Raghda Abdel Khaleq: Physics PhD Student and Visual Artist Interviewed for SciArt

A woman of many talents, Raghda Abdel Khaleq, is a physics PhD student at ANU, a member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Dark Matter Particle Physics, and an emerging visual artist.

Using her passion for art and creativity to explore scientific ideas through her paintbrushes and other mediums, Raghda uses her skills to explore concepts of the universe and educate others about the unknown world and spectrum we live in.

Recently winning the Robert and Helen Crompton Endowment Award, Raghda is making waves in her research and PhD studies. This award "will fund me to go to the University of Toronto in Canada for a few months to work with post-doctoral researcher Madeleine Zurowski," a previous PhD student with CDM. Along with winning this prestigious award in physics, she's also beginning to gain notoriety for her talent in visual art, as explored in an interview with the ANU Research School of Physics.

In the episode for SciArt, Raghda talks about her work with the Centre and how she uses art to reset the mind when "things aren't going right or [you've] been at a problem for a while," to loosen up the mind. She also discusses how being in a creative space brings "more balance," as well as her hopes to use her skills in art and her knowledge in science to educate the greater public.

Read the interview or watch the video below as it follows her in creating one artwork and a journey to explore SUPL.