College of Science and Engineering

STEM Alumni Steering Group

The College of Science and Engineering (CSE) at Flinders University has an alumni network of more than 14,000 graduates. We are inspired by our graduates who are advancing fundamental science and creating new technologies across a diverse range of fields in STEM.

Recognising the importance of our alumni network to the College, the wider University, our current students and to each other, the College has established the STEM Alumni Steering Group. The Steering Group will develop a mutually valuable relationship in partnership with alumni and assist with the development and implementation of initiatives and programs that are relevant and valuable to our alumni and current students.

Terms of Reference

Working with the College’s Alumni Partner under the guidance of the College’s Vice-President and Executive Dean, the objectives of the STEM Alumni Network Working Group, are to:

Provide continuing education and enrichment experiences for STEM Alumni (alumni-driven programs)
Actively increase awareness and involvement of Science & Engineering alumni in the events and activities of the STEM Alumni Network and wider University
Provide meaningful student interactions with alumni that enhance their professional development and student experience
Facilitate access to networks and events to assist young alumni to achieve their career goals
Promote University content that is relevant to STEM Alumni.
Represent the interest of the STEM Alumni in dealing with the College of Science and Engineering and Flinders University

Composition

Steering group members will comprise:

The STEM Alumni Steering group will be comprised of the following members from our alumni and staff networks:

Chair (graduate) Jenny Pilkington
14 graduate members

Ex Officio roles – College of Science and Engineering staff (current members)

Vice-President and Executive Dean (Professor Alistair Rendell)
Alumni Partner (Niki Hasler)
Marketing and Communications Partner (Laura Lovitt)

Membership is by invitation, with all external members appointed by the College’s Vice-President and Executive Dean in consultation with, and on the recommendation of, the Alumni Partner.

Members will be appointed for an initial 12-month term with the opportunity to renew membership beyond this time.

Steering group members

Ryan Judd
BSc (Hons) ’17, major in global water resources
Department of Environment and Water - Senior Project Officer

Ryan Judd graduated from Flinders University with a Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours) in 2017. An Environmental Scientist with over 6 years of experience, including roles in public service and environmental consulting.

Ryan’s passion is investigating and solving complex water management issues. He enjoys the diverse range of work that is involved and working within the community. Ryan aims to deliver a balanced approach to water management to protect the resource, dependent ecosystems, and local industries.

Ryan’s primary areas of expertise include:

Developing water policy (water allocation plans)
Water resource management
Water resource monitoring & analysis
Water science (hydrology & hydrogeology) & investigations
Project Management
Science Communication; and
Community engagement

Read Ryan's alumni story

Duncan Taylor
PhD(MathsStats) ’19, PhD(Biol) ’07, BSc(Hons) ’02, BTech(Forensic&AnalyticalChem) ‘01
Forensic Science SA

Duncan Taylor is the Chief scientist of forensic statistics at Forensic Science, SA. He has worked in the forensic field for over 15 years, supervising criminal casework in hundreds of cases for both prosecution and defence, and testifying in Courts around Australia. He holds PhDs in molecular biology and statistics, both obtained from Flinders University. Dr Taylor is one of the developers of STRmix™, a probabilistic DNA interpretation software being used in forensic DNA laboratories around the world and a developer of the neural network component of FaSTR™, a DNA profile reading software. He is an Associate Professor of biology and Distinguished Alumni at Flinders University, supervising honours, masters and PhD students in biology and statistics projects. Duncan collaborates with colleagues around the world and has over 120 peer-reviewed publications, and a book on DNA evidence interpretation. In 2017 Duncan was awarded the SA Science Excellence STEM professional award and in 2018 was part of the group that won the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Science Award. In 2021 Duncan was awarded the Public Service Medal for contributions to forensic statistics.  

Steve Matheson
BSc ’74 (Hons) ‘ 75
Retired, former Senior Executive and ABS

Born 1953 Adelaide South Australia.  Married with 2 adult children.  BScHons (Flinders 1974), MPA (Harvard 1984).  Mathematical statistician and ultimately a senior executive with the Australian Bureau of Statistics 1975-2008.  Now retired apart from voluntary work.

Jenny Pilkington
BInfTech ‘03
SA Police - Head of Operational Services (IT)

Since graduating from the Bachelor of Information Technology in 2003, Jenny Pilkington has worked in various IT roles in Adelaide in professional services, construction, agriculture, insurance and is now the Director of Operational Services (IT) for South Australia Police. Jenny’s career has primarily focused on the operational support of corporate IT systems, leading transformational change to improve customer service, risk management, quality, and continuous improvement. Outside of work, Jenny enjoys camping and 4WDing, as well as baking and catching up with friends.

Harman Sharma
BSc(Hons) ‘17
PhD student

Harman Sharma is currently a PhD candidate at Flinders University, funded by the Australian Government Research and Training Scholarship. Harman has a strong research background in pelvic pain and urogenital neuroscience. Harman has previously worked as a Technical Officer and also had experience in academic teaching and marking (Flinders University). She completed the Academic Internship for Doctoral Students, funded by Flinders University in 2019. Her passion for women's health has always been the push for her career in research and academia. 

Karan Godara
InfTech ‘20
City of Holdfast Bay – Business Application Specialist

Karan Godara graduated from Flinders University as an International student in Dec 2019 with a Masters in IT. Karan’s thesis was on the adoption of autonomous submarines in the Australian Defence force. He commenced his career with a multinational gaming company as a test engineer. Shortly after he moved over to a small, local SA-based Integration Company as a systems analyst working on an ERP system. From there Karan gained a position for the City of Holdfast Bay (Brighton Council), where he is employed as a Business Application Specialist. Karan is responsible for developing and maintaining SaaS platforms and business applications. Karan’s time in Australia and with Flinders University have propelled Karan to grow and upskill in many areas of his career.

Ellen Carter
BAppGIS(Hons) ‘13
Esri – Senior Consulant

Ellen graduated from Flinders University with a degree in Geographical Information Systems (GIS) degree in 2013. Ellen is now working as a GIS Esri Administrator for the City of Marion, having been trained specifically in the Esri software package, and she is at the forefront of managing databases and servers that present GIS outputs for everything from strategic planning of all the council’s physical assets to marketing.

Read Ellen's alumni story

Thomas Beltrame
BEng(Biome)(Hons),MEng(Biomed) ‘20
Consilium Technology – Data Scientist

Thomas is currently pursuing a Doctoral degree at Flinders University, investigating the intersection between rehabilitation, music therapy and virtual reality. He has also been expanding his machine learning and software engineering skills as a Data Scientist at Consilium Technology, where Thomas has worked since completing his master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering (First Class). Thomas’ professional experience includes designing artificially intelligent solutions for agricultural, construction, mining, and defence applications. His project experience includes assistive musical instrument and facial recognition algorithm development, and motion capture analysis.

Thomas hopes to apply his engineering and programmatic knowledge to progress the biomedical field through advancements in rehabilitation and assistive technology.

Read Thomas's alumni story

Rajkunwar (Raj) Kukreja
MEng(Electronics) ‘19
Supashock - Head of Artificial Intelligence

RajKunwar Kukreja works as a Artificial Intelligence Head at SupaShock, an Automotive Parts company. RajKunwar graduated from Flinders University in 2019 with a degree in Master of Electrical and Electronics Engineering.

Dr Melanie Fuller
BSc(Hons) ’16, PhD(Chem) ‘20
DST (Defence, Science and Technology) - Manager, Science Australia Gender Equity

Dr Melanie Fuller is a Biomedical Nanotechnologist and Combat Engineer Officer, following her passion with the Defence Science and Technology Group as the Assistant Director for STEM Engagement and Inclusion.

Melanie is extremely passionate about gender equity in science and working with the scientific community to break down gender stereotypes. She has delivered inspiring at Women in STEM events across South Australia for several years and has driven Defence Science and Technology Group’s Science in Australia Gender Equity Implementation plan. Melanie’s accolades include receiving a Flinders University Alumni Award (2020) for significant contribution to the scientific community through research and advocacy, the Kelly Services Young Scientist of the Year Award (2019), the Prince of Wales Award (2018) and a finalist in the SA Young Achiever Awards (2020).

Read Mel's alumni story

Shane Rix
BSc(Hons) ‘15
Lastek - Biomedical Technology Scientist

Shane Rix works as a Biomedical Technology Scientist at Lastek, a company that sells advanced scientific equipment and designs and develops prototype technology. His specialties include biomedical applications, advanced microscopy (lightsheet and STED), clearing and labelling of biological samples, and consultation on biomedical prototypes.  Shane studied a Bachelor of Medical Science and Bachelor of Science (Honours) at Flinders University and graduated in 2014. Shane was also a candidate in the 2022 State Election for the Liberal Party.

Read Shane's alumni story

Luke Ragless
BSc ’18 (Animal Behaviour)
Healthy Environs - Sustainability Consultant

Luke Ragless is the Sustainability Consultant for a locally based consultancy, Healthy Environs. After spending several years working as an Animal Technician for a university he decided to get a Bachelor of Science (Animal Behavior) from Flinders University. After completing his degree, he worked for TERN, conducting field surveys and soils and vegetation sampling across Australia’s major ecosystems. He then worked for PIRSA, SARDI working on water management practices for grape growers in drought conditions and then I found myself working as a consultant for Healthy Environs.

My areas of focus as a consultant are community wellbeing, public health and environmental sustainability projects where I deliver plans, strategies and programs across these key areas.

When I’m not consulting, I enjoy spending time with my partner, baby daughter and cat. I can also be found outside in nature at any opportunity including birdwatching and looking for frogs in my backyard pond.

Read Luke's alumni story

Suni Edson
PhD(Biol) ‘19
Assistant Technical Leader – PAS Armed Forces Medical Examiner System

Suni M. Edson graduated from Flinders University in 2019 with her PhD focusing on Forensic Genetics. Dr. Edson resides on the East Coast of the United States and is the Assistant Technical Leader of the Past Accounting Section of the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL). As part of this laboratory for 23 years, Dr. Edson has been involved in the identification of missing U.S. service members from events dating back to World War II. The extensive participation in the identification efforts has allowed Dr. Edson to focus her research on improving the recovery of DNA from skeletonized remains, a topic on which she regularly publishes and presents.

Read Suni's alumni story