Biofuels Researcher: Dr Morley Muse
Dr Morley Muse is a passionate advocate for women in STEMM. She holds a PhD in Environmental Engineering from Victoria University, a Master in Sustainable Energy Technology from The University of South Wales and a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemical with Environmental Engineering from The University of Nottingham.
Her expertise and background are centred on environmental sustainability, waste-to-energy generation strategies and renewable energy, with her research specialisation areas including microalgae biofuels processing, wastewater treatment, energy recovery and biogas production.
Among her various work and accolades are: being a board director with Women in STEMM Australia, being appointed as an ambassador for CSIRO's Innovation Catalyst Global, and is an Advisory Group Member of the Elevate: Boosting Women in STEM Program with the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. She was also awarded the winner of the 2022 Women’s Agenda awards for the Emerging Leader in STEM category. In addition, she was named a finalist for the 2022 Victoria University Alumni awards under the ’Rising Star category’.
As the co-founder of iSTEM Co, a research, consulting, and talent-sourcing business that enables employment for women in STEM, Morley continues to encourage women, including women of colour and women from CALD backgrounds to further their careers in STEM. Her company, iSTEM Co won the 2022 Lift Women social impact award for their latest project DEIR, a recruit-tech platform for employers to post jobs and for women in STEM to find jobs in an equitable and inclusive space. Also, iSTEM Co was nominated as a finalist for the 2022 Digital Workforce: Skills for the Future powered by Queensland Government (Department of Communities, Housing & Digital Economy).
Morley’s goal is to promote gender diversity in STEM and inspire the next generation to pursue STEM subjects and careers.
Can you tell us a little about your childhood and what started your love of STEM?
My love for STEM was inspired by my Dad who is now a retired civil engineer. Growing up, Dad always ensured we had science toys and will take us on site visits (wearing little PPE). He also ensured we had a private STEM home tutor and spent time teaching us Physics and Chemistry in a conversational manner. STEM was a daily aspect of our family life. He would often ask questions like “Why does a ship made of iron float on water and an iron rod would sink?” This was exactly how he taught me buoyancy and flotation. So, learning STEM in school was more of a rehearse.
Growing up who were your biggest role models?
In a lot of ways especially with STEM, I admired my Dad. But I was also inspired by Marie Curie for being the first person to win a Nobel prize in two distinguished scientific fields; Chemistry and Physics, at a time when women had to overcome so many barriers to be regarded for their work.
You are a passionate advocate for women in STEM, what are some of the most exciting or rewarding elements you mention when speaking about the industry?
It’s interesting to see how far we have come in terms of gender equity in STEM, although we still have a long way to go. As at 2016, there were only about 24% of women in the STEM workforce across Australia. By 2020, we now have about 29% of women working in STEM. This shows we are making some progress. It’s great to see more organisations understand that diversity is the new innovation. I always refer to the Nokia and Kodak story when I speak of diversity in STEM and the economic value of having women in the workplace. The failure to have a diverse workforce may eventually lead to companies going out of business as diversity has been shown to directly correlate to innovation and profits. In fact, there is evidence that shows that returns. I refer to the numbers and statistics and how they correlate to the overall success and economic benefit of our nation. For example, research shows that the Australian economy will improve by $25 billion if more women are supported into work. I am also encouraged with some policies the government is making towards advancing gender equity in STEM. One of such policies is the Building Equality Policy, which provides training and employment opportunities for women in construction. Also, seeing the government’s effort to increase the number of women studying STEM through the Elevate women in STEM program by the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering is very impressive. By creating these initiatives, we are ensuring a sustainable STEM sector.
Tell us a little more of your day-to-day job?
My day-to-day job is very complex. It’s often filled with work meetings, attending to emails, engaging with my team and improving on the products and offerings we are delivering to our partner businesses and the women we work with. I try to get up very early (usually 5 am) to meditate and attend to work emails, head to the gym around 6.30 am, prepare and drop off kids by 8.30 am and begin work at 9 am. I love what I do and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Reading your bio you certainly have a very multi-faceted and rewarding career! What is your biggest motivation to succeed?
I see opportunity even in chaos and I am very resilient. I am not afraid to ask because there are only two outcomes “Yes or No” and both are good. If you get a Yes, you tick off. If you get a No, depending of the situation, you may need to move on and try a different channel or it may just be an opportunity to work on your ask, fine-tune and improve it, then try again until you get a Yes. I have endured losses including losing my mum and two sisters so I don’t take life for granted and see every day and moment as an opportunity to make an impact in the lives of others. I always see myself representing and extending the legacies of my loved ones that I have lost and by telling my story, I believe am telling theirs.
What sort of student were you at school, what were your favourite subjects?
(Laughs!) I am a very outgoing person. So, naturally, people just don’t see me as a geek. But I was very studious. My love for academia began at primary school. I experienced bullying (which made me to become an advocate for others eventually and stand up when I see something wrong) in prep but found my confidence when I began excelling and having high grades and I just kept at it and continued. I am a person that combines fun and learning. I use fun as a reward after an achievement. My favourite subjects in high school were Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Government surprisingly.
What are three things tweens/teens who want to pursue a career in STEM can be learning/doing right now?
One of the things that really kindled my interest in STEM besides being inspired by my Dad was being a member at a science club during my teenage years. My high school had a club called JETS which stands for Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists. I was later an executive in JETS and through JETS, I had the opportunity to visit several STEM industries including their sites and plants to actually witness plant operations and process engineering. It was at one of such visits, that I decided I would become a renewable energy engineer at age 14. During this visit, we visited an oil company called TOTALFINA ELF and learnt about crude oil spillage, gas flaring, ozone depletion, climate change and the impact of fossil fuels. Even though this company were involved in the use of fossil fuels, they acknowledged the impact of fossil fuels on the environment and gave us a challenge to come up with solutions. It was like a hackathon. That very moment, something sparked in me and I decided I was going to live my life being a part of the solution.
So, my advice to teens wanting to pursue a STEM career would be to get more involved in STEM in and outside school, look for good mentors (you can always reach out or have a safe channel that connects students to mentors) and believe in the change you wish to make. Be confident and don’t be discouraged by failure. Have your vision of what you what to become in front of you. If possible have it on your wall, by your mirror and keep working hard at it, you will achieve your dreams as long as you don’t give up.
You are a cofounder of iSTEM Co., which creates employment for all women in STEM including women of colour and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Why is this so important?
As a woman from a minority background working in STEM, I have faced personal and professional challenges whilst in pursuit of my career aspirations. As a scientist, engineer and passionate advocate for women in STEM, I have advocated and worked across various STEM/NFP organisations to create change.
My leadership journey in advocating for the diversity of women in STEM began during my PhD. I realized the difficulties of being a woman in a male-dominated field as there was an obvious underrepresentation of female engineering students and there was not a campus club that promoted this. So I co-founded the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) Club at Victoria University to empower and support female STEM students and encourage girls to pursue STEM careers. I was the inaugural president for 1 year. The club is currently one of the most outstanding clubs of the University and has since engaged in multiple events in and outside the University, promoting and securing jobs for students beyond University.
Through my work with WISE and Women in STEMM Australia (WISA) , I gained a deeper understanding of the barriers women in STEM face, such as gender stereotypes, lack of flexible employment, harassment, caring responsibilities, and recruitment bias. I also realized that the conversations about gender equity often exclude the intersections of gender with race, ethnicity, and disability. I found alarming statistics from the Australia’s STEM Workforce Report by the Office of the Chief Scientist (2020), that showed only 29% of the STEM workforce identifies as women and 56% of university-educated women in STEM were born overseas but experience four times higher unemployment rates. This motivated me to address the issue, so I partnered with Dr. Ruwangi Fernando to co-found iSTEM Co, which aims to promote employment and retention for women in STEM, including women of colour and women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Since its establishment in April 2022, iSTEM Co. has made significant strides, winning the 2022 Victoria University BETA Pre-Accelerator Award and hosting the first-ever in-person career fair for women of color in STEM. We are now launching a recruitment-tech platform, DEIR (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Retention), which is a subscription-based platform aimed at providing women in STEM with job opportunities in a safe and inclusive environment. DEIR has unique features, including anonymous recruitment, a job benchmark, an ethical job post, a standardized interview process, a mentoring retention program, and an endorsement badge for ethical and inclusive employers. We won the social impact award with Lift women.
What new STEM advancements are you really excited about?
There are several STEM advancements that are inspiring. From AI, Space Science, Medical Engineering and Renewable energy. I actually wrote a piece at the beginning of 2020 titled “Top STEM Trends to watch out for in the next decade”. I encourage you to read and you will be as excited as I was whilst writing.
How can we engage more girls with STEM?
Encouraging more girls to engage with STEM is crucial to ensure that we have a diverse and skilled workforce that can tackle the complex problems of the future. In Australia, it’s been identified that there are more than 200,000 vacant STEM jobs, which has continued to grow by more than 2.5% annually since 2019 and the demand for STEM workers will increase to 1.9 million by 2024. This shows how critical and important the sector is for our economic growth and global competition.
Here are some ways to engage more girls with STEM:
Provide female role models: Like the saying goes “You can’t be what you can’t see”. Girls are more likely to be interested in STEM if they see women who are successful in STEM fields. Encourage female scientists and engineers to speak to girls about their careers and the exciting opportunities in STEM.
Make STEM fun and engaging: Have school clubs that introduce girls to STEM in a fun and engaging way, such as through hands-on activities, experiments, and games. Show them how STEM can be used to solve real-world problems.
Address stereotypes: Challenge stereotypes about who can excel in STEM fields. Encourage girls to pursue their interests in science and math, and provide support and encouragement when they encounter challenges.
Provide mentorship and support: Provide mentorship and support to girls who are interested in STEM. Connect them with female STEM professionals who can offer guidance and advice.
Create a supportive environment: Create a supportive environment that encourages girls to pursue STEM interests. This can include creating STEM clubs or groups where girls can work together and support each other.
Highlight the impact of STEM: Highlight the positive impact that STEM can have on society. Show girls how they can use their skills and knowledge to make a difference in the world.
Overall, it is important to create an environment that encourages girls to pursue STEM interests and to provide support and mentorship to help them succeed. By doing so, we can help to close the gender gap in STEM fields and create a more diverse and skilled workforce for the future.
Franc’s Fast Five
Favourite TV show? No one in particular but I like Science documentaries and biopics
Go-to comfort food? Suya (Nigerian street food-spiced bbq beef or lamb)
What was your last holiday destination? Philip Island, Victoria
First thing you do each day? Meditate and pray
Favourite colour? Blue