Archaeologist, Palaeoenvironmental Scientist and Illustrator

Emma in the studio at ABC Far North, recording an interview with author Becky Chambers as part of her ABC TOP 5 Science media residency

I enjoy finding visual ways to share scientific ideas. I’ve been drawing cartoons and comics since high school, and during my PhD I made science the subject for my art. Visuals are a powerful tool for communicating scientific concepts, and comics and cartoon-style graphics can make science accessible and fun. They can also be deceptively simple; it takes careful work to create a simple graphic that clearly communicates a complex idea. This process is challenging but also very rewarding. I have created infographics, animated video guides, comics, and artwork to accompany podcast episodes.

I am an archaeologist, palaeoenvironmental scientist, and illustrator, based in Queensland. My research is focused on the past, particularly the interactions between people and the environments they live in over the last 4,000 years. As a lifelong fan of time travel stories, I now get to time travel for work (backwards only!), although time travel can get messy; for my PhD, I looked at layers of mud from lakes in northern Australia to reconstruct ancient bushfires over thousands of years. I am currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Archaeology at James Cook University and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage.  

This is one of twelve illustrations I created to accompany episodes of the Supplementary Information podcast
I drew a series of anatomy illustrations as teaching materials for James Cook University, including this illustration showing the path of the external carotid artery

I was the Pint of Science Australia Artist in Residence for 2022 – I designed the festival artwork, called ‘Jump In!’ and featuring endangered Aussie frogs and many Australian inventions. I was also the recipient of a 2022 ABC TOP 5 Science media residency and received hands-on training with experienced broadcasters and journalists with ABC and ABC Radio National. I’m currently completing a Graduate Certificate in Science Communication with ANU CPAS.