Cirrus@Austlit

'Aussie STEM Stars is an inspiring children’s series that celebrates Australia’s experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

'The first books is about Fiona Wood, Australia’s leading burns specialist and inventor of spray-on skin.

'“Fiona has this incredible aura of energy and determination. She’s revolutionised treatment and outcomes for burns patients around the world – and she continues to work tirelessly in this area, striving for a better future. I think everyone she meets comes away affected and uplifted by her spirit, stamina, generosity and courage. It was an extraordinary honour to work with Fiona to tell her story.” ~ Cristy Burne, author'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Aussie STEM Stars is an inspiring children’s series that celebrates Australia’s experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

'The second book is about Georgia Ward-Fear, a reptile biologist and explorer well-known for her pioneering work with cane toads.

'“I strongly believe that increasing the capacity of female scientists to engage at the environmental leadership table could alter our planet’s future. I also want girls to grow up in a world knowing they can work with reptiles, get their clothes dirty, drive ATVs, be passionate and assertive AND be just as likely to direct federal environmental policy as men.”  ~ Georgia Ward-Fear'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Aussie STEM Stars is an inspiring children’s series that celebrates Australia’s experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

'The second book is about Munjed Al Muderis, a refugee to Australia who went on to become the world-leading pioneer of surgical osseointegration.

'“I admire the way Munjed works tirelessly to give back to others less fortunate than himself. I hope that by sharing ways Munjed has over-come obstacles in his life journey, that readers will be inspired to seek ways to remain positive when they are also faced with hardship.” ~ Dianne Wolfer, author'

(Source: publisher's blurb)

'Aussie STEM Stars is an inspiring children’s series that celebrates Australia’s experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

'The sixth book is about Alan Finkel, Australia’s Chief Scientist.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Aussie STEM Stars is an inspiring children’s series that celebrates Australia’s experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

'The fifth book is about Eddie Woo, the teacher extraordinaire whose ‘WooTube’ channel has been helping students to find the magic in maths since 2012.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Aussie STEM Stars is an inspiring children’s series that celebrates Australia’s experts in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.

'The fourth book is about Gisela Kaplan, one of Australia’s leading bird and primate scientists, whose love for animals has seen her care for and rehabilitate numerous species.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'John Albert Long is an Australian paleontologist who is currently Strategic Professor in Palaeontology at Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia. He was previously the Vice President of Research and Collections at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. He is also an author of popular science books. His main area of research is on the fossil fish of the Late Devonian Gogo Formation from northern Western Australia. It has yielded many important insights into fish evolution, such as Gogonasus and Materpiscis, the later specimen being crucial to our understanding of the origins of vertebrate reproduction.

'His love of fossil collecting began at age 7 and he graduated with PhD from Monash University in 1984, specialising in Palaeozoic fish evolution. He held postdoctoral positions at the Australian National University, The University of Western Australia and The University of Tasmania before taking up a position as Curator in Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Western Australian Museum and then as Head of Sciences at Museum Victoria.'

Source : publisher's blurb

'Creswell John Eastman AO is the Clinical Professor of Medicine at Sydney University Medical School, Principal of the Sydney Thyroid Clinic and Consultant Emeritus to the Westmead Hospital. Eastman is an endocrinologist and has directed or conducted research and public health projects into elimination of iodine deficiency disorders (IDD) in Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, several Pacific Islands, Hong Kong, China and Tibet and Australia. For his work in remote areas of China, he has been dubbed the âman who saved a million brainsâ.

'In 2013 Eastman expressed concern that IDD may be affecting Australian children's ability to perform at school and reiterated that view in 2016. While the initial focus was mostly on indigenous children, he recently expanded it to include all children.

'Cres was awarded Membership of the Order of Australia in 1994 for his contributions to Medicine, particularly in the field of Endocrinology, and was awarded the Premierâs Gold Service Award in 2002 for development of the NSW Forensic DNA service laboratory.' (Publication summary)

'Professor Ajay Rane is the Director of Urogynaecology at Townsville University Hospital and Head of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at James Cook University (JCU).

'Ajay has devoted his research and practice to treating women with severe childbirth injuries in the some of the world’s poorest countries. For his years of service, Ajay was awarded the Order of Australia in 2013 and the Mahatma Gandhi Pravasi Award for Humanitarian Work in Women’s Health in 2016.

'Today, as one of Australia’s leading experts on female health, Ajay remains committed to educating the community about women’s health'  (Publication summary)

'Growing up in London, Michelle's interests frequently bumped up against expectations of girls which she pushed through, including her love of playing soccer and chess, and later, her passion for science and technology. Professor Simmons is well-known for creating the field of atomic electronics. Since 2000 she established the Centre of Excellence for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology dedicated to the making of tiny atomic-scale devices in silicon and germanium. Her research group at the University of New South Wales is the only group worldwide that can create atomically precise devices in silicon. It was also the first team in the world to develop a working 'perfect' single-atom transistor and the narrowest conducting doped wires in silicon.

'In 2018 Michelle became Australian of the Year and is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow. She is passionate about encouraging girls to pursue a career in science and technology: 'Seeing women in leadership roles and competing internationally ... gives them the sense that anything is possible'.'  (Publication summary)

'Emma Johnston AO FTSE FRSN is the Dean of Science at the University of New South Wales and President of Science & Technology Australia. She is an authority in marine ecology and a former Pro Vice-Chancellor at UNSW.

'Johnston's research group at UNSW investigates the ecology of human impacts in marine systems, combining the diverse disciplines of ecology, microbiology and ecotoxicology to expand fundamental understanding and provide recommendations for management. Her research is conducted in such diverse field environments as Sydney Harbour, Antarctica, the Great Barrier Reef and temperate Australian estuaries.

'She is a regular media commentator and, as co-presenter of the Foxtel/BBC television series Coast Australia, which has helped take Australian marine science to an international audience. She also launched a Sydney Harbour cruise called Underwater Secrets' - Sydney Harbour Revealed, which focuses on scientific research into the waterway.'  (Publication summary)

'Skye Blackburn-Lang is an entomologist and food scientist who has combined her two specialities and high energy entrepreneurial spirit to become a world leader in developing nutritious superfoods for a sustainable future from insects and their larvae without the Yuck! factor.

'From the time Skye was very young, she was passionate about all things creepy crawly and dreamed of becoming an entomologist when she was just four years old!

'After finishing her university studies, she first worked in a pet food company developing nutritious food for cats but very soon created her own businesses introducing children and adults to the world of insects. She developed insect life cycle kits and butterfly sessions, becoming a regular and extremely popular speaker at schools, invited to show and talk about her insects at public and private events. She has appeared on television, on the children's reality show Camp Orange, and has also worked with production companies that require her services and live insects in TV shows, films and advertisements. Her creepy-crawlies have become rock stars!

'After visiting Thailand and seeing insects cooked up as yummy treats, she is now famous for producing amazing food from ice cream, to muesli to choc chip cookies, made from protein and nutrient-rich insects that she farms herself. Food for the future!'  (Publication summary)

'Maddy spent her early years in the Northern Territory before her family moved back to Western Australia. Maddy’s love of the sea and everything in it was nurtured by her beloved grandfather who would take her fishing and snorkelling in the ocean off Busselton, south of Perth. On these trips he would regale her with his many stories of shipwrecks around the coast and share his great curiosity in the natural and human-made world.

'Still only a 14-year-old teenager and already a certified SCUBA diver, her passion for maritime archaeology in particular, was sparked by a lecture she attended in Busselton where her family had finally settled. A maritime archaeologist from the Museum of Western Australia in Perth told the gathering the story of the shipwreck of a cargo ship Georgette, that occurred in 1876, south of Busselton. At great risk to themselves, two courageous young people who lived in the area, Indigenous man Sam Isaacs and 16-year-old Grace Bussell, rode their horses into the boiling surf to rescue survivors.

'Dr Maddy McAllister is now the Senior Curator of Maritime Archaeology at Queensland Museum Network and is based in the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Townsville. Her PhD research was on the notorious Batavia shipwreck of 1629 in the Houtman Abrolhos Islands of Western Australia.' (Publication summary)