When Galaxies Collide

In this talk, I will describe the cataclysmic events that can occur when galaxies collide including radiant bursts of star formation, coalescence of supermassive black holes and the ignition of dragon-like active galactic nuclei launching jets of plasma at close to the speed of light. I will also describe my latest research project to ‘weigh’ a supermassive black hole using the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope.

Lisa Harvey-Smith

Associate Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith is an award-winning astrophysicist and communicator. She uses some of the world's most powerful radio telescopes to study the birth and death of stars, cosmic magnetic fields, black holes and interactions between colliding galaxies. She also offers online astronomy research courses (www.lisaharveysmith.com), which currently have students enrolled in six countries on four continents.

Harvey-Smith is also a speaker, MC and performer with a passion for communicating science. She was a presenter on ABC Stargazing Live and appeared as a guest physicist in the ABC TV series Todd Sampson's Life on the Line. Last year she introduced the live stage shows Buzz Aldrin: Mission to Mars, An Evening with Neil De Grasse Tyson and Gene Cernan: Last Man on the Moon in theatres across Australia. 

Harvey-Smith won the Eureka Prize for the Promotion of Australian Science Research in 2016 and was a recipient of the 2015 CSIRO Chairman’s Medal. She was named in The Sydney Morning Herald’s Top 100: Most influential people in 2012.

In her spare time Lisa enjoys long-distance running (marathon, 100km, 100 mile, 12hr and 24hr races) and is a competing member of the Australian Ultra Runners Association.

Associate Professor Lisa Harvey-Smith is an award-winning astrophysicist and communicator. She uses some of the world's most powerful radio telescopes to study the birth and death of stars, cosmic magnetic fields, black holes and interactions between colliding galaxies. She also offers online astronomy research courses (www.lisaharveysmith.com), which currently have students enrolled in six countries on four continents.

Harvey-Smith is also a speaker, MC and performer with a passion for communicating science. She was a presenter on ABC Stargazing Live and appeared as a guest physicist in the ABC TV series Todd Sampson's Life on the Line. Last year she introduced the live stage shows Buzz Aldrin: Mission to Mars, An Evening with Neil De Grasse Tyson and Gene Cernan: Last Man on the Moon in theatres across Australia. 

Harvey-Smith won the Eureka Prize for the Promotion of Australian Science Research in 2016 and was a recipient of the 2015 CSIRO Chairman’s Medal. She was named in The Sydney Morning Herald’s Top 100: Most influential people in 2012.