[committee] Fwd: UWA Open Day follow-up

[Ari Carter (23381807)]

I got this very lovely email from someone who heard me speak at open day! They are offering some collaboration opportunities which is exciting.

De: mstorey at meranti-research.net
Date: 2 avril 2025 à 15:14:52 UTC+8
À: vp at ucc.asn.au
Cc: president at ucc.asn.au
Objet: UWA Open Day follow-up


Hello Ari,

I am a parent of a student currently in a local high school, and I was in the Ross Auditorium at the UWA Open Day on Sunday when you spoke.  I write with two points of follow-up.  The first is feedback / comment, the second is a speculative brain bubble for your consideration as UCC VP and active member.

1.
I thought I’d mention that I was impressed by the lucidity and wisdom of your replies to the questions from the audience – particularly that from the gentleman who wished to focus on one thing only, because he thought himself certain that this is what interests him, to the exclusion of the rest including the fundamentals.
I was attending the session out of interest, having been a computer science student in my days, but I was really accompanying my 15-year-old son, currently in year 10, in anticipation of his having to select his ATAR subjects.  From my personal experience: after studying AI at a time of extraordinary hype<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_Generation_Computer_Systems> for the topic, I failed to find a job in it when I reached the job market, just like every other students in my AI cohort, because by then the hype had deflated and been replaced by another (fintech).  Nevertheless, I eventually went on to have a 35+ year career in industry as a specialized data field acquisition engineer, analyst, consultant, trainer, etc.  My point is that after all this, when I am asked to give advice to young people… I tell them essentially what you said on Sunday, and I did so just a few weeks ago to 670 students in Timor Leste<https://www.facebook.com/groups/218833400644683/?multi_permalinks=647519771109375&ref=share>.  Incidentally, you may want to compare this with the not-very-long-ago hype for blockchain / distributed ledger technology.
So well done to you, and keep thinking!

2.
As you spoke of the computer club, and in particular mentioned the expression “industry experience” for students, it gave me a long shot idea that I thought I might want to put to the UWA Computer Club or similar.
Briefly and preliminarily: I run a very small deep-tech startup<https://www.meranti-research.net/231117-AAPPS-DPP2023-M.Storey_Presentation_on_Parker's_Effect_MCF-720bpi.mp4> which does applied mathematics in support of research in plasma physics, specifically in the field of fusion energy.
How I got involved with this is a long and unlikely story, suffices to say that I am assisting a distinguished physicist who needs to use some of the latest IT, specifically to run and exploit numerical simulations on HPC.  I grant anyone that it may look and sound like a flight of fancy, but it is merely a moonshot, and a grounded one at that.  I was approached and given a chance to get involved because I am more familiar with modern technology, but ironically, I found myself in a similar situation: I lack familiarity with the very latest enabling technologies and find that I either have to spend a lot of time learning things that are second nature to young tech-savvy people (including my 15-year-old son), or need to rope some of these young people in.
To mitigate this hassle, I have interned or hired students over the past few years from Stanford University (2), Georgia Tech (1), Curtin University (1), and UWA (2).
I have also developed an on-going working relationship with a UWA lecturer (Dr. Pfefferlé, Dept. of Mathematics) and set up, with great difficulty, a PhD scholarship at UWA<https://web.archive.org/web/20241026201306/https:/ceed.wa.edu.au/project/24-014-computational-investigation-of-the-possible-importance-of-a-little-known-effect-for-the-magnetic-confinement-of-fusion-plasmas/> (for deep-tech HDR work), which was offered for nearly 2 years before it was withdrawn after no eligible candidate ever came forward (mainly because there is no plasma physics of this type in UWA, and it has become difficult to take on people applying from overseas).  During these collaborations, we have had some successes of a scientific nature (i.e. worth publishing, and that is in preparation), some setbacks, and there are some matters which have been started but not necessarily completed (not least because of the Covid pandemic, or when our main student left UWA for Oxford after scoring a Rhodes Scholarship).
We are currently in a slight lull, regrouping as we decide what to focus on next, including reviewing what has been done over the past few years.  In so doing, we (I, the project leader) could use some youthful, tech-savvy assistance and ideas.
What I am getting at: I wonder if there might be people orbiting around the computer club who might be looking for a “industry experience” and might be interested in making contact about what would certainly be an unconventional but nevertheless real-life one: assisting me with various IT-related stuff with the objective to develop.  If so, it might be worth me having a conversation with them.  Such a person (or persons) could assist with simple coding, setting up Linux, running HPC code, website design, data analysis, background research, research material organisation, article writing, etc…  It depends on a variety of factors, including the skills and personality of the people involved.  Note: my office happens to be in Shenton Park, 2 km away from the main campus, hence a focus on UWA.  This would be best suited for someone who is resourceful, curious, possibly interested in fusion energy, and possibly ready for an adventure.
I want to emphasize that this is just a first contact and an idea, without commitment at this time, other than for a conversation with students who might be interested and able to commit a certain amount of time on something like this.
If anything is unclear, just ask.  Feel free to circulate a distillate of the above around you if you deem it worthwhile.  If this discussion is not applicable to what your club is or does, simply let me know.  If it is better suited for another one of the 100+ clubs in UWA, feel free to pass on.  It’s “all chill”, as I understand is now said.

If you’ve reached this point, thank you again for your engagement.  I took the liberty to cc Garry O’Donovan, the UCC President, since his email address is next to where I found yours<https://www.ucc.asn.au/infobase/committee/current/>.

Good luck in all you do, and all the best,

Martin Storey.

--
Martin Storey
Principal
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Meranti Research Laboratories
Office: 40 Commercial Road on Murchison Street
Post: P.O. Box 7081
Shenton Park  WA  6008 Australia
T: +61 8 9382 8909
M: +61 (0)419 195 872
E: mstorey at meranti-research.net<mailto:mstorey at meranti-research.net>





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