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The AIP hosts an annual national public lecture tour, named in honour of pioneering physicist and chemist Marie Curie. In South Australia the lecture also honours the legacy of Claire Corani. The Marie Curie Lectures form part of the AIP's Women in Physics Lecturer Award, which is given to  recognise a woman who has made a significant contribution in a field of physics. 

In 2026, the AIP is delighted to host Dr Karelle Seillez, University of Tasmania, who will explore the connections between science, nature and humanity in this year's public lecture series.

Do you have a question about the Women in Physics Lecture tour dates and venues? Please email wip@aip.org.au for info. 

Dr Karelle Siellez (University of Tasmania)

Painting the Universe: A Visual and Musical Exploration of Space-Time

In 2017, the Universe spoke in waves and light—ushering in a new era of astronomy. In this lecture, Dr Karelle Siellez weaves together sound, art, and astrophysics to explore the story of gravitational waves and the collisions that create the elements we are made of. Through “multi-messenger” signals like kilonovae and gamma-ray bursts, we’ll uncover how the cosmos communicates its most violent events. Blending scientific insights with creative expression, this journey reveals how listening to the Universe—and protecting its silence—can connect science, nature, and humanity.

Dr Karelle Siellez is a French astrophysicist and lecturer at the University of Tasmania. A specialist in multi-messenger astronomy, she contributed to the first detection of a gamma-ray burst and gravitational waves from the same cosmic event, recognised with the 2017 Breakthrough Prize. She is also an award-winning science communicator who integrates art, sound, and storytelling into her work, making complex astrophysics accessible and inspiring. Karelle has lived and worked in France, the USA, and now Tasmania—where she divides her time between telescopes, classrooms, and the wilderness of sea and forest.

Upcoming events

Subscribe to our news bulletin to receive notices about the 2026 tour.

Past lecture recordings

2025 - Dr Danielle Holmes: Quantum century: Unlocking the universe’s secrets and shaping our future (delivered at the University of Melbourne, 25 July 2025)

2024 - Prof Susan Coppersmith: What do theoretical physicists do? (delivered at Flinders University, 16 August 2024)

2023 - A/Prof Karen Livesey: Nano-Magnets (Claire Corani Memorial Lecture, delivered at Flinders University, 7 September 2023)

2021 - Prof Susanna Guatelli: Radiation Protection of Astronauts in Human Missions to Mars: Simulation and Reality (delivered at the University of Queensland, June 2021)

Lecture tour news

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  • 2 May 2022 12:00 PM | Anonymous

    The 2022 Women in Physics Lectureship tour kicks off at the end of May and runs through to September.

    Planetary scientist Associate Professor Katarina Miljkovic from Curtin University will be giving a lecture series entitled ‘Impacts! Rocks from space colliding with planets’.

    The Women in Physics Lectureship is awarded annually to recognise and publicise significant contributions by a woman to advancing a field of physics and to inspire future physicists.

    A/Prof Miljkovic will be giving her lecture to schools, academics, and the general public.

    Catch a speak peek of what she’ll be talking about in Impact: Beyond the Night Sky (2020), a short documentary written and directed by Kath Dooley. This immerse, 360, virtual-reality documentary was a finalist in the best experimental film category at the 2022 Atom Awards

    The currently confirmed dates for the lecture tour are:

    • NSW: 30 May – 1 Jun
    • ACT: 2 – 3 Jun
    • QLD: 18 – 20 Jul
    • VIC: 27 – 28 Jul
    • TAS: 8 – 10 Aug
    • SA: 6 – 8 Sep
    • WA: 22 Sep

    Further tour dates in WA are TBA. Watch out on social media and in next month’s newsletter for venues and times.

    “When imagining the space in our Solar System, many people think of a dark silent void but the space around us is not empty; it is filled with particles, with dust, and with rocks – some very small and some large.  The history of our Universe is a history of impacts when things collide.” – A/Prof Katarina Miljkovic in Impact: Beyond the Night Sky (2020).

    Photo credit: TAKE2STEM.

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