Chair for Intelligent Space Systems, UNSW Canberra; Director, UNSW Canberra Space
The past : trained as a physicist at Australian National University; 25 years of experimental / computational / flight research in hypersonics – the science and technology of flight at speeds ranging from Mach 5 to re-entry from space … including aerodynamics and scramjet propulsion … and time spent at UNSW, UQ, Imperial College, JAXA and DLR.
The present : as Director of UNSW Canberra Space, I drive the vision, strategy and development of Australia’s leading space capability. Currently some 25 faculty, science, engineering, postdoc and PhD students, we will reach a team of 40 by the end of 2017. Our focus is miniature satellite based science and technology, coupling technologies such as quantum communications, on-board processing, reconfigurable payloads, and laser-based and hyperspectral sensors, with world-class space engineering – and underpinned by equally world-class research and teaching.
The future : we seek to be the Australian go-to for innovative … disruptive … research, teaching and thought leadership in space capability to help meet critical terrestrial challenges.