Bryan Malcolm Gaensler (born 1973) is an Australian
astronomer
An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, g ...
based at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. He studies
magnetar
A magnetar is a type of neutron star with an extremely powerful magnetic field (∼109 to 1011 T, ∼1013 to 1015 G). The magnetic-field decay powers the emission of high-energy electromagnetic radiation, particularly X-rays and gamma rays.War ...
s,
supernova remnant
A supernova remnant (SNR) is the structure resulting from the explosion of a star in a supernova. The supernova remnant is bounded by an expanding shock wave, and consists of ejected material expanding from the explosion, and the interstellar mat ...
s, and
magnetic field
A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...
s. In 2014, he was appointed as Director of the
Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics
The Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto is an astronomical research centre.
The institute was founded in 2008 with the help of endowed gifts to the University of Toronto from David M. Dunlap and J. Moffat ...
at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
, after
James R. Graham's departure. He is currently the co-chair of the Canadian 2020 Long Range Plan Committee with
Pauline Barmby.
Education
Gaensler was born in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, Australia. He attended
Sydney Grammar School
(Praise be to God)
, established =
, type = Independent, day school
, gender = Boys
, religious_affiliation = None
, slogan =
, headmaster = R. B. Malpass
, founder = Laurence Hynes Halloran
, chairman = ...
, and studied at the University of Sydney, graduating with a
BSc
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University ...
with
first class honours
The British undergraduate degree classification system is a grading structure for undergraduate degrees or bachelor's degrees and integrated master's degrees in the United Kingdom. The system has been applied (sometimes with significant variati ...
in
physics
Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
(1995), followed by a
PhD in
astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...
(1999). His PhD thesis was completed under the supervision of
Anne Green
Anne Green (born 1891, Savannah, Georgia, d. 1979, Paris) was an American writer and translator, the sister of Julien Green. While a child, Green's parents moved to France, where her father, ruined by a financial crisis and poor investments, came ...
and Richard Manchester.
Career
From 1998 to 2001, Gaensler held a Hubble Fellowship at the Center for Space Research of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
. In 2001 he moved to the
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO) is a research institute of the Smithsonian Institution, concentrating on astrophysical studies including galactic and extragalactic astronomy, cosmology, solar, earth and planetary sciences, the ...
as a Clay Fellow. In 2002, he took up an appointment as an
assistant professor
Assistant Professor is an academic rank just below the rank of an associate professor used in universities or colleges, mainly in the United States and Canada.
Overview
This position is generally taken after earning a doctoral degree and general ...
in the
Department of Astronomy
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
In 2006, he moved back to Sydney as an
Australian Research Council
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
Federation Fellow in the School of Physics at the University of Sydney and in 2011 he was also appointed Director of the
ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics
ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics (or CAASTRO) was a collaboration of international astronomers dedicated to wide field astronomy. It was formally launched on 12 September 2011, at Sydney Observatory and ceased in 2018.
Aims
CAAS ...
(CAASTRO). In June 2014, Gaensler announced that he would be leaving CAASTRO and taking up a position as director of the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at
The University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
commencing in January 2015.
Gaensler was Editor-in-Chief of
Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia
''Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering all aspects of astrophysics and astronomy. The editor-in-chief is Ivo Rolf Seitenzahl (University of New South Wales). It was established in 1 ...
from 2009 to 2014. His contributions to PASA included redefining the scope of the journal to move away from accepting conference summaries and "intermediate results", moving to Cambridge University Press as publisher, and introducing the Dawes Reviews, named after early Australian astronomer of
William Dawes
William Dawes Jr. (April 6, 1745 – February 25, 1799) was one of several men who in April 1775 alerted colonial minutemen in Massachusetts of the approach of British army troops prior to the Battles of Lexington and Concord at the outse ...
.
Research
In 1997, Gaensler showed that many supernova remnants are aligned with the
magnetic field
A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...
of the
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye ...
like "cosmic
compass
A compass is a device that shows the cardinal directions used for navigation and geographic orientation. It commonly consists of a magnetized needle or other element, such as a compass card or compass rose, which can pivot to align itself with ...
es". In 2000, he and
Dale Frail
Dale A. Frail is a Canadian astronomer working at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) in Socorro, New Mexico.
Early life
He was born in Canada, spent much of his childhood in Europe, and his professional career has been based in the ...
calculated that some
pulsar
A pulsar (from ''pulsating radio source'') is a highly magnetized rotating neutron star that emits beams of electromagnetic radiation out of its magnetic poles. This radiation can be observed only when a beam of emission is pointing toward Ea ...
s are much older than previously believed. In 2004, Gaensler used the
Chandra X-ray Observatory
The Chandra X-ray Observatory (CXO), previously known as the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), is a Flagship-class space telescope launched aboard the during STS-93 by NASA on July 23, 1999. Chandra is sensitive to X-ray sources 1 ...
to make the first detailed study of the behavior of high-energy particles around a fast moving pulsar.
In 2005, Gaensler was reported to have solved the mystery of why some
supernova explosions form magnetars while others form ordinary pulsars. Later that year, he and his colleagues observed one of the brightest explosions ever observed in the
history of astronomy
Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences, dating back to antiquity, with its origins in the religious, mythological, cosmological, calendrical, and astrological beliefs and practices of prehistory: vestiges of these are still found in ...
, resulting from a sudden pulse of
gamma ray
A gamma ray, also known as gamma radiation (symbol γ or \gamma), is a penetrating form of electromagnetic radiation arising from the radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. It consists of the shortest wavelength electromagnetic waves, typically ...
s from the magnetar
SGR 1806-20 SGR may refer to:
* Heart Colchester and Heart Ipswich, radio stations in Suffolk, England both once known as SGR
* Sagittarius (constellation) abbreviation
* ''Scary Go Round'', a webcomic
* Scientists for Global Responsibility, a United Kingdom ...
. Also in 2005, he reported puzzling new observations of the
Large Magellanic Cloud
The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), or Nubecula Major, is a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way. At a distance of around 50 kiloparsecs (≈160,000 light-years), the LMC is the second- or third-closest galaxy to the Milky Way, after the ...
, showing that powerful but unknown forces were at work in maintaining this
galaxy
A galaxy is a system of stars, stellar remnants, interstellar gas, dust, dark matter, bound together by gravity. The word is derived from the Greek ' (), literally 'milky', a reference to the Milky Way galaxy that contains the Solar System. ...
's magnetic field.
Gaensler was formerly the international project scientist for the
Square Kilometre Array
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an intergovernmental international radio telescope project being built in Australia (low-frequency) and South Africa (mid-frequency). The combining infrastructure, the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKA ...
, a next-generation
radio telescope
A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency ...
. He is a member of the SKA Magnetism Science Working Group.
Public outreach
In 2011, Gaensler published his first book, ''Extreme Cosmos''.
Honours and awards
* Hubble Fellow at the Center for Space Research of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1998-2001)
*
Young Australian of the Year
The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territo ...
(1999)
* Gave the
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port Ja ...
Address (2001)
* Clay Fellow, Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (2001)
*
Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (2005)
*
Australian Research Council
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
Federation Fellow (2005)
*
Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy The Newton Lacy Pierce Prize in Astronomy is awarded annually by the American Astronomical Society to a young (less than age 36) astronomer for outstanding achievement in observational astronomical research. The prize is named after Newton Lacy Pi ...
(2006)
*
Australian Research Council
The Australian Research Council (ARC) is the primary non-medical research funding agency of the Australian Government, distributing more than in grants each year. The Council was established by the ''Australian Research Council Act 2001'', ...
Australian Laureate Fellow
The Australian Laureate Fellowship is an Australian professorial research fellowship awarded by the Australian Research Council. Up to 17 fellows are chosen each year for five-year awards.
Kathleen Fitzpatrick and Georgina Sweet fellowships
In 201 ...
(2010)
*
Pawsey Medal
The Pawsey Medal is awarded annually by the Australian Academy of Science to recognize outstanding research in the physics by an Australian scientist early in their career (up to 10 years post-PhD).
This medal commemorates the work of the late Jo ...
(2011)
* Elected a
Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
The Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science is made up of about 500 Australian scientists.
Scientists judged by their peers to have made an exceptional contribution to knowledge in their field may be elected to Fellowship of the Academy ...
(2013)
*
Scopus
Scopus is Elsevier's abstract and citation database launched in 2004. Scopus covers nearly 36,377 titles (22,794 active titles and 13,583 inactive titles) from approximately 11,678 publishers, of which 34,346 are peer-reviewed journals in top-l ...
Young Researcher of The Year Award - Physical Science (2013)
References
External links
*
Australia Day Address*
ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090602204354/http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~psr_snr/ Gaensler & Slane (GaS) Research Groupbr>
ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky AstrophysicsDirectory page at IAU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaensler, Bryan
1973 births
21st-century Australian astronomers
Living people
Harvard University faculty
21st-century Canadian astronomers
People educated at Sydney Grammar School
University of Sydney alumni
Hubble Fellows
Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science