Q&A with the ANZIAM 2022 Women Plenary Speakers
Brownyn Hajek
What is your name and what do you do?
My name is Bronwyn Hajek. I’m an Associate Professor in applied mathematics at UniSA. I hold a typical academic position which means my activities include both teaching and research, as well as supervision of research students. I’m also responsible for the Bachelor of Mathematics and Honours programs at UniSA.
Why do you do mathematics?
I always enjoyed mathematics at school, but I didn’t realise it could become a career. This meant that I stumbled into mathematics after completing a Bachelor of Science (Physics) and Honours in Environmental Science – I’m glad I did. I enjoy applied mathematics because it means that I can do the creative, thoughtful, fascinating things I love (mathematics), and sometimes think about how they might be applied to the other things I’m interested in (physics, biology, etc).
What is a typical work day like for you?
I try to batch my tasks into days or chunks of time depending on my teaching schedule. One day might be primarily teaching related tasks – teaching, preparing material and assessments, consulting with students, attending to program related tasks and meetings. Another day might be more research focussed – meetings with research students, reading draft work from students, meetings with collaborators. I try to block out at least a small amount of time for my own research or writing each week.
And responding to emails. Too many emails.
What keeps you in research? Have you had to overcome any barriers or problems?
The joy and excitement of discovering something new with someone I enjoy working with.
The primary (and continual) challenge is to manage my time effectively and juggle everything that must be done as an academic, while still saving some time for research. Another big challenge is to keep my chin up amongst the numerous rejections and criticisms – papers, grant applications, etc. In this respect it helps to have collaborators to commiserate with and to cheer each other on.
How important is travelling?
Travelling is important. Having said that, if travelling is not possible because of your personal circumstances there are certainly ways to get some of the benefits without doing the travelling yourself. The most effective strategy for me has been to invite researchers to come and visit me instead of me visiting them. This brings its own challenges such as making sure to carve out time to spend with them during their visit even though you’re still at your home university, and investing in building relationships before making the invitation.
Do you have any advice for others who are starting a mathematical career?
Find your people. And try to make sure this “people” is a diverse mix – of backgrounds, career stages, areas of expertise, etc.
Robyn Owens
What is your name and what do you do?
My name is Robyn Owens. I am now retired. My last position at the university was as Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research at The University of Western Australia (UWA) for 10 years. Since retiring I have continued to do some work in the university sector, mostly around research integrity and research infrastructure. I also sit on a number of Boards, including the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI) and the Australian Mathematics Trust.
Why do you do mathematics?
While I was good at maths at school, I didn’t fall in love with it until my time at university.I love the idea that mathematics is the language of the universe. I enjoy mathematical thinking and problem solving and I like applying these skills beyond traditional mathematics to system level problems.
What is a typical work day like for you?
In my last position my typical day was very full and very varied. As a university leader for research I was responsible for research staff and research students across all disciplines and I needed to set the organisational policy that would encourage high quality and ethically responsible research. Typical days would involve many meetings, ranging from meeting politicians or international visitors through to one on one meetings with researchers and students. The former were almost always about systems level policy; the latter about mentoring, guidance and support for their particular research questions and their needs to form collaborations and find the resources they needed to do their research. What I loved about this was the opportunity to meet so many people and to learn so many new things.
What keeps you in research? Have you had to overcome any barriers or problems?
I am still doing a little research with a current PhD student and what keeps me involved is both the interest in seeing how the field is evolving as well as the pleasure I get from working with young researchers and seeing them get through both successes and failures. I suspect that the barriers and problems I have had to deal with in my career are very similar to many others but none were exceptional.
How important is travelling?
Traveling was very important, as much for having “time out” from the usual routine in order to have some constructive time for creative thinking. Plus travel opens your mind to other ways of thinking, making you more tolerant and more able to see things from another perspective. These are good problem solving skills.
Travel has been impossible for the past two years. And while connectivity is now far better than it was when I was young, being able to meet face to face with colleagues again will be very good when it becomes possible once more.
Do you have any advice for others who are starting a mathematical career?
The usual advice to young researchers is about how to build your intellectual capital: publish, apply for grants, give talks, engage in social media, get your papers read and cited, etc.
But my advice is don’t forget about building your social capital as well: be a connector, be a mentor and a mentee throughout your career, have honest conversations, stay in touch with those that matter, and set your colleagues up for success.
Ruth Williams
What is your name and what do you do?
My name is Ruth Williams. I am a Distinguished Professor of Mathematics at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) where I hold the Charles Lee Powell Chair in Mathematics. My main research interests are in probability theory, stochastic processes and their applications. I am especially interested in developing theory and applications for stochastic networks, which arise in a variety of applications including telecommunications, manufacturing, computer systems, operations management and systems biology.
Why do you do mathematics?
I enjoy solving mathematics problems. I especially like working on theoretical problems that are motivated by applications. Knowing the application often guides me to ask relevant questions and can help with intuition concerning the problem.
As I was growing up in Australia, I was fortunate to have parents and teachers who encouraged my interest in mathematics and science. At the University of Melbourne, I received an excellent undergraduate education in mathematics, especially in analysis, which provided a firm foundation for my PhD studies in probability at Stanford University. My postgraduate advisors were an inspiration through their energetic engagement in research and their clarity of thought and exposition. My collaborators and students are an ongoing source of pleasure in my research endeavours.
What is a typical work day like for you?
As a professor I pursue my research, teach graduate and undergraduate courses, advise PhD students, and perform service for my University and the profession. Any given day involves a mix of these, though I try to reserve some days or half-days just for research. As I have advanced in my career, service responsibilities have increased, and it has become even more important to dedicate blocks of time for research.
What keeps you in research? Have you had to overcome any barriers or problems?
I like the challenge of solving new problems. I enjoy the process of figuring something out and understanding it. I particularly enjoy helping researchers in other disciplines solve mathematical problems related to applications. An ongoing challenge is balancing the various activities that one engages in as a professor.
Do you have any advice for others who are starting a mathematical career?
Develop a set of mentors. You don’t need to find one person who can answer all queries. You can have a set of mentors, each of whom you ask for certain specialized advice. For example, you can have someone in your department or University who can advise you about local expectations and how things work, and also have a research mentor at another institution. There is much that is not written about anywhere that an experienced mentor can provide advice about. It is very helpful to have a research mentor provide feedback on drafts of grant proposals etc.
Network with other members of your research community. Going to conferences, giving talks and getting to know both senior and junior researchers in your field is very important.