Dr Tanya Hill

Senior Curator, Astronomy

About me

Connect with me: The Conversation; Twitter

Contact me: Contact me through our enquiries team

I develop award-winning planetarium shows for the Melbourne Planetarium, working with a creative team of people to tell the stories of the universe. The planetarium shows we produce are licensed to planetariums around Australia and across twenty countries world-wide.

You can regularly hear me on the radio inspiring people to look up and explore the night sky. I present talks and lectures including Melbourne Planetarium’s popular Discover the Night Sky series. I also write an astronomy column called ‘Look Up’ for The Conversation.

I joined Museum Victoria in 1999 and was part of the team that opened the Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks. Prior to that, I carried out research in the field of extra-galactic astronomy, where I hunted for supermassive black holes using a variety of Australian telescopes.

I am on Honorary Fellow in Physics at the University of Melbourne and an Honorary Fellow of the Astronomical Society of Australia. I am also the Australian representative for the European Southern Observatory’s Science Outreach Network.

Qualifications

PhD, Astronomy, University of Sydney, 2002

BSc (Hons), Physics, University of Sydney, 1994

Projects and events

Affiliations

Honorary Fellow, School of Physics, University of Melbourne

Honorory Fellow, Astronomical Society of Australia

Boards and Committees

2017–present: ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) – Advisory Board

2013–present: European Southern Observatory (ESO) Science Outreach Network – Australian representative

2007–present: Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA) – Prizes and Awards Coordinator, ASA Council

2012–2015: ARC Centre of Excellence for Particle Physics at the Terascale (CoEPP) – Advisory Board

2009–2014: Women in Astronomy Chapter, Astronomical Society of Australia - Steering Committee

2007–2010: International Year of Astronomy 2009 – Advisory Committee

2001–2009: Centre for Stellar and Planetary Astrophysics, Monash University – Advisory Board

2006: 18th International Planetarium Society Conference, Melbourne - Convenor

Partnerships

2013–2016: ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) to produce Capturing the Cosmos

Awards

2016: Honourable Mention, Director’s Award, Jena Fulldome Festival for Capturing the Cosmos

2016: Golden Star Award, Korean International Planetarium Movie Festival for Capturing the Cosmos

2015: Director’s Award, Jena Fulldome Festival for Starlight

2015: Runner up, Best Music Award, Fiske Fulldome Festival for Starlight

2014: Friendship Award, Korean International Planetarium Movie Festival for Stories in the Stars

2010: Award of Excellence, Jena Fulldome Festival for Our Living Climate

2009: Finalist, Portugal Immersive Film Festival for Our Living Climate

2007: Best Visual and Story Narrative, Domefest USA for Black Holes: Journey into the Unknown

Memberships

Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA)

Education and Public Outreach Chapter, ASA

Diversity in Astronomy Chapter, ASA

Australiasian Planetarium Society (APS)

International Planetarium Society (IPS)