​Our Speakers:

​Chloe Chang, Bec Leith & Jess Hepworth

​Monash Nove Rover

​Co-CEOs Chloe Chang and Bec Leith and CTO Jess Hepworth led the Monash Nova Rover team from 2022-2023. Monash Nova Rover is a multidisciplinary university robotics team of almost 100 students who come together to build Lunar and Mars rovers at Monash University. In 2023 the team placed 1st in Australia for the third year in a row and 2nd worldwide for the 2nd year in a row, representing what Aussies can do in space robotics. The team has partnered with companies from the space industry, namely Gilmour Space and NASA, to test their rover in the Regolith Test Bin at the Kennedy Space Centre. Chloe, Bec and Jess are passionate about the importance of diversity in STEM. In 2022 the team boldly painted their rover hot pink to start conversations about women in STEM, challenging the barriers and bias present in STEM and calling for reflective and intentional action to create inclusive spaces that attract and retain women in STEM.

​Chloe Chang is a mechanical engineer at Lunar Outpost and is studying her 5th year in mechatronics and robotics engineering. Before leading the Monash Nova Rover team she was the lead chassis engineer and has always loved combining art and mathematics into her mechanical designs. Previously set on fashion design and changing her degree to engineering sparked her passion for breaking down perceptions of who is a typical engineer and what STEM is through visibility of their Pink Rover. Focused to create equal opportunities for women to learn STEM and equitable STEM environments.

​Bec Leith is a fifth-year Engineering and Science student, majoring in Mechatronics and Chemistry. Bec co-managed the Nova Rover team in 2022-23 with Chloe Chang. She is now working for Monash Engineering as a Student Teams and Clubs Officer, managing the cohort of 18 engineering student teams, one of which is Nova Rover. Previously, Bec was the Chief Scientist for Nova Rover, combining her passion for Chemistry with Engineering to build scientific payloads for the rover's various missions. Before coming to university, Bec aspired to become a professional ballerina and is passionate about sharing her unconventional pathway into the world of STEM.

​Jess Hepworth is in her final year of an Engineering Degree at Monash University, specialising in Mechatronics and Robotics, with a minor in Astrophysics. Since attending a high school ‘Space Camp’ in Huntsville, Alabama in 2015, Jess has aspired to be a part of the thrilling and ever-developing space industry. Her love of hands-on problem-solving and desire to tackle complex technical projects has led Jess to develop a passion for space robotics. She joined the Robotic Arm sub-team of Monash Nova Rover in 2020, and took on the role of Chief Technical Officer in 2022-23, working closely with the leads of the team’s six technical sub-teams (Arm, Autonomous, Chassis, Electrical, Science and Software) to manage the development and integration of rover systems for the 2022-23 design cycle.

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​Preetham Akula

​Akula Tech

​Preetham will share his journey of bringing science to market. Technology forms a very interesting part of the story, but Preetham acknowledges that there are many out there who are more knowledgeable about the technology than himself (some at his own company!). For this talk, he will focus more on two aspects that are often overlooked; Risk management and product market fit.  Risk management is important in this journey not only to save money but also to allow room for innovation. Overmanagement of risk leads to obsolete products, and undermanagement of risk leads to overspent budgets. How do we find the sweet spot? Product-market fit may sometimes be seen as “Does the customer want this product?”. However, the key need of solving a problem is important to establish a product market fit.

​Preetham came to Australia about 3-4 years ago to study Aerospace Engineering at RMIT, like hundreds of other students who come every year. Three years into his course he realised, he wanted to do something more than usual and began to study the space industry in Australia. Although Australia has been ahead in many fields, space has been that one area where it wasn't competing on the global front. Realising this gap, he decided to start Akula Tech, specialising in space infrastructure and hardware development. Akula Tech is currently focused on building satellites for various purposes such as EO, Communication, National Security, Science and Experimentation etc. Their R&D also pans across other aspects of space infrastructure such as deep-space satellites and propulsion systems.

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