Dr Eroia “Roy” Barone-Nugent is a science educator, researcher, writer, and illustrator whose work has inspired thousands of young people across Australia to fall in love with science. With degrees in Biochemistry, Mathematics Education, and a PhD in Evolutionary Biology, Roy has dedicated her career to showing that science is not just something we learn — it’s something we do.

Roy is the founder and long-time leader of the Growing Tall Poppies Science Program, an innovative national initiative that brought high school students into real scientific practice. Through hands-on research projects, community engagement, and authentic scientific inquiry, Growing Tall Poppies helped students understand how science shapes individuals, communities, and society at large. The program continues today in organisations and schools across the country, a lasting footprint of Roy’s vision and leadership.

Her work has been recognised through numerous grants and national accolades. Roy has been shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Science Prize for Teaching, the Eureka Prize, and the BHP Science Teachers Prize, reflecting her commitment to empowering the next generation of scientific thinkers.

The picture book Stemmy the Witch & Her Broomstick grew from a single, powerful question:
How do we inspire very young children — at the age when they first begin forming ideas about the world and their place in it — to see themselves as scientists?

Roy believes that storytelling is one of humanity’s most ancient and powerful tools for learning. Through Stemmy’s magical adventures, she gently reveals that what looks like enchantment on the surface is often the beginning of a scientific explanation waiting to be discovered. Her stories help children understand that curiosity is the spark, science is the journey, and truth is something we uncover through exploration.

Through Stemmy Press, Roy continues her lifelong mission: to help children see that the world is full of wonder — and that science is the most extraordinary magic of all.