science and Technology Australia Superstar of STEM.
To learn more about Emily’s career, check out her People of Earth Science profile here.