Congratulations to The Australian National University (ANU) machine learning expert Dr Amanda Parker, who has been selected as one of Australia’s Superstars of STEM!
The group of stellar scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians were officially announced today by the Minister for Industry and Science, Ed Husic MP. The new Superstars highlight the strong diversity of women and non-binary people in Australian science and technology.
The 2025-26 Superstars of STEM cohort features several experts from ANU. This includes machine learning expert Dr Amanda Parker from the School of Computing; as well as ANU colleagues who are experts in the environmental, climate, and agriculture sciences.
Superstars of STEM is an initiative from Science & Technology Australia to smash gender assumptions of what about who can work in science, technology, engineering and maths.
It’s hard to be what you can’t see, so we are so incredibly proud of our outstanding Superstars who are inspiring young minds to consider careers in STEM.
Meet the Superstars of STEM from ANU
Dr Amanda Parker
Machine learning expert, ANU School of Computing
Is science worthwhile? Is it a net good for society? At a global level this is an almost philosophical question - how could we possibly appropriately sum the benefits of all scientific advancements against their costs? But, at a smaller scale, our leaders and scientists are constantly balancing the expected benefits of experiments (like new medicines or technologies) against the time, resources and expertise needed to conduct them.
Dr Amanda Parker’s research group at the ANU School of Computing develops machine learning methods to optimise scientific outcomes and insights relative to the costs of training improved models or acquiring additional data through experimentation. This transdisciplinary research encompasses the fields of high-performance computing, computational science and applied machine learning.
Prior to joining ANU in 2021 Dr Parker completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the machine learning group at CSIRO’s Data61 and graduated with a PhD in Physics from the University of British Columbia. She is an active member of the eResearch and High Performance Computing research communities and has received professional accreditation for her tertiary teaching and supervision as a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Read more
Dr Alison Bentley
Crop science researcher, Agrifood Innovation Institute and Research School of Biology
Imagine a world in which everyone had access to safe, sufficient and sustainable food. This is the vision that inspires crop scientist Dr Alison Bentley and frames her work in genetics and plant breeding. Her research aims to understand the fundamental plant processes that can be used as an engine-room to drive agricultural productivity and build climate resilience for a more food secure future. Read more
Dr Sarah Clement
Environmental scientist, Fenner School of Environment
Dr Sarah Clement is reimagining our relationship with nature in an era of unprecedented environmental change. Her interdisciplinary approach seeks innovative solutions to pressing environmental challenges, including natural disasters, biodiversity loss, and climate change. Read more
Dr Georgy Falster
Climate Scientist, Research School of Earth Sciences
Dr Georgy Falster is a climate scientist who wants to know exactly how Australia’s climate is changing. She is particularly interested in how climate change is affecting Australian rainfall and extremes. To figure this out, she combines information from weather observations, climate model simulations, and natural archives of past climate variability such as tree rings and ice cores. Read more
See the full list of 2025-26 Superstars of STEM