***** Stay tuned for our 2010 National Tour Guests! *****
2009 National Tour Guests
Again this year, the National Tour speakers were highly qualified, experienced and interesting personalities. Unprecedented, as opposed to the previous two guests, the 2009 National Tour was joined by four guests from various fields and backgrounds.
Between the four tour guests, visits were made to every Australian capital city (some multiple times) and five regional areas. In total, 48 events were held as part of the National Tour, with the guests traversing the country for 27 days between them (12 regional events and 36 metropolitan).
Across the 48 events, a total of 5,144 people filled the audiences of large theatres, small classrooms and even dinner tables. The feedback received was overwhelmingly positive, with consistent reports of the tour guests' enthusiasm, passion and willingness to engage and converse with audience members.
The media latched on too, with 328 items published during the tour, totalling a value of $2,711,467, more than double the value of 2008! Coverage featured in likes of Mornings with Kerri-Anne, The Age, Sunday Canberra Times and Cosmos Magazine.
It was a successful year and we're looking foward to another in 2010!
| Tanya Ha // Environmentalist |
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Tanya Ha is a writer, television presenter, environmentalist and internationally recognised sustainable living advocate. Tanya is often called upon as a media commentator on environmental issues. She is best known as the Eco Coach in the landmark SBS reality TV series Eco House Challenge, the author of the acclaimed eco-guide book Greeniology.
Warm, engaging and more hip than hippie, Tanya is a rare breed of environmentalist – an excellent communicator with a great sense of humour. She makes complex environmental issues easy to understand and offers practical, accessible advice that people can incorporate into their lifestyle. Her approach is fun and positive, believing that people respond better when they're made to feel empowered rather than guilty. |
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| Scott Sampson // Palaeontologist |
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Scott Sampson is a Canadian palaeontologist who has a dual position at the University of Utah as Research Curator at the Utah Museum of Natural History and Research Associate Professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics.
Sampson received his Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Toronto in 1993. His doctoral dissertation examined the evolution of horned dinosaurs from western North America. As part of this project, he named and described two new and rather bizarre species from Montana, Einiosaurus procurvicornis and Achelousaurus horneri, one of which has been featured on a US postage stamp.
Sampson has published numerous scientific and popular articles on dinosaurs, and has conducted paleontological fieldwork in various countries, including Zimbabwe, South Africa, Mexico, and Madagascar, as well as the United States and Canada. Several field seasons on the island of Madagascar have resulted in a great number of well-preserved dinosaur specimens, with several new species.
Since arriving in Utah, Sampson has initiated several field projects within the state. Foremost among these has been a large-scale effort in Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, partially funded by Discovery Channel's new research program known as Quest. This field project has yielded remains of several previously unknown species of dinosaurs and other animals, all of which are currently under study. Sampson is the host of "Dinosaur Planet," a series of four animated television shows on the Discovery Channel. |
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| Lawrence Krauss // Theoretical Physicist |
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An internationally renowned theoretical physicist, Lawrence Krauss is a bestselling author, editorialist, sought-after lecturer and radio commentator. Currently appointed as a Foundation Professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration and Director of the New Origins Initiative at Arizona State University, Krauss is famed in the research community for his prescient suggestion that a still dark energy might dominate the energy of the universe and govern its expansion.
An outspoken social critic, Krauss was among 60 prominent scientists who signed a letter entitled “Restoring Scientific Integrity in Policymaking,” complaining of the Bush administration’s misuse of science. He is the Chair of the Board of Sponsors for the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, and also the founder of Sciencedebate. The public, though, might know him best as an op-ed writer and author of books with mass appeal. His seventh popular title was, The Physics of Star Trek, became a best-seller, translated into 15 languages. He is now finishing his seventh popular title, Hiding in the Mirror: The Mysterious Allure of Extra Dimensions, which he describes as “an exploration of our long-standing literary, artistic and scientific love affair with the idea that there are hidden universes out there.” Krauss is currently completing a new scientific biography of Richard Feynman. |
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| Megan McArthur // NASA Astronaut |
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Megan McArthur is a NASA astronaut, appointed as a mission specialist in 2000. Following the completion of two years of training and evaluation, she was assigned in 2002 to the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch working technical issues on shuttle systems in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL).
At only 38 years of age, McArthur has already ventured on her first mission into space. Clocking 12 days and 21 hours, travelling 5,276,000 miles in 197 Earth orbits, in May this year McArthur embarked on the fifth and final servicing mission for the 19 year old Hubble Space Telescope. The telescope is a large, space-based observatory which has revolutionized astronomy by providing unprecedented deep and clear views of the Universe, ranging from our own solar system to extremely remote fledgling galaxies. |