Richard de Grijs is a prolific and popular public speaker with in-depth knowledge of astronomy and maritime history. He holds professional appointments as professor of astrophysics at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) and Executive Director of the International Space Science Institute–Beijing, a 25% secondment. He recently published the first detailed biography of William Dawes, the astronomer assigned to the “First Fleet” from England to Australia (1787–1788), his second history of science book following the the publication of Time and Time Again: Determination of Longitude at Sea in the 17th Century (2017).

Richard spends his weekends as volunteer guide on the Australian National Maritime Museum’s historical (replica) tall ships, Captain Cook's H.M.B. Endeavour and the Dutch East Indiaman Duyfken. He also guides and interprets on the Museum's submariine H.M.A.S. Onslow and our destroyer, H.M.A.S. Vampire II. He received numerous awards, including the 2012 Selby Award for from the Australian Academy of Science and a 2017 Erskine award from the University of Canterbury (New Zealand). In addition to his academic accolades, in 2022 he was awarded the Blacktown Mayoral History Prize (Sydney). That year, he also received the Hella Mannheimer Award from the Hektoen International Journal of Medical Humanities (Chicago, USA).

A. ASTRONOMY

1. There and back again: To the edge of the Universe in 26 steps
Distances in the Universe, even those in our own solar system, are beyond the comprehension of most people. This talk playfully leads the audience across the mindbogglingly large cosmic distance scale, from our own Earth to our neighbouring planets, the nearest stars, our own Milky Way galaxy, and beyond, to the nearest as well as more distant galaxies, and eventually to the edge of the observable Universe. Consider the ultimate question: Where did we come from and where are we heading? This is done in an easily accessible manner using recent, cutting-edge images, animations and insights, informed by the speaker’s own research.

2. When Galaxies Collide
Studying galaxy collisions is like sifting through the forensic evidence at a crime scene. Astronomers wade through the debris of a violent encounter, collecting clues so that they can reconstruct the celestial crime to determine when it happened. Take the case of Messier 82, a small, nearby galaxy that long ago bumped into its larger neighbour, Messier 81. When did this violent encounter occur? Cutting-edge infrared and visible-light pictures from the James Webb and Hubble Space Telescopes reveal, for the first time, important details of large clusters of stars, which were formed during the event. This talk explores the train wrecks resulting from galaxy collisions and the ultimate implications for us in the Milky Way.

3. Is bigger always better? The quest for an Extremely Large Telescope
Astronomy is in a golden age. In the past half a century, a new telescopes have delivered a wealth of remarkable new discoveries: quasars, black holes, gravitational waves, planets orbiting other stars, gamma-ray bursts, the cosmic microwave background, dark matter and dark energy have all been discovered through the development of a succession of ever larger and more sophisticated telescopes. In the last two decades, satellite observatories and the new generation of 8- to 10-metre (diameter) ground-based telescopes, have created a new view of our Universe, one dominated by poorly understood dark matter and dark energy. This poses new, more fundamental questions. A small step in telescope size will not progress these fundamental questions, however. Fortunately, the technology to achieve a quantum leap in telescope size is feasible. New telescopes with 30-metre diameters (or more) are currently under construction. They will soon provide astronomers with the ability to address the next generation of scientific questions which may well shake up our world view irreversibly.

4. The sound of silence: Listening to the Universe
We are most familiar with what the Universe looks like in “normal” light. However, the world around us—our Sun, the planets, the stars beyond, galaxies and even the leftovers from the Big Bang that started it all—is abuzz with sounds – sounds that we cannot hear directly, although we can transfer the signals we receive from this wide variety of astronomical sources to the range accessible to human hearing. Sometimes, signals are mistaken for the telltale signs of alien civilisations. We will explore the unheard side of the Universe – listen rather than look!

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B. MARITIME HISTORY

5. “All hands to dance and skylark!”: Captain Cook and Health at Sea
The Age of Sail witnessed amazing discoveries resulting from unequalled voyages of exploration and discovery. Yet, shipboard conditions were often terrible and voyages dangerous. Many sailors succumbed to the perils encountered on their years-long voyages. Among his fellow commanding officers, Captain Cook was a true trailblazer in supporting his crews’ health. Join us for a rollercoaster ride through a forgotten world, from the history of pickled cabbage as a source of Vitamin C to daily dance sessions as early fitness routine, from sea shanties to Popeye the Sailorman’s rise in popularity.

6. Australia in Antarctica
The cessation of World War II hostilities prompted the Australian Commonwealth Government to establish a permanent base in the Australian Antarctic Territory and claim sovereignty. The frantic search for a suitable expedition vessel to establish a physical base on the southern continent resulted in the complete overhaul of an old polar favourite, Lincoln Ellsworth’s reliable and trustworthy M/V Wyatt Earp. Plagued by a constellation of problems during the 1947–1948 Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition (ANARE), her 36-strong crew showed commendable resilience, turning a potential disaster-in-the-making into the Royal Australian Navy’s first and only successful polar research expedition. The talk will conclude by addressing recent developments, particularly the arrival and successful operation of Australia’s newest icebreaker, RSV Nuyina.

7. From the First Fleet to the Harbour Bridge: Sydney’s astronomical beginnings
The voyage of the 1787–1788 “First Fleet” from Britain to Australia was more than a convenient way to rid Britain of its convicts. Join us as historical detectives on the trail of William Dawes—astronomer, engineer, surveyor and ordnance officer—from his arrival in 1788 until the construction of the Sydney Harbour Bridge in 1932. Between 1788 and 1791, Dawes established not one but two astronomical observatories within a kilometre of Sydney’s present-day city centre, a full seven decades before the construction of Sydney’s historical Observatory at Dawes’ Point, today a stone’s throw from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Dawes’ life and professional achievements are closely linked to the earliest history of Sydney as a British settlement. He is often considered a man of high morals, a truly enlightened individual, far ahead of his time.

8. The Age of Discovery: How not to Get Lost at Sea in the 17th Century
Determination of one’s longitude at sea has perplexed sailors for many centuries. The significant uptake of world trade in the 17th and 18th centuries required an urgent solution to realise safe navigation. What did it take to travel the oceans and actually reach your destination? Did you know that John Harrison’s 18th-century longitude clock was just the endpoint of a much longer journey of exceptional innovations? Join us on a playful journey through modern map making, maritime navigation and accurate timekeeping, where we will focus on the personal anecdotes that make history interesting!

I have extensive experience in speaking to a wide range of audiences.

I currently manage the official Speakers’ department of the Australian National Maritime Museum (Sydney, Australia). In my dual roles as Museum docent and also as a professional astronomer, I undertake frequent speaking engagements, including to "Probus Clubs" (retired and semi-retired professional and business groups), the University of the Third Age, amateur astronomy societies, family and local historical societies, motivational speaking engagements (for instance, I will be the after-dinner speaker at the 3rd PIANC Asia Pacific Conference in August 2024: https://piancapac.com/speakers/), middle/high schools, and many other communities (such as radio amateur groups, the fellowship of First Fleeters, etc.). I recently spoke to an in-person audience of a few hundred at Beijing Planetarium, while reaching a staggering 263,000 attendees online (live streamed).

When I was based in the UK earlier in my career, I was engaged as a Royal Astronomical Society speaker for Cunard voyages.

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