Kim Mintern-Lane appointed SUPL Facility and Laboratory Manager
SUPL Ltd has appointed Kim Mintern-Lane as Stawell Underground Physics Laboratory (SUPL) Facility and Laboratory Manager.
In the role, Kim will manage the operation of the overall SUPL facility, with a major focus on safety, coordination of occupancy and access to the facility, and maintaining a close working relationship with Stawell Gold Mines.
She starts the role this week and will be based in Stawell, where she grew up and attended primary and secondary school.
Kim began her professional career as a crime scene investigator and, over 18 years with the Australian Federal Police (AFP), has built an expertise in forensic science leadership and practice, supporting AFP national operations including illegal importations and counter terrorism.
In 2015, Kim was deployed to the Netherlands to assist in the investigation of the Malaysian Airlines MH17 plane crash over Ukraine, which provided her with experience in world class investigation processes and laboratory facilities that she brought back to Australia.
In Melbourne, she provided her scientific expertise to the design of a new forensics facility for the AFP.
After spending almost two decades living outside Stawell, she is looking forward to moving back to her home town.
“I was connected with Stawell because my parents were still here and I have always travelled back and forth to see them,” Kim said.
“I love the Grampians and really wanted to get back to the country,” she said.
Kim is looking forward to being involved with the management of the laboratory, both as it houses the SABRE South dark matter experiment, and for its potential to contribute to further scientific exploration in the future.
“It’s a great opportunity, both for scientific research and for what we can offer the community in Stawell. The more I look into the research, the more exciting it is.
“We could be confirming the existence of dark matter and it is so exciting to be part of that. I’m also interested in what other research could be done in the laboratory in the future,” she said.