Organisers
Helen Maynard-Casely
Loves to tell stories about science. She works as Senior Instrument Scientist at the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, ANSTO, and her research interest centre about the structures of materials relevant to the dwarf planets of our solar system.
Helen’s journey to exploring these icy worlds began with her degree in Planetary Sciences from University College London and was followed by her PhD in high-pressure physics undertaken at the University of Edinburgh. Moving to Australia first to a post-doctoral position at the Australian Synchrotron, she moved to the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering in 2013 to work on the High Intensity Diffractometer (known as Wombat).
When not working on Wombat, Helen also enjoys promoting crystallography and science to as wide an audience as possible, for example she coordinated the 2014 Crystallography365 project, was the 2019 Australian Institute of Physics ‘Women in Physics’ Lecturer and published her first children’s book (I heart Pluto) in 2020.
Stuart Batten
Stuart Batten is a Professor of Chemistry at Monash University and loves to make BIG crystal structures.
His research explores the relationship between the structures of molecules and materials and their properties, with a focus on coordination polymers and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with novel magnetic properties or the ability to absorb certain molecules (for storing hydrogen, capturing carbon dioxide, separating chemical mixtures, or absorbing pollutants).
After growing up on a farm in country Victoria, Stuart completed a B.Sc(Hons) and a PhD at the University of Melbourne, followed by postdoctoral positions at Bristol, Melbourne and Monash, where he is now a full professor.
Stuart also has a passion for collecting the elements of the periodic table, and has assembled several (mostly) complete collections. In 2019, the International Year of the Periodic Table, he gave the Hartung Lectures to school groups all over Victoria about the Periodic Table, and also designed and made 600 element sample sets which were then distributed free to schools all over Australia.
He is married with two kids, one of which is disabled, and both of which are very naughty. He also has a dog and a rabbit, who are also very naughty.
Electronically, he can be found at stuartbatten.net and contacted at stuart.batten@monash.edu.
Ben Krinkel
Ben is a final-year PhD student at the University of Auckland, specialising in structural biology. His research focuses on determining the 3D shape (crystal structure) of human proteins, which is crucial for designing new medicines.
Ben grew up in Auckland and discovered his passion for biology while boarding at high school in Whangarei. He returned to Auckland for his postgraduate studies, where he now works on finding the structures of proteins involved in diseases. This helps in creating drugs that can target these proteins effectively.
Ben is enthusiastic about teaching and communicating science, especially crystallography. In 2025, he joined the "Bragg Your Pattern" team to help introduce crystallography education in schools across New Zealand and Australia. You can contact Ben at: ben.krinkel@auckland.ac.nz
Nathan Kilah
Nathan Kilah is a chemist at the University of Tasmania. He teaches the fundamental properties of atoms and how they bond together to make molecules. He is a synthetic chemist which means he designs new molecules and then makes them in the laboratory. Studying the crystals of these new molecules allows him to understand their structure, or to work out if he's made something he wasn't expecting!
Nathan grew up in various parts of Queensland and completed high school in the town of Roma. After school he completed a science degree at the University of Queensland in Brisbane before moving to Canberra to complete a PhD in the chemistry of (smelly!) arsenic and phosphorus chemicals. He then worked in the UK (Oxford) and Germany (Marburg) to learn about the Chemistry.
Nathan's research interests are in molecular recognition - designing and making new chemicals that can interact with and detect other molecules. The current focus is on simple colour based detection of a class of pollutants known as "PFAS" or "forever chemicals". Nathan loves growing crystals as part of the study of the new chemicals he and his group make in the laboratory. He also frequently shares the importance of chemistry and crystals in our daily lives through accessible explainer articles and radio interviews. You can read an article he wrote on crystals that was published in COSMOS Magazine here (https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/chemistry/can-crystals-change-your-life/). You can get in touch with Nathan on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/chemistrynathan.bsky.social) or through his personal webpage (https://www.nathankilah.com/science-communication).
Bronte Johnstone
Bronte Johnstone is a structural biologist at the University of Melbourne. She studies how bacteria and viruses harm us by looking at their structure, with the goal of trying to prevent or treat infection by these microorganisms.
Bronte grew up in Hobart, Tasmania where her joy for science began in high school, where she liked both chemistry and biology. She couldn’t decide whether she liked medical science or basic chemistry more so moved to the mainland to study both at Monash University, where she completed a double degree in BSc and BBiomedSc. In the end she found the perfect balance in “bio”chemistry and went on to do a PhD in biochemistry at the University of Melbourne. After her PhD, she went back to Monash for a short postdoctoral position, before returning to Melbourne Uni.
When not in the lab, Bronte likes to bake and will take any opportunity to combine her love for science and baking together. Turns out science can be both fun and tasty! She has made cakes of bacteria and the proteins they use to hurt as, and even explained her PhD in a three-minute video using only props made from things she had baked.
Alexandra Perry
Alexandra Perry is a Biochemistry PhD student at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. She studies how marine cyanobacteria have adapted to their extreme environments by looking at the differences in the structure and function of their DNA replication enzymes.
Alexandra’s love for science began as a child and only grew strong over the years. This passion drove her to complete a BSc (Hons) at The University of Waikato. During her undergraduate studies, she became fascinated by how things work on a molecular level and how they interact with their environment. This led her to pursue a PhD studying cyanobacteria and how their ecology affects their biochemistry.
When she’s not in the lab, Alexandra enjoys baking, reading and teaching university students. She’s also passionate about sharing science with others and aims to make science accessible and engaging for everyone.
Rosemary Young
Rosemary Young is a beamline scientist at the Australian Synchrotron in Melbourne who uses X-rays and crystals to work out the structures of materials.
Rosemary grew up on a potato farm in rural South Australia before going to Adelaide to study a Bachelor of Science at Adelaide University. She then went on to complete her PhD in a joint program between the University of Adelaide and the University of Nottingham, UK. She has now moved to Melbourne where she continues to make beautiful crystals to study chemical reactions and interactions.
Rosemary has been involved in science communication through PenPal with a Scientist, Children's University, Pint of Science and Science Alive!, where she has loved sharing her passion for science (as well as coloured flames and glowing crystals!).
Former members:
Bryce Mullens
Emily Furlong