National Science Week – Talent backgrounder
Siouxsie Wiles ...... 2 SciBabe – Yvette d’Entremont ...... 2 Derek Muller ...... 3 Brad Tucker ...... 3 Alan Duffy ...... 3 Amanda Bauer ...... 4 Dr Sarah McKay...... 4 Josh Richards – Science comedian & Mars One candidate ...... 5 Young Tassie Scientists...... 5 ‘Venom Doc’ Bryan Grieg Fry...... 5 Paul Willis ...... 6 Chris Smith – ‘The Naked Scientist’ ...... 6 Ben Britton ...... 7 Imogen & Freya Wadlow ...... 7 Dr Karl ...... 7 Bernie Hobbs ...... 8 Ruben Meerman ...... 8 Gary Cass...... 8 Will Steffen ...... 9 Chris Lassig ...... 9 Katie Mack ...... 10 Clare Hampson...... 10 Questacon senior execs – Kate Driver & Dr Stuart Kohlhagen ...... 10 Limited availability ...... 10 Neil deGrasse Tyson ...... 10 Chris Hadfield ...... 11
Siouxsie Wiles NZ scientist touring Australia talking about her twin passions of bioluminescence (think glow worms and fireflies) and infectious diseases. Contact: (for WA leg of tour) Christine Allen, [email protected] or 08 9215 0739; or (for TAS leg of tour) Wayne Goninon, [email protected] or 0408 388 881 Dr Siouxsie Wiles is in Australian talk about her research using bioluminescence to understand how nasty bacteria cause infections and to search for new antibiotics. Siouxsie has made a career of combining her twin passions of bioluminescence (think glow worms and fireflies) and infectious diseases. In a nutshell, Siouxsie and her team make nasty bacteria glow in the dark to understand how some deadly bacteria make us sick, and how we can stop them. She still can’t believe she gets paid to do this for a living. Siouxsie is also a keen tweeter, blogger, podcaster and radio commentator and has worked with a number of artists to showcase how beautiful bioluminescent bacteria can be. For the last few years she has also worked with Australian graphic artist Luke Harris, and his team, to make a series of short animations describing some of nature’s amazing glowing creatures and the many uses of bioluminescence in science. Did you know NASA use fireflies to search for extra- terrestrial life?! For her efforts, Siouxsie has been awarded the NZ Prime Minister’s Prize for Science Media Communication and the Royal Society of New Zealand Callaghan Medal. Science Week involvement: Art collaborations with Perth artists Perth Science Festival – http://www.scienceweek.net.au/perth-science-festival/ Glow Girl and SciBabe in Hobart - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/glow-girl-and-sci- babe-in-hobart/ SciBabe – Yvette d’Entremont Yvette d’Entremont famously took an overdose of homeopathic sleeping pills. Not surprisingly she survived. She’s touring Australian debunking pseudoscience. Contact: Tania Ewing, [email protected] or 0408 378 422 or (for TAS leg of tour) Wayne Goninon, [email protected] or 0408 388 881 In Australia for National Science Week, she’s the internationally famous blogger, SciBabe, dedicated to debunking pseudoscience. SciBabe is always looking at the alternative medicine and pseudoscience movements with a skeptical eye, using a combination of real science and humour. A resident of Southern California, she holds a BA in Theatre, a BSc in Chemistry, and an MSc in Forensic Science, with a concentration on biological criminalistics and toxicology. SciBabe knows a thing or two about attention-grabbing stunts in the name of science, like the time she downed 50 homeopathic sleeping pills for a YouTube video (no stomach pumps needed!). Science Week involvement: Market of the Mind – http://www.scienceweek.net.au/market-of-the-mind/ Living Science at the Queen Victoria Market – http://www.scienceweek.net.au/living- science-at-the-queen-victoria-market/ A sceptical look at pseudoscience (Adelaide) – http://www.scienceweek.net.au/a- skeptical-look-at-alternative-medicine-and-pseudoscience-2/ Scibabe in Australia (Sale) - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/scibabe-in-australia/ Glow Girl and SciBabe in Hobart - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/glow-girl-and-sci- babe-in-hobart/ Derek Muller Derek visited the world’s hot spots including Chernobyl and Fukushima for the new SBS series Uranium: Twisting the Dragon’s Tail. His YouTube channel Veritasium has brought him global attention. Contact: Jessica Parry, SBS publicity, [email protected], 0428 767 836 or 9430 3786 Derek Muller is an Australian-Canadian science communicator, filmmaker and television presenter. He is best known for creating the YouTube channel Veritasium. Derek is a former reporter for ABC’s Catalyst and is the host of the landmark new SBS series Uranium: Twisting the Dragon’s Tail. Back in Australia 21 August Science Week involvement: TV series Uranium - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/uranium-twisting-the-dragons- tail-episode-1-the-rock-that-changed-the-world/ WA event 26 August - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/derek-muller-meet-the- uranium-documentary-maker/ WA event 27 August - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/science-busk-at-dusk-scitech- fun-for-adults-only/ Sydney event host – Neil deGrasse Tyson 22 August - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/an-evening-with-dr-neil-degrasse-tyson-2/ Canberra event host – Neil deGrasse Tyson 23 August - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/an-evening-with-dr-neil-degrasse-tyson-2/ Brad Tucker Brad is the brains behind the Science Week Guinness Book of World Records Stargazing record attempts, led by Mt Stromlo Observatory. They plan to not just break it but to smash it, with thousands of people using telescopes this weekend. Contact: [email protected], 02 6125 6711 or 0433 905 777 Brad Tucker is an Astrophysicist/Cosmologist. He is currently a Research Fellow at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mt. Stromlo Observatory at the Australian National University, and in the Department of Astronomy, University of California, Berkeley. Brad is the brains behind the Science Week Guinness Book of World Records Stargazing record attempts, led by Mt Stromlo Observatory. Brad received Bachelor’s degrees in Physics, Philosophy, and Theology from the University of Notre Dame. He then undertook a PhD at Mt. Stromlo Observatory at the Australian National University, working with Nobel Laureate Brian Schmidt. He is currently working on projects trying to discover the true nature of Dark Energy, the mysterious substance causing the accelerating expansion of the Universe, which makes up 70% of the Universe. He is the lead of the Kepler Space Telescope Key Program to understand why and how stars blow, and leading a project to create a network of ultraviolet space telescopes to be built in Canberra. Science Week involvement: CSA ambassador World Record Stargazing - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/world-record-stargazing/ Border Stargaze - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/border-stargaze/ Alan Duffy Alan Duffy is a gun young astronomer. He wants Australians to get online and classify galaxies – real science, part research into how galaxies evolve. Contact: [email protected], 03 9214 3876 Research Fellow at Swinburne University. I'm a professional astrophysicist and passionate science communicator. I investigate how galaxies form as well as studying the larger properties of the Universe, and try to explain it to as wide an audience as possible. Currently I am at the Centre for Astrophysics and Computing at Swinburne University. Before then I was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Melbourne, and a postdoctoral research associate with ICRAR at the University of Western Australia. Prior to all this antipodean fun I obtained my PhD from the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics and spent a year or two as a postgraduate at the Sterrewacht, Leiden Observatory in The Netherlands. @astroduff Science Week involvement: Galaxy Explorer Amanda Bauer Amanda Bauer is an up and coming astronomer and communicator. She’s just m/ced two Neil deGrasse Tyson talks and wants Australians to get online and classify galaxies – real science, part research into how galaxies evolve for the national experiment – Galaxy Explorer. Contact: [email protected], 02 93724852 Amanda Bauer is an American professional astronomer and science communicator, currently working in Australia. She is a Research Astronomer at Australia's largest optical observatory, the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), where her principal field of research concerns how galaxies form, how they create new stars, and particularly why they stop creating new stars. She is better known to the public through her efforts as the AAO Public Outreach Officer. @astropixie Science Week involvement: Galaxy Explorer Host of Neil deGrasse Tyson events in Melbourne and Brisbane Astronomy night, Penrith - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/astronomy-night/ Dr Sarah McKay Dr Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist turned science writer who translates mind and brain research into simple strategies for health and wellbeing. Contact: [email protected] or 0412 002 226 She lives on Sydney’s Northern Beaches where she combines running her science communications business with raising two little surfer dudes. Sarah completed her DPhil at Oxford University where she spent her time examining neuroplasticity in the developing brain before moving to Sydney in search of sunshine. After five years postdoc research she hung up her lab-coat to pursue a career in science writing. Instead of examining neurons and synapses through the microscope lens, Sarah now considers the workings of the brain through the lens of everyday life. Sarah blogs about neuroscience (Your Brain Health), and speaks and writes about the brain to help others discover, understand, and implement the latest findings from the world of neurobiology. Science Week involvement: Among the brains (pardon the pun) behind Neural Knitworks (multiple events) http://www.scienceweek.net.au/neural-knitworks/ Panellist for Science of Wellness - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/sydney-ideas- bringing-science-to-wellness/
Josh Richards – Science comedian & Mars One candidate Physicist, Explosives Engineer, Soldier, Stand-Up Comedian and Astronaut Candidate – one thing Josh Richards can never be accused of is being boring. Now he hopes to go to Mars. Contact: [email protected], 0481 303 457 In the last decade he’s picked up booby traps for the Australian Army, slogged through mud with the British Commandos, used napalm in a music video for U2, been a science advisor to the richest contemporary artist in the world, and performed with some of the world’s top comedians while wearing a giant koala suit to confused audiences from Los Angeles to Edinburgh. Josh found his true calling in late 2012 when he discovered the Mars One project. Selected from over 200,000 initial applicants, Josh is now one of 100 worldwide astronaut candidates short- listed to leave Earth forever and become the first to colonise Mars in 2025. Science Week involvement: Festival of Bright Ideas – TAS – http://www.scienceweek.net.au/josh-richards-from- mars-one-10am/ Putting Oxygen & Art on Mars – Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne How to become an astronaut – Laneway Learning – VIC - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/how-to-become-an-astronaut Young Tassie Scientists Meet the Young Tassie Scientists – a group of communicators who are travelling around the state talking to schools and the broader public. Jeremy Just will be taking an explosive look at the science of light and its impact on the human race at the Festival of Bright Ideas in Hobart. In the lab and field, Jeremy is a ‘barista scientist’ – using a coffee machine, packed with plant specimens, to extract organic natural products for chemical analysis. Jeremy is studying Chemistry & Science Communication at the University of Tasmania. Aimee Bliss is planning her next big trip – an expedition to Antarctica with 42 other selected female scientists from around the globe. She is a Bachelor of Science Student at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Tasmania. Contact: Sarah Bayne, [email protected] or 0419 472 539; or Adele Wilson, [email protected], 03 6226 2287 or 0449 013 689 More Young Tassie Scientists Science Week involvement: Events across the state - http://youngtassiescientists.com/event/ ‘Venom Doc’ Bryan Grieg Fry Deadly snakes, milking them for venom. What more do I need to say. Contact: Bryan Grieg Fry on [email protected] or 0400 193 182 Science Week involvement: Venom Doc book launch and author talk - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/venom-doc- author-talk/ Should science be sexy? - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/should-science-be-sexy-how- can-we-inspire-future-scientists/
Paul Willis Palentologist and head of the RI Aus, Paul will be ‘Making Babies’ this weekend – or at least discussing how to make a healthy baby in the 21st Century at a public forum in Adelaide. Contact: [email protected] or (08) 7120 8600 Dr Paul Willis is a respected leader in the science community, and joined RiAus in 2011, continuing an impressive career in science and science communication. Dr Willis has a background in vertebrate palaeontology, studying the fossils of crocodiles and other reptiles. He also has an extensive career in science communication working for the ABC on TV programs such as Catalyst and Quantum as well as radio and online. He’s written books and articles on dinosaurs, fossils and rocks, and now, as Director of RiAus, he’s finding new ways to engage the people of Australia with the science that underpins their world. Dr Willis has a solid research career in vertebrate palaeontology, and has the distinction of having discovered a number of significant vertebrate fossil specimens, including a small dinosaur and a large ichthyosaur. He has led eight public expeditions to Antarctica, authored and co-authored seven books on dinosaurs, rocks and fossils and authored many popular articles on science subjects across a wide range of topics. Science Week involvement: RiAus sci-ku competition – http://www.scienceweek.net.au/riaus-sci-ku-competition/ My Research Rules (Adelaide) - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/the-great-debate-my- research-rules-2/ Chris Smith – ‘The Naked Scientist’ Virologist and Naked Scientist Chris Smith is visiting from Cambridge. His hundreds of radio appearances around the world include a regular slot on Fran Kelly’s show on RN. Contact: Christine Allen, [email protected] or 08 9215 0739 or 0468 676 933; Jane McNamara, [email protected] or 0418 391 124 Dr Chris Smith BSc MB BChir PhD FRCPath - "the Naked Scientist" - is a consultant virologist and a lecturer based at Cambridge University where he is a fellow of Queens' College. He is also a science radio broadcaster and writer, and presents the Naked Scientists, a programme which he founded in 2001, for BBC Radio and other networks internationally, as well as 5 live Science on BBC Radio 5 Live. In addition to the Naked Scientists, he appears live every Friday morning on Australia's ABC Radio National Breakfast with Fran Kelly, supplying an update of the week's leading science news. He is also a contributor to Robyn Williams' The Science Show on the same station, and also appears on Johannesburg-based South African station TalkRadio 702 for thirty minutes every Friday morning with a half hour science news round up and listener question phone-in. Radio New Zealand National's This Way Up show, hosted by journalist Simon Morton on Saturdays, also includes a Naked Science contribution from Chris, and since 2013 BBC Radio Norfolk have been running a Naked Scientists Wednesday teatime science phone-in as part of their Drive Time offering. Science Week involvement: Perth Science Festival – http://www.scienceweek.net.au/perth-science-festival/ Southwest Science Spectacular – Light the Future Science Show http://www.scienceweek.net.au/light-the-future-science-show/ Animal, human, environment – where is the next challenge coming from? - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/animal-human-environment-where-is-the-next- challenge-coming-from-2/
Ben Britton Ben Britton is the Director of Wild Animal Encounters, and face of Nat Geo Wild on the National Geographic Channel. Contact: Christine Allen, [email protected] or 08 9215 0739 or 0468 676 933 He is passionate about wildlife and believes strongly in conservation through education. Ben has more than 20 years professional experience in animal husbandry and wildlife displays. Ben has appeared in a number of documentaries and on various television programs educating people about wildlife conservation. Science Week involvement (largely Perth events): Perth Science Festival Saturday, August 15 2015 till Sunday, August 16 2015. 11:00 AM - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/ben-britton-at- perth-science-festival/ Saturday, August 15 2015. 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre http://www.scienceweek.net.au/ben-britton-at-kanyana/ Monday, August 17 2015. 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM http://www.scienceweek.net.au/ben- britton-at-meet-the-scientist/ Monday, August 17 2015. 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM http://www.scienceweek.net.au/animal- human-environment-where-is-the-next-challenge-coming-from-2/
Imogen & Freya Wadlow The science twins are multi-award winning 20 year old NSW twin go-getters performance science circuses in shopping centres because they can. Contact: Erika Wadlow (mum), Email: [email protected], Phone: 0415 532 080 Having set-up Planet Patrol at the age of 10, Imogen & Freya had a few years to become used to presenting in public. They've stood on information stalls, ran educational groups in libraries, been guest speakers and organised and lead many environmental events. They're creative, organised and fairly unflappable. For three years, they've co-curated ‘The Amazing Science Circus’ for National Science Week at the Powerhouse Discovery Centre. This year the Amazing Science Circus hits a shopping centre! They have an innate ability to communicate clearly and instantly create a good rapport with all ages and positions. With a real passion for all things science - kids respond to their whacky sense of humour, whilst organisations have appreciated their ability to understand issues from a business perspective. Imogen and Freya are currently undergraduates in Science and Politics at Macquarie University. Science Week involvement: http://www.scienceweek.net.au/amazing-science-circus Science Circus ringmasters, Imogen and Freya, will be on hand to help you get your geek on for National Science Week. Join the Hills own science twins for a celebration of what’s cooking in the lab at Castle Towers Centre Court. Dr Karl Australia’s crazy-shirted science guru. Contact: [email protected], 02 9351 2963 Science Week involvement: Galaxy Explorer advertisements on ABC Southwest Science Spectacular – Light the Future Science Show http://www.scienceweek.net.au/light-the-future-science-show/ and school event http://www.scienceweek.net.au/science-outreach-at-the-super-science-spectacular- south-west/ Uluru Astronomy Weekend - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/uluru-astronomy- weekend-2/ Bernie Hobbs ABC Science Online writer, broadcaster, The New Inventors judge, funny girl and former medical researcher. Contact: via [email protected] Bernie Hobbs is an award-winning science writer and broadcaster with ABC Science Online. Best known as a regular judge on ABC TV’s The New Inventors, Bernie is also the brainchild behind the online science game ABC Zoom, where you zoom down to the microscopic and molecular levels to make repairs in everything from a synchrotron to a retina. Bernie writes a regular column exploring science basics, and she can be heard talking science on radio each week, and hosting science events around the country. In previous lives she’s been a science teacher, medical researcher and one of the stars of the ABC kids’ science show the experiMENTALS. Bernie has worked in the digital sphere for over 15 years, which may explain why she’s not on Facebook and doesn’t tweet. Science Week involvement: 2015 Menzies Debate host – prostate cancer checks – http://www.scienceweek.net.au/2015-menzies-debate/ Cooks River Day Out - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/cooks-river-day-out/ Ruben Meerman Better known as the Surfing Scientist, Ruben is a broadcaster, science communicator and now fat- busting myth-busting PhD student. Contact: [email protected] Ruben Meerman, mostly known as The Surfing Scientist, is a Scientist, Australian Television Science Presenter and Public Speaker also commonly performing science demonstrations for school kids. The Surfing Scientist frequently appearing on ABC's children's television show Rollercoater until it ended in 2010. Ruben is a proud supporter of free education of literacy, numeracy and science for all, he was educated on the free Australian public education himself. The Surfing Scientist often performs scientific demonstrations for school children, usually using liquid nitrogen in his demonstrations. He is currently working on research on the science of weight loss and researching where does the fat go when you lose weight. Science Week involvement: Southwest Science Spectacular – Light the Future Science Show http://www.scienceweek.net.au/light-the-future-science-show/ and school event http://www.scienceweek.net.au/science-outreach-at-the-super-science-spectacular- south-west/ Gary Cass One third scientist, one third artist, and one third entertainer Contact: email [email protected] Gary Cass has been a key scientific collaborator with numerous art and science projects based at the University of Western Australia, contributing a vast range of skills in agricultural and biological sciences to ongoing research projects. He’s the Scientific Director (aka Crazy Scientist) of The Scientific Creativity Initiative. Our best description of Gary is that he’s one third scientist, one third artist, and one third entertainer! "Knows a little bit about science, a little less on safety and probably nothing about art!" Science Week involvement: Made the dress made of beer, on the runway at Gastronimical! at Perth science Festival - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/gastronomical/ Microscopic crystal art workshop in Bunbury - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/microscopic-crystal- workshop/ and http://artpartnersbunbury.com/events- activities/crystal-photography-workshop/ Will Steffen Professor Will Steffen is a climate change expert and researcher at the Australian National University, Canberra. He’s among the panel discussing ‘can science save humanity?’ Contact: [email protected], 02 6125 7265 Will Steffen has a long history in international global change research, serving from 1998 to 2004 as Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), based in Stockholm, Sweden, and before that as Executive Officer of IGBP's Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosystems project. Prior to taking up the ANU Climate Change Institute Directorship in 2008, Steffen was the inaugural director of the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society. From 2004 to 2011 he served as science adviser to the Australian Government Department of Climate Change. He is currently a Climate Commissioner with the Australian Government Climate Commission; Chair of the Antarctic Science Advisory Committee, Co-Director of the Canberra Urban and Regional Futures (CURF) initiative and Member of the ACT Climate Change Council. Steffen's interests span a broad range within the fields of sustainability and Earth System science, with an emphasis on the science of climate change, approaches to climate change adaptation in land systems, incorporation of human processes in Earth System modelling and analysis; and the history and future of the relationship between humans and the rest of nature. Science Week involvement: Can Science Save Humanity? - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/can-science-save- humanity-how-analytical-science-controls-our-lives/ Is this how you feel? (exhibition in Melbourne) - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/is- this-how-you-feel/ Best festival ever: how to manage a disaster - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/best- festival-ever-how-to-manage-a-disaster/ Chris Lassig Physics, eco and science communication guru and all-round nice guy Dr Chris Lassig is talking time machines, physics and his science hero this Science Week. He also presents ‘Lost in Science’ on radio 3CR. Contact: via Natalie Bedini, [email protected], 0420 908 096 Science Week involvement: Laneway Learning: Build your own time machine - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/build-your-own-time-machine/ The Laborastory National Science Week edition 2015, VIC - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/the-laborastory-national-science-week-edition-2015/ Astronomy and Light Festival at Scienceworks - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/astronomy-and-light-festival/ Katie Mack Astrophysicist and Twitter star Contact: via Natalie Bedini, [email protected], 0420 908 096 Science Week involvement: The Laborastory National Science Week edition 2015, VIC - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/the-laborastory-national-science-week-edition-2015/ Astronomy and Light Festival at Scienceworks - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/astronomy-and-light-festival/ Clare Hampson Dr Clare Hampson is a trainee pathologist, medical advisor for the ABC series The Doctor Blake Mysteries and a Eurovision enthusiast. Contact: via Natalie Bedini, [email protected], 0420 908 096 Science Week involvement: The Laborastory National Science Week edition 2015, VIC - http://www.scienceweek.net.au/the-laborastory-national-science-week-edition-2015/ Questacon senior execs – Kate Driver & Dr Stuart Kohlhagen Questacon’s Acting Director Kate Driver and Director of Science and learning Dr Stuart Kohlhagen are passionate about involving Australians from all walks of life in science and National Science Week. Contact: Rian Kent [email protected] or phone 02 6270 2947 Kate brings experience across a number of fields including: law; strategic policy; programme management; policy implementation; corporate governance; change management; property; security; business continuity; and human resource management. Drawing from her skills and experience across a variety of senior roles in the public sector in the last seven years, and prior to that as a private practice solicitor, Kate’s reputation has been built on a foundation of delivering quality results with an emphasis on excellence in stakeholder management and leadership. Stuart has worked with Questacon since 1979, working with the founding Director to help establish many aspects of our current activities. During this time he has lead the design and development of interactive exhibits, he has also helped shape and deliver many of the programmes, shows and demonstrations that form a key part of Questacon’s activities and outreach programmes. Stuart has lead the delivery of numerous international workshops on exhibit development and has been especially active in supporting professional development of science centre staff from diverse countries. Stuart is closely involved with the University of Canberra’s School of Science and Education in facilitating the development of the new Masters of teaching course and is President of the Australian Science and Technology Exhibitors Network (ASTEN). Science Week involvement: Big picture Limited availability Neil deGrasse Tyson Astrophysicist, author, celebrity, wrestler, world-recognised badass, currently touring Australia with gigs in Sydney and Canberra this weekend. Contact: Suzi Jamil, [email protected] or 0424 805 323 Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist, author, celebrity, wrestler, world-recognised badass. After a behemoth teenage expression of interest in the universe which caught the attention of legendary astronomer Carl Sagan, young Neil deGrasse Tyson graduated Harvard University where he majored in physics, moving on to Columbia University where he earned Master of Philosophy and Doctorate of Philosophy degrees in astrophysics. In the more public spheres, Tyson is renowned as a science communicator and host of Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (the follow-up to Sagan’s own 1980 series Cosmos: A Personal Voyage), and is recognised widely for his views extending outside the realms of science, in his own words governed by two main philosophies: “…know more today about the world than I knew yesterday, and lessen the suffering of others.” The author of books such as The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist (2000), co-authored Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution (2004), and Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries (2006), Tyson serves as a reminder for the wonders of scientific discovery and the universal interest in, well, the universe. He strives to make science and rational thought accessible to audiences of all ages, genders, nationalities, and professions, with equal parts relevance, reverence, and humour. Science Week involvement: Tour details on Science Week website Chris Hadfield A spaceman and musician who performed A Space Oddity in orbit. Touring Australia with gigs in Melbourne and Sydney this week. Contact: Nikita at IP Publicity [email protected] Chris Hadfield has lived a life most of us can only live vicariously. ‘A Spaceman’s View of the Planet’ takes us on a journey to the International Space Station, where Chris Hadfield’s daily life is dedicated to countless scientific experiments studying the universe, testing spaceship design, and monitoring the human body’s reaction to weightlessness – ultimately to enable mankind to travel into deep space. Science Week involvement: Tour details on Science Week website
Australia’s eighteenth National Science Week will be one of Australia’s largest festivals, with 1,500 plus registered events expected to reach over a million people. The festival is proudly supported by the Australian Government; partners CSIRO, Australian Science Teachers Association and the ABC; and sponsors NewScientist, Cosmos, Popular Science and PrimaryConnections.
National Science Week General media enquiries: Tanya Ha – [email protected] or call 0404 083 863 Niall Byrne – [email protected] or call 0417 131 977