Professor Fred Watson

Fred Watson AM is an honorary professor of astronomy advocacy and engagement at Macquarie University. From 2018 to 2024, he was the Australian Government’s first Astronomer-at-Large, having served for the previous 20 years as the Astronomer-in-Charge of the Australian Astronomical Observatory and before that working at Britain’s two Royal Observatories. He led several projects in advanced astronomical instrumentation and spectroscopic surveys and today is involved in both the history and future of Australian astronomy. He is perhaps best known for his award-winning radio and TV broadcasts, books, music, dark-sky advocacy and the Space Nuts podcast. Fred has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if it hits the Earth, it won't be his fault.

Kateryna Andrych

Dr Kateryna Andrych is an astrophysics researcher at Macquarie University whose work explores dusty discs around evolved binary stars. Using high-resolution astronomical imaging and modern analysis techniques, she studies their structure, composition, and whether these systems could provide a second chance for planet formation.

Karol Binkowski

Dr Karol Binkowski is a Teaching-Focused Academic in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. He engages diverse cohorts through upbeat statistics lectures that integrate GenAI-enhanced active learning with a strong focus on real-world applications. He teaches undergraduate and postgraduate students and advances innovation in GenAI-enhanced education, pedagogical practice, and collaboration across teaching and industry contexts.

Diego Ignacio Salvador Campe

Diego is a third-year PhD candidate in Astrophysics at Macquarie University. He completed both undergraduate and Master’s degrees in Astronomy at the University of Concepción, Chile. He is interested in galaxy evolution, and in particular in how galaxies stop forming stars over time.

His current work focuses on the stellar initial mass function (IMF), which describes the distribution of stellar masses resulting from a star-formation event. The IMF is a fundamental assumption used to convert the light we observe into key galaxy properties, allowing us to better understand galaxy evolution.

Richard de Grijs

Professor Richard de Grijs is an acclaimed astronomer and prolific public speaker whose international career has included appointments at the University of Virginia (USA), the Universities of Cambridge and Sheffield (UK), and Peking University in Beijing. His honours include the 2012 Selby Award from the Australian Academy of Science and the 2017 Erskine Award for interdisciplinary science and student mentorship from the University of Canterbury (New Zealand). A recipient of the Jan Michalski Award for public engagement and a finalist in Alan Alda’s Flame Challenge, he speaks widely on astronomy, astrophysics and the history of maritime science and navigation.

Ceridwen Dovey

Ceridwen Dovey is a fiction writer, science writer and filmmaker with a special interest in emotions and ethics in outer space. She's currently a Research Fellow at Macquarie University and a Powerhouse Artistic Associate.

Claudia Fava

Claudia is a Master of Research student in Astrochemistry at Macquarie University. Her work explores the molecules and dust that form in the environments surrounding dying, sun-like stars, material that ultimately seeds future generations of planetary systems. She is also active in science communication, having been featured on Macquarie University's Instagram (@macquarieuniversity), and manages the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences social media (@mq_maps). She also engages with local high schools through astronomy nights and career talks and is particularly passionate about encouraging greater representation of women in STEM.

Nuwanthika Fernando

Dr. Nuwanthika Fernando is a Research Software Engineer, working on data processing software for astronomical telescopes at the Australian Astronomical Optics - Macquarie University. She grew up in Sri Lanka, and completed her PhD in Astrophysics at the University of Sydney.

Claudia Ghosn

Claudia is a fifth-year student studying a Bachelor of Science (Astronomy and Astrophysics) and a Bachelor of Engineering (Honours) (Mechatronic Engineering) at Macquarie University. Passionate about all things STEM—particularly astronomy—she enjoys sharing this enthusiasm with others. Throughout her studies, Claudia has been involved in a range of research projects and extracurricular activities that have expanded her knowledge and technical skills. She is currently pursuing her honours thesis, which focuses on developing integration and alignment methods for precision optical instruments.

Matt Grech

Matt Grech is a self-described Swiss Army Knife with a background in writing, cinematography, photography, editing, animation and graphic design.

After working in the advertising and marketing space for over 10 years he joins the Archival Futures Collective with a particular passion for mid-century technology and innovation. Rubik's cube novice.

Devika Kamath

Associate Professor Devika Kamath is Head of the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences at Macquarie University, where she combines academic leadership with an internationally recognised research career in stellar astrophysics. Her research has advanced understanding of the late-stage evolution of low- and intermediate-mass stars, particularly the production of chemical elements, the development of next-generation stellar models, and the interpretation of evolved stellar populations beyond the Milky Way. Her work has also identified new environments for planet formation around dying stars, opening new directions in the study of planetary system formation and evolution and informing future observational programs with major international facilities. Devika has secured more than A$7.5 million in competitive research funding and has been recognised through awards including Science & Technology Australia’s Superstar of STEM and the Australian Institute of Physics’ Young Tall Poppy Award. She has also served as Chair of the Astronomical Society of Australia’s Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Astronomy Chapter and is strongly committed to mentoring the next generation of researchers.

Nuria Lorente

Nuria Lorente is joint Head of Research Data and Software at Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO). With wide experience in algorithms and software for optical and radio astronomy, Nuria specialises in data processing, object and path finding, data simulation and modelling, intelligent instrument monitoring, and fostering collaborative engineering and research communities.

Her projects include contributions to ALMA telescope’s systems, James Webb Space Telescope data simulations, and leading Australian data processing pipelines for the ESO VLT telescopes.

Nuria's active involvement in the international astronomy software and data engineering community includes a stellar global career history, from the UK to Germany, the USA and CSIRO. Nuria champions collaborative and inclusive teams, and she's committed to shaping organisations to support diverse perspectives to advance scientific discovery.

Richard McDermid

Professor Richard McDermid is an astronomer at Macquarie University who studies how galaxies are born, grow and change over billions of years. As Director of Australian Astronomical Optics, he leads teams of engineers and scientists building world-class instruments, data infrastructure and software for the largest telescopes on Earth and in space. He currently leads the science program for MAVIS, a revolutionary new instrument being built for the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile that will allow us to see visible light from the cosmos fainter and further than ever before.

Harshit Pal

Harshit is a PhD researcher in astrophysics and astronomy at Macquarie University, specialising in stellar spectroscopy and chemical abundances. Their research focuses on understanding the chemical diversity of evolved stars and what it reveals about the history of our galaxy.

Ben Pope

I'm an Associate Professor in Statistical Data Science at Macquarie University, leading an Astrostatistics Research Group. I research extrasolar planets - planets around other stars - and focus on developing and applying new data science approaches for detecting and characterizing them.

I completed my doctorate in 2017 at Oxford, and from 2017-20 was a NASA Sagan Fellow at the NYU Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics and Center for Data Science. From 2021-2024 I was a Lecturer then Senior Lecturer in Astrophysics and DECRA Fellow at the University of Queensland.

Arihant Raidani

Arihant is a Master of Research student working on using gamma-ray bursts to study cosmic dust in distant galaxies. He has a background in physics and astrophysics, with a particular interest in high-energy astrophysical phenomena and their use as probes of the Universe. He also passionate about science communication and outreach and enjoys communicating complex concepts in astronomy in an accessible and engaging way.

Danny Terno

Danny Terno was born and grew up in Latvia, then part of the USSR. He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Technion in Haifa, Israel, under the supervision of Asher Peres, and received his Ph.D. in 2003. From 2003 to 2006 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, where his work on black holes and quantum gravity began.

Danny joined the faculty of Macquarie University in Sydney in 2007 and is currently a Professor in the School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and spent time working in Singapore, China and Canada.

His research interests include black hole physics, quantum gravity, quantum metrology, detection and estimation theory, and the foundations of quantum mechanics.

Beyond physics, Danny’s interests include comparative religion, Medieval history, and Chinese art and classical literature. Sports help maintain perspective when theoretical problems resist resolution.

Ryan White

I am a first-year PhD student at Macquarie University studying how the motions of stars within a galaxy can tell us about its chaotic past.

On previous projects I've looked at the binary interactions of massive stars right on their deathbed, how we quantify time dilation in the distant universe with exploding stars, merging binary black holes in the centre of galaxies, and how we can discover new periodic radio stars in our Milky Way.

Speakers