Julie has an initial background in physics and geoscience that she acquired in her home country, Switzerland. After a year spent on travels and internships in marine biology and numerical modelling at the French National Geological Survey, she finally chose to settle far from home, in Sydney, Australia, to specialise in geochemistry.
Soon after she started her postgraduate degree at Macquarie University, Julie discovered the interdisciplinary field of Astrobiology and decided to dedicate her academic life to the search for life in the Universe. Her ongoing and already awarded research focuses on the traces of microbial life that are preserved in rock samples from Martian analogues.
Adventurer at heart, Julie flew a plane solo for the first time at the age of 15. She is always seeking the next challenge on land, in the air, or under water. Certified deep scuba diver, Julie recently let go of air tanks and regulators to start diving deep under water on a single breath. Committed to empower women in sports and science, in 2012 she co-founded the first Women’s Soccer Team of her home University in Switzerland that is still thriving in the regional championship today.
Email: julie.hartz@womars.org