Our Place in Space

Join us for a journey through cosmic time from the Big Bang to the present. How did we get here, how did we find out, and what lies ahead?

Distinguished Professor Jean Brodie is Director of the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at Swinburne University and Distinguished Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her research uses globular star clusters—the universe’s oldest stellar systems—as a “fossil record” to uncover the formation and evolution of galaxies, combining her expertise as an optical/infrared observer with collaborations in stellar populations and cosmological simulations.

After graduating with First Class Honours in Physics from Imperial College London and an early career in petroleum trading, she earned a PhD in astronomy at Cambridge University and completed fellowships at UC Berkeley and Girton College, Cambridge, before joining the University of California Observatories faculty. A founder and Chief Investigator of the international SAGES collaboration, she has also chaired numerous national and international advisory and scientific committees, shaping the global direction of astrophysics research.