Media and outreach

Radio and podcast appearances:

Interview on ABC news radio on 31 December 2021:

Appearance on Einstein a go-go on August 8 (start 36:07):

Avid research podcast interview, episode #55.

Articles published in The Conversation:

Finch, M.A., and Giles, A. The epic, 550-million-year story of Uluru, and the spectacular forces that led to its formation. Published December 27, 2021.
3 ways the fossil fuel industry failed women (and how clean energy can learn from its mistakes) Published September 9 2022
Finch, M. A., and Finch, E. G. How Australia’s geology gave us an abundance of coal – and a wealth of greentech minerals to switch to. Published February 21, 2022.

“Why we lose women from geoscience” article published in the Geological Society of Australia’s TAG magazine, March 2022.

tag-202-feature-1-coverDownload

General description of outreach expertise:

I am available to talk to media, schools and organisations about (1) women in geology and gender equity in science, (2) geological discoveries to power the green energy revolution, and (3) the science of mountain building and rock deformation.

(1) Women in geology and gender equity in science

My work on gender equity in science focuses on what organisations can do to increase their retention of women. I look at research on the causes of the gender imbalance in science and proven strategies to address the imbalance. These strategies include policies that increase the retention of women, such as providing equal access to parental leave for both parents and flexible working arrangements. I also focus on research about implicit bias and what can be done to overcome biases against women and other minority groups. I am a co-author on a paper about gender equity in geoscience and have presented talks on gender equity for universities, research organisations and mining companies. See more about my work in this area on my Women in Geoscience page.

(2) Geological discoveries are key to Australia’s climate change solutions

In order to reduce emissions, Australia must move away from fossil fuels. This means an increased reliance on low-emissions energy production and usage, in other words, increased use of electric cars, wind turbines and solar power. These green technologies utilise particular minerals, such as rare earth elements for magnets in wind turbines, lithium for batteries in electric cars, and tellurium, indium, gallium for photo-voltaics in solar panels. A shortage of these critical minerals globally will mean that the green energy revolution cannot proceed as quickly as we need it to. We need to find more critical mineral resources and for that we need geologists who understand how these minerals mobilise and concentrate in Earth’s crust. Geologists are a vital part of Australia’s climate change solution.

(3) Mountain building and rock deformation

My research is about how rocks change and deform when tectonic plates collide. These processes make mountains, subduct oceans, and cause earthquakes. I can talk about these topics in an accessible way at any level, for primary and high school students and for the general public.