EVENT DETAILS

Title: A Scientific Journey: From a Small City in Ukraine to Academic Setting in the US, Germany, and Australia

Abstract: Being at the start of a scientific career for a young scientist is not easy. The stress and challenges behind the curtains of scientific research are rarely shared in the academic community, creating an illusion of a smooth research journey from the start of a scientific career. It is important that researcher are transparent about their scientific pathways and act as mentors and advisors for their peers.

In this talk, Dr Bilokur will share her science journey, highlighting some of the key milestones she achieved during her academic placements in renowned research institutions across the globe, as well as the research challenges she faced as a scientist.

Biography: Maryna Bilokur is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Physics at ANU and conducts research on the plasma-facing materials for application in the first wall of the ITER fusion reactor. Her current contributions to the field include the search for new materials with a focus on high entropy alloys resilient to radiation damage when exposed to fusion-like conditions. This project is funded by the Australian Research Council and run by the primary investigator A/Prof Cormac Corr, represents a pathway for Australia to engage with the multi-billion dollar ITER program and enhance the profile of Australia’s nuclear fusion research efforts in pursuit of unlimited clean energy.

In addition to her role at ANU, Maryna serves as a Research Visiting Fellow in the School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering at UNSW. Since joining the team as a postdoctoral fellow in April 2021, she has been involved in research focusing on passive radiative cooling of PV modules.

Maryna Bilokur is recognised as an interdisciplinary researcher. She made significant contributions across different fields, including radiative light transfer, nano-photonics, microfluidics, and materials science. During her tenure at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) in the US in 2020, she focused on modeling and measuring optically scattering systems. During her time in Berkeley Lab, Maryna was one of the pioneers of “Coffee With Postdocs”, which aimed to promote early career researchers. She also served as a Berkeley Lab Science Ambassador, engaging with underrepresented communities to support physics education for primary and high school students.

Maryna earned her B.Sc. (2013) and M.Sc. (2014) Physics and Materials Engineering degrees from Sumy State University in Ukraine. Subsequently, she pursued her Ph.D. studies at the University of Technology Sydney (2015-2019), specializing in novel spectrally selective solar absorbing surfaces for concentrated solar thermal applications. Following the completion of her Ph.D., Maryna joined the nano-photonics team at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), focusing on the design and fabrication of nano-scale diamond-based optoelectronic devices.

Throughout her career, Maryna has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards, including the ANU Major Equipment Grant (MEC), ANU ICEDs SEED Funding (Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions), SPIE PhD candidate travel grant, Study Tours to Poland scholarship (Polish-American Freedom Foundation program), FameLab Australia semifinalist, ARC Discovery PhD Scholarship, UTS PhD President’s scholarship, Academic Scholarship of the President of Ukraine, and DAAD fellowship, enabling her to conduct research in microfluidics at TU Ilmenau in Germany.

Event Details

3:30 pm to 4:30 pm Talk
4:30 pm to 5:00 pm Networking and Light Refreshement

Acknowledgement: This seminar is supported by the Australian Research Council (ARC). The ARC Training Centre in Surface Engineering for Advanced Materials, SEAM, has been funded under Award IC180100005. The additional support from industrial, university and other partners is critical for our success.