Automate Plus

For many of my guests, the careers and fields that we're in now didn't exist or were just newly conceived when we were at university. So those indirect paths I often speak about were just a matter of course for us. Bec Nguyen is the director of Upbeat Digital and a specialist in UX in digital health.
Join us as we speak about her winding path to User Experience Design and design thinking as it grew as a space, building compassionate tech, and advocating for diverse voices no matter what industry you're in.
About Bec Nguyen 
Bec Nguyen is the Founder and Director of Upbeat Digital, a Perth, Western Australian-based consultancy business specialising in digital project and product management; UX/UX design and community engagement in social impact issues using an innovative, human-centred approach. As an advocate for women of colour, Bec leads an inclusive work approach to ensure community members who are under-represented, including disadvantaged and ethnic minorities, have a voice in the process.
Upbeat Digital has collaborated with state and national organisations within Australia to support the translation of evidence-based resources to the wider community through digital solutions, such The Wilderness Society, Nature Play WA, CSIRO and Telethon Kids Institute.
In recent years, Bec has been a recipient of a number awards, recognising and acknowledging her contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of the community, and impact in the technology and innovation for which she is honoured and continues to strive at an exceptional level to work and volunteer her time to give back to the community and help improve the health and well-being of the community.
Show Notes (link)
[00:00:59] The path from commerce and information systems and falling out, then in, of like with tech.
[00:04:03] Entering the health space and building apps with Telethon Kids Institute.
[00:05:47] Being introduced to UX design thinking and building Image Up.
[00:11:09] Formalising that experience-based learning.
[00:11:48] Discovering that there really is a place in tech for everyone.
[00:12:30] Taking the your user research to prototype.
[00:13:42] Striking out on her own and expanding into the social impact space.
[00:14:13] The evolution of systems analysis and requirements gathering as a human-centred process.
[00:15:39] The evolving landscape of our roles and responsibilities.
[00:18:29] Integrating UX and healthcare.
[00:19:11] Working with kids with cystic fibrosis.
[00:27:27] Being able to demonstrate the scientific method behind your work.
[00:29:37] Putting more focus on social impact with Upbeat Digital.
[00:30:31] Representation in tech and supporting less heard voices.
[00:34:12] Encouraging diversity in your organisations.
[00:38:20] What advice would you give someone who'd like to do what you do, and what advice should they ignore?
Connect with STEAM Powered
Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Patreon
Hosted and produced by a href="https://micheleong.com/"...

Building compassionate tech, and advocating for diverse voices with Bec Nguyen

Conversations with women in STEAM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine) about their journeys, work, passions, and what they learned along the way.

We’re a diverse group of people with unique personal and professional journeys, and I want you to meet some of us. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Podscribe - https://podscribe.com/privacy Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy Podsights - https://podsights.com/privacy

STEAM Powered

Automate

We've spoken about indirect career paths, but Professor Gretchen Benedix calls hers the pinball method, starting on a course that could change direction when she strikes something that she'd like to delve more into. This method has served Gretchen well and has given her opportunities to work with Dr Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, chase fireballs over the desert, hunt meteorites in Antarctica, and even get an asteroid named after her.
Join us as we speak with Gretchen about her journey to astrogeology, discovering how the solar system evolved, and the Desert Fireball Network.
About Professor Gretchen Benedix 
Gretchen Benedix is a Professor (and former Australian Research Council Future Fellow) in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Curtin University. She is also a member of the Space Science and Technology Centre, the largest research group dedicated to Planetary Science in the southern hemisphere.
She is a fierce STEM and Women in Science advocate and takes her responsibility as a role model very seriously. She uses her work to inspire young people and pass along her passion for understanding our Solar System.
Gretchen's research interests lie in the study of meteorites to understand and unravel the evolution of the Solar System. She and her team are currently interested in using machine learning techniques to extend our ability to interact with big datasets, specifically looking at the numbers of craters on other planetary surfaces.
Gretchen wants to understand how the Earth fits into the history of the Solar System.
… And also, she loves rocks…
Gretchen has a broad educational background in Geology, Engineering, and Physics, which lets her pull together multidisciplinary ideas to unravel the mysteries of the rocks.
She also loves science communication and has had the opportunity to work at two world-class museums as a planetary scientist, cosmic mineralogist, and astro-geologist, where Gretchen had the pleasure of sharing what she does --- It's just one of the many aspects of her job that she loves - to be able to get other people, especially young folks, excited about studying our solar system and our place in it.
Show Notes (link)
[00:01:38] How one gets an asteroid named after them.
[00:04:56] Gretchen's journey began in psychology.
[00:06:52] The transition from psychology to physics was not smooth sailing.
[00:08:29] The slow drift into space and getting hooked on rocks.
[00:11:35] The beauty of geology.
[00:16:19] Being flexible gives you the space to be open to opportunities.
[00:18:34] Looking to space because you can't look inside the Earth.
[00:22:41] Comparative planetology and looking at our system in context.
[00:26:49] Context and time scales.
[00:28:59] The engineering in space travel.
[00:32:48] The Desert Fireball Network. 
[00:36:42] Location, location, location.
[00:38:31] Tying it back to their origins and the solar system.
[00:40:35] Meteorite families.
[00:43:47] Surprising learnings so far.
[00:46:47] The two-body problem.
Connect with STEAM Powered
Website | YouTube | Facebook | Instagram | a href="https://twitter.com/steampoweredshw" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Chasing fireballs and the evolution of our solar system with Professor Gretchen Benedix

Dr Lucy Commander (tw: @lucy_commander) is a restoration seed ecologist who has spent over a decade undertaking scientific research with the mining industry to improve mine restoration. Lucy was also the lead editor of the Australian Network for Plant Conservation's Guidelines for the Translocation of Threatened Plants, published in 2018, and is currently Project Manager for the update of the Florabank Guidelines for best practice native seed collection and use, with Australian Network for Plant Conservation and partners.
In our conversation, we talk about her interest in singing and gardening, restoration seed ecology, and her work as an editor on the Florabank Guidelines for best practice native seed collection and use.
 
Show Notes (link)[01:12] Love of singing[02:59] Eric Whitacre’s Virtual Choir[04:59] Journey to becoming a restoration seed ecologist[07:04] The diversity of West Australian flora[08:14] Translocation of threatened species[10:41] Surveying for threatened species in developments[11:44] The people involved in threatened species translocation[13:06] The Florabank Guidelines for seed collection and use[15:55] Who is behind the guidelines?[16:37] Seed banks and storage[17:55] Flora vs food crops[18:34] Intervention of bushfire affected areas for restoration[21:48] Management of areas under regular fire threat[22:47] Sourcing seeds for restoration[25:12] Applicability of local guidelines domestically and globally[27:02] The diversity of Australian flora adding complexity to the task[28:04] Florabank Guidelines publication timeline[29:57] The collaborative nature of developing the guidelines[31:03] Case and field work contributions from the community[32:51] Bonus Question 1: What hobby or interest do you have that is most unrelated to your field of work?[35:58] Bonus Question 2: Which childhood book holds the strongest memories for you?[39:09] Bonus Question 3: What advice you would give someone who wants to do what you do? Or what advice should they ignore?[42:31] Eden Project
 
Connect with STEAM Powered:WebsiteFacebookInstagramTwitter
 
Music is Gypsy Jazz in Paris 1935 by Brett Van Donsel.

Recent Podbites from the community