Macquarie University/ Australian Astronomical Observatory
Research Field: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Dr Lee Spitler’s research focuses on pushing current telescope technology to its limit in order to understand an early period of the universe that has never been accessed before; when it was only 2 billion years old.

By studying galaxies 10-12 billion light years distant from Earth, Lee is working to complete a historical record of how galaxies like ours were formed and have evolved since this poorly understood period in the universe’s history. His work has been driven by the practical application and development of cutting-edge optics and telescope detector technologies.

Lee is passionate about maximising the outreach potential of Astronomy and his research. Because of his work, science and astronomy has been profiled both domestically and internationally in publications such as The Age and National Geographic. He has written for numerous respected popular science magazines and recently led a stargazing exercise for 800 people at the 2014 Earth Hour at Bondi Beach.