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We're very lucky here at Macquarie.
We have access to world leading research facilities in the
form of the Australian Astronomical Observatory and the CSIRO Astronomy
and Space Science department.
This gives our students unique access to world-renowned researchers
and you get to work with these people on a one-to-one basis.
Jack and Bron are getting a particularly valuable experience,
seeing a project developed from its inception up until the point
where we will gather some real and unique scientific data that can
be used as part of a piece of professional research.
To see that within the scope of single term unit,
I think, is quite remarkable.
Jack and Bron are working with us on the Huntsman Eye project,
a project to do astronomical imaging in a new way using ordinary
camera lenses.
Today the students are measuring the performance of the camera we'll
be using. The AAO isn't really a normal workplace as you would
imagine it. Everyone was really interested in what was going on and
ready to help when we had problems.
Jack and Bron have not just been performing an incidental task
but they've actually been integrated as part of a professional team.
They formed a critical component of that team and have conducted
work that was actually crucial to a major project going forward.
These cameras allow us to see extremely faint things,
things you just couldn't see before and I'm excited about bringing
the PACE students into it because they're going help us put things
together and test them out.
Tonight, we're at Macquarie University Observatory to do some
initial testing with the Huntsman Eye imaging system with our Macquarie
PACE students to make sure the system works as we expect before we
take it to a dark site to observe near Coonabarabran. We've come up from Sydney.
We're about ten kilometres out of Coonabarabran to do the first scientific
test of the Huntsman Eye which is the camera lens and imaging system
that we've been developing.
It's the first time that we are able to test it in a sight with a good
altitude, not much light pollution, and absolutely get some scientific
results. It's absolutely fantastic.
It's far more involved than I thought it was going to be.
You feel completely part of the team.
A lot of people just do their degree and don't get to actually
go out and do something really interesting with it.
This is an amazing opportunity to actually do some science.
This afternoon, we're visiting The Anglo-Australian Telescope
which is Australia's largest optical telescope.
The students will see some cutting-edge astronomy technology first
hand. The students were able to see the telescope in action using
full range of movement and also see the 2dF fibre positioner
robot in action.
In enables us to observe 400 stars or galaxies at a time in detail.
After returning from the observing run,
Jack and Bron spent time analysing the data that we had gathered.
At the end of the project, Jack and Bron presented the details
of the project and what they had found at Macquarie University.
It's actually quite satisfying to stand up in front of people
and tell them what you've learned, what you know,
and to answer their questions, and really see that you've informed them
on something that you've learned about.
It's nerve-wracking at first but when you get up there and you start
talking, you realize that you do enjoy it and you do know quite a
bit about it. The good thing about being involved in a PACE project
is that you have lots of time to be involved in it.
You'll be working on one project for the whole semester and we were
able to understand a lot more of the background knowledge about what
it's about. This is quite inspiring for any student.
It's been very important for them to see the things that they've
been learning in classes being applied to a professional environment
and being surrounded by people who are excited about the work that
they are doing.
PACE units are a really good way of getting involved in what you
think you might be doing in the future and actually seeing what that
would be like in real life.
This PACE project has actually opened a door for me professionally
straight-away. I've got a research grant to work on the very same
project for five to six weeks.
The ultimate goal of an education at university is to develop
the entire student, not just to focus on specific skills,
and the PACE unit really allow us to do that.
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