Dr Venta Terauds

Postdoctoral Researcher - Mathematics, University of Tasmania

"Mathematics is not super diverse and I am a big believer in representation, you can't be what you can't see. Sometimes you need to put yourself out there and say “look I’m here, I'm doing math and you can do it too"

Dr Venta Terauds is a research fellow in the Discipline of Mathematics at the University of Tasmania, currently working in theoretical phylogenetics using mathematical models to study the evolutionary relationships among biological entities

to better understand evolution and the many relationships involved. Venta has a background in pure mathematics and has applied maths to a variety of problems, from operational risk in the banking industry to the inverse problem of mathematical diffraction. In her spare time, Venta has a passion for music and exploring the outdoors by getting out into the Tassie nature.

“I have had a pretty non-standard career path with career breaks for child caring and other reasons, and I am still part time. It is challenging to keep research momentum when you don’t have that continuity. We are still measured by quantity of research outputs.”

“While I have some really great research outputs, I am most proud of when I have had an impact on students and help them succeed. It is a really good feeling to know you’ve helped someone understand something that was hard for them or that you’ve sparked a joy and passion for math.”

“It is challenging to break the implicit expectations that academia should be your whole life. This is not true for me. I love my job and I think I am very good at my job but this is true even though I have a family and I have a lot of non-academic things I like to do.”

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