As National Science Week takes off, a rising star of astrophysics features in the latest episode of The University of Western Australia’s podcast, Research on the Record.

“This is the joy of research, and why it is important for us to continue to ask questions and try to understand the vast expanse of the unknown.”

Eloise Moore, UWA student

Eloise Moore recently completed her master’s in Astrophysics, taking on the modest task of solving the mysteries of the universe by investigating high-energy astrophysics, concentrating on gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs).

Eloise has already made headlines after taking command of the Zadko telescope to capture the final images of a Chinese booster rocket that spent 8 years in orbit before it crashed into the dark side of the moon.

Recently returned from a conference in Japan, Eloise explains how sharing in scientific knowledge drives her own studies.

“Our understanding of the Universe is ever-growing, with new research becoming known every day. However, as one problem is solved, many more problems arise,” she said.

“This is the joy of research, and why it is important for us to continue to ask questions and try to understand the vast expanse of the unknown.”

The podcast’s first series of episodes features women at UWA, from professors well advanced in their careers, to students such as Eloise, who are at the early stage of their research journey.

In her interview she talks about her early childhood passion for space, and the moment she fell in love with the world of academia as a teenager doing work experience at a university’s High Energy Astrophysics Department.

The series also explores issues around gender equity and each researcher’s personal experience of it, and Eloise shares what it was like being one of only a handful of female students in a class of hundreds, and why she doesn’t want to be known as “a woman in science”.

You can hear her interview on PodBean, now.