Interim School Director's Update

Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue73 1–30 June 2026

The end of academic semester is a time where we can recognise the hard work of teaching staff, who put many hours into not only the face to face delivery of our programs, but a lot of marking and administration behind the scenes. In the national engagement space, the team of Melanie, Rajika, Liana and Cristy have been tirelessly organising the Astronomical Society of Australia meeting to be held in Canberra this week.

Congratulations to Karlie Noon, who was one of the 2026 recipients of the National Geographic Wayfinder award. These are international awards recognising the next generation of global leaders. We are lucky to have Karlie in a continuing role at RSAA.

As both my previous term as Associate Director Science Education (ASDE) and Christoph’s term as Associate Director Higher Degree Research (ADHDR) were coming to an end, and expression of interest was put into fill these roles. Helmut Jerjen has become the new ADSE. Helmut has many years of experience demonstrating teaching excellence in undergraduate education, while also administering several of our education programs. Thank you to Helmut for taking up this role.

Melissa Ness has become the new ADHDR. Melissa has put research training and mentorship at the centre of her research for many years, and has been very effective as the Thesis Objectives Chair (TOC), previously the Thesis Oversight Committee chair. This will now be combined to the ADHDR role. Christoph Federrath has agreed to continue serving as the deputy-ADHDR, ensuring a smooth transition and that students are supported as we complete the transition to the confirmation of candidature process. Thanks Melissa and Christoph!

Finally, a congratulation to the OzFuel team for completion of their laboratory prototype. We hope that these successes will lead to a space mission in the near future that showcases the technological advances from AITC.

Mike Ireland