Astrophysical Maser Group Members

• Professor Anne Green
  

  Anne is Head of the School of Physics. Amongst her research interests are masers in supernova remnants and post-AGB stars. She has been instrumental in large surveys of supernova remnants for OH masers at 1720 MHz. A full biography will appear soon.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Dr. Lisa Harvey-Smith
  

  Lisa is a Postdoctoral Fellow working on galactic and extragalactic radio polarimetry and astrophysical masers. Lisa did her Ph.D. at Jodrell Bank Observatory on studies of OH and methanol masers in regions of massive star-formation, before moving to the Joint Institute for VLBI in Europe (in Dwingeloo, The Netherlands) to work as a support scientist. She has extensive observational expertise in VLBI and connected radio interferometry and has used many of the world's largest telescopes. Lisa's main research interests are maser polarization, massive star-formation, outflows and disks, extended 'filamentary' masers and the causes of maser variabiliy.

  In her spare time, Lisa enjoys rock-climbing and bouldering with friends, distance running and looking after her two energetic dogs.






• Dr. Tim Robishaw
  

  Tim recently finished his Ph.D. in astrophysics at the University of California, Berkeley. His primary research goal is to understand the role of magnetic fields in astronomical objects. Magnetic fields leave their fingerprint in the polarization of the light emitted or absorbed by an object out in space. By using really big radio telescopes, Tim has measured magnetic fields here in our own Milky Way as well as in galaxies far, far away. He recently observed extremely bright maser emission from galaxies undergoing intense star formation; these masers are so bright compared to the ones in our own Galaxy that they are called "megamasers". When Tim pointed the biggest single telescope in the world toward these megamasers, and tuned his receiver to 1667 MHz on the FM dial, he found that the incoming signal contained the signature of strong magnetic fields. Masers are an extremely useful magnetometer and Tim hopes to continue to exploit their usefulness during his time in Sydney.

  Tim spends his free time collecting pertinent useless information and playing his guitar. He really likes hot chocolate and believes it should only be made with milk, not with water, unless camping.