People
Group Leader • Research Fellows • PhD Students • Masters Students • Research Assistants
Professor Rachel Popelka-Filcoff
Rock Art Australia Minderoo Chair in Archaeological Science
Professor Rachel Popelka-Filcoff is the Rock Art Australia Minderoo Chair in Archaeological Science in the School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Melbourne, where she leads archaeological science initiatives. Her research develops novel multidisciplinary approaches to analyse cultural materials, artifacts and landscapes. These integrated methods offer an extraordinary view into past cultures, understanding of current society, and insight into our future. Rachel’s research group explores provenience, sourcing and exchange of source geological materials and artifacts through analysis and statistical approaches, and the development of high-resolution, non-invasive characterisation of cultural heritage materials. Her research is to the first comprehensive integrative characterisation of Australian natural mineral pigments on cultural heritage materials. Rachel holds a PhD in Chemistry from the University of Missouri as a National Science Foundation Research Fellow and completed a National Research Council postdoc at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). From 2009-2020, she was at Flinders University in Adelaide, including 2010-2016 where she was an AINSE Senior Research Fellow. Rachel is on the editorial board of Journal of Archaeological Science and is a Fellow of the Royal Australian Chemical Institute. She has had her research profiled in several scientific and general media outlets, radio and television interviews.
Dr Louise Shewan
Research Fellow in Archaeological Science
Louise Shewan (FRGS) is an archaeological scientist with expertise in the isotopic analysis of skeletal remains and environmental samples. She has undertaken archaeological research in Jordan, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos. Her present research focus is the development of methodologies for Laser Ablation Multicollector-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) techniques to apply to archaeological dental (human and faunal) specimens and establishing protocols for the creation of baseline ‘isoscapes’ for archaeological research. Louise also has current research projects in forensic science and interdisciplinary collaborations with Engineering (remote sensing in post-conflict environments), Arts (digital conservation, immersive visualisation) and Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences (dental microstructure).
Dr Helen Green
John McKenzie Research Fellow and Rock Art Australia Research Fellow in Rock Art Dating
Helen’s research is focused on adapting and developing techniques to characterise and radiometrically date layered mineral coatings found in association with Indigenous rock art in Australia’s Kimberley region. These coatings, identified across the region, also hold the potential to record paleoenvironmental fluctuations in rock art shelters on time scales relevant to the stylistic sequence of rock art styles. I hope to develop this research to a point where the accretions produce records that may help us understand the environmental conditions experienced by the artists occupying these shelters and how this may have influenced what is depicted in the art.
Maddison Crombie
PhD Student
Maddison Crombie comes from a background of Archaeological Science, completing a B.A/B.Sc in Archaeology, Anthropology and Chemistry at La Trobe University. Throughout her undergraduate degree she worked with the Mungo Archaeology Project in both student and research roles taking part in several field seasons, fostering a love for Archaeological Science and cultural heritage. Maddison completed both her Honours and Masters degrees at La Trobe University, co-supervised in Chemistry and Archaeology in a multi-disciplinary project investigating emu eggshell kinetics and its application to open-sites such as Lake Mungo.
Her research interests are focused on the application of analytical chemistry to archaeological questions and the reconstruction of paleoenvironmental data. Her Masters project explored the kinetics of modern emu eggshell racemization as a tool to generate paleotemperature estimates, and its application to a set of archaeological eggshell fragments from hearths at Lake Mungo. In addition to this, her research also explored the application of compound-specific isotope analysis, using IR-MS on eggshell samples as a method of generating information about emu diet.Maddison is now excited to work on using isotopic methods to characterise and potentially provenance natural mineral pigments.
Sophia Vogelsang
PhD Student
Sophia earned her B.A. In Chemistry and History of Art at Vanderbilt University with an Honors Thesis studying protein-nanoparticle interactions using ultrafast infrared spectroscopy. During her undergraduate degree, she worked as a Junior Fellows Intern with the Preservation Research and Testing Division at the Library of Congress on a research project exploring the light-fading of materials with microfade-testing spectroscopy. Through her experiences in the sciences and humanities as a student and researcher, she developed a passion for interdisciplinary research between the physical sciences and art conservation and archaeology.
She is currently a PhD student in Chemistry and National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the advisement of Prof. Uwe Bergmann and Prof. Rachel Popelka-Filcoff as part of an international research collaboration. Sophia’s research is focused on Australian plant exudates which have been used by Aboriginal Australians for technical and cultural heritage applications, such as hafting adhesives and paint binders, in continuous traditions stretching from the archaeological past to present. Her research aims to gain insight into the complex chemistry, aging behavior, and molecular level structure-function relations of these culturally important natural materials using a multi-analytical approach, including FTIR, NMR, GC-MS, synchrotron-based X-ray Raman scattering, and materials properties characterization.
Ishara Pathirage
PhD Student
Ishara Pathirage holds a diverse background in earth science and chemistry, having completed her B.Sc in earth sciences, chemistry, and biology at South Eastern University of Sri Lanka. She furthered her education with a Master’s degree from the University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, where she worked in geology and geochemistry. Her Master’s research focused on the investigation of geogenic pollution of groundwater quality in the Gampaha district, Sri Lanka, specifically studying groundwater acidification.
Ishara’s research interests are centered on applying geology and geochemistry to address archaeological questions. She is currently involved in the Dating Murujuga’s Rock Art monitoring project, where she examines the gabbros of Rosemary Island. These gabbros serve as the canvas for the oldest rock art in the Dampier Archipelago, offering valuable insights into the region’s ancient human activities.
Marina Mitsopoulos
Masters Student
Marina is a Master of Science (Earth Sciences) student at the University of Melbourne currently studying ochre samples and processes in Australia’s northwest. Through her Masters research she is hoping to give further insight into how temperature impacts Kimberley ochres. Marina is a Bachelor of Science graduate in the geology major and is passionate about the application of scientific methods to cultivate a deeper understanding of cultural material.
Dr Venera May
Research Assistant
Venera is a research assistant at Melbourne University, currently working on the analysis of ochres. She would consider herself a geologist by passion. Her research interests are the study of basaltic Quaternary volcanoes from non-conventional settings from a geochemical and geochronology point of view. By analysing the geochemical composition of lava flows, the volcano eruptive behaviour can be determined and the magmatic source can be characterised, providing a window to our inaccessible inner Earth. In this context, she is also interested in exploring methods that can successfully date Holocene and late Quaternary basaltic volcanic products, which are not well established at the moment, as geochronological tools are essential in comprehending the eruptive frequency of a volcano and to identify possible volcanic hazards. Venera conducted her undergraduate and PhD studies at the University of Wollongong (thesis title: Geochemical and geochronological constraints on Quaternary volcanism in southern Mendoza, Argentina). After completing her PhD she was employed at Freiburg University, Germany as a research & teaching assistant where she has been responsible for coordinating and teaching the volcanology and volcanic hazards module since 2015. At Freiburg, she also received a grant to explore the geochemical and luminescence properties of mafic mineral and contribute to developing new dating techniques suitable for young volcanic rocks. In summary, she has worked extensively using a range of analytical methods including XRF, XRD, ICP-MS, LA-ICP-MS, TIMS, and can now rely on >10 years of broad academic experience in volcanology, geochemistry and geochronology.
Faris Ruzain
Research Assistant
Faris is a trained chemist with an analytical and environmental chemistry background. He holds a BSc (majoring in Chemistry) and MSc (with Distinction) in Chemistry from The University of Melbourne.
His Master’s project involved fabricating micrometre-sized core-shell polymer beads capable of extracting anions from water for environmental remediation using a novel microfluidic method.
From his undergraduate and Master’s studies, he has experience using various analytical instruments including GC-MS, HPLC, AAS, UV-Vis and flow injection methods among others.
He is currently working as a Research Assistant investigating the formation of accretions in rock shelters across the Kimberley Region in Western Australia using a trace analysis method by gas-chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS).
His work involves identifying organic molecules that could prove a microbial formation of these rock accretions.
He is also working on a project involving model ochres to investigate the effects of environmental factors on their trace element composition using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and colorimetric methods.
His research interests involve linking analytical chemistry with environmental changes through interdisciplinary research.
Noa Abrahams
Research Assistant
Noa is a master of science in chemistry at the University of Melbourne. She is interested in the intersections between science research and social justice, particularly regarding environment conservation and sustainability.