Flinders University staff and graduates who are paving the way to a brighter future have been recognised for their incredible achievements in a new State Government campaign and annual innovation awards.
Three Flinders University graduates have been named among prominent South Australian women recognised in the State Government’s New State of Mind campaign. Identified as leaders in their respective fields, these impressive women are part of a campaign designed to shine a light on remarkable people who call SA home.
Anika Talukder (BEng(Biome)(Hons),MEng(Biomed) ‘20) designed and developed two significant biomedical innovations during her final year of study – a wearable device to monitor lower limb impact dose in netball players and also a deep learning CNN engine for the reconstruction of a real face using a thermal image. Now a Project Engineer at BAE in the Tonsley Innovation District, Anika spends her days working on robots for significant Industry 4.0 developments.
Emerging actor, writer and theatre worker Katherine Sortini (BCreatArts(Drama) ’18, BCreatArts(Hons) ‘19) founded Deus Ex Femina, a company that is passionate about telling the stories of people whose voices are under-represented and misunderstood. Her first original work, All the Things I Couldn’t Say, will debut in the 2022 RUMPUS Season. Katherine is also a recipient of the highly competitive Carclew Fellowship for 2022, and she will be under the mentorship of award-winning playwright Emily Steel.
Sumen Rai (BA(Hons) ’01, BEd(JP/P)(Hons) ‘04) is now Now a Director at Defence Innovation Partnership, having gained experience across government and the private sector since completing her studies at Flinders University. With expertise in facilitation and development, Sumen has made a career out of supporting defence and space related innovations.
Flinders staff and graduates also shone in the annual Winnovation Awards, with five individuals being named as finalists in the 2022 Awards, which are being announced during a ceremony at the National Wine Centre on Wednesday 19 October.
The Winnovation Awards celebrate unsung heroes and quiet achievers dedicated to challenging the known or solving the unknown and recognise their contributions to South Australian enterprise. The awards cover fields from social impact to science and technology, recognising women who are changing the way our society operates.
Applied physicist Professor Sarah Harmer has been named a finalist in the Science category, while Research Associate in Cardiac Electrophysiology Dr Dhani Dharmaprani is competing for the win in the Maths & Data, Engineering & Science field.
Flinders graduates Dr Marissa Bond (BEd(JP/P),BSc ’09, BSc(Hons) ’10, PhD(Comp) ‘18), Anna Kennett (LLB/LP(GradEntry) ‘06) and Rebecca Starling (GradCertEd(SpecEd) ‘18) are also named amongst the 2022 Winnovation finalists.