It was an absolute pleasure to host winner of the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics, Professor Brian Schmidt AC FAA FRS for an intimate breakfast and roundtable alongside our early-career researchers.
As an internationally renowned researcher, Professor Schmidt has worked across a broad range of subject areas, including the outer solar system, exoplanets, stellar astronomy, and Galactic archaeology. However, his work on supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, cosmology, and the discovery of cosmic acceleration is what he is most widely known for.
As an astrophysicist at the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Mount Stromlo Observatory, the session was a rare opportunity for the Forrest Scholars and Fellows to discuss his remarkable journey and groundbreaking discovery.
With many of our researchers focused on the field of cosmology, spanning finding hidden black holes to figuring out how galaxies are assembled, Professor Schmidt’s visit was a truly memorable experience. And for those not in the field of cosmology – our social researchers, literally scholars, medical engineers and neuropsychologists – the opportunity to hear about Professor Schmidt’s journey was both insightful and inspiring.
