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Sarah Maddison

Computational Astrophysicist
Swinburne University of Technology

Bachelor of Science (Honours)
PhD in mathematics

"My main areas of interest are star and planet formation, particularly the formation, evolution and dynamics of disks that form around young stars ."

I work as a computational astrophysicist at the Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology. I studied a BSc(Hons) in applied mathematics and a PhD in computational astrophysics, both from the Mathematics Department at Monash University . My main areas of interest are star and planet formation, particularly the formation, evolution and dynamics of disks that form around young stars. I also work on galaxy interactions, particularly in relation to the formation of the Magellanic Stream.

After completing my PhD, I worked as an Associate Professor at New Mexico State University in the USA , teaching planetary astronomy and testing the astronomical capabilities of a fast read-out military IR camera at the Apache Point Observatory. From there I held a Postdoctoral Fellowship position at the Observatoire de Grenoble in France , producing synthetic infrared maps from dynamic models of disks around young binary stars to compare with high angular resolution observations.

I returned to Australia nearly four years ago to take up a position at Swinburne University. I am a member of the Stars & Planets Group and continue to research disk dynamics and planet formation. Another aspect of my activities at Swinburne is active involvement in education and public outreach programs and running "AstroTour"; 3D tours of the Universe for primary and secondary students and the general public. I coordinate Swinburne Astronomy Online, a fully online graduate program in astronomy, and looks after the needs of over 250 students from more than 35 countries worldwide.

I enjoy involvement in media and public speaking and have given hundreds of talks to schools and the general public, have been interviewed for various newspapers articles and radio programs and appeared on George Negus' "New Dimensions".