Researcher Profiles

Professor Gretchen Benedix is an internationally acclaimed geoscientist who has travelled the globe in pursuit of meteorites. I had the honour of interviewing her on Friday, 10 October 2025, to talk about space rocks. Her passion for meteorites infects me, sparking a deep curiosity to learn more about these fascinating visitors from beyond Earth.

Infrasound is sound beneath our audible hearing range. On Wednesday, 15 October 2025, Iona Clemente drew me into her fascinating story on the silent sound meteorites, and other space objects, make as they enter Earth’s atmosphere. Iona Clemente is a PhD student connected to Curtin University’s Space Science and Technology Centre, of which the Desert Fireball Network is an integral part.

Meg Berry is a dynamic Program Manager propelling Western Australia’s future space workforce into orbit. On Friday the 24th of October 2025, I had the awesome pleasure of interviewing her at the Binar laboratory on Curtin Campus. During this interview, Meg divulged the intricacies of helping Western Australian students achieve their dreams with the BinarX space program.

Eriita Jones is a visionary in the field of planetary science. This brilliant planetary scientist generously shared an hour of her time with me today, 22 October 2025, offering a deep dive into the fascinating world of multispectral imaging. This powerful technique captures data across multiple frequencies of the electromagnetic spectrum, revealing invaluable insights into both our local planetary environment and the broader inter-solar system. Her passion and clarity made complex concepts accessible, and her work continues to push the boundaries of space exploration.

PhD candidate Michael Frazer is an astronomer who uses data from global observatories to calculate when and where asteroids might strike Earth. On Wednesday, 29 October 2025, I had the distinct satisfaction of interviewing Michael about his work with the Desert Fireball Network, where he tracks the trajectories of space rocks hurtling toward our planet.

Professor Fred Jourdan is a passionate geochronologist and geochemist who loves rocks so much that he dates them. He is also Head of the Geology Discipline at Curtin University and Associate Editor for the journal Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta. On Thursday, 30 October 2025, I unearthed the Professor deep in his work in Building 312, Curtin University campus in Bentley.

Dr Hadrien Devillepoix is a research supervisor, well-published planetary scientist and the science lead at the Desert Fireball Network (DFN). The Doctor, as I have come to think of him, is all about where flying rocks have come from and where they are landing. On Tuesday, 4 November 2025, I had the chance to speak with him at the DFN headquarters.

Every year, thousands of meteors streak across our skies, and are spotted by cameras in the Desert Fireball Network (DFN). On Wednesday, 5 November 2025, I had the chance to speak to Martin Cupak at the Desert Fireball Network (DFN) and discover that he helps to track meteorites and sometimes recover pieces of space itself. His unique software engineering skillset keeps the cameras running and the data flowing: without him, the hunt for space rocks would stall.

Sophie Deam is a PhD candidate associated with the Desert Fireball Network (DFN) at Curtin’s Space Science and Technology Centre (SSTC). Her research is in near-earth objects (NEO), especially meteoroids. On Thursday, 6 November 2025, I had the pleasure of interviewing this bright and charming student. The DFN and Global Fireball Observatory (GFO) track fireballs with remote camera systems. This helps scientists to determine where meteors come from in the solar system and recover fallen meteorites.