Meet Dr Grace Chung, Engineering Director and Head of Google Research Australia. Here she talks about solving problems with AI and career twists and turns.  

 

In exciting news, Google will be hosting our upcoming in-person Members Connect Meet-up on 25 September! This event will give our members an opportunity to connect while exploring an innovative multidisciplinary collaboration in health – the Australian Future Hearing Initiative. These events are free for our FW members so get in quick to register 😊  

What is your current role and how did you get to be there?

 I am Engineering Director at Google Australia and I lead our Research Hub in Sydney. I completed a double degree in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics at UNSW. I got the University Medal and then a Fulbright Scholarship to Massachusetts Institute of Technology where I earned my PhD/MS in computer science. 

In my career, I have been a research scientist, a software engineer and an engineering manager. It was at Google where I discovered my passion for building and leading software engineering teams. My teams have developed features for products such as Chrome and Search that have touched billions of users. In my current position, I lead a team of research scientists working on solving fundamental research problems in AI. 

How does your work contribute to the field?

I lead a team that partners with five organisations across healthcare: Cochlear, Macquarie University Hearing, National Acoustic Laboratories, NextSense and the Shepherd Centre. This partnership aims to develop next–generation hearing assistive technology applying machine learning techniques. We seek to radically advance hearing technology with the ability to personalise hearing models and better address listening needs in complex environments. 

What is a project you would love to get off the ground or a skill you would like to develop, if you had the opportunity? 

I am very interested in how AI can help sustainability and, in particular, biodiversity for the planet. I believe advances in AI will help make the work of ecologists, biologists and environmentalists much easier in areas of monitoring and restoration. I would love to contribute to these areas where AI can be applied to social good. 

What are your loves outside of work?

I am a professional jazz vocalist and I have been studying and performing the 20th century American songbook for a few decades. I started performing in my undergraduate years and since then I have actively played with jazz musicians in Australia, the US and Asia. 

What is one piece of advice you could pass onto others following their own career in health and medical research sector? 

My career has taken many twists and turns and I haven’t really stuck to a long–term plan. It’s a testament to the unpredictable nature of the field. As a principle, I strive to surround myself with coworkers who challenge and inspire me. This makes my day-to-day intellectually stimulating and exciting. But from time to time, setbacks and failures will invariably happen. The most important thing is to have strong support at home and with friends and family who believe in you. In fact, more setbacks bring about more lessons in life and the wiser you will be.