UNSW space scientists among the stars

29 October 2003

The Department of Astrophysics at the University of NSW has been ranked in the world's top one per cent of space science institutions by the international ranking agency, the Institute of Scientific Information.

The agency's Essential Science Indicators (ESI) is a web-based compilation of indicators to assess and rank the global research performance of scientists, journals, universities and nations. Aimed at researchers and policymakers, ESI analyses over ten million journal articles from over 8,500 indexed journals in 22 fields of scientific endeavour.

The department's top ranking is based on the publication of 372 journal papers that were cited 6,652 times in the past 10 years. ESI updates its ranking bimonthly and publishes them on its website.

Head of Physics at UNSW, Professor John Storey, said the new ranking was a result partly of key academic appointments made at UNSW over the past decade in astronomy and astrophysics.

"We made several key appointments ten to 15 years ago in the areas of cosmology, star formation and instrumentation that are now paying dividends," Professor Storey said. "The cosmology programs initiated by Professor Warrick Couch have been especially successful."

Professor Couch was appointed in 1989 and is responsible for 40 per cent of all space science citations attributed to the Department of Astrophysics.

"This is an extraordinary achievement for the school," Acting Dean of Science A/Prof Aldo Bagnara said. "It indicates the strength and depth of our research in this field and I congratulate the team on this international recognition of their work."

The acclamation comes as UNSW works in collaboration with institutions in the US, France and Italy to build the first permanent national observatory on Australian-Antarctic territory.

Professor Storey said the current era of space science was an exciting one.

"The past few years have seen the discovery of planets around other stars, the first detailed measurements of the structure of the early universe, and the discovery of a black hole in the centre of our galaxy," he said.

"The next decade promises to be even more exciting. We'll see the search for life on other planets gain momentum, more answers about the structure and composition of the universe, and a detailed understanding of how stars and planets are formed from the cosmos.

"Over the next ten years, astronomers at UNSW will make major contributions in each of these areas," Professor Storey said.

"The university is fortunate in having its own telescopes at Siding Spring, and access to the Mopra telescope - the largest millimetre-wave telescope in the southern hemisphere.

"We also have ready access to exceptional optical and infrared observing sites on the high plateau of Antarctica, just a few flying hours from Sydney," he said.

An article on the citation in The Australian newspaper's Higher Education Supplement can be found here.

Media contact: Dan Gaffney mobile 0411 156 015 or UNSW Media Office tel. 02 9385 2864.