Lisa
Kewley has transformed our understanding of the early years of the Universe, the
development of galaxies, and what happens when they collide.
For her pioneering investigations across theory, modelling and observation, she will receive the US National Academy of Science’s biennial James Craig Watson Medal in Washington DC.
“At school I thought physics would be too hard. But I had a wonderful physics teacher whose
love for astronomy was contagious!” says Lisa.
Analysis finds gender equity among star
scientists improving, but big challenges remain.
Ensuring research opportunities for indigenous, disabled and LGBTQ astronomers is essential if Australian research is to succeed in the new era of “mega-telescopes”, a major analysis has found.
In a paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Professor Lisa Kewley, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in All Sky Astrophysics (ASTRO 3D), finds that encouraging astronomers from marginalised communities will increase the chances of significant research discoveries.
“Studies show that increased diversity up to the
highest levels of organisations, and effective diversity management, leads to
organisations outperforming their competition in innovation, productivity and
profit because more ideas are produced,” she says.
Analysis finds gender equity among star
scientists improving, but big challenges remain.
Ensuring research opportunities for indigenous, disabled and LGBTQ astronomers is essential if Australian research is to succeed in the new era of “mega-telescopes”, a major analysis has found.
In a paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy, Professor Lisa Kewley, director of the ARC Centre of Excellence in All Sky Astrophysics (ASTRO 3D), finds that encouraging astronomers from marginalised communities will increase the chances of significant research discoveries.
“Studies show that increased diversity up to the
highest levels of organisations, and effective diversity management, leads to
organisations outperforming their competition in innovation, productivity and
profit because more ideas are produced,” she says.
Data gathered by NASA’s now defunct Kepler telescope provides a solution to an astronomical mystery.
Star-quakes recorded by NASA’s Kepler space telescope have
helped answer a long-standing question about the age of the “thick disc” of the
Milky Way.
In a paper published in the
journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
a team of 38 scientists led by researchers from Australia’s ARC Centre of
Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in Three Dimensions (ASTRO-3D) use data
from the now-defunct probe to calculate that the disc is about 10 billion years
old.
Sky survey provides clues to how they change over time.
The direction in which a galaxy spins depends on its mass, researchers have found.
A team of astrophysicists analysed 1418 galaxies and found that small ones are likely to spin on a different axis to large ones. The rotation was measured in relation to each galaxy’s closest “cosmic filament” – the largest structures in the universe.
Filaments are massive thread-like formations, comprising huge amounts of matter – including galaxies, gas and, modelling implies, dark matter. They can be 500 million light years long but just 20 million light years wide. At their largest scale, the filaments divide the universe into a vast gravitationally linked lattice interspersed with enormous dark matter voids.
Researchers find evidence of a cataclysmic flare that punched so far out of the Galaxy its impact was felt 200,000 light years away.
A
titanic, expanding beam of energy sprang from close to the supermassive black
hole in the centre of the Milky Way just 3.5 million years ago, sending a
cone-shaped burst of radiation through both poles of the Galaxy and out into
deep space.
That’s
the finding arising from research conducted by a team of scientists led by
Professor Joss Bland-Hawthorn from Australia’s ARC Centre of Excellence for All
Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) and soon to be published in The
Astrophysical Journal.
Researchers hunt for a 12-billion-year-old signal that marks the end of the post Big Bang “dark age”.
Astronomers
are closing in on a signal that has been travelling
across the Universe for 12 billion years, bringing them nearer to understanding
the life and death of the very earliest stars.
In a
paper on the preprint site arXiv and
soon to be published in the Astrophysical Journal, a team led by Dr Nichole Barry from Australia’s University of Melbourne and
the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3 Dimensions (ASTRO
3D) reports a 10-fold improvement on data gathered by the Murchison Widefield
Array (MWA) – a collection of 4096 dipole antennas
set in the remote hinterland of Western Australia.
Australian-led astronomers find the most iron-poor star in the Galaxy, hinting at the nature of the first stars in the Universe.
A newly discovered ancient star containing a record-low amount of iron carries evidence of a class of even older stars, long hypothesised but assumed to have vanished.
In a paper published in the journal Monthly Notices of
the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, researchers led by Dr Thomas
Nordlander of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3
Dimensions (ASTRO 3D) confirm the existence of an ultra-metal-poor red
giant star, located in the halo of the Milky Way, on the other side of the
Galaxy about 35,000 light-years from Earth.
We are a team of science writers, publicists, communicators and editors.
We help you communicate complex ideas simply to the public, media, government and industry.
We work on all platforms from social media, to media, pitches, publications, events and conferences.
Scientists: if you need help with your research communication;
Journalists: if you’re looking for talent for your next story; you’re in the right place.
Media and communication training
Full day hands-on workshops in small groups. Practise interviews with journalists. Find your key messages. Handle tricky questions. Learn how to ensure your research is reported accurately.
Sarah's structure of the course, specific insight and understanding of science, her contacts and common mistakes made in communication were great and furthered my skills in this area.
Anonymous - Sydney Jan 2020
Science In Public
2020-01-28T15:04:28+11:00
Anonymous - Sydney Jan 2020
Sarah's structure of the course, specific insight and understanding of science, her contacts and common mistakes made in communication were great and furthered my skills in this area.
This is one of the best science communication courses I have ever encountered. It teaches all research to think out of box and really simplify their research in lay man's language. I will highly recommend this to anyone looking to learn more about science communication.
Shwathy Ramesh
Science In Public
2020-02-24T09:29:55+11:00
Shwathy Ramesh
This is one of the best science communication courses I have ever encountered. It teaches all research to think out of box and really simplify their research in lay man's language. I will highly recommend this to anyone looking to learn more about science communication.
Sufficient time given to work one-on-one with each participant. TV, radio and newspaper given sufficient weight. Practical, informative and professional
Anonymous - Gold Coast May 2021
Science In Public
2022-09-05T12:59:42+10:00
Anonymous - Gold Coast May 2021
Sufficient time given to work one-on-one with each participant. TV, radio and newspaper given sufficient weight. Practical, informative and professional
Good mix in terms of topics covered, people invited and media coverage. This course will make me more comfortable and I believe it will improve my confidence about myself and how I talk about my work in front of media.
FEnEX CRC, December 2021
Science In Public
2022-09-05T13:01:49+10:00
FEnEX CRC, December 2021
Good mix in terms of topics covered, people invited and media coverage. This course will make me more comfortable and I believe it will improve my confidence about myself and how I talk about my work in front of media.
Sarah is an amazing instructor. She has looked after each of the participants very well. I really like her style. Thank you to all team for a valuable training session.
Seyhan Yazar, Garvan Institute of Medical Reseearch
Science In Public
2022-09-05T13:02:58+10:00
Seyhan Yazar, Garvan Institute of Medical Reseearch
Sarah is an amazing instructor. She has looked after each of the participants very well. I really like her style. Thank you to all team for a valuable training session.
Pushed me to finesse/develop a pitch, find an edge that will facilitate communicating my research findings. The real world experience/opportunity for interviews was exceptionally helpful
Megan Bater
Science In Public
2022-09-05T13:06:38+10:00
Megan Bater
Pushed me to finesse/develop a pitch, find an edge that will facilitate communicating my research findings. The real world experience/opportunity for interviews was exceptionally helpful
The day was a great balance of topics and presented in an approachable and friendly style that was very inclusive. It was a fantastic and informative session that will really help me day-to-day in the communications work I do.
Ben Westmoreland, 2022
Science In Public
2022-09-05T13:07:28+10:00
Ben Westmoreland, 2022
The day was a great balance of topics and presented in an approachable and friendly style that was very inclusive. It was a fantastic and informative session that will really help me day-to-day in the communications work I do.