What motivates you in your career, and what drove you to be in this field/ role? 

My career path has evolved out of motivation to make a tangible positive impact in the world. 

I originally pursued civil engineering in the Australian Army with the goal of working in disaster response. However, due to an injury in training I was unable to continue down that path. Golder Associates (now WSP) in Brisbane was willing to take a chance with my unconventional background. I joined their team as a graduate 10 years ago, developing a passion for the technical and design aspects of geotechnical engineering. 

In 2018, I had the opportunity to combine this with my aspiration to have a wider impact, by pursuing a Doctorate of Philosophy at the University of Oxford, focusing on foundation design for offshore wind turbines. At the start of 2023, I joined the WSP Offshore Geoscience team in Perth, with the motivation to apply innovative design methods for the offshore wind industry as it grows in Australia. 

What is something you would like to see change, or that you are currently working to change in your industry or area of expertise? (this can include your current projects or be more about culture)? 

I am excited to see the offshore wind industry beginning to develop in Australia, however, we are late to the international field. I would like to see the industry in Australia developing and embracing innovative foundation solutions for our unique soil conditions. This would enable the industry’s continued growth.  

How would this change impact people or society? 

Increased development of offshore wind farms in Australia will contribute towards the goal of renewables making up a larger share of Australia’s energy mix. This is an essential part of decreasing our emissions contributions and reducing climate change impacts for future generations. 

How does this connect to our Future Ready trends (Society, Resources, Climate, Technology)?

Ultimately this connects to all our Future Ready themes and trends but I will focus here on the most relevant. Within the resources area, offshore wind not only has the obvious positive contribution towards the energy transition, but it requires considerable planning and mitigation strategies to combat the anticipated stress on supply chains and skills shortages. As well as contributing to the larger climate picture, which encompasses targeting net zero emissions, energy security is an essential requirement for our modern society and increasing equality of access. 

What are some of the barriers to this change, and how are you/your team working around them? 

As with most engineering advancements, cost is a significant barrier. However, through technological advancements internationally, the levelised cost of energy for offshore wind is becoming competitive with traditional energy sources. Our team is developing in-house design methods for offshore wind turbine foundations in Australian soil conditions, to offer optimal design solutions to our clients, as offshore wind projects in Australia progress. 

Appropriate vessel availability is also a significant challenge in the Australian market, even at the current early project stages. We are making use of significant local experience to develop efficient survey strategies to help our clients minimise their vessel needs, thereby allowing their projects to progress more quickly. 

What advice would you give young women about studying and pursuing engineering?

There are still some challenges around unconscious and conscious bias, however they do not diminish the immensely rewarding career you can have as an engineer. Turn negative interactions into inspiration to excel in your work or study: achieving your goals will feel all the more satisfying for the perseverance required to get there and will contribute to challenging people’s misconceptions about women in engineering. 

What do you think are the most significant misconceptions for women about studying and pursuing engineering?

The most harmful misconception is the idea that women are inherently less able than men to conduct engineering work. Early assumptions that girls have poorer mathematics and science ability in school lead to the disproportionate encouragement of young men into tertiary engineering study compared to young women. This continues in the workplace, where women are often encouraged towards less technical roles within engineering. However, over my 10 years in the industry, I have seen the prevalence of such misconceptions reducing as more women challenge the stereotypes and demonstrate their abilities.