Instructors
Semester 1, 2009Please note: These instructor allocations are preliminary. SAO reserves the right to change the Unit instructors prior to the semester.
- HET602 Exploring the Solar System: Kurt Liffman Dr Kurt Liffman has a B.Sc.(Hons) in Mathematics from the University of Melbourne and PhD in astrophysics from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, Rice University (Houston, TX). Kurt has worked on problems related to the formation of the Solar System at NASA's Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX) and AMES Research Center (Mountain View, CA). Kurt currently works full time at the CSIRO and part time with SAO. He is also a visiting scientist at the Hawai'i Institute of Geophysics and Planetology.
Around a decade ago, Kurt published a theory suggesting that the some major components in meteorites (and, possibly, the planets) were formed in the early Solar System by bipolar jet flows that existed in the first few million years of the Solar System. This theory has grown in popularity and has obtained some preliminary experimental confirmation. It is now one of the leading theories for understanding the formation of the foundation stones of the planets.
- HET603 Exploring Stars and the Milky Way: Chris Flynn Dr Chris Flynn's research interests are dark matter and the chemical evolution and kinematics of galaxies. He obtained his Ph.D. from Mount Stromlo in Canberra in 1989, and subsequently drifted steadily north, working at the Astronomisches Rechen-Institut in Heidelberg, NORDITA and the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen, the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton in the USA and at Tuorla Observatory in Finland, where he works in space based optical astronomy. He spent sabbatical years in Australia at Swinburne in 2002 and at Mount Stromlo in 2006. In his spare time he enjoys renovating wooden buildings while keeping an eye out for itinerant elks.
- HET604 Exploring Galaxies and the Cosmos: Mike Beasley Dr Mike Beasley has a BSc (Hons) in astrophysics from the Astrophysics Research Institute in Liverpool, UK, and a PhD in astrophysics from Durham University, UK. He has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Swinburne University, UC Santa Cruz and the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in Tenerife in Spain. Mike's main areas of research are globular clusters and galaxy formation, but maintains a keen interest in all aspects of astrophysics. He currently lives in Madrid, Spain, and works as a freelance science writer.
- HET605 Theories of Space and Time: Darren Croton
- HET607 History of Astronomy: Glen Mackie Dr. Glen Mackie received a PhD ("The Stellar Content of Central Dominant Galaxies") from the Australian National University in 1990, and has worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Carter Observatory (Wellington, NZ) and Victoria University of Wellington. His research interests include Brightest Cluster Galaxies as tracers of large-scale structure and as probes of galaxy formation and evolution in the rich cluster environment. He has also recently bravely ventured into stellar research.
His other research interests are multi-wavelength properties of galaxies, galaxy mergers and astronomy education. Glen has authored general astronomy articles in Sky and Space (Aust.) and North and South (N.Z.). In his spare time he practises topspin lobs, donates bait to fish and seeks the ultimate spiral torpedo.
- HET608 Introductory Radio Astronomy and SETI: Indra Bains Dr Indra Bains has been a lecturer at the Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing at Swinburne University since August 2006. Her main research areas of interest are in star formation, and AGB &post-AGB stellar evolution. She mainly works with molecular emission lines at radio wavelengths.
- HET609 Astrophotography and CCD Imaging : Mel Hulbert
- HET610 Studies in Space Exploration : Stephen Edberg, Randii Wessen Stephen J. Edberg has been an active amateur astronomer since 1966 and has worked professionally in the field since 1970, participating in s olar research at observatories in the American southwest and Hawaii and in extragalactic research in Australia. After college and graduate school a t UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego, and UCLA he worked at San Fernando Observatory before joining the Galileo project at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1979.
In 1981 he moved to the International Halley Watch as Coordinator for Amateur Observations and newsletter editor. Since 1986 he has worked in scien ce planning and operations on the Comet Rendezvous/Asteroid Fly by, Cassini, and Galileo m issions. He served as spacecraft/ground coordinator for Galileo studies of the impact of Co met Shoemaker-Levy 9 on Jupiter. He presently works in the science office of the Space Interferometry Mission. Dr Randii Wessen has been an employee of the California Institute of Technology's Jet Pro pulsion Laboratory for twenty-three years. He is currently the Program System Engineer for the Project Formulation Office. Previously, Randii w as the Navigator Program Engineer, the Telecommunications & Mission Systems Manager for the Mars Program, the Supervisor for the Science System Engineering Group, Manager of the Cassini Science Planning & Operations Element, the Galileo Deputy Sequenc e Team Chief, and the Voyager Science Sequence Coordinator for the Uranus and Nept une encounters.
Randii received his Bachelors of Science in both Physics and Astronomy from Stony Brook University, a Masters of Science in Astronautics from the U niversity of Southern California, and a Doctorate in Operations Research from the University of Glamorgan, Wales, England. He co-authored the books Neptune: the Planet, Rings and Satellites and Planetary Ring Systems. He was the recipient of NASA's Exceptional Service Medal for his contributions to the Voyager 2 Neptune Encounter. He also has six NASA Group Achievement Awards and is a fellow of both the Royal Astronomical Society and the British Interplanetary Society.
- HET611 Stellar Astrophysics : Sarah Maddison Dr Sarah Maddison is computational astrophysicist at the Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, and the Coord inator of Swinburne Astronomy Online. Sarah has a BSc(Hons) in mathematics and a PhD in computational astrophysics, both from the Mathematics Department at Monash University. Her main a reas of interest are star and planet formation, particularly the formation, evolution and dynamics of protoplanetary disks. She is also interested in planetary dynamics and galaxy interactions and has a particularly fondness for the Magellanic system.
Sarah has worked as an Associate Professor at New Mexico State University, where she taught pl anetary astronomy and the theory of accretion disks, and worked at the Apache Point Observatory testing the astronomical capabilities of an IR came ra. As a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Observatoire de Grenoble, in France, she made synthetic IR maps from dynamic circumbinary disk models to compare with high angular resolution observations. At Swinburne Sarah is part of the Stars & Planets Group and continues her work on disk and planetary dynamics, plays with a parallel two-phase dusty gas code that makes planets, makes millimetre and centimetre observations of southern protoplanetary disks, runs Swinburne Astronomy Online and AstroTour.
- HET612 Major Project - History of Astronomy: Glen Mackie Dr. Glen Mackie received a PhD ("The Stellar Content of Central Dominant Galaxies") from the Australian National University in 1990, and has worked at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Carter Observatory (Wellington, NZ) and Victoria University of Wellington. His research interests include Brightest Cluster Galaxies as tracers of large-scale structure and as probes of galaxy formation and evolution in the rich cluster environment. He has also recently bravely ventured into stellar research.
His other research interests are multi-wavelength properties of galaxies, galaxy mergers and astronomy education. Glen has authored general astronomy articles in Sky and Space (Aust.) and North and South (N.Z.). In his spare time he practises topspin lobs, donates bait to fish and seeks the ultimate spiral torpedo.
- HET618 Astrobiology and the Origins of Life: Terry Bridges Dr Terry Bridges received his Ph.D. in astrophysics at Queen's University, Kingston, in 1992 and spent the next dozen years or so working as a research astronomer at observatories around the world (Observatoire Midi-Pyrenees in Toulouse, France; Royal Greenwich Observatory in Cambridge, which sadly closed in 1998; and the Anglo-Australian Observatory Sydney, Australia). During this time, he got to observe at lots of nice places, including Hawaii, Australia, Chile, and La Palma.
In January 2004, Terry returned to Queen's as an adjunct professor, teaching physics and astronomy courses and carrying out research. In 2004-2005, he got a B.Ed. degree at Queen's University, teaching science, math, and astronomy. In the coming year, Terry will be teaching first-year physics at Queen's University, as well as coordinating the university observatory. Terry has diverse research interests, ranging from extrasolar planets to the large-scale structure of the universe. Much of his research centers around the use of globular clusters as probes of galaxy formation, evolution, and dark matter content.