ICRAR black hole researcher named WA’s top science student

ICRAR PhD candidate Tom Russell.

ICRAR PhD candidate Tom Russell has been named the State’s top science student at the Premier’s Science Awards.

Tom was awarded the honour last night for his research using state-of-the-art telescopes to investigate how black holes extract energy from in-falling matter.

His work plays a vital role in understanding black holes, how they evolve and how they influence the evolution of galaxies and the Universe.

Tom is also helping to discover how supermassive black holes at the centre of large galaxies evolved.

Tom’s research has generated significant interest from around the world, leading to invited lectures at prestigious institutions including the University of Oxford, Harvard University, the University of Amsterdam and the University of Michigan.

A passionate advocate for science, he is a regular contributor to ICRAR’s outreach and education programs and has mentored Indigenous students and junior PhD candidates.

ICRAR has a proud history at the Premier’s Science Awards with Professor Peter Quinn winning Scientist of the Year in 2012.

Professor Steven Tingay took out Science Ambassador of the Year in 2012 and ICRAR Chair Dr Bernard Bowen was inducted into the WA Science Hall of Fame at the awards in 2011.