Do you like STEM professionals?

Hello ANSTO , Ed Husic MP & Dr Sophie Scamps MP

Today my wife, Ulduz, made the long journey back to Australia from Germany to hopefully finalise that research around her PhD topic in Australian history. My wife studies those events and politics around the introduction of compulsory education for children in Australia at the turn of the 19th to 20th century. Because of the nature of this investigation, which has some profound questions about the evolution of modern Australian society, there is much delving into the archival sources in various libraries around Australia.

Ulduz arrived in Australia almost 20 years ago from the ex-Soviet republic of Azerbaijan she was excited about then new beginning Australia promised, starting a family and a new life. Azerbajian is consistently rated one of the most corrupt nations in the world and her expectations were of a new kind of society. After our two children, Brendan and Daniel, had started school, Ulduz began to study towards an Honours degree in History from the 澳大利亚悉尼大学 , and then the PhD under the supervision of Associate Professor Frances Clarke. Her hope was to contribute to Australian society by offering some perspective on its past.

Now you might ask why is my wife travelling back to Australia when clearly she could make life much easier for herself by living in Australia with its easy access to Australian primary sources? In 2019 I was working for the Australia Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, more specifically the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, where I was a research scientist, part of Australia's investment in the OPAL reactor and the Australian Synchrotron , a capability in the use of scattering to investigate problems in soft condensed matter as well provide industry with useful scientific insight. I contributed as an investigator on a number Australian Research Council grants, as well as for local industry, for example Omni Tanker Pty Ltd . So when I was offered the opportunity of a visiting fellowship/professorship at Malm? universitet , 瑞典兰德大学 and LINXS Institute of advanced Neutron and X-ray Science in July 2019 for one year it seemed like an opportunity for my family to see a little of the world. However it was suprising for us all when it was made clear to me by a number of managers at ANSTO that I was not welcome back and my family and I should stay in Europe.

Despite direct requests firstly to Ed Husic MP , the minister responsible, firstly by myself to and then from Dr Sophie Scamps MP and Andrew Wilkie MP , Husic has refused to review what is a straightforward abuse of the human rights of my family. Now the (unspoken) position of ANSTO management and Husic is that this kind of hard politics is the expectation of someone who is going to excel in STEM.

So for those who are working in STEM, or maybe think that this is the career for you, and maybe have a life partner and children, that can be collateral.