2023 STEM Hero Of The Year
Lachlan Hallet
Lachlan is a strong STEM ambassador in the NT with degrees in Science and Engineering and over 15 years of geological experience. In early 2021, he transitioned to part-time geology work to join Australian Earth Science Education (AusEarthEd) as an Education Officer.
Since joining AusEarthEd, Lachlan has engaged over 4,500 NT students through captivating science incursions.
Lachlan actively supports youth in STEM through various committees including NT Science Week, NT Science Forum, Science Teachers’ Association of NT, Geological
Society of Australia – NT Branch, and Top End Orienteers.
He played a key role in NT Science Week in 2022, promoting science awareness. Lachlan's efforts inspire numerous students and educators in the NT, fostering a
love for science and inspiring future generations.
2022 STEM Heroes Of The Year
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Rebecca Rogers is a passionate STEAM educator, drone pilot and techno-ecologist based at CDU in Darwin. She has been an active member of the NT Science Week Committee for the last five years assisting with a variety of STEAM events and digital marketing and communications. Over the last year she has presented at or provided expert knowledge for a number of events across the NT.
She codeveloped an event for Science Week called “Going on a ‘high-tech’ bear hunt.” This event saw attendees learning how ecologists use GPS and radio tracking technology to locate and study animals in the wild. Later that year she provided expert support and knowledge for the development of materials for the “Secret Life of Remote Dogs” project run by InspiredNT and AMRRIC. This project involved students in remote areas near Alice Springs learning how we track wild animals by tracking local dogs with GPS tracking collars. Students were taught about the scientific method and how to interpret animal tracking data.
In 2022, Rebecca has presented for a number of events showcasing how drone technology is used for research in the Northern Territory. These experiences included using immersive drone simulators to expose NT youth and adults to drone piloting and some of the different ways they can be used to explore and enjoy the world around us. These events included the Freshwater Turtles on Country workshop, International Women’s Day STEM event and the CSIRO NT Young Indigenous Women’s STEM Academy
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Amy “Shark” is a marine biologist and shark scientist who is passionate about providing science outreach to remote communities in the NT. She has been an ocean lover her whole life and grew up in a rural town herself in northern WA. She moved to Darwin in 2018 to follow her life-long dream of getting a PhD in ichthyology. One of her greatest aims in life is to get kids excited about science and inspire future generations of marine biologists. Using the Agrifutures Rural Women’s Award bursary in partnership with InpsireNT, Amy travelled to remote and rural communities in the NT to deliver fishy outreach activities. With the help of PhD student Jenny House a Blue Ventures outreach program was adapted for delivery in the classroom. Amy went on to develop other activities for classrooms of all ages including: “The Sensible Sawfish” storybook and “Guess How Old is that Shark?!” game. Amy mainly works on understanding the biology for sharks for real world applications like fisheries management, conservation and education. Amy’s favourite shark fact is that some female sharks can undergo ‘parthenogenesis’ which is where they spontaneously produce offspring without fertilization of eggs by sperm from a male shark through asexual reproduction. Girl Power! Amy wants to swim with as many different sharks and rays as she can in her life to help stop the misconception that sharks are mindless killing machine – they are powerful apex predators to be respected, admired and appreciated.
