In March 2020 Exciton Science researcher Ben Tadgell was appointed a STEM Ambassador by Science and Technology Australia.

A final-year PhD student at The University of Melbourne, Ben designs chemical sensors using nanotechnology.

These sensors harness light energy in a very specific and controlled way, which will allow us to detect when there are toxic levels of common pesticides in the air.

As part of Ben’s role, he has been working with Mr Peter Khalil MP, Member for Wills, to bridge the gap between science and government in Australia.

“The role is acting as a link between science and politics,” Ben said.

“I want to understand what the role of science in government is, and how they interpret the science we do and implement that into useful policies.

“I’m excited to be the one who gets to talk to them and discuss what it is that a scientist actually does: What the day-to-day activities and principles are, what a scientist actually researches, how they research it and what their motivations are.”

Asked about his motivation for taking on the position, Ben said: “I’d like to show Peter what we do in Exciton Science, and why we do it.

“A lot of the research going on in Exciton Science is very relevant to pressing political decisions that need to be made with regards to investing in renewable energy and what technologies should be invested in. That’s what we do, we work on these novel technologies to determine if they could actually be good replacements for what we have now.”

Ben is hopeful that through his role, he can communicate to both politicians and the public the vital importance that scientific research plays in informing our decision making.

“I’m really interested in the intersection of policy and science,” he said.

“It’s really important for policy to be able to understand science as a means of informing the best decisions with regards to global warming, public health with coronavirus, pollution. Scientific literature is the data which then should inform how you make decisions.

“I am passionate about politicians having the means to communicate with scientists. And the science literacy of the public is also important, to appreciate how modern scientific research does play a really important role.”