CV - Jayde Willingham

Curriculum Vitae of Jayde Willingham

Access a copy of my condensed CV:

The condensed, two page version, of this page can be accessed right HERE!

Outreach and Extracurriculars

Children’s University Educator

Children's University, 2023 - Present
I presented 30 minute sessions to ~10-50 primary school students, with the aim to get them interested and excited about science and particularly physics. You can see a image of me and our "air cannon" demonstration below.

ExperimentFest Educator

University of Newcastle, 2024
Not all highschools have the facilities to demonstrate the experiments that are discussed in the HSC. Therefore, the University of Newcastle holds ExperimentFest each year to guide the students through key experiments, the related physics and help them reach a deeper understanding. I was fortunate to help demonstrate experiments, that demonstrated the nature of light, to groups of ~10 students at a time.

HunterWISE Women in STEM Mentor

University of Newcastle, 2022
This opportunity involved visiting a group of year 8 high school students that identified as female each week over eight weeks to guide them through a project or experiment of their design. This culminated in a poster and presentation at a conference, held at the University. The aim is to help an underrepresented group in STEM to have a first hand experience with science and introduce them to a range of successful and emerging women in scientific careers.

University Club Founder

University of Newcastle, 2020-2023
At the end of my first year of undergrad I created the club "UoN Musos", a club that aimed to bring together students interested in making and talking about music. I became president for two years of my undergrad and during this time ran a number of succesful events and directed/produced our first musical which was extremely succesful. I then became treasurer in my final year to transition out of club leadership. Under this role I acted as vocal director in our second musical and help secured substantial university funding for future productions.

Me firing an air cannon at a Childrens' University Session!

Communication and Colloquia

MQ BPhil Project Conference

Macquarie University, May & October 2024
I presented methodology and interim results at a school wide colloqium for both 12 week projects, with Professor Andrew Hopkins and Dr. Tayyaba Zafar, I completed as part of elective coursework units.

Sciene Communication Blog Post - Blackholes

MQ BPhil Blog, October 2024
Check out the blog post right here!

UoN Undergraduate Project Colloqium

University of Newcastle, October 2022
I presented theory, methodology and final results of my 12 week project with Dr. Lachlan Rogers to the schoolwide cohort.

Awards

Research Excellence Scholarship

Macquarie University, Jan - Dec 2025

Summer Research Scholarship

University of Newcastle, Dec 2022

College Commendation List

University of Newcastle, 2020 and 2021

Skills

Technical Languages

Python, R, MATLAB, Mathematica, C.

Technical Skills

Proficient in Microsoft/Google suites, Spyder and Jupyter notebooks, Latex, GitHub, report writing, Windows Subsystem for Linux, self taught HTML.

Miscellaneous Skills & Hobbies

Photography, audio/visual editing, graphic design, professionally trained vocalist, very average at four instruments.

Education

Master of Research

Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University, 2024-2025

This is a two year course with the first year composed of high level coursework that is aimed to prepare for independent research. WAM:83.25.
The second year is spent conducting research for the Master of Research Thesis. My supervisor is Professor Andrew Hopkins and we will be exploring the evolution of star formation and luminosity functions and applying new calibration techniques.

Bachelor of Science

Physics, University of Newcastle, 2023

I completed this degree with distinction and developed a love of teaching and outreach in my time at UoN. My classes and research during this time consisted mainly of electromagnetism, quantum information and quantum optics.

Bachelor of Mathematics

Pure and Applied Mathematics, University of Newcastle, 2023

I completed this degree alongside my Bachelor of Science and also completed it with distinction. During this time I took classes in a range of topics from pure, applied and statistical mathematics.

Research Experience

CSIRO Studentship

Supervisor: Dr Maxim Voronkov
CSIRO, November 2024 - February 2025

We investigated the hyperfine structures of methanol masers in observational radio data. Our work included simulating these structures, modeling the data, and applying statistical analyses to better understand these poorly characterized features and their potential implications.

Bachelor of Philosophy Research

Supervisor: Professor Andrew Hopkins
Macquarie University, 2024

This study quantifies uncertainties, evaluates the robustness of star formation rate (SFR) calculations, and compares their performance to model-derived SFRs, highlighting areas for improvement within the field.

Bachelor of Philosophy Research

Supervisor: Dr Tayyaba Zafar
Macquarie University, 2024

We explored the viability of using observational radio fluxes from star-forming galaxies to constrain spectral energy distribution models, enabling improved parameter estimation.

University of Newcastle Summer Research

Supervisor: Assosciate Professor Karen Livesey
University of Newcastle, 2023

A computational study of the properties of multi-level antiferromagnetic spin systems, involving the derivation of system equations and their analysis using MATLAB.

Undergraduate Research

Supervisor: Assosciate Professor Lachlan Rogers
University of Newcastle, 2022

Here we investigate how the laser power dependence affects the photon auto- correlation time scales in the g(2)(τ) function in order to make steps towards creating a rigorous model for analysing NV centres.

Publications

“EMU/GAMA: A new approach to characterising radio luminosity functions.”

2024, PASA Under Review.
J. Prathap, A. M. Hopkins, J. Afonso, M. Bilicki, M. Cowley, S. M. Croom, Y. Gordon, S. Phillipps, E. M. Sadler, S. S. Shabala, U. T. Ahmed, S. Amarantidis, M. J. I. Brown, R. Carvajal, D. Leahy, J. R. Marvil, T. Mukherjee, J. Willingham, and T. Zafar.

Teaching Experience

Casual Academic

University of Newcastle, 2023 - Present
PHYS1205 - Fundamentals of Engineering Physics
PHYS1210 - Advanced Physics I
PHYS1200 - Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences
• Taught physics problem-solving strategies to classes of 15–40 students, emphasising conceptual understanding, logical reasoning, and mathematical techniques.
• Collaborated with the course coordinator to develop and tailor learning materials aligned with course objectives.

Laboratory Demonstrator

University of Newcastle, 2022 - Present
PHYS1205 - Fundamentals of Engineering Physics
PHYS1210 - Advanced Physics I
PHYS1250 - MRS Physics and Radiation Protection
ENVS1002 - Physical and Chemical Environmental Systems
• Led classes of 10–50 students through experimental procedures, providing clear explanations of fundamental physics and mathematics concepts.
• Evaluated and graded lab workbooks and reports, ensuring consistent feedback to support student learning and improvement.

Peer Assisted Study Tutor

University of Newcastle, 2021 - 2023
PHYS1250 - MRS Physics and Radiation Protection
MATH1800 - Mathematical Modelling
STAT1300 - Fundamentals of Statistics
MATH2310 - Calculus of Science and Engineering
• Collaborated with course coordinators, lecturers, and students to design effective study materials aimed at enhancing student understanding and academic success.
• Facilitated classes of 1–20 students, guiding them through problem-solving exer- cises both individually and in group settings.