Professor David McKenzie - Biography

Marcela Bilek was appointed Professor of Applied Physics at the University of Sydney in November 2000, at the age of 32. She holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of Cambridge, UK, a B.Sc.(Hons) in Physics from the University of Sydney and an MBA degree from the Rochester Institute of Technolgy, USA,. Prior to her present appointment she held a visiting Professorship at the Technische Universität Hamburg-Harburg in Germany and a Research Fellowship at Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, UK. She also worked for a number of years as a visiting Research Scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, University of California, USA. Aside from her academic experience, Marcela has also spent time working in industry as a Research Scientist at Comalco Research Centre, Melbourne, and at the IBM Asia Pacifc Group Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan.

Her main research interest is in plasma deposition of thin films and surface treatments including ion implantation. This involves both characterisation of the plasmas used and microstructural studies of the thin films and modified surfaces produced. Marcela is well known internationally for her work on understanding and applying the plasma of the cathodic arc. She has authored over 60 journal articles. Since joining the University of Sydney she has developed research interests in renewable energy research and manages a program of research in vacuum glazing and solar energy conversion.

Marcela was born in Prague some months before the Prague Spring (1968) and emigrated to Australia with her parents as a small child. She grew up in Engadine, an outer suberb of Sydney and was educated in the NSW public school system, first at Engadine Public School and then at Heathcote High School. Throughout her school years Marcela enjoyed, and excelled in, the analytical subjects, such as all of the Sciences, Mathematics and Economics. Her free time was spent pursuing outdoor activities, such as bush walking with family and friends, cycling and tennis. As a teenager, she taught bushcraft, navigation, abseiling and rockclimbing in a Australian Bicentennial Program to expand the horizons of Sydney's youth.

Marcela's analytical abilities and her love of discovery led her to enrol in a Science/Law degree at Sydney University in 1986. She discontinued her legal studies after the first year to focus on Science. In 1988 she postponed her studies to work as an intern at IBM's Asia Pacific Headquarters in Tokyo. During this year she discovered her love of travel and foreign languages and cultures. In 1991 she graduated from the University of Sydney with a B.Sc. (Hons) and was awarded a University Medal.

Another fondly remembered period in her career was the 7 years she spent at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. First she was a PhD student at Peterhouse, the oldest and smallest of the Cambridge colleges. She enjoyed the mix of foreign students and the exposure to a variety of academic disciplines. To make up for the reduced availability of outdoor sports due to the cooler climate, she took up competitive ballroom dancing and was awarded a Half-Blue for her representation of the University in the sport. On completion of her PhD she became a research fellow at Emmanuel College, a beautiful college in Central Cambridge. The support and encouragement she received from the Fellows of Emmanuel College enabled her to successfully build an international reputation in her field and underpinned many of her future successes.