Science at the Local - May '25

Sunday 25th May at 2pm

Secrets of the Universe: Stars, Black Holes, Galaxies, Dark Matter & Dark Energy
Prof. Andrew Hopkins

So Hot Right Now: The Cutting-Edge in Bushfire Research
Dr. Hamish Clarke

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Andrew has more than 20 years experience as a professional astronomer. He has held prestigious research fellowships, the Hubble Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, and an Australian Research Council Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship at the University of Sydney. He led the astronomy group at the Australian Astronomical Observatory for ten years, including a five month period as Acting Director, until its restructuring in 2018. He is an active leader in Australian astronomy, having been President of the Astronomical Society of Australia, and having served on the National Committee for Astronomy, as well as dozens of advisory committees. His leadership and management have been recognised with multiple awards from the Federal Department of Industry. He is a strong champion for diversity and equity, having led the AAO’s Diversity Committee for five years. This work has been recognised through the AAO winning the 2013 AHRI Gender Equity award, and with Silver Pleiades Awards from the ASA 2014 and 2016. He is a Fellow of the Astronomical Society of Australia, and Professor of Astronomy at Macquarie University. His research is aimed at understanding the evolution of star formation in galaxies over cosmic history.

Hamish is a Senior Research Fellow at FLARE Wildfire Research at the University of Melbourne. Before joining FLARE, Hamish was Deputy Director of the Centre for Environmental Risk Management of Bushfires at the University of Wollongong and a Work Package leader in the Eureka Prize-winning NSW Bushfire Hub. He has also held adjunct positions at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment at Western Sydney University and the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of NSW, where he finished his PhD on climate change and bushfire in 2015. Hamish worked for almost ten years for the NSW environment department and is committed to public interest science and effective engagement with fire managers, policy makers and the general public. Hamish is interested in the drivers and impacts of bushfire, the effectiveness of our attempts to manage it, and the impact of climate change on both. Recent work has focused on optimisation of prescribed burning to balance multiple objectives and climate change impacts on global forest flammability. Hamish is the creator of the Four Friends of Fire animation and one of the founders of Science at the Local.

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