STEM sisters from Miles forge robotics careers at QUT

The sisters are the first members of their family to pursue STEM careers but share valuable traits with their parents, who also moved to Brisbane after their daughters settled into uni.

“Our parents worked in a hospital and neither came from a STEM background,” Brittany said.

“But they taught us the value of hard work, perseverance, and problem solving from a young age … and those are qualities that were essential for fostering my interests and achievements in STEM.”

Beverley said growing up in a small regional town had the advantage of strong, personalised support from teachers who had smaller class sizes.

“The main disadvantage was simply that some opportunities weren’t available … so I started university with a steeper learning curve than many of my classmates,” she said.

“At the time, that was challenging. But, looking back, I think it taught me how to learn independently and persevere when I didn’t understand something right away.

“Research is largely about tackling problems where there isn’t a textbook answer, so those experiences have ended up being valuable preparation for the work I do today.”

Brittany also had to work hard to catch up to her city peers when she started uni … particularly after she realised she was destined for a field she hadn’t even studied in Year 11 and 12.

“I initially chose the Bachelor of Science without a clear idea of what I wanted to specialise in,” she said.

“At the time, I thought I might pursue chemistry because it had been one of my stronger subjects in school – and physics wasn’t even offered at my high school.

“During my first semester, however, I realised that physics aligned much more closely with my curiosity about the fundamental principles that underpin the world around us.

“Combined with my engineering minor, it gave me an opportunity to develop problem-solving and critical-thinking skills while continuing to investigate the ‘why’ behind things.”

Today, that curiosity is driving Brittany’s PhD research into how AI models can be adapted to better recognise satellite and drone imagery of Antarctica and make it easier for scientists to accurately identify environmental changes over time.

“As part of the project, I’m being supported by CSIRO (through the Alberto Elfes Memorial Scholarship Fund) and am working alongside researchers involved with Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF),” she said.

“One of the things I enjoy most about the project is seeing how researchers from many different disciplines work together to better understand and protect Antarctic environments.”

Beverley also wasn’t sure where her career path would go after high school – but she thought engineering would be part of it.

“Engineering appealed to me because it combined problem solving, critical thinking, and the flexibility to pursue many different career paths,” she said.

“I also wanted to challenge myself and develop skills that would be highly transferable in the future.”

Combining computer science with mechatronics gave Beverley an even wider skill set.

During her dual degrees she landed undergraduate software engineer roles with Shell and the Bureau of Meteorology, and also did her final-year engineering research project with the QUT Motorsport student racing team’s autonomous car.

Since starting her PhD, Beverley has presented her work at the IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS) in China, attended a prestigious computer vision summer school in Sicily and visited leading international research institutions including the Technical University of Munich (TUM).

Brittany has also travelled internationally during her undergraduate studies; she completed a summer internship at the prestigious Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST).