Geodetic Scientist & PhD Candidate, University of Tasmania

Tasmania, Australia

The fact that Earth does not sit still—that it shrinks, swells, and wiggles—has so captured the imagination of Anna Riddell that she chose a career in geodesy (and has the Twitter handle @Wiggly_Earth). During high school when Riddell began thinking about careers, she knew that she’d like to pursue something science-flavored and in the engineering space. Then a professor from the university visited her class, and she discovered that the field of geodesy was her perfect fit.

Now she’s a geodetic scientist with Geoscience Australia, the federal agency for research in all manner of geo: mapping, reference frameworks, geospatial data, and geographic and geological data.

Riddell has worked on the national GNSS reference network, the new national datum (GDA2020), plate tectonics, and quantifying sea-level rise. Riddell is continuing her studies with the University of Tasmania as a PhD candidate. She says that with the world jumping head-first into an era of location-based technologies and services, geodesy and geosciences are an excellent career path for today’s young people.