Alumni Updates

Bradley Kirk – Material scientist in sustainable energy

2018 Playford Trust Honours Scholarship / 2020 Playford Trust PhD scholarship

Bradley is a material scientist who currently specialises in the development of organic and inorganic-based semiconductors specifically geared towards energy production. He has collaborated with research teams and industry partners based in Australia and internationally.

In 2020, Bradley embarked on his doctoral journey at Flinders University and was involved in the scalable fabrication of next-generation photovoltaics. These cutting-edge devices, capable of directly converting sunlight into electricity, hold the potential to impact the renewable energy landscape.

Throughout his time at Flinders, Bradley has enhanced his skills in thin-film fabrication and characterisation techniques, while gaining an understanding of the challenges associated with translating laboratory-based processes into viable industrial manufacturing methods.

He is currently working at the University of Adelaide, where he is involved with development of a beta-voltaic power generator, a device that converts beta radiation emission into power. In partnership with EntX, a dynamic Adelaide-based company at the forefront of the energy and medical sectors, and the University of South Australia, the project aims to develop the beta-voltaic towards prototyping.

Bradley received a 2018 Playford Trust Honours Scholarship and a 2020 Playford Trust PhD scholarship while at Flinders University. They enabled him to focus on his research projects – and gave him opportunities to present his research in front of internationally-recognised researchers.

Driven by a passion for sustainable energy production and storage, Bradley has continued his involvement in South Australia as material scientist, pushing towards the development of novel materials and the upscaling of emerging technology.

 

 

More Alumni Updates

Fei Wang – Networking and Cyber Security

2023 Playford Trust/TAFE SA Award in Modern Industy and New Technologies
Driven by determination and a belief that women can excel in STEM, Fei embarked on her IT journey after working as a bank teller for five years. Her Playford Trust Award gave her confidence and opened doors…

Rhona Hamilton – Exploring the brain with lasers

2020 Playford Trust Honours Scholarship
Rhona’s research interests have transitioned from laser physics to laser applications in biology, a field that has opened up new and exciting avenues for exploration. She’s currently in Scotland…

Viv Naidu – Mining and much more

2015 AusIMM/Playford Trust Honours Scholarship in Geoscience, Mining Engineering and Chemical Engineering
When I was awarded the AusIMM/Playford Memorial Trust Scholarship, one of the supporting partners was Hillgrove Resources. After I finished my degree, I was fortunate enough to secure a Graduate Mining Engineering role with them.

Brooke North – Exploring what’s possible in exploration

2020 OzMinerals/Playford Trust Honours Scholarship
Since graduating with Honours in 2020, I’ve gained experience across two different industries, each with a shared focus: exploration. Following my student position, I worked as an Exploration Geologist with OZ Minerals and later BHP…

Alison Gill – Plant scientist for Earth and beyond

2020 Playford Trust PhD Scholarship
Alison received her scholarship for her work in investigating industrial hemp drought tolerance, water use efficiency and plant physiology. She revealed that hemp can survive when water is scarce by regulating photosynthetic behaviour, offering valuable insights for Australian producers.

Susan Lee – Environmental pioneer

2006 Playford Trust PhD Environmental Scholarship
I was the first student to receive a Playford Trust Environment Scholarship in 2006. Studies in the environment tend to include a lot of fieldwork and trips away from civilisation, so the scholarship really helped me with these costs!

Lucas (Tuan) Tran – Energy Engineer

2021 Playford Trust/Cooper Energy Petroleum Engineering Scholarship
In 2017, I came to Australia as an international student from Vietnam to pursue a world-class education in Petroleum Engineering at the University of Adelaide. After finishing my Honours degree, I began my PhD project…

Robert Trott – Exoskeleton and physiological measurement

2017 Playford Trust PhD Scholarship
Robbie is now working as a Research Fellow at the Australian Industrial Transformation Institute (AITI) – a national leader in industry and workplace innovation research – and he’s based at Flinders University.

SHARE YOUR STORY

We love to hear from our alumni and to share their news. To let us know where your studies have taken you, email an update and a picture to admin@playfordtrust.com.au