Nawshad

Research Team Leader, Mining and Metals, Melbourne

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“If I’m not bike riding with my son over the weekend, I’m busy in my role as president of a Bangladeshi community school where kids can learn traditional language and dance. There are around 15,000 Bangladeshi people here in Melbourne, many of which are in the suburbs around the Dandenong area. We teach the kids how to write, read and speak Bengali, and most end up being fluent enough to speak at home. They also learn traditional dance, and at the end of the year they do a performance. We like to organise big events, such as the Bengali New Year and other national celebrations. My son and daughter used to go to the classes before they started secondary school, but they’re not that fluent in the language. However, my daughter still volunteers and helps us put on barbeques and things like that.”

Nawshad

“I always carry a comb and my daughter says ‘daddy, why do you carry a comb? You have no hair’. I’ve only got one hair style and it’s this one. I told my family I was doing this photoshoot and I didn’t know what to expect. I only know that when my son has a photo he puts…what’s it called…jelly in his hair. Maybe I need some jelly. Anyway, just over there is Monash University where I teach. They started a mining engineering course and needed more academics, so they came to CSIRO and asked, ‘can you offer one?’ So I coordinate that. Also I have PhD students working with me – six PhD students sponsored by CSIRO. They are at various universities in Australia. Four of them have finished, which is good, so there are another two to complete. That student interaction I really enjoy: mentoring them, supporting them, helping them. And when I see them finish, they have their own established area of work. It’s really amazing.

“A lot of people don’t realise there are over 60 elements in an iPhone, 40 of which are metals. South Korea is getting really good at recycling metals because they don’t have minerals themselves. Normally, one tonne of gold ore converts to one gram of gold metal. But, if you recycle it, like South Korea is doing, you get 300 grams per tonne of mixed recycling material, even up to 2000 grams.”

Mahesh

Lynne

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