Associate Professor Tracy Rushmer, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Associate Dean (Higher Degree Research), Faculty of Science and Engineering Macquarie University.

 Tracy's academic background is as an Experimental Petrologist plus Rock Mechanics. She overseas several experimental laboratories which can induce both hydrostatic and deformation conditions in which to investigate mineral/melt interactions under pressure and temperature. Her work focuses on the evolution of planetary bodies, particularly on differentiation, which is the fundamental mechanism by which the terrestrial planets evolve through time. Recently, her work has explored the origin of Earth’s first continental crust through a combination of phase equilibria studies, rock deformation experiments and numerical modelling. The far-reaching applications of her research have been recognised by funding from NSF in the United States, NASA and in Australia by the Australian Research Council. She has led and been involved in 4 funded ARC projects since 2011. I was made a Fellow of the Mineralogical Association of America in 2012.

Tracy’s academic career has spanned the USA, Switzerland and Australia academic background with her research taking her to many different countries. In this episode of the Resourceful HDR podcast, Tracy speaks about her own career as well as the people and chance events that influenced her decisions along the way.

Tracy also speaks about her experiences as the Associate Dean Higher Degree Research for the Faculty of Science and Engineering. Tracy also talks about what a privilege it is to mentor students from different backgrounds, the value of research qualifications and the need for a broader view of graduate outcomes for Master of Research and PhD candidates.