Five UQ students have won stargazing scholarships to work at the best observatories in Australia and the world’s premier telescope in Chile.
The physics students are Peter Jensen (West End), Brendan Griffen (St Lucia), Andrew Kels (Labrador), Shaun Ferris (Toowong) and Chris Banks (Anstead).
They will each spend between two and three months working on various astrophysics research projects during their summer breaks.
UQ’s Head of Physics Associate Professor Michael Drinkwater said the vacation scholarships would give the students excellent practical experience.
Mr Jensen, 26, will work at the Gemini South Telescope in Chile which has an eight-metre diameter telescope built on the best geographical position in the southern hemisphere to observe the universe.
Associate Professor Drinkwater said Mr Jensen was one of the first group of three Australian students to win scholarships to study at the Gemini Telescope.
Each scholarship is worth up to about $7000.
Mr Griffen, 19, and Mr Ferris are off to the Australian National University (ANU) while Mr Kels, 24, will study at The University of Sydney.
Mr Banks, 20, was also offered an ANU scholarship but instead accepted a scholarship to work with Associate Professor Drinkwater on a new galaxy survey.
UQ astronomers are also observing the transit of Mercury across the sun tomorrow morning [November 9].
They will view the transit from the top of the Parnell Building, building no. 7, from 5am to 10am, weather permitting.
The Mercury transit, the last one until 2032, will be visible to people on the east coast of Australia and in New Zealand.
MEDIA: Associate Professor Drinkwater (0432 887 642), Miguel Holland at UQ Communications (3365 2619) *Hi-res photos available from Diana Lilley (3365 2753, d.lilley@uq.edu.au)
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