Research projects

Approximately 75% of SkyMapper's observing time will be initially dedicated to the Southern Sky Survey, a comprehensive digital survey of the entire southern sky.

This project will investigate the properties of binary neutron star progenitors and their host galaxies by applying state‑of‑the‑art transient modelling tools. By linking the astrophysical properties to their explosive counterparts, we will have a better idea of what types of sources will produce kilonovae. A deeper understanding of this astrophysics is essential for optimising future electromagnetic follow‑up strategies for gravitational‑wave detections.

Star Clusters as Engines of Ionisation and their HII Regions in NGC 7793

We will use simulations of the Milky Way to make predictions for SKA.

You will use new data from the Australian SKA Pathfinder survey, GASKAP-HI to help take the temperature of the Milky Way and Magellanic Clouds. PhD & Masters students on this project will have the opportunity to be among the first users of ASKAP.  

The effective temperature is one of the most fundamental parameters of a star, and its precise determination is crucial for a number of purposes, e.g., from measuring chemical abundances and ages, to improving stellar and atmosphere models.

M dwarfs are the most abundant stars in the universe, and prime targets for detecting Earth-like planets.

We have a variety of projects that will use the new GASKAP-HI data to study the structure and temperature of hydrogen in the Magellanic System. 

We are looking for ambitious students keen to join the project. They can be involved in different aspects, both observational and theoretical/computational

The ISM of spiral galaxies is a dynamic environment consisting of thermal gas, relativistic particles, magnetic fields, and dust. The project aims to decipher the origin of filamentary structures in the ISM using numerical simulations as well as observational data.

This project will simulate observations of the rotation measure (RM) at high Galactic latitude that traces the magnetic structures of the Milky Way. The goal is to pinpoint the cause of the recently discovered asymmetry in the RM patterns between the two Galactic hemispheres.

This project delves deep into understanding how stars create elements, contributing to unraveling the mysteries surrounding the origins of elements by extracting and tracing the element compositions of millions of stars using cutting-edge spectroscopic surveys.

The Physics of Supernovae: Using Observations to understand supernova progenitors, explosion energies, and nucleosynthetic production.

In this project, you will lead development of a key sub system (optical, mechanical, computational) to enable novel ultra-high resolution, visible light instrument Pyxis: a prototype for an astrophysical space interferometer.