International Women's Day: Colette Boskovic

For International Women's Day, Colette Boskovic from the School of Chemistry talks about her research and experiences.

Associate Professor Colette Boskovic (ARC Future Fellow)

School of Chemistry

I lead a group of inorganic chemists who make and study molecules that can act as tiny magnets or can be switched between forms with different electronic properties (e.g. colour) by heating and cooling or irradiation with light. The key component of these molecules that gives rise to these properties are transition metals like cobalt, or rare earth metals like dysprosium.  One day, these molecular materials might be the functional component in quantum computers or molecular spintronics devices, but our present interest is mainly trying to understand and improve the properties.  To do this we use various physical techniques like magnetometry, as well as X-ray and neutron scattering and diffraction at the Australian Synchrotron and the Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering (ANSTO).  I am passionate about science because I am curious about the world around me and I love chemistry because it is the only discipline where we get to make new molecules that have never been made before.