Kayla (she/her)

The energy used by the information technology (IT) sector is growing exponentially, and solving this growing energy crisis requires that we fundamentally change the way we build computers. 2025 is the final year of my Materials Science PhD at UNSW, which is focused on understanding new materials that will enable low-energy post-CMOS computing based on spintronics. I research how the magnetic properties of high entropy oxides can be fine-tuned through epitaxy and nanoscale strain-engineering. Basically, I make a big fancy magnet, shoot a laser at it to make it really small and change its properties, and then try to figure out how to measure those properties now that it’s too small to measure with conventional methods. 

But my PhD has already been so much more than research for me. Academia has proven to be an incredibly accepting and uplifting environment to transition in, even though when I came out, I knew no other trans scientists. Through my outreach experience as one of the 2024 UNSW STEMM Champions, I’ve since realised that despite how important research is to me, encouraging others from marginalised groups (such as the LGBTQIA+ community) to pursue their love for science, technology, engineering, mathematics, medicine (STEMM) is even more rewarding. I want to help dispel the stereotypical image of scientist and engineers being white cisgender heteronormative men, and I hope that the generous support of The Pinnacle Foundation can help me achieve this. 

I would like to especially thank Jess Bastow for her support of me as a scholar and my research.