member profiles

“It

Michaela Froehlich, ANU

As a mother-of-two and chemist, Michaela Froehlich is a trailblazer in her field. She is part of the metrology team at ANU and her research spans environmental chemistry, nuclear physics and astrophysics. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Environmental Radioactivity and was awarded best presentation at the South Pacific Environmental Radioactivity Association (SPERA) 2022 conference (Instruments & Method Development session).

When she welcomed her first child, she was the only woman in a team of male researchers. On her return from maternity leave from ANU, she had to challenge her own expectations and those of her colleagues.

that

“I certainly had expectations of my return to work and myself – I thought nothing at work would change but actually a lot changed.” she said. “It took some time for my colleagues and also myself to understand that I couldn’t work the same hours and wasn’t as flexible as I was before having children.”

She believes a greater presence of women in academia would ensure new mothers did not have to break down barriers in the same way. To that end, she volunteers her time in the Curious Minds STEM program which pairs a female academic with a Year 9 and 10 girl who are interested in a STEM career.

Despite the challenges of academia, Michaela can’t imagine doing anything else. It is a message she would like to pass on to her mentee.