Nanogirl aka Michelle Dickinson
Tauranga's first-ever STEM Festival (STEMFest) will be a celebration of the wonders of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The festival, which is free to attend, is set to bring a day full of fun, exciting and thought-provoking activities and events aimed at children, young people, and families.
Dr Michelle Dickinson, creator of Nanogirl, is involved in the festival. Michelle is a nanotechnologist who is passionate about getting Kiwis hooked on science and engineering.
Founder Tia Lush says the festival is designed to engage and inspire a new generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians through hands-on activities. Tia recently moved to Tauranga from the UK with her young family, where she founded Peterborough STEM Festival. In its fourth year, the 2018 Peterborough STEM Festival welcomed nearly 3000 visitors.
STEMFest has been inspired by Ada Lovelace Day, a global celebration of Women in STEM, and Tia is excited to bring it to her newly adopted home in Tauranga with the help of an amazing team of passionate co-organisers and volunteers, and world-class businesses and organisations that have come on board as sponsors and supporters of the festival, pop-up events and debates.
The festival is also a great opportunity to celebrate women and diversity in STEM, and a way to encourage young girls into considering STEM as a career option, which is why the STEMFest team would like to introduce indulge readers to a few remarkable women who've done just that.
Dr Lupe Taumoepeau
New Zealand's first female vascular surgeon Dr Lupe Taumoepeau became inspired to study medicine because of her grandfather in Tonga, who was an eye surgeon. From a young age, Lupe's parents instilled the importance of education and taking care of others in her and her sister, along with a strong service ethic.
"I saw medicine as practical application of these values. My parents reckon from the age of five, I started telling people I wanted to be a doctor, and never changed my mind," she says.
Today, Lupe is a consultant vascular surgeon with Capital and Coast DHB, Wellington Public Hospital and co-founding director of Specialist Vein Health, a private clinic offering services both in greater Wellington, Kapiti, Palmerston North and Nelson. She is the only Polynesian vascular surgeon in Australasia.
As a junior doctor at Waikato Hospital, Lupe got the chance to work with a team of outstanding vascular surgeons who were passionate about teaching her and encouraged her to pursue surgery.
"The fact that I was a woman from an ethnic minority never came into the discussion. They really made me believe I was good enough," she says.
"Vascular surgeons are the plumbers of the human body and deal with narrowed, blocked and dilated blood vessels, and faulty valves in the vessels. I operate on arteries and veins all over the body, outside the brain and the heart. This makes the range of problems and solutions I deal with incredibly broad. No two days are the same and I love the extensive scope of my work."
But Lupe's job is also stressful, especially when dealing with life threatening conditions such as ruptured aneurysms or trauma.
"I am part of a much larger team made up of nurses, junior doctors, anaesthetists and anaesthetic technicians, ward administrators, orderlies and even the cleaners who help turn over theatres in between cases. After surgery, patients rely on the expertise of physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians and pharmacists. Everyone plays their part, and I love working in this multidisciplinary environment," she says.
Lupe is passionate about encouraging women and Pacifica people to get into surgical specialities and says there are many advantages to developing a diverse medical and surgical workforce.
"The community that we serve is diverse and multicultural, and having a surgical team that reflects this diversity can only enhance patient engagement and empowerment in managing their health. It's a tough road that takes commitment, resilience and empathy, but the rewards are massive," she says.
Lupe says you should most definitely consider medicine as a career if you enjoy problem solving, have a love for learning as this never stops, and a strong desire to help others.
She points out that it is hugely important to have supportive family and friends as the hours of study and work can be unsociable, and time with them often gets sacrificed.
"I wouldn't be where I am today without the support of my family, especially my husband. I owe a lot to my him as he has sacrificed his career to be a stay at home father for our son. He does an amazing job."
Although she won't be able to attend the Tauranga STEMFest in October, Lupe thinks it is a fantastic way to engage with young people and spark interest in STEM careers.
"There was nothing like this around when I was going through school. I think having young people visit with their families and having them interact with role models in these careers will help them understand what they can do to support and encourage these dreams. It's never too early to inspire young people!"
Rebecca Prestidge
Watching lots of Grey's Anatomy inspired Rebecca Prestidge to choose biology and chemistry in high school and she is now in her final year of a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Waikato, majoring in molecular and cellular biology and minoring in ecology and biodiversity. Next year, she is taking on a graduate diploma in secondary teaching.
Rebecca says it is fascinating for her to know how science plays a literal role in everyday life, from the human body and health related knowledge, to the big issues such as climate change and sustainability. Since starting her journey in science, she has become more invested in our future, as a community and as part of a global population.
"I now choose to have a say about important topics and issues that really need to be talked about with a lot more serious action to be taken," she says.
Rebecca came across STEMFest by chance when she was scrolling through Instagram. Intrigued, she made contact with Tia to see what volunteering opportunities were available.
"It's a festival that aims to promote and inspire people, especially younger generations, to be actively involved in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. I believe STEMFest will put a fun but educational spin to STEM exploration, and show that anyone can do these subject areas, all you need is the passion for it."
To young people who might be considering a future in science, Rebecca says "go for it" as she knows from experience science is not just for the super smart or the elite.
"You never truly know until you try. I never thought I would end up switching to molecular and cellular biology until I gave it a go, and I love it! There's a wealth of knowledge to be discovered. We need all the hands we can get to contribute to unravel all the mysteries yet to be solved. Go forth and be a part of changing the world and leave a lasting impact in ways you can only imagine."
Carlota Cedillo Martin
Originally from Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, Carlota Cedillo Martin is a marine biologist now living and working in Katikati. She is an analytical services manager at Eurofins Bay of Plenty, one of the sponsors of the Tauranga STEM Festival, and specialises in food toxicology.
"We collect and process kiwifruit orchard maturity clearance samples for Zespri's export maturity clearance programme. It involves the registration, collection, processing and reporting of every Zespri kiwifruit orchard in New Zealand. The fruit maturity laboratories are in Katikati and Te Puke, and samples are collected from Nelson to Kerikeri," she explains.
As a woman in science, Carlota decided to take part in STEMFest because she wants to motivate other girls to follow this career path.
"STEMFest is showcasing the dynamic and innovative organisations and companies in Tauranga, showing different areas of science that will hopefully inspire a new generation of scientists," she says.
"There is a vast array of career choices to pick from if you are interested in science and marine biology. In a nutshell, marine biologists study a wide variety of organisms and ecosystems in the ocean and other saltwater environments."
As for her own journey, Carlota says the most wonderful thing about a career in marine biology is how varied the work is and she loves how our oceans are still largely unexplored.
"As an island girl I would spend endless hours at the beach and started diving at a young age.
"I found a new world in the water, that I fell in love with. I translated my passion to the ocean and its creatures into becoming a marine biologist," she explains.
Carlota admits that the dramatic changes taking place in our oceans are scary, but says we still have a chance to make things better if we take action now and inspire others to do the same.
Everyone is invited to attend STEMFest in October and meet more amazing STEM heroes like Lupe, Rebecca, and Carlota and explore the wonderful and exciting world of STEM.
the details
What: Tauranga STEM Festival
When: October 12, 9am-5pm
Where: Durham St, Tauranga CBD
STEMFest is designed to inspire children and young people to become tomorrow's innovators in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The festival will be the first event of its kind in New Zealand specially designed as a celebration to engage and inspire the whole whānau and community through hands-on activities. For free tickets and more information visit www.taurangastemfestival.co.nz
about Michelle Dickinson/Nanogirl
Dr. Michelle Dickinson (MNZM), creator of the character Nanogirl, author of best-seller The Kitchen Science Cookbook and co-founder of Nanogirl Labs, is on a mission to make science and engineering more accessible, friendly, and engaging for all.
After establishing New Zealand's first nanomechanical testing lab and teaching at The University of Auckland's Faculty of Engineering, she went on to co-found social enterprise Nanogirl Labs.
Michelle believes science should be open, transparent and a topic of conversation over the dinner table, not just the lab bench, and her vision is to create positive role models in the world that children can aspire to be like
'It’s an expensive asset, and it should be well-used.'