Dr Chayan Chatterjee

Chayan Chatterjee is the A.I. for New Messengers Postdoctoral Fellow at Vanderbilt University, USA. He received his PhD in Physics from The University of Western Australia in 2023. Dr. Chatterjee's research is at the cutting edge of gravitational wave astronomy, where he develops innovative data analysis tools powered by Artificial Intelligence. Since 2019, he has been an active member of the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA Collaboration, an international consortium dedicated to advancing gravitational wave research.

Beyond his scientific work, Dr. Chatterjee is passionate about science communication and public outreach. He was the overall winner and the People's Choice Award recipient at UWA's Three Minute Thesis Competition in 2020 and was a finalist in Western Australia's FameLab competition in 2021. He has also been featured as a guest speaker on several science talk shows and podcasts, including 'Curiosity Killed the Rat', 'The Uncertainty Principle: Science After Dark', 'Astrophiz', and 'Astronomy on Tap: Nashville'.

Dr Krystyna Haq

Dr Krystyna Haq has both an arts and a science background, with bachelor degrees in psychology and in science, and a PhD in agricultural science. While training as a scientist she found that her real passion lay in science communication, leading to her co-creation of an online story-based educational resource about agriculture called 'The Bean Files'. This resource has been used by groups throughout Australia and in the USA and was archived by the National Library in Canberra.

Krystyna has spent most of her working life in teaching roles, mostly in Universities, and for the last 16 years of her working life was employed as a Graduate Education Officer at UWA. Here her role was to facilitate successful thesis completion by PhD students, and to design and deliver programs that enhanced their research training experience. One of the highlights of this work was to coordinate UWA's enthusiastic and successful participation in the Three Minute Thesis Competition from the time of UWA's first participation in 2010 (where our winner also won the Trans-Tasman 3MT) until her retirement in 2021. During this fulfilling work she was fortunate to receive several awards for teaching excellence, including a Citation from the Australian Learning and Teaching Council for 'Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning'.

Now retired from work, Krystyna is focussed on communicating scientific knowledge to diverse audiences, mentoring young people, volunteering in a range of educational, environmental and community service organisations and developing a deeper understanding of her Polish heritage.

Bec Nguyen

Bec Nguyen is the Founder and Director of Upbeat Digital, an award-winning 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-centered approach. As an advocate for people of colour, Bec leads an inclusive work approach to ensure community members that 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 The Kids Research Institute Australia.

Prior to Upbeat Digital, Bec was employed at The Kids Research Institute Australia for 10 years as the Digital Projects Manager, having managed and consulted on over 10 digital health mobile apps involving children, young people, parents, and educators around Australia.

Bec's passion for giving back to the community is evident through her extensive volunteering efforts and her dedication to volunteerism underscores her commitment to fostering positive change and inclusivity in every community she engages with.

In recent years, Bec has been a recipient of a number awards, recognising and acknowledging her contribution to improving the health and wellbeing of Australians and beyond, and impact in the technology, health and innovation industries.