Lauren Fell
About Me
I hold a BA Psych (Hons) from Macquarie University, an education which has shaped the way I engage in all other fields I now work within. I am part of a research group at Queensland University of Technology specialising in Quantum Cognition - the application of theories of quantum physics to explain cognitive phenomena. After working as a research assistant whilst holding additional jobs in mental health work and UX consulting, this background has lead me to begin my PhD in Quantum Cognition and to teach as an Associate Lecturer in the Masters of IT program at QUT.
I have a diverse background of work, ranging from door-to-door sales in Australia and Ireland to electrician's assistant, to a palaeontology volunteer position in Argentina. I also participate in various crowd-sourced innovation challenges for a range of organisations, most notably NASA - with whom I have placed first in two challenges, second in two and third in another. Some of my designs and concepts in these challenges are being tested for use in space exploration and sample-collection.
In addition to this, I co-founded PsytAssist - a report and letter writing tool for Allied Health professionals, with an aim to develop this into a program to assist in the diagnosis of ASD - a concept for which I won the Lord Mayor's Budding Entrepreneur Grant in Brisbane.
I believe in developing my skills creatively across industries so that I can tackle every opportunity with lateral thinking and from new and innovative angles.
Lunaria One
I've recently embarked on an exciting endeavour to place a set of carefully selected seeds and resurrection plants on the lunar surface to show that germination and growth are possible on the moon. I am leading a *stellar* team of scientists, engineers and specialists to make this happen.
We were recently successful in our bid for our payload of seeds and plants to be included on-board a Lunar Lander scheduled for flight to the moon by 2026.
Based on my past experience participating and winning NASA challenges, I know that age, education, experience or domain expertise are no barriers to contributing to humanity's exploration of space. This project will thus involve core outreach and citizen scientist components.
Learn more here
To get involved in this project, visit our outreach portal, plantsonthemoon.au
RESEARCH & TEACHING
I am currently undertaking my PhD looking at how models based on the formalism of quantum physics can be applied to face perception. I'm particularly interested in experimental protocol design to test these models, as well as the psychological explanations for the results. I am also involved in projects investegating the use of virtual reality for people with cognitive impairments, modelling trust, and investegating trust in autonomous systems
Teaching into the Masters of IT at Queensland University of Technology, I bring a cognition-centric approach which enables students to gain a deeper understanding of why we have technology and how we use it.
DESIGN PROJECTS
I regularly participate in contests as a freelancer to develop my cross-disciplinary skillset. So far, I have won and placed in five contests for NASA:
- Design of an autonomous inflatable crane for moving cargo on the moon (1st)
- Creation of a storyboard to explain RFID tagging in space (1st)
- Creation of a course for implementing the Interplanetary Overlay Network in space (2nd)
- Design of a collapsible radiation shield for shuttle travel (2nd)
- Design of a moon regolith collector and sorter (3rd)
TEDxQUT - WHY EVERYONE CAN BE A ROCKET SCIENTIST
Sharing experiences can aid learning and help people see opportunities they may not have otherwise considered.
In my recent TEDx talk at QUT, I shared my experience going from a high school kid failing at maths to winning NASA crowdsourced challenges. Crowdsourced innovation allows connections with people with diverse backgrounds, and importantly, is a powerful tool in innovation and discovery - particularly in the space industry
I visit schools and events to talk about a range of topics including careers in space, quantum cognition, building trust in organisations and psychological safety.
ANDY THE ANATOMY BOT
Andy is a bio-inspired robotic face with artificial pneumatic muscles mimicing the structure and function of human facial anatomy. I created Andy after looking into artificial soft muscles for a freelance project I was working on and thought it would be interesting to utilise these to the construction of a face by matching the muscles anatomically. Whilst he was born out of an idle curiosity, I now hope to apply him in the area of facial expression training, particularly for people on the Autism Spectrum.
UX CONSULTING
Utilising my knowledge of psychology, I have conducted and managed a range of projects as a UX consultant both in Australia and abroad. I have worked with mobile applications, websites, physical sites and self-service terminals, for clients ranging from small startups to large national companies.
VOLUNTEERING
Volunteering has been a key component of my personal growth and the perspective I take of the world. I have worked with:
- wildlife in South Africa
- missionary work in South Africa
- a small community in the Ecuadorian Andes
- reforestation projects in the Galapagos
- Palaeontology digs in Patagonia