Australia Day honours: Ron Ekers recognised for services to radio astronomy
Dr Ron Ekers has been made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his contributions to radio astronomy.
When astronomer Dr Ron Ekers pointed a radio telescope at the centre of our galaxy, he saw “this incredible spiral structure of gas swirling around — something which nobody had ever seen before”.
“I felt very moved by that,” Dr Ekers said.
The spiral structure hinted at the presence of a black hole, which was confirmed years later.
Dr Ekers, who has been made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his contributions to radio astronomy, has spent his life making those moments of discovery possible for others.
During his time on the international stage, Dr Ekers’ service to astronomy included a term as the president of the International Astronomical Union. In this role, he set in train the processes that recategorised Pluto, making it no longer a planet.
He was the first director of CSIRO’s Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF), which runs some of the world’s most important radio telescopes.
Dr Ekers put the ATNF on track to be the world-class observatory it is today.
He led the ATNF between 1988 until 2003, when he received a prestigious ARC Federation Fellowship. He is now an Honorary Fellow with CSIRO and remains an active researcher, working out of the CSIRO’s Marsfield offices.
Growing up on a dairy farm in South Australia, Ron wanted to be an inventor. He experimented with plants and animals, chemicals and electricity, but never connected his interests with what he was taught at school.
After his studies, Dr Ekers headed overseas to astronomy roles in the US, UK and Netherlands.
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