Role models allow you to see what's possible for your future.
RMIT is proud to have a vibrant community of female academics who drive learning, teaching and research in STEMM. Read about their passions and how their pioneering work is making an impact at RMIT and the broader community.
Meet our Women in STEMM Executive Leadership
Professor Ange Carbone
Vegetable grower, gut health enthusiast and executive leader, leading the Educational Portfolio in the STEM College and research in the general field of STEM Education.
Professor Kay Latham
Hillwalker, lover of the great outdoors, passionate about crystal engineering and Dean of STEMM Diversity and Inclusion in STEM College and lead for RMIT’s Athena Swan accreditation.
Professor Sujeeva Setunge
Mother, passionate reader, traveller and Associate Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation in STEM College. Civil engineer focused on sustainable materials, predictive modelling and optimised management of infrastructure.
Professor Suelynn Choy
Wine and food lover, Discipline Leader Geospatial Science and Director Satellite Positioning of the Atmosphere, Climate and Environment (SPACE) Centre Research Centre. Expert in satellite navigation, high accuracy precise positioning, atmospheric remote sensing, and geodesy.
Professor Charlotte Conn
Runner, nature lover and biophysical chemist, working on the delivery of protein and peptide-based drugs as part of the global fight against antibiotic resistance.
Dr Samantha Grover
Writer, storyteller and soil scientist, focused on micrometeorology and climate change research.
Associate Professor Tien Huynh
Lover of exotic flowers, botanist, passionate about environmental sustainability and medicinal plants.
Associate Professor Gail Iles
Fearless Aerobatic Pilot, Associate Professor and Space Physics Research Group Leader developing radiation shielding technology and scientific payloads for microgravity experimentation.
Distinguished Professor Elena Ivanova
Nature lover and biochemist/biophysicist, researching nano biotechnology to combat the emerging global epidemic of “super-bugs”.
Adjunct Professor Allison Kealy
Designer of creative solutions for driverless cars and drones and engineer, focused on satellite positioning, sensor fusion and geodesy.
Professor Asha Rao
Sewing enthusiast and Professor of Mathematical Sciences in the School of Science, researching many aspects of cyber mathematics.
Professor Madhu Bhaskaran
World traveller and electronic engineer researching next generation sensors and micro-devices for smarter and healthier living.
Professor Kate Fox
AFL football player and biomedical engineer, focused on implantable medical materials, and Head of Department and Associate Dean for Biomedical Engineering.
Dr Gita Pendharkar
Badminton player and electrical, electronic and biomedical engineer.
Professor Olga Troynikov
Fitness enthusiast and human-centred engineer, focused on functional material systems and their interaction with the human body.
Distinguished Professor Irene Yarovsky
Pianist and leader of RMIT’s material modelling and simulation research group, studying the interface between biological systems and nanomaterials for biomedical applications.
Honorary Professor Flora Salim
Specialty coffee nerd, coffee bean collector and researcher of human behaviour analytics, machine-learning with multimodal time-series, ubiquitous computing, urban computing and mobility.
Professor Karin Verspoor
Language lover, executive leader and researcher focused on the use of artificial intelligence methods to enable biological discovery and clinical decision support.
Adjunct Associate Professor Leah Heiss
Inspired by minerals and rocks, renowned Designer and Chair of Design for Eva and Marc Besen International Research* developing wearable technologies, services and experiences to improve or save life.
Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos
Author, leading Mediterranean diet expert and executive leader in the health and biomedical disciplines, focused on growing health programs and embedding digital literacy in graduates.
Professor Mary Tolcos
Professor of Biomedical Sciences and a successful recipient of multiple grants, Mary’s research focuses on studying various intrauterine causes that impact neurological development.
