Senior Lecturer, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide

Jiawen was the first and only female tenured faculty member of the School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Adelaide. Despite being an optical engineer, Dr Jiawen Li has also won prestigious Fellowships from Australian National Health, Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and National Heart Foundation.

She has secured >$3 million in competitive research funding as the lead chief investigator and won numerous prestigious awards/honours (including national Superstar of STEM, Australian Optical Society Geoff Opat Prize, and the Young Tall Poppy Science Award). She uses her expertise in optical engineering to build hair-sized endoscopes to explore the nooks and crannies of the body’s organs, leading to early and accurate diagnoses of various diseases.

Achievements:

Women in STEMM Australia acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. First Nations people have practised science for over 65,000 years. Our first scientists passed on the lessons of the land, sea and sky, to the future scientists of today through stories, song and dance. They call this caring for Country. If you care for Country, the Country will care for you.