RSAA is celebrating the achievements of Dr Naomi Mathers, the Australian GMT Project Office Industry Liaison Engineer.  On Wednesday 2 July in Sydney, Naomi was awarded not once but twice at the inaugural "Women in Industry Awards".

Technical Program Manager Roger Franzen said: "Naomi received awards for  Engineering Excellence and for Industry Advocacy.  As a relentless networker, Naomi has been promoting the RSAA AITC and its programs on a national and international scale. We all wish Naomi our sincerest congratulations for her efforts and achievements".

Dr Mathers, from the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, says she was surprised and humbled to receive the recognition.

“When you looked at the quality of the candidates, it was such a strong field and every one of the finalists deserve to be recognised for the work they do,” she says.

“So certainly it was an honour to be awarded amongst that company, but I would have loved to have seen everybody get an award.”

Dr Mathers believes she was chosen for a few reasons, including going through aerospace engineering at a time when there were few women in the field and working on an area of space research where she was the only Australian working in that area.

“At the moment I don’t do my own engineering research, but what I do is create new opportunities for others,” she said.

“Because I’ve worked across research, education, policy and industry, I can bring these together to make a positive impact on the industry.”

The awards also help to raise the profile of the new Mount Stromlo facility, Dr Mathers says.

“The new space test facilities at the AITC are a national resource. They will support great advances in space engineering research and help us support the translation of research into commercial opportunities,” she says.

“It’s important to showcase that new capability we have, hoping to open new doors especially for international collaboration because it is a very international industry.

“The push at the moment is how we establish a prosperous but sustainable industry so it’s constantly promoting opportunities for the industry, research and training.”

View Naomi’s interviews after she received her awards for Industry Advocacy and Excellence in Engineering.