Meet our 2023 Women In Physics Lecturer

Tiny magnets, 1,000 times thinner than a human hair, are used in cancer treatments, computers and even in self-repairing paints.

The AIP is thrilled to announce that Dr Karen Livesey, theoretical physicist at the University of Newcastle, will be touring Australia in 2023 as the AIP’s Women in Physics Lecturer.

Karen is designing new nano-sized magnets to address technological challenges, such as reducing the energy that today’s computers use, and heating inoperable cancer tumours to improve health outcomes.

The Women In Physics Lecture tour celebrates the contribution of women to advances in physics. This annual award recognises a woman who has made a significant contribution in a field of physics.

Karen is a Senior Lecturer of Physics at the University of Newcastle, and an Associate Investigator at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low Energy Electronic Technologies. She is also a Superstar of STEM funded by Science and Technology Australia for 2023-24.

Prior to Newcastle, she worked at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs for almost 10 years, reaching the rank of Associate Professor.

It was while the COVID-19 pandemic was raging, in 2020, that she moved with her family to Newcastle, NSW. Australia is home for Karen. So is physics. She was the first in her family to finish high school and went on to study physics at the University of Western Australia, completing her PhD in 2010.

Along with a passion for physics and mathematics, Karen has a love for sharing this through her university teaching and through chats with community groups. She gives invited talks around the globe and has received research and teaching awards in the United States, Canada, UK and Australia.

Tour dates and locations will be announced in 2023.