Planetary scientist Katarina Miljkovic is discussing how she uses “space rocks” to understand how planets form. She’s available for interview and is giving free public talks this week in North Sydney, Wollongong, and Canberra.
The planets in our solar system are vastly different although they all formed from the same cloud of gas and dust around a star – our sun. Why is this?
Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic works at Curtin University’s Space Science and Technology Centre and School of Earth and Planetary Sciences.
She thinks the answers lie in studying how asteroids, comets and meteors bombarded the planets in the past, changing the surface conditions.
The Earth is hit by a few larger objects, and tens of thousands of smaller meteors per day, although small events largely go unnoticed. Yet it doesn’t take a huge rock to cause a massive impact.
The asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs on Earth 66 million years ago was only 10-15 km in diameter.
“Space is not empty, and we always have rocks from space hitting planetary bodies,” says Katarina.
“Tiny collisions and large-scale impact events helped shape the planets and Universe as we know it.”
Katarina will talk about impact events, planetary evolution and more in her free talks to schools, universities, and the general public around Australia.
She uses computer modelling to understand the mechanics of how large rocks hit the surface of planets, setting off quakes and forming craters. In her talks, she will explain how her modelling compares with the data she gets from billion-dollar space missions.
“Receiving data from space is a heck of a job,” according to the planetary scientist, who often receives data that no-one has seen before.
Most recently Katarina has been working with the NASA InSight mission to analyse data about quakes from an instrument onboard a robotic explorer parked on the surface of Mars.
She hopes the data will also give important information about the interior structure of the planet.
Katarina’s talks are part of her responsibilities after winning the 2022 Women in Physics Lectureship. The lectureship is awarded annually by the Australian Institute of Physics to recognise significant contributions by a woman to advancing physics.
Katarina’s talk tour starts at the end of May and runs through to September at venues in NSW, ACT, QLD, VIC, TAS, SA, and WA.
NSW and ACT tour dates and venues
Katarina will be giving free public talks on:
- Tuesday 31 May at Macquarie University, North Ryde, 6 – 7 pm.
- Wednesday 1 June at Science Space, North Wollongong, 6.30 – 7.30 pm.
- Thursday 2 Jun at UNSW Canberra, Canberra, 5.30 – 7 pm.
She will also be giving private talks in schools in Northern Sydney, Wollongong, and Canberra.
For more information about the events, visit
https://www.aip.org.au/Women-in-Physics-Lecture-Tour
For a video about Katarina, visit https://education.australiascience.tv/scinema-2020-impact-beyond-the-night-sky/
Media contact: Jane Watkins, jane@scienceinpublic.com.au, +61 425 803 204
For interview: Katarina Miljkovic, katarina.miljkovic@curtin.edu.au
Images
Credit: Australian Institute of Physics / Take 2 STEM / https://education.australiascience.tv/scinema-2020-impact-beyond-the-night-sky/
Credit: Take 2 STEM.
Credit: Take 2 STEM.
Supporting information
About the lecturer
Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic joined Curtin University in 2015 under a Curtin Research Fellowship. She is currently an Australian Research Council Future Fellow, and she teaches in the Advanced Science course.
Before joining Curtin, she graduated from the University of Belgrade in 2006 in astrophysics and obtained her PhD from the Open University in the UK in 2010. She has held postdoctoral roles at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, Institute de Physique du Globe de Paris in France, and Imperial College London in the UK.
Katarina has won an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship, an Australian L’Oreal-UNESCO for Women in Science Fellowship, and a WA Tall Poppy Young Scientist of the Year award.
Please see here for more about Katarina’s Women in Physics Lecture Tour: www.aip.org.au/Women-in-Physics-Lecture-Tour
About the Women in Physics Lectureship
The Women in Physics Lecture Tour was established nationally in 1997 by the Australian Institute of Physics to promote the work of outstanding women in physics.
The award aims to inspires future physicists by recognising and publicising significant contributions by a woman to advancing a field of physics.
The winner is supported on a lecture tour across Australia, giving presentations for schools, the general public, and university staff and students.
Please see here about the Women in Physics Lectureship: https://aip.org.au/WOMEN-IN-PHYSICS-LECTURER
Other lecture tour dates
Confirmed dates for the 2022 Women in Physics lecture tour include:
- QLD: 18 – 20 Jul
- VIC: 27 – 28 Jul
- TAS: 8 – 10 Aug
- SA: 6 – 8 Sep
- WA: 22 Sep