A young Indigenous woman has been recognised by the CSIRO for her passion and pursuit of excellence in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Greta Stephensen, from St Mary's College in Maryborough, received the CSIRO Indigenous STEM Student Award after attending an Aboriginal Summer School for Excellence in Technology and Science (ASSETS) camp, as well as demonstrating her work on an experiment.

"The award is about passion for science as an Indigenous student," Greta said.

"I had to submit an application with all the things I had done, so that included the camps and the competitions and an [extended experimental investigation] that I had done, that presented my skills and my passion for STEM."

STEM subjects centre around science, technology, engineering and mathematics. ( ABC Radio Brisbane: Jessica Hinchliffe )

In May Greta will fly to the United States for the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair as a guest of the CSIRO, where she will observe competing teams from around the world, including Australia.

ASSETS program manager Jen Parsons said the importance of diversity in the sciences could not be overstated.

"We have a lot of knowledge and expertise in our Indigenous communities," she said.

"A lot of time the reason why we don't see good representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is purely because they may not know that opportunities exist, or they may not have those types of aspirations.

"What we're doing with the Indigenous STEM awards is showcasing some of these great Indigenous leaders that we do have."

Quantum mysteries of the double-slit experiment

The subject Greta chose for her investigation was one that was originally performed more than 200 years ago but still confounds scientists to this day — the double-slit experiment.

The experiment shows how light can demonstrate characteristics of both a particle and a wave.

Photons or matter are shot towards a plate with one narrow slit and a screen behind it.

On the screen over time the particles arrange in the shape of the narrow slit.

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When you introduce a second narrow slit, things get interesting. When the particles are observed or measured, they arrange in the shape of the two narrow slits.

But when unobserved, the particles arrange in multiple lines, as though the particle waves have interfered with each other.

"When they're not observed they create a bunch of lines at the back of the wall, and they think that is due to diffraction, so we chose to do our [experiment] on the diffraction of people," Greta said.

"So we set up the experiment and came up with the same results, which is really hard to explain considering scientists still don't know why the particles are doing that."

Encouraging more women into science

Greta has plans for university study in the future.

"If I get a good enough OP I'm hoping to apply for the University of Queensland and get into the dual degree of engineering honours and maths, and then I would like to apply for a cadetship with the CSIRO," she said.

"If I get that I can work with them all through uni and then after that I don't know where I'll go. Anywhere in STEM, NASA maybe.

"I'm very passionate about STEM, and I don't think anyone could influence me not to do it."

Greta will spend two weeks in the US attending the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles. ( ABC Wide Bay: Ross Kay )

Her advice for any woman considering studying STEM subjects is simple — your perspective is important.

"I think if you're a woman and you're wanting to go into the STEM field then you really need to just try," Greta said.

"You really need women and people from diverse backgrounds to go into the workforce.

"If we have them, then the world will be better because we'll be able to have new technologies and new perspectives."

It is an idea echoed by Dr Parsons, who adds that broader perspectives can lead to better problem solving.

"Research shows that when you do have diverse groups you have greater results, you have a diversity of opinion, and you have different ways of looking at problems," she said.

"If you have a single type of person working on a problem, they may not look at all the possible angles, but if you do have a mixed group of people they may think of things that you may never have considered.

"It's really important not only for women to recognise that it's a fantastic career opportunity, but also for organisations to see the benefits of having women, and Indigenous women in their organisation."