Sky Mapper and the Search for the Milky Ways' Oldest Stars 

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Prof Gary Da Costa

My current position is that of Professor of Astronomy at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Australian National University.

My research interests include the stellar populations of dwarf galaxies, the origin of abundance anomalies in globular cluster stars, the Magellanic Clouds, and the formation of the halo of the Milky Way. I am the convenor of the research group that is using photometry from the ANU SkyMapper telescope to search for extremely metal-poor stars in the halo of the Milky Way galaxy.

I am currently Chair of the SkyMapper Management Executive and have previously been the ANU's representative on the Scientific Advisory Committee for the Giant Magellan Telescope project. I have also been a member of AAL's Optical Telescopes Advisory Committee (OTAC).

I served as RSAA Associate Director (Academic) from 2004 to 2007 and was RSAA Interim Director for 4 months in 2007. I have also been Vice-President (2003-2005), President (2005-2007) and Immediate Past President (2007-2009) of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

I am also a former President and Organizing Committee member of the Stars Clusters and Associations Commission of the International Astronomical Union.

Currently I serve as the RSAA PhD program convenor.