About the School of Chemical and Mathematical Sciences
"Maths and Chemistry are so present in our lives – they’re all around us. They’re hugely interesting and fascinating areas of study."
- Dr Danielle Meyrick, Deputy Dean, School of Chemical and Mathematical Sciences
''Seeing young people learn and develop as a result of what you do – there’s nothing better! Teaching is the most rewarding experience that you can have.''
- Professor Peter May, Dean, School of Chemical and Mathematical Sciences
We asked our Dean, Professor Peter May, and Deputy Dean, Dr Danielle Meyrick, to share some short thoughts about our school:
Dr Danielle Meyrick, please tell us about...
- The one thing students should graduate from the school with:
"A sense of curiosity. Through their experiences here, students can develop the drive to become a life-long learner."
- How students can make unexpected discoveries about themselves:
"A lot of people think they hate Chemistry and Maths and just have to get through their Chem and Maths units to complete their degree. These units can be hard, but a lot of joy can come from mastering something difficult. We get great satisfaction from seeing students who initially think they’ll hate Chem and Maths and perhaps won’t succeed, but ultimately decide to progress with even more of our units, and do really well."
- The most important belief for your staff to value:
"Our staff value the contribution they can make to our school in teaching, in research and in our strategic direction. All of our staff are important to the success of the school, and make a unique contribution to that."
- Career paths that Chemistry and Mathematics graduates can pursue:
"There’s a diverse range of career paths students can follow. Chemistry can lead to research roles or lab work, but can also include work in patent law (dealing with inventions such as vaccines), management roles, or the opportunity to work in places such as Botswana or Chile in the minerals industry. In the field of Maths, students could end up working for government agencies, gathering intelligence for ASIO or even developing models for the weather bureau. The great thing about degrees in chemistry and maths is they can be applied to an enormous range of areas."
- The kind of students who would enjoy studying Chemistry:
"Students need patience, since it can take a while to get answers. It can be surprising to hear, but they also need to be creative. Science is very much like art. You need ideas of your own to work on by yourself before you can get others interested in what you have created."
- How students can add to their Mathematics degree to create even more career opportunities:
"Common double degrees include Maths/Stats and Economics, Maths/Stats and Business or even Maths/Stats and Biology – and all of them have different areas of focus. For example, a student studying Statistics and Biology might apply their statistical knowledge to ecological studies. Chemistry and Mineral Science is also a powerful combination, as is Chemistry and Environmental Science. There are great opportunities for graduates who have coupled their biological/environmental science degree with some chemistry. We also have students doing Chemistry and Law, with an eye on a career in patent law."
- The kind of fieldwork and practical work that students get involved in:
"Just one example is our Mineral Science students, who have the opportunity to spend time over the summer break working on a mineral plant. They get valuable experience applying their skills and working in remote areas, and get paid to do it. For some students, this has led to even more paid work in other areas such as the Solomon Islands."
- The national accreditations students graduate with:
"Our Chemistry students can become accredited by the Royal Australian Chemical Institute, and Mineral Science students can register with the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy."
