Australasian Radiation Protection Young Generation Network

Katrina Taloni has 10 years of radiation safety and compliance experience across mining and mineral processing, industrial, radiopharmaceutical and medical research sectors. Katrina currently works for BHP as a technical lead, specialising in aerosol characterisation, dose modelling, legislative analysis and governance. She is passionate about radiation education and early-career development and also represents ARPS within the IRPA Training & Education task group. Outside of work, Katrina puts her impressive collection of trivia and pop-culture knowledge to good use at trivia nights and enjoys testing her escape-room skills.

Based in New South Wales, Max Chamberlin is a Regulatory Officer at the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), specialising in source safety and radiological security. He has a professional and academic background spanning public administration and process engineering, supported by qualifications in radiation management, dangerous goods shipments, and the physical protection of nuclear and radiological materials. Max is passionate about supporting the development of early-career professionals and promoting effective knowledge transfer across the sector.

Matthew Wiggins is a Health Physicist with Queensland Health, working across environmental radiation monitoring, radiation measurement, gamma spectrometry, instrument calibration and emergency response. He has a particular interest in environmental radioactivity, radiation mapping and practical radiation protection.

Matthew helped establish ARPYGN and served as an inaugural Co-Chair alongside Amy MacIntosh from 2024–2025, before serving as President from 2025–2026. He now supports the network as Past President. Matthew has also held senior roles within ARPS, including Treasurer and Webmaster, and continues to contribute to governance, communications and member engagement.

He is passionate about strengthening opportunities for students and early-career professionals, improving connections across the radiation protection community, and supporting collaboration between ARPYGN, ARPS and international young generation networks.

Hannan Dempsey has been involved with ARPYGN since the network was established and previously served as Treasurer from 2025–2026. She has a background in medical physics and radiation protection and is committed to supporting students and early-career professionals across the radiation protection community.

Hannan particularly enjoys the creative side of professional society activities, including graphic design, communications and developing resources and promotional material. Having helped ARPYGN grow through its early years, she is keen to continue building an active, supportive and engaging network for young radiation protection professionals across Australasia.

Rohitha Millina Baskar is an early-career Radiation Safety Consultant with a multidisciplinary background spanning radiation and health physics, medical physics and occupational health and safety. Her professional experience includes work in Australia and Botswana, and she is a recipient of the IAEA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship.

Rohitha is passionate about building a strong, connected and supportive community for the next generation of radiation protection professionals. Through ARPYGN, she is particularly interested in technical workshops and webinars, mentoring and networking opportunities, stronger engagement with universities across Australia and New Zealand, and collaboration with the wider IRPA Young Generation Network.

Alexia Denys is an early-career radiation protection professional who has worked full-time in radiation safety since late 2024, primarily across the mining and industrial sectors. She has also held a range of general and executive positions in university clubs and enjoys contributing to active professional communities.

Through ARPYGN, Alexia is keen to support the network’s continued growth and create more professional and social development opportunities for young professionals. She is particularly interested in informal networking activities and stronger engagement with the science and radiation protection community in Western Australia.

Paola Pastura is passionate about encouraging greater interest in radiation protection among young people and supporting the next generation entering the profession. She is particularly interested in expanding ARPYGN engagement beyond universities and early-career professionals to include outreach to secondary school students who may not yet be aware of the range of careers available in radiation protection.

As someone relatively close to the student experience herself, Paola hopes to help make radiation protection approachable and relevant to younger audiences and encourage more students to consider study and career pathways in the field.