Papers are the currency of the academic world. All academics know that they must “publish or perish” in an environment where resources are slim and competition is fierce. But that doesn’t stop us from having some fun with our papers. Entertaining titles, jokes, hidden surprises, and even the occasional hoax can be found in just … Continue reading Hoaxes, humour, and haggis – the weird world of publish or perish
Category: Research
Posts about my work and research.
With thousands of radio dishes spread over thousands of kilometres, the Square Kilometre Array will be the largest and most powerful radio telescope in the world and able to explore the deepest regions of the cosmos. But only if these thousands of radio dishes, some hundreds of kilometres apart, can be synchronized to within a … Continue reading Getting in Sync with the SKA
We used a telescope and a high-precision laser system to beam an atomic clock signal through thin air. While we only sent the signal between buildings, this is the first step in developing a system able to beam these signals to satellites in orbit, with the ultimate aim of pushing our theories of the universe … Continue reading Between a clock and outer space
Units are important. Units are how we measure things. They are how we know whether a cop is going to write us a speeding ticket, whether we need to try harder at that diet we’ve supposedly been on since New Year, or whether the bloke who owns the petrol station has pulled a fast one … Continue reading More Favourite Units
Doing a PhD is a long, challenging but rewarding journey. Earlier this year, astrophysics PhD student Fiona and I teamed up to pass on what we had learned and give our advice for new and prospective PhD students. The advice was compiled into two videos on my YouTube channel, and two accompanying blog posts on … Continue reading How to Handle Your PhD
Last week I was interviewed for the always interesting and entertaining Astrophiz podcast. I had a great time talking about my work, astrophysics, and science in general. Check it out: Astrophiz 51: Dr David Gozzard ~ Telescope pilot taking the pulse of the Universe
This post was originally published by Australia's Science Channel on 29th July 2016 but was removed when the website was updated. David Gozzard is a PhD student who has found himself on an interesting journey to remote Australia. In this blog, he shares some of the fun work he's been up to! When I started my PhD in … Continue reading Radio Telescope on Track
This post is a modified version of a World Metrology Day article I wrote for Australia's Science Channel. Saturday 20th May is World Metrology Day. I’m not surprised if you hadn’t heard of it. I was three years in to a PhD in metrology before I found out we had a day for it. Metrology … Continue reading Measuring Up for World Metrology Day
This list was originally published as a humorous article in the UWA Postgraduate Student Association's year book Postscript. It was inspired by the famous (infamous?) Skippy List. I have only done some of the things on the list, I'm not going to say which ones though... 50 things today's postgrad is no longer allowed to do at university … Continue reading 50 Rules for Postgrads
Stop telling me to "get a real job": PhDs drive economic growth, as well as the progress of human knowledge As a PhD student, questions I am often asked very shortly after “What do you do for a living?” include “What’s the point of that?” and “So when are you going to get a real … Continue reading The Value of a PhD
