Public astronomy lectures

2025

Date	Speaker	Institute	Topic
3 April	Professor Matthew Bailes	Swinburne University of Technology	The role of serendipity in scientific discovery

2024

Date	Speaker	Institute	Topic
14 August	Professor Matthew Bailes	Swinburne University of Technology	A virtual tour of Einstein's universe

2022

Date	Speaker	Institute	Topic
18 March	Dr Anais Möller	Swinburne University of Technology	Discovering the dark side of the Universe
22 April	Reinhold Willcox	Monash University	Friendly stars and where to find them
27 May	Dr Adam Batten	Swinburne University of Technology	A how-to guide to simulating the Universe
24 June	Dr Ryosuke Hirai	Monash University	Eta Carinae – the eccentric life of a superstar
15 July	Krystal Di Napoli Karlie Noon Emma Ryan-Weber	Swinburne University of Technology University of Melbourne	Astronomy: Sky Country book launch
19 August	Professor Karl Glazebrook Dr Colin Jacobs Dr Nicha Leethochawalit Dr Themiya Nanayakkara	Swinburne University of Technology University of Melbourne	Unlocking the Universe's Secrets with James Webb Space Telescope
30 September	Dr Rebecca Allen	Swinburne University of Technology	Australia's growing role in the global space industry
21 October	Dr Ben McAllister	Swinburne University of Technology	Shining a light on dark matter

2020–2021

Date	Speaker	Institute	Topic
28 February 2020	Sara Webb and Grace Lawrence	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology	The Dark Universe
17 August 2020	Dr Jielai Zhang	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology	A Flash of Discovery
20 August 2021	Sara Webb	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology	State of the Universe
19 October 2021	Professor Matthew Bailes	OzGrav Centre of Excellence, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology	Exploring Einstein's Universe with Neutron Stars, Black Holes and Gravitational Waves

2019

Date	Speaker	Institute	Topic
22 February	Dr Daniel C. Price	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	Things that Go Bump in the Night: Fast Radio Bursts and the Search for Life Beyond Earth
29 March	Professor Andreas Burkert	Ludwig Maximilians University, Munich	Watching a Little Gas Cloud on its Way into the Galactic Supermassive Black Hole
30 May	Wayne Thorpe, Krystal De Napoli, Dr Duane W. Hamacher	Monash University, Swinburne University	Title First Nations, First Astronomers: Swinburne Annual Reconciliation Lecture
21 June	Poojan Agrawal	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	Vivid Lives of Stars
19 July	Dr Kim Ellis	Space Centre, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	Space Law – It’s Not Rocket Science
16 August	Debatri Chattopadhyay	OzGrav Centre of Excellence, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing	State of the Universe: Gravity and Black Holes
20 September	Renee Spiewak	OzGrav Centre of Excellence, Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing	The Never-Ending Story of a Star
18 October	Dr Ned Taylor	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing	The Cosmic Perspective
29 November	Dr Tiantian Yuan	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing	The Unintended Humour of the Universe
16 December	Professor Sheila Kannappan	University of North Carolina	Truth and Awe in Astronomy

2018

Date	Speaker	Institute	Topic
9 February	Dr Emily Petroff	ASTRON - the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy	The Fast Radio Burst Mystery
16 March	Professor Mike Hudson	University of Waterloo, Canada	Cosmic Mirages: Seeing Dark Matter with Gravitational Lenses
27 April	Dr Angel R. Lopez-Sanchez	AAO and Macquarie University	Capturing the Light of the Universe
11 May	Associate Professor Jeff Cooke	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing	Deeper, Wider, Faster: Chasing the Fastest Bursts in the Universe
1 June	Dr Duane Hamacher and Krystal De Napoli	Monash University	The Rapidly Growing World of Indigenous Astronomy
27 June	Professor Lisa Kewley	Australian National University	Harleywood-Oxygen: Breathing in Stars
17 August	Dr Rebecca Allen	Swinburne University	State of the Universe VIII: People Edition
19 October	Dr Michelle Cluver	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing	Hidden Features: Discovery Space in a Reluctant Universe
23 November	Associate Professor Tara Murphy	Sydney Institute of Astronomy, University of Sydney	Breakthrough! The Detection of Gravitational Waves from a Neutron Star Merger
7 December	Associate Professor Alan Duffy	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing	Australia in Space

2017

Date	Speaker	Institute	Topic
10 February	Associate Professor Emma Ryan-Weber	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	Cosmology: from the Big Bang to the Formation of Atoms
24 March	Dr Tyler Bourke	SKA, UK	The World’s Largest Radio Telescope in your Backyard
21 April	Dr Themiya Nanayakkara	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	Rocket Science in Everyday Life
12 May	Dr Rebecca Allen	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	Small, Medium, Large: What Galaxy Sizes Reveal About Their Past
2 June	Dr Duane Hamacher	Monash Indigenous Studies Centre, Monash University	How do Indigenous Australians Read the Stars?
7 July	Dr Patricia Rich	Department of Chemistry and Biotechnology, Swinburne University	When Life Got Really Big - Tales from a Rock Whisperer
18 August	Associate Professor Alan Duffy	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	State of the Universe VII
29 September	Dr Tiantian Yuan	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	The Most Ancient Spiral Galaxies Seen through Nature’s Largest Telescopes
20 October	Igor Andreoni	Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University	The Violent Universe: Explosions, Transient Events and Gravitational Waves
14 November	Dr Thomas E. Collett	Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation, Portsmouth, UK	Seeing Double. Looking at the Universe with Gravity's Eyes
8 December	Dr Tanya Hill	Museums Victoria	The Light Fantastic