By Amanda Maslin, 29 July, 2025
Are you curious about how studying maths and data can lead to an exciting career that creates real-world change?
The demand for professionals with strong maths and data skills is growing faster than ever. From designing smarter cities to accelerating medical breakthroughs and tackling climate challenges, maths is at the heart of many of today’s most important innovations.
So how do you go from studying equations in the classroom to solving complex, real-world problems?
In this insightful webinar, you’ll hear from three inspiring professionals who have done exactly that. Each of them has taken a different path—but all are using their analytical skills to make a real difference.
Meet the Speakers
Brynn Mackie
Brynn Mackie is a fourth year student at QUT, studying a double degree in mathematics and biomedical science. She is passionate about her studies and aims to combine both her degrees to advance medical research. She has already begun her journey into research, having completed a vacation research project where she used math models to simulate how brain cancer growth changes when treated with a new medication.
Brynn is also a strong advocate for gender equity in STEM spaces, and is President of the Women in Maths Club at QUT. This club aims to build a welcoming and supportive community for women and gender diverse students studying mathematics or related fields.
Rob Lucas
Rob Lucas is an industrial mathematician who specialises in solving complex mathematical optimisation problems for heavy industries such as energy, mining, logistics and rail. By translating real-world problems into mathematical formulations that can be solved with cutting-edge techniques, he has helped multiple companies make smarter strategic and operational decisions to find cost savings and efficiency improvements. He is currently working in the Workforce Optimisation Team at Queensland Rail to help schedule train crew during high demand periods and scheduled maintenance activities.
Associate Professor Helen Thompson
Associate Professor Helen Thompson is an award-winning statistician at QUT, where she uses statistical modelling to tackle real-world challenges in health, the environment and society. Her research spans a wide range of impactful projects, from designing Phase I clinical trials for new medicines, and modelling cancer outcomes across Australia, to understanding early childhood development and monitoring environmental change through the Great Barrier Reef and air quality studies. She has received national and international awards for her applied statistical research and is passionate about improving lives through data.
As an educator, she teaches statistics from first year university to advanced levels and is currently leading a diverse team of 11 research students working on projects that create meaningful societal benefit. Associate Professor Thompson also leads curriculum development in mathematics and data science at QUT and played a key role in designing and accrediting QUT’s innovative degrees in data science and mathematics.
Watch the webinar
Watch the full webinar below to hear their stories, learn about their career paths, and discover how studying maths and data can take you places you might never have imagined.
