Climate science, women and kindness — connecting the dots, September 2021

In this conversation Congress founding members Barbara Baikie and Dr Janet Salisbury talked with climate scientists Associate Professor Melissa Hart and Dr Angela Maharaj about their experiences as climate scientists, the Kindness in Science movement, and Melissa’s experience as a participant on the 2018 Homeward Bound women-in-science leadership residential voyage to Antarctica. Can their ideas and experiences help facilitate deeper respect and understanding between climate scientists and policy makers?
With thanks to Joanne Ede for technical assistance.

Read about the Kindness in Science movement
Read an article about the lack of cultural diversity in science
Find out more about the Homeward Bound women in STEMM leadership program

Meet our guest conversationalists
Associate Professor Melissa Hart has used her role as Graduate Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science to develop a national, cross-institutional graduate program which has reimagined the traditional Australian PhD. With a vital combination of breadth, depth, support, and collaboration, the program has provided over 120 PhD students with the skills, knowledge, and experience fundamental to developing world leading climate science researchers. Melissa’s research looks at the impact of cities on climate and climate on cities, and the meteorological controls on air pollution. Melissa is a strong advocate for gender equity in science and is the former chair of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society’s equity and diversity committee, and a proud participant of the 2018 Homeward Bound Women in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) leadership initiative.

Dr Angela Maharaj is an adjunct senior lecturer at the Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) at the University of New South Wales, Australia and an Associate Investigator with ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate Extremes. Angela's work has a discipline and education focus. Her research interests intersect across oceanography and meteorology, and her education expertise includes online education excellence, climate change education and science engagement for lifelong learning across all stages. Angela is passionate about science literacy and is involved in several initiatives which aim to improve links between schools, universities and science research. Angela is a lead investigator on the Schools Weather and Air Quality (SWAQ) Citizen Science project, co-chair of the Science Development Team for the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) Academy
and is the current President of the Australian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society (AMOS) which is the peak national scientific society representing scientists working in weather, climate and allied fields.