Decoding the Universe – Exploring the unknown with nature’s hidden language

Our line-up brings together powerhouse astrophysicists Dr Sara Webb, Dr Kirsten Banks, Professor Virginia Kilborn and Dr Rebecca Allen, alongside emerging research voices OzGrav PhD students Bailee Wolfe and Sparrow Roch to explore gravitational waves, radio maps of the Milky Way and cultural star knowledge from First Nations peoples and Native American perspectives. Come early, make things that glow, print the Sun, build the sky, then stay to ask your big questions.

Hands-on Outreach Fun (5:30–6:30 pm, Sky Lounge)

Come join us for outreach activities running before the panel session. Children are welcome to dress up as their favourite scientist.

Special shout-out to Sparrow Roch for coordinating the evening's outreach fair, and to our incredible OzGrav Outreach Ambassadors team for designing and running the stations.

You can expect to find the following drop-in stations (subject to minor change):

• Paper Circuits: Explore how a complete electrical circuit carries energy and produces light.
• Sun Prints (Cyanotypes): Reveal how sunlight’s invisible energy triggers chemical changes to create an image.
• DIY Planispheres: Learn how Earth’s rotation and date/time determine which constellations are visible.
• Build‑a‑Sextant: Discover how measuring angles to celestial objects enables navigation and positioning.
• UV‑Detecting Beads: See how ultraviolet radiation, normally invisible, can be detected and compared through simple tests.

Panel Session: Decoding the Universe (6:30–7:30 pm, AMDC301)

From AI-hunted cosmic flashes and gravitational wave chirps to radio maps of the Milky Way and the cultural star knowledge that has guided people for tens of thousands of years, our panellists will decode how we read the sky.

MC: Professor Virginia Kilborn

Panellists

• Dr Sara Webb
• Dr Kirsten Banks
• Dr Rebecca Allen
• Sparrow Roch
• Bailee Wolfe

(Full bios below.)

Professor Virginia Kilborn | MC

Professor Virginia Kilborn is Swinburne's innaugural Chief Scientist, working to further education, research, policy and equity at Swinburne and beyond.

Virginia is also a radio astronomer with the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at Swinburne University, where her research interests include tracing galaxy evolution by studying the neutral hydrogen gas in galaxies. She is surveying the sky with the next generation radio telescopes, such as the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP) and the SKA in the future. Virginia is an enthusiastic educator and has taught into the Swinburne Astronomy online program since 2006, and helped to instigate Swinburne's new and innovative space education programs. She undertakes numerous public outreach opportunities including STEM talks and programs for schools, and space and astronomy outreach with the general public. Virginia is active in the Australian Astronomical community and is a past President of the Astronomical Society of Australia.

Dr Sara Webb | Panellist

Dr Sara Webb is an Australian astrophysicist, Lecturer and Course Director at Swinburne University of Technology. She specialises in AI-driven transient astronomy, applying machine learning to large-scale survey data to uncover fast cosmic events. As Microgravity Program Lead, she guides student-led ISS experiments and, as Mission Director of SHINE and the Space Innovation Challenge, empowers high-schoolers to develop payloads for space. A celebrated science communicator, she regularly appears across media, contributes popular science articles, and in 2024 released The Little Book of Cosmic Catastrophes. Recognised as a Superstar of STEM in 2022 and Forbes Asia 30 Under 30 in Science & Healthcare in 2025, Dr Webb continues to inspire through her cutting-edge research and outreach.

Dr Kirsten Banks | Panellist

Dr Kirsten Banks is a passionate astrophysicist and Lecturer at Swinburne University of Technology, working with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) to connect cutting-edge research with the public. With a PhD in astrophysics and proud Wiradjuri heritage, Kirsten offers a unique perspective in her science communication. She captivates audiences worldwide with her infectious enthusiasm, sharing fun facts and leading workshops to inspire wonder in people of all ages. Join Kirsten on a cosmic journey to explore the wonders of the universe like never before.

 Dr Rebecca Allen | Panellist

Dr Rebecca Allen is the Co-Director of the Space Technology and Industry Institute at Swinburne University of Technology. She completed her PhD in Astrophysics at Swinburne where she used information from powerful telescopes like the Hubble Space Telescope to study the evolution and growth of galaxies going back to when the Universe was barely a billion years old. Now, Dr Allen applies her scientific expertise to help support Australia's growing space industry. To this end, she supports the translation of cutting-edge research in areas such as microgravity experimentation and Earth observation to build climate change resilient communities and support innovations for Earth. When she’s not studying space or sending things there, she’s inspiring and empowering future space leaders by communicating the wonders of the Universe and creating immersive, hands-on learning experiences.

 Bailee Wolfe | Panellist

PhD Candidate & OzGrav Outreach Ambassador, Swinburne University of Technology

Bailee Wolfe is an international PhD student at Swinburne University of Technology whose research aims to map our galaxy using radio astronomy as part of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav). Bailee pairs her love of astrophysics with a deep commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion. During her undergraduate years at the Ohio State University, she held multiple leadership roles in the award-winning SciAccess Zenith Mentorship Program, creating tactile and sonified learning tools for blind and low-vision students and coordinating lessons and school partnerships. Now in Australia, Bailee channels that experience into designing outreach that welcomes everyone.

Sparrow Roch | Panellist

PhD Candidate & OzGrav Outreach Ambassador, Swinburne University of Technology

Sparrow Roch is a PhD candidate at Swinburne University of Technology, decoding the lives of compact stars with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav). A former planetarium presenter and substitute teacher, Sparrow has guided thousands of visitors through immersive night-sky shows, coordinated public stargazing and “solar-party” events, and launched relaxed science-in-the-pub nights that turn cafés and bars into pop-up observatories. Their outreach style blends rigorous astrophysics with vivid storytelling. They are a passionate advocate for representation in STEM and love folding Native American star lore into modern gravitational-wave discoveries, showing how many ways there are to read the sky.
 

Acknowledgement & Understanding

*By registering to this event, you acknowledge and give consent that your email address will be added to the OzGrav database. In addition, you acknowledge and consent that photos will be taken on the day and your image may be used in future promotion of OzGrav events. If you do not consent, please let the photographer and event organiser know.

Code of Conduct can be found here: https://www.ozgrav.org/code-of-conduct/