Marcela Bilek was named Fellow of the American Physical Society in 2012 and Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers in 2015 for "contributions to the science and application of plasma processes for materials modification and synthesis".
15 Facts About Marcela Bilek
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Marcela Bilek's parents encouraged learning, oftentimes with her father teaching her how to do her own research and problem solving.
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Marcela Bilek returned to Australia after a year, finishing her Bachelor of Science degree with honours by completing an honours thesis on electron microscopy and studying heterostructures.
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Marcela Bilek graduated in 1990 with first class honours and a university medal.
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Two and a half years later, Marcela Bilek was awarded a scholarship to complete her PhD in engineering at the University of Cambridge, earning her doctorate in 1997.
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Marcela Bilek then went on to complete a Master of Business Administration degree at Rochester Institute of Technology, College of Business, in 2000.
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In November, 2000, Marcela Bilek came back to Australia and was appointed professor of applied physics at the University of Sydney.
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Marcela Bilek was the first female professor in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney, at the age of 32.
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Marcela Bilek is head of the Applied Plasma Physics and Surface Engineering Research Group at the University of Sydney.
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Marcela Bilek currently leads a large research group that specialises in materials- and energy-related technologies.
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Marcela Bilek has published over 300 articles in international journals, 1 book, 6 book chapters, and over 10 patents.
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Marcela Bilek has supervised 35 PhD students to completion and mentored 25 post-doctoral fellows as well as early career researchers.
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Marcela Bilek was awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship in 2019 and elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New South Wales in the same year.
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Marcela Bilek was elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2022.
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Marcela Bilek was made a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2023 King's Birthday Honours for "significant service to physics and biomedical engineering".