Devon Hamley could have been describing himself.

"She's high energy and good at everything she does but super competitive," he said of his partner Sophia Berlyn . "So that challenges me to keep getting better."

Exhibit A of that last statement can be found on the Tamworth-based senior environmental scientist's Linkedin profile. This year, Hamley began his doctor of philosophy in environmental chemistry.

The 28-year-old is doing the five-year PhD degree - under the research topic "Development of enhanced methods for prediction of acid rock drainage" - part-time through UNSW. It's another profound part-time pursuit that is supplementary to a full-time career that takes him around the world.

And since early this year, the launch pad - and the decompression chamber - for the North Tamwo

See Full Page