Rachel Webster is an international leader in the field of gravitational lensing and has developed a number of new techniques. She led the first all-sky survey for galaxies rich in neutral Hydrogen, and initiated and guided Australian participation in experiments to detect the first stars in the Universe, building a new low frequency radio telescope as a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA). She is Chief Investigator at the University of Melbourne for the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Physics.
"Rachel Webster is an astrophysicist and international leader in the field of gravitational lensing. She has developed a range of innovative applications, and discovered the first quasar microlensing event. Webster has used lensing to resolve the inner regions of quasars near black holes, providing international leadership in the development of new techniques. In addition, Webster led the first all-sky survey for galaxies rich in neutral Hydrogen, establishing the benchmark for these studies internationally. More recently, Webster initiated and guided Australian participation in experiments to detect the first stars in the Universe, building a new low frequency radio telescope as a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)." [from https://www.science.org.au/profile/rachel-webster 21/12/2021]
1975
1975
Education - Bachelor of Science (BSc(Hons)), Monash University
1980
1980
Education - Master of Science (MSc), University of Sussex, United Kingdom
1980
1980
Award - International Fellowship, American Association of University Women
1982
1982
Award - Amelia Earhart Fellowship, Zonta International
1985
Career position - Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
1985
1985
Education - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), University of Cambridge
1988
Career position - Member, American Astronomical Society
1988
Career position - Member, International Astronomical Union
1997
1997
Career event - Inaugural Woman Lecturer in Physics, Australian Institute of Physics
2005
2005
Award - Caroline Herschel Invited Distinguished Lecture, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.
2007
Award - Fellow, Australian Institute of Physics
2008
Career event - Member, Royal Society of Victoria
2013
2013
Award - Robert Ellery Lectureship, Astronomical Society of Australia
2015
2016
Career position - President, Academic Board, University of Melbourne
November 2015
2021
Career position - Director, Astronomy Australia Limited
2016
Career position - Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor, University of Melbourne
2016
Award - Honorary Fellow, Astronomical Society of Australia
2016
2018
Career position - Chair of the Board, Australian Astronomy Limited
2017
Career position - Chair, Melbourne Digital Research Platforms Network
2018
Award - Fellow, Australian Academy of Science (FAA)
2020
2020
Award - Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) - for distinguished service to education in the field of astrophysics, to astronomical research, and to young women scientists
2021
Award - Fellow, Royal Society of Victoria (FRSV)