Professor Bryan Gaensler

Patron of Macarthur Astronomical Society

Professor Bryan Gaensler was appointed as Patron of Macarthur Astronomical Society in November 2009.

He has been Professor of Physics at The University of Sydney since 2006 and prior to that was Associate Professor of Astronomy at Harvard University.

Bryan was born and raised in Sydney. He graduated from the University of Sydney in 1995 with First Class Honours in Physics. His final mark of 100%, the highest ever awarded in the Faculty of Science, saw him awarded the University Medal in Physics

As part of his PhD research in radio astronomy, Bryan set out to understand why the remnants from exploding stars form particular patterns rather than just scatter off in random directions. He surprised the astronomical world by showing that these remnants all line up with the Galaxy's magnetic field like giant compasses. For this and other work, Bryan received his doctorate from The University of Sydney in 1999.

 Bryan was the 1999 Young Australian of the Year and gave the 2001 Australia Day Address to the Nation.

In the USA

Bryan took up a prestigious Hubble Fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, where he became involved in X-ray studies of the Milky Way using the newly-launched Chandra X-ray Observatory. After three years at MIT, Bryan moved to the Smithsonian Institution as a Clay Fellow, and then spent several years teaching in the Astronomy Department at Harvard University. As an Associate Professor at Harvard, Bryan built the world's leading research group for studying neutron stars and supernova remnants.

He was awarded the 2005 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship and in 2006 he was awarded the Newton Lacy Pierce Prize by the American Astronomical Society for "Outstanding achievement in observational astronomical research".

Back in Australia

In recognition of his achievements, Bryan was awarded a prestigious Federation Fellowship by the Australian Research Council, which in 2006 saw him return to The University of Sydney as Professor of Physics.

Bryan's research group at Sydney is now focusing it's work on the origin of magnetism in the Universe; and on the demography of neutron stars and black holes in our Milky Way. For the period 2007-2008, Bryan also held the position of International Project Sci-entist for the Square Kilometre Array, a next-generation radio telescope. In addition to his research, Bryan is an avid fan of rugby league, baseball and cricket. He lives in Sydney with his wife, Laura, and son, Finn and enjoys talking to Macarthur Astronomical Society:
 

Awards

2008 Young Tall Poppy, Australian Institute of Policy and Science

2008 Delegate, Australia 2020 Summit

2006 Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy, American Astronomical Society

2006 – 2011 Federation Fellow, Australian Research Council

2005 – 2007 Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow

2005 Harley Wood Lecturer, Astronomical Society of Australia

2003 Sir Thomas Lyle Fellow, University of Melbourne

2002 Sesquicentenary Distinguished Lecturer, The University of Sydney

2001 Australia Day Address

1999 Young Australian of the Year

1995 University Medal in Physics, The University of Sydney

Publications

As at September 2009, Bryan has had:

• 167 publications in refereed journals, including first author papers in both Nature and Science.

• over 4400 citations, with a Hirsch index of 38;

• authored 24 papers with at least 50 citations each.

• written dozens of popular articles on science and astronomy.

Projects

Bryan is a Member of the Anglo-Australian Telescope Board and is a member of the steering committee for the Australia Telescope National Facility. He is Chair of the Science & Technical Advisory Group for the Australian 'Square Kilometre Array coordination committee.Bryan is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Cosmos magazine and is Editor In Chief of Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

Bryan Gaensler Links:

Home Page

Publications page

Wikepedia page

Brains Matter - Professor Gaensler audio interview "Magnetism in the Universe"

"The Magnetic Universe" article in Australian Science Magazine