Science forms a part of some of Bronwyn Fox’s earliest childhood memories, growing up in a family with two scientist parents.

Conversations about chemistry at the dinner table were part of her everyday life – but Bronwyn says that, even without parents who have an active interest in chatting with you about scientific topics, curiosity for the world around you can lead you down a path towards a successful career in STEM.

Her own parents encouraged her passion to explore things around her – and creating things and making things, from art to music, was a big part of her life.

Although Bronwyn says that some people don’t see the direct connections between art and science, or music and science, the truth is very different.

Music is mathematical – and scientific. Bronwyn grew up with the knowledge that her dad’s cousin was in a well-known Australian punk band, with parents who encouraged her to listen to many different styles of music.

When people with backgrounds in a diverse range of humanities-style subjects – such as languages, music, art, and literature – also study technology and science, Bronwyn believes that the results are powerful.

As a child, experimenting with artistic projects and creative craft ideas meant that Bronwyn spent hours of her childhood cutting, measuring, sticking, and painting – all things that taught her valuable lessons about the ways different materials interacted with each other.

Helping her brother make volcanos in the backyard, or helping him explode things, thanks to the children’s chemistry sets their parents bought for both of them was also lots of fun.

Bronwyn’s love of problem-solving was supported by her passion for puzzles, which kept her busy on weekends and school holidays, and always challenged her mind to come up with thoughtful solutions to challenging problems

Having fantastic teachers in school also helped encourage her interest in science.

Recently, Bronwyn found some of her old journals that she wrote when she was 14 and, although she says some of what she found in them was “a bit embarrassing”. Bronwyn saw her interest in a science career blossoming.

The goal that Bronwyn wrote for herself as a teenager – that she hoped to have a career that brought science, business and people together – has come true for her. Part of what helped her achieve her goals is her determination, as well as having a curious mind that motivates her to discover fresh opportunities and adventures.

Although her original plan was to become an optometrist, Bronwyn is not ashamed to admit that she missed out on pursuing that goal by being just one point short for the entry into the university course.

At the time, Bronwyn remembers feeling disappointed. Now, she says that what happened to her is a reminder that what you think of as a failure can lead you down a different path that suits you much better.

When her own mum was at university, a male professor told her that he had never had a woman study engineering – and that he never would!

Bronwyn is happy that girls today don’t face the same small-minded thinking.

She realised the power of combining chemistry with engineering after watching students in the engineering course make things, then destroy them, then learn more about how things can be built differently – and she thought it was cool.

Today, Bronwyn is a leading scientist at one of Australia’s most respected scientific organisations, after first starting work at the CSIRO as a 22-year-old research assistant.

Her work with carbon fibre sees her experimenting with the way vehicles – including planes, cars, and space exploration equipment – can achieve improved performance by using materials that are more efficient and more sustainable.

Her fascination with flight – and how huge pieces of equipment made from metal can fly through their air, carrying people – started in childhood. As an adult, that fascination has never stopped.

The chance to work as part of a bigger team who solve important problems by sharing ideas and inspiration is one of the most exciting parts of her role as a scientist.

Bronwyn used to think that scientists typically worked in isolation in their labs.

The reality, though, is that science is more like a team sport.

With scientists and engineers regularly finding life-changing solutions to real-world problems by creating new technology that unlocks better ways to do things, being a scientist means that no day is ever the same. In her daily life, she says there are many exciting ‘Eureka!’ moments of discovery – and that’s exactly what she loves most about pursuing a professional career in STEM.

Professor Bronwyn Fox is a materials engineer with an interest in manufacturing lightweight materials.