AURIN is pleased to welcome Athena Thompson as Business Development Manager and Dr Nicolò Dalmasso as Data Scientist.
Bringing experience across business, government, research, and astrophysics, Athena and Nicolò have followed very different professional paths. However, both were drawn to AURIN by the opportunity to support meaningful research, strengthen collaboration, and help turn high-quality data into real-world impact.
Athena’s career has been shaped by curiosity and a willingness to embrace new challenges. With an educational background in nuclear medicine, she has spent more than 25 years working across business development, commercialisation, government, research, and business systems improvement.
Her varied career has included supporting the introduction of the Business Activity Statement while working at the Australian Taxation Office, helping commercialise UNSW’s world-leading solar technology, and leading the development of Knowledge Commercialisation Australasia’s Technology Transfer Professional Capability Framework. More recently, she helped establish a support network designed to assist small businesses with their most pressing challenges.
When the opportunity arose to join AURIN, Athena saw a new adventure and the chance to combine her love of data with her commitment to creating meaningful change.
“I love data and see how instrumental it is in helping us make meaningful change and improve outcomes. At AURIN, I’m excited by the opportunity to help make high-value data available to Australian researchers and support them in translating evidence into impact,” says Athena.
Nicolò grew up in the mountains of north-west Italy, where his aptitude for mathematics and physics led him from studying electrical systems design in high school to completing a Bachelor of Science in Physics and a Master of Science in Astrophysics.
In 2022, Nicolò moved to Melbourne to undertake a PhD in Astrophysics. After completing his doctorate, he decided to explore a career beyond pure academic research and apply his analytical and technical experience in a new environment.
Having spent much of his career as a researcher, Nicolò understands how challenging it can be to find reliable, high-quality data for valuable research. Joining AURIN offered him the opportunity to support other researchers and contribute to the discoveries their work makes possible.
“Facilitating access to good data and being part of the process that helps researchers make new discoveries or push their fields forward feels like giving back,” says Nicolò.
Collaboration and Connection
In her new role, Athena is particularly excited by the diversity of perspectives, skills, and experience found across AURIN. She values the opportunity to learn from colleagues throughout the organisation while contributing her own experience in strategy, relationship-building, and commercialisation.
Athena is also helping develop a new program that will strengthen the way AURIN engages with its stakeholders and focuses its efforts. For her, work of this kind brings together the elements she finds most rewarding: strategy, collaboration, community, and measurable impact.
Her professional approach is guided by three closely connected values: curiosity, connection, and generosity. Curiosity encourages her to challenge assumptions and remain open to new possibilities. Connection helps her create environments where people feel heard and able to contribute. Generosity reflects her belief that knowledge and opportunities become more powerful when they are shared.
Nicolò similarly places a strong emphasis on collaboration. He believes honesty and clear communication are essential to building productive professional relationships, keeping teams focused on a shared mission, and providing the best possible service to the people they support.
For Nicolò, joining AURIN marks both a change in professional direction and the beginning of a new adventure. His background in astrophysics has equipped him with experience in research, statistical analysis, and working with complex information, skills he can now apply to the challenges and opportunities found in urban research.
While their backgrounds differ, Athena and Nicolò share a belief in the importance of openness, curiosity and bringing people together around a common purpose.
Athena defines authenticity as being guided by the same values in every part of life. She believes trust grows when people are genuine, reliable and consistent in their actions, particularly in business development, where strong partnerships depend on meaningful relationships rather than a pitch alone.
Her advice to those beginning their careers is to say yes to new experiences, ask for help, and avoid sacrificing timeliness in the pursuit of perfection.
“Be brave, ask questions, and ask for feedback. It’s okay to make mistakes because they give you an opportunity to learn,” says Athena.
Nicolò also encourages people to look beyond grades and formal measures of achievement. He believes that relationships, practical experience and the confidence to ask questions can be just as important in building a fulfilling career.
“Focus on networking and experiences, and don’t be afraid to ask. Everyone had to start somewhere, and they can relate,” says Nicolò.
We’re delighted to welcome Athena and Nicolò to AURIN. Their combined experience, curiosity, and commitment to collaboration will strengthen our ability to support Australian researchers and help transform high-quality data into evidence, insight and meaningful impact.