Alan Duffy (astronomer)
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Alan R. Duffy (born 1983) is a British and Australian professional
astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...
and
science communicator Science communication encompasses a wide range of activities that connect science and society. Common goals of science communication include informing non-experts about scientific findings, raising the public awareness of and interest in sci ...
. He was born in England, raised in Northern Ireland, and is currently based in Australia. He is a professor at the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at
Swinburne University of Technology The Swinburne University of Technology (or simply Swinburne) is a public university, public research university in Melbourne, Australia. It is the modern descendant of the Eastern Suburbs Technical College established in 1908, renamed Swinburne ...
, and is the Lead Scientist at the
Royal Institution of Australia The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation based in Adelaide, South Australia, whose mission is science communication. It opened in October 2009 and is housed in the historic Stock Exchange bu ...
. His research is focused on using super-computers to build and test models of the growth of galaxies within vast dark matter halos, and in particular focuses on the formation of the first galaxies in the early universe during the "Epoch of
Reionisation In the fields of Big Bang theory and cosmology, reionization is the process that caused electrically neutral atoms in the primordial universe to reionize after the lapse of the " dark ages". Detecting and studying the reionization process is ch ...
". These models aim to improve our understanding of the nature of
dark matter In astronomy, dark matter is an invisible and hypothetical form of matter that does not interact with light or other electromagnetic radiation. Dark matter is implied by gravity, gravitational effects that cannot be explained by general relat ...
, and the large scale properties of the universe.


Early life and studies

Duffy was born in
Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...
, England. His family migrated to Northern Ireland when he was four years old, where he attended Ballyclare High School. His undergraduate studies in physics were conducted at the
University of Manchester The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
. He incorporated periods of study in the Netherlands on an EU scholarship, working on supercomputers at Europe's oldest observatory in
Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince of Orange as a Protestantism, Protestant institution, it holds the d ...
, and undertook physics at the
University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, ) is a public university, public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Established in 1632 by municipal authorities, it is the fourth-oldest academic institution in the Netherlan ...
, even though he spoke no Dutch when he started. He graduated with a
MPhys A Master of Physics honours (or MPhys (Hons)) degree is a specific master's degree for courses in the field of physics. United Kingdom In England and Wales, the MPhys is an undergraduate award available after pursuing a four-year course of study a ...
(1st) in 2005. He completed his
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in Astronomy and Astrophysics at
Jodrell Bank Jodrell Bank Observatory ( ) in Cheshire, England hosts a number of radio telescopes as part of the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics at the University of Manchester. The observatory was established in 1945 by Bernard Lovell, a radio astron ...
Observatory based in the University of Manchester in 2009, with his thesis entitled "Investigation of large scale structure in the Universe".


Academic career

As Duffy was completing his doctorate, work was starting on the Australian component of the world's largest astronomical facility, the
Square Kilometre Array The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is an intergovernmental organisation, intergovernmental international radio telescope project being built in Australia (low-frequency) and South Africa (mid-frequency). The combining infrastructure, the Square ...
. His doctoral work had covered similar topics, and he was invited to join the first stage of this telescope; the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (
ASKAP The ASKAP radio telescope is a radio telescope array located at Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the CSIRO Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The facility began as a technology demonstrator for the ...
). He moved to
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
, Western Australia in 2009 to take up the position at the
International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research The International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) is a multi-institutional astronomy research centre based in Perth, Western Australia. The centre is a joint venture between Curtin University and the University of Western Australia, ...
. Three years later, he moved to
Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
to accept an academic post as Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the
University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
, where he investigated the formation of the first galaxies in the early universe. Then in 2014 he took up the position of associate professor at Swinburne University of Technology, still based in Melbourne. His supercomputer simulations have shown that in very early galaxies, the rate of star formation was not enough to consume the infalling cold gas. Earlier models had assumed this was essentially molecular hydrogen, but the model from Duffy and the DRAGONS ("Dark-ages, Reionization And Galaxy-formation Observables Numerical Simulation") consortium also accounted for atomic (non-molecular) hydrogen. As a result, there was a deficit in the amount of gas that could form stars compared to the amount flowing in. By modelling the galaxies like an economy, Duffy was able to show that the early galaxies were in a "Great Galactic Recession". Those simulations focusing on the dark matter around galaxies demonstrate that without the dark matter, there would not have been enough time since the start of the universe for our galaxy to form. He has attempted to directly detect this dark matter as part of SABRE ("Sodium-iodide with Active Background REjection"), an international research consortium with teams in Italy, US and Australia. SABRE is constructing the southern hemisphere's first dark matter detector underground in a gold mine in
Stawell, Victoria Stawell ( "stall"), is an Australian town in the Wimmera region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria west-north-west of the state capital, Melbourne. Located within the Shire of Northern Grampians Local government in Australia, local government are ...
. He is also part of two
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'', ...
Centres of Excellence, investigating the origin of matter ( ASTRO-3D) and seeing the Universe with
gravitational wave Gravitational waves are oscillations of the gravitational field that Wave propagation, travel through space at the speed of light; they are generated by the relative motion of gravity, gravitating masses. They were proposed by Oliver Heaviside i ...
s (OzGrav), and he was a member of the worldwide OWLS (OverWhelmingly Large Simulations) collaboration.


Science communications

In October 2017, the
Royal Institution of Australia The Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) is a national scientific not-for-profit organisation based in Adelaide, South Australia, whose mission is science communication. It opened in October 2009 and is housed in the historic Stock Exchange bu ...
announced that it appointed Duffy as its Lead Scientist. Duffy appears regularly on ABC's Breakfast News TV,
ABC Radio Sydney ABC Radio Sydney (official call sign: 2BL, formerly 2SB) is an ABC radio station in Sydney, Australia. It is the flagship station in the ABC Local Radio network and broadcasts on 702 kHz on the AM dial. The station transmits with a power ( ...
,
ABC Radio Melbourne ABC Radio Melbourne (official List of radio station callsigns in Victoria, callsign: 3LO) is an ABC Local Radio station in Melbourne, Australia. It began transmission on 13 October 1924 and was Melbourne's second licensed radio station after Radi ...
, Ten's '' The Project'', Nine's '' Today Weekends'' and TripleJ's ''
Hack Hack may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Hack (Unix video game), ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game * .hack (video game series), ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia fran ...
'' show, where he explains developments in science and space. He writes a regular column in ''
The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It stars Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert who faces a moral dilemma when his recordings reveal a potential ...
'' and the science magazine ''
Cosmos The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...
''. He has presented at
TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...
in the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...
. He was the Ambassador for the Sydney Science Festival 2016, and host for
Famelab Cheltenham Science Festival is one of the UK's leading science festivals, and is part of Cheltenham Festivals: also responsible for the Jazz, Music and Literature Festivals that run every year. The 2018 Cheltenham Science Festival (6–11 June) ...
showcasing Australian research and achievement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. He hosted an Evening with 
Neil DeGrasse Tyson Neil deGrasse Tyson ( or ; born October 5, 1958) is an American astrophysics, astrophysicist, author, and science communication, science communicator. Tyson studied at Harvard University, the University of Texas at Austin, and Columbia Univ ...
at the Melbourne Convention Centre, interviewed onstage
Lawrence Krauss Lawrence Maxwell Krauss (born May 27, 1954) is a Canadian-American theoretical physicist and cosmologist who taught at Arizona State University (ASU), Yale University, and Case Western Reserve University. He founded ASU's Origins Project in ...
as well as
Brian Greene Brian Randolph Greene (born February 9, 1963) is an American physicist known for his research on string theory. He is a professor of physics and mathematics at Columbia University, director of its center for theoretical physics, and the cha ...
, and presented in a national tour for
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
's '' The Science of Doctor Who''. He was a featured speaker at the
Australian Skeptics Australian Skeptics is a loose confederation of like-minded organisations across Australia that began in 1980. Australian Skeptics investigate paranormal and pseudoscientific claims using science, scientific methodologies. This page covers all A ...
' national conventions in 2017 and 2018. In 2018 he was a host of ABC's ''
Stargazing Live ''Stargazing Live'' is a British live television programme on astronomy that was broadcast yearly on BBC Two over three nights every winter from 2011 to 2017. The series was primarily presented by scientist Brian Cox and comedian and amateur ...
'' series. He wrote and starred in a 2012 science documentary about dark matter, ''Dark''. Since December 2012 he has co-hosted the YouTube series ''Pint in the Sky'' with Katie Mack, and in March 2017 he started a new podcast, ''Cosmic Vertigo'' with co-host Amanda Bauer. As part of Science Week 2017, Duffy and Katie Mack launched a virtual reality tour of the Universe, using custom-made headsets and a free app. Duffy's good looks have helped to attract media attention – '' MamaMia'' commented that "Unfortunately, I couldn’t hear what he was saying over the sound of his cheekbones."


Personal life

In January 2016, Duffy married Sarah Clarke. He qualified as an Australian citizen in October 2014. Duffy has a keen interest in science fiction, telling the ''Belfast Telegraph'':
Sci-fi was a big inspiration. My mum had remarried and my stepdad at the time was a ferocious nerd like me. We watched everything – Star Trek, Star Wars, all the classic sci-fi books by Asimov and Arthur C Clarke – and it opened up this world to me of all these possibilities... And, of course, Stephen Hawking's books – how could you not want to study physics? There are these incredible concepts – black holes, the universe expanding – that are so bizarre and yet are actually part of our world.


Awards and recognition

* 2012 – He was named one of Western Australia ''
Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...
'' magazine's "Best and Brightest". * 2013 – Victorian State Finalist in the Fresh Science Award for science communication. * 2013 – Commendation in the Astronomical Society of Australia's Louise Webster Prize for "outstanding research by a scientist early in their post-doctoral career". * 2015 – He was named as one of ''Men’s Style'' magazine's Men of Influence in 2015, "recognising the achievements of a diverse range of Australian men under 45 years of age". * 2015 – Commonwealth Bank's Australian of the Day. * 2016 – Finalist for Club Melbourne Fellowship * 2016 – Finalist for the Australian Museum's
Eureka Prize The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organisations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...
for promoting understanding of Australian science research. * 2016 – Australia's Chief Scientist
Alan Finkel Alan Simon Finkel (born 17 January 1953) is an Australian neuroscientist, inventor, researcher, entrepreneur, educator, policy advisor, and philanthropist. He was Australia’s 8th Chief Scientist from 2016 to 2020. Prior to his appointment, hi ...
named Duffy an "Australian Science Superhero". * 2018 – Winner of the Australian Museum's ''Celestino Eureka Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science'' (one of the
Eureka Prizes The Eureka Prizes are awarded annually by the Australian Museum, Sydney, to recognise individuals and organisations who have contributed to science and the understanding of science in Australia. They were founded in 1990 following a suggestion ...
).


Publications

, NASA's Astrophysics Data System (ADS) lists 29 publications by Duffy, which have 1,487 citations while Cornell University's
arXiv arXiv (pronounced as "archive"—the X represents the Chi (letter), Greek letter chi ⟨χ⟩) is an open-access repository of electronic preprints and postprints (known as e-prints) approved for posting after moderation, but not Scholarly pee ...
lists 31 of his papers, covering a range of topics in general astronomy and cosmology. * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * :The accretion history of dark matter haloes – in three parts: * * * :Dark-ages Reionization and Galaxy formation simulation: * * * * * * * * * * * * *


References


External links

* Duffy's
Duffy's staff page
at Swinburne University Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing * {{DEFAULTSORT:Duffy, Alan 1983 births 21st-century Australian astronomers Alumni of the University of Manchester Irish emigrants to Australia Living people Academic staff of Swinburne University of Technology