Three QUT postgraduate students have embarked on robotics research that tackles disaster response and climate change, after being awarded the first scholarships from a major CSIRO scholarship fund.
Angelina Fantasia, Jessica Gumowski and Brittany Gorry (pictured above, left to right) have each received three-year scholarships worth more than $130,000, supported by CSIRO’s Alberto Elfes Memorial Scholarship Fund and QUT.
The fund is named after CSIRO robotics leader Professor Alberto Elfes and aims to increase diversity within Australia’s robotics sector.
It targets high-performing students who want to study a PhD or Master of Philosophy in robotics at QUT and are from groups under-represented in the robotics industry.
People eligible to apply include women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, gender-diverse individuals, applicants with disabilities or health conditions, and people from remote or rural areas.
The fund was made possible by a $1.2 million prize awarded to a CSIRO-led team that placed second in an international DARPA challenge in the USA in 2021.
Angelina, Brittany and Jessica will split their research time between two world-class Brisbane-based labs – the QUT Centre for Robotics at Gardens Point and CSIRO Robotics.
QUT’s global reputation enticed PhD researcher Angelina Fantasia to move to Brisbane to work with Queensland robotics researchers.
Born in Venezuela with Italian heritage, she has a physics degree from the Central University of Venezuela and worked at two German companies doing robotics research before coming to QUT.
Her PhD research will develop methods to understand the interaction between robots and vegetation in off road environments.
When a human walks through dense bushland, they instinctively assess whether they can push through overgrown vegetation or if it’s too thick to pass. Robots, on the other hand, don’t have that intuition – yet.
“The project I'm working on fits my skills and experience in robotics and gives me the opportunity to directly apply my background in physics,” Angelina said.
“The robotics teams in QUT have attracted some of the best experts from around the world.
“QUT is recognised worldwide and completing my PhD in QUT will open so many doors either in academia or in industry research.”
Angelina’s research will enable robots to navigate diverse environments, including farms, wetlands, and burnt bushland. This has applications in agriculture, conservation, and search and rescue.
“If the robot doesn't know whether the cluster of vegetation is traversable, it can get stuck or damaged,” she said.
“I don’t want my research to just sit on paper, I want it to have practical applications.”
With a background in theoretical and medical physics, Angelina discovered her passion for robotics in Germany. There, she programmed a robot that autonomously performed testing tasks for a medical device.
“I learned to program the robot’s software and hardware and build a state-of-the-art setup – the process absolutely fascinated me,” she said.
Angelina hopes her work will not only advance robotics but also inspire more women to enter the field.
“Australia has been incredibly welcoming,” she said.
“Here, women in STEM are respected and valued. It’s not just talk, it’s real. I want to see more women take up these opportunities, because we have so much to contribute.”
Brittany Gorry’s research is combining physics, engineering, and AI to improve environmental monitoring in Antarctica.
“We’re working towards developing machine learning models to help scientists more accurately and autonomously identify patterns in Antarctica’s environmental indicators, such as moss coverage,” she said.
“This will improve our understanding of how the ecosystem’s health is evolving.”
Brittany graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Physics) from QUT last year and said it gave her a strong foundation for problem solving that she would now apply to her Master of Philosophy interdisciplinary research.
She moved to Brisbane for university from the small central Queensland town of Miles and said she chose QUT because of its strong emphasis on practical, real-world learning and central location.
“Learning in an environment with approachable academics fostered my curiosity and deepened my interest in learning, which led me to pursue postgraduate studies,” she said.
“Robotics allows me to merge physics, engineering, and computational methods to develop innovative solutions, while my involvement with SAEF (the Australian Research Council’s Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future initiative) enables me to expand into environmental problems,” she said.
Brittany said she hoped to have an opportunity to visit Antarctica as part of her research.
“Fieldwork and data collection are important aspects of my project’s greater reach, and deploying technology in such extreme conditions presents unique challenges,” she said.
“Recently, I completed a remote pilot licence course with other students, which is an important skill for future research campaigns that utilise drones for environmental monitoring.
“Based on my experiences so far, my long-term goal is to work at the intersection of robotics, physics, and environmental science, using technology to address real-world challenges.
“I hope my work can contribute to something bigger, whether that’s improving environmental monitoring, advancing technology for conservation, or supporting scientific exploration in extreme environments.”
Not having a conventional background in robotics is just one stereotype Brittany wants to change.
“Visibility and representation are crucial for breaking down stereotypes about who belongs in STEM. It's essential that women see themselves reflected in the field,” she said.
“Some of the most impactful breakthroughs happen when people from diverse fields come together, and I’d like to see more researchers embracing that approach.”
Swiss student Jessica Gumowski moved to Australia in February to start her PhD in soft robotics after graduating with her Master of Science (robotics) and minor in spatial technologies from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) last year.
Through her QUT scholarship, she'll contribute to the design of a robot capable of navigating both aquatic and terrestrial environments.
She chose QUT and Brisbane to continue her postgraduate studies because of the university’s strong links with CSIRO, and the opportunity to do research across both organisations.
Jessica’s love of science began early, and was sparked by the character Asari, an inquisitive female protagonist of the comic series Manga Science by Yoshitoo Asari.
“There was an edition where Asari helped build a space rocket, and I loved it,” she said.
“That issue made me completely sure I wanted to become an engineer.”
Jessica’s journey in robotics has been strongly shaped by female role models.
“During my time at EPFL, I was greatly inspired by my manager, Dr Josie Hughes, and my supervisor, Nana Obayashi,” Jessica said.
"Seeing them made me think, ‘This is what I want to do; I want to be like them’. These female role models had a really positive impact on me.”
As she continues her studies, Jessica hopes to encourage more women to consider careers in engineering and robotics.
“You just need to take that first step and go for it,” she said.
“Scholarships like this can help provide that confidence.”
The School of Electrical Engineering and Robotics, which is home to the QUT Centre for Robotics, aims to improve how we understand and take care of the world we live in through sustainable energy solutions and intelligent technology. The school focuses on high-quality, cross-disciplinary teaching and research in robotic vision, machine learning, video analytics, wireless power transfer, and renewable energy integration.
CSIRO’s Alberto Elfes Memorial Scholarship Fund is a tribute to Professor Alberto Elfes’ belief that innovation in robotics can only thrive when diversity is at the heart of the industry.
“My husband Alberto Elfes was an all-embracing and curious mind, a passionate researcher, and a caring teacher and mentor,” Noemia Elfes said.
“He believed all people should have equal opportunities to participate in society, seeking and sharing the common good.”
Main image at top: Angelina Fantasia, Jessica Gumowski and Brittany Gorry (left to right) at the QUT Centre for Robotics at Gardens Point.
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