Professor Lyn Beazley’s love for science was sparked throughout a college tour to Charles Darwin’s home in the United Kingdom.
“I would never forget, his front room was laid out with his desk, with a lot of his specimens and it included his microscope,” explains Lyn.
“I walked away from that visit, got on the bus and thought – I want to be a biologist.”
Lyn went on to check at the Universities of Oxford and Edinburgh, however her journey took just a few twists and turns.
“When I did my degree, I started in botany, switched to zoology [and] I was going to go and do a PhD to learn research on fossils,” says Lyn.
“At the final minute, I went to a lecture by a gentleman who was engaged on restoration from mind harm at a time when everyone thought it was unattainable.
“That’s how my career in neuroscience started.”
STUDYING THE BIOLOGICAL MACHINE
Lyn would go on to dedicate greater than 30 years to neuroscience analysis.
Based at the University of Western Australia, Lyn delved into the neuroscience subject, finding out a spread of subjects from prevention of mind harm to modifications in untimely infants.
In 2008, Lyn was supplied the position as Western Australia’s Chief Scientist, by which she served for five years, advising the government of the day on science, know-how and innovation.
During this time, Lyn visited faculties throughout the state to speak about science.
“Science and technology have driven history from the very beginning when humans decided they were going to be upright and walk on the plains,” says Lyn.
Credit: Supplied Lyn Beazley
“The ability to make a bucket, to pick up water, to be able to grind seeds for food, to design a spear or, even more amazing, a boomerang – this is all science in action.”
“You can read about it, you can see it on a TV screen, you can see it on your laptop, but it’s doing it that makes all the difference.”
Lyn wished to encourage youngsters’s pure curiosity about the world and encourage them to contemplate a profession in science.
“We have to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers, mathematicians, social scientists,” says Lyn.
“If you look at people who’ve won the Nobel Prize … in science and in medicine, in particular, most of those discoveries were made when the person was within 5 years of their highest university degree.”
Credit: Supplied Lyn Beazley
“It might not have been awarded until later – or the relevance appreciated until later – but young brains seem particularly good at coming up with great ideas.”
LIFETIME OF RECOGNITION
This ardour and dedication to encouraging the subsequent technology of scientists have earned Lyn a few of the nation’s highest honours.
Lyn was awarded Officer of the Order of Australia, which recognises the excellent achievements and repair of Australians, in 2009.
In 2014, Lyn was inducted into the Western Australian Science Hall of Fame. A 12 months later, she was chosen as WA’s Australian of the Year for her work in neuroscience.
Credit: Supplied Lyn Beazley
Lyn at present sits on the Board of the Lyn Beazley Academy, a college devoted to offering a research-driven surroundings for home-schooled youngsters.
Last 12 months, the academy launched a new program for younger folks aged 15–17 residing with autism that’s centered on science, know-how, engineering, the arts and arithmetic.
“It’s the interaction of science, technology and engineering, backed up completely by mathematics, which underpins so much of what we do,” says Lyn.
“[Science and technology] will continue to play an increasing role in our future and I can’t tell you how.”
“All I can tell you is that trajectory is off and running and it’s getting steeper and steeper all the time.”