1st “Research Bites” in Tasmania


The first Research Bites (RB) organized by the Tasmania delegation of the Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific association (SRAP-IEAP) was held on December 14th, 2015, in Hobart, at the prestigious Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS, University of Tasmania). The event was organised by our members Paula Conde and Waldo Nuez, both IMAS staff, and had the participation of eight Spanish researchers currently based in Tasmania.

First Research Bites of the SRAP-IEAP in Tasmania, Australia. Credit: Waldo Nuez-Ortin.

First Research Bites of the SRAP-IEAP in Tasmania, Australia. Credit: Waldo Nuez-Ortin.

It was a highly interactive meeting where the speakers described their backgrounds and research interests, followed by questions and discussion. The following topics were covered:

  1. Raúl Ortega: PhD candidate, Plant Science (University of Tasmania). Control of flowering time in chickpea.
  2. Estrella San Rodriguez: Research fellow, Chemistry (University of Tasmania). Expertise in separation science for the development of new analytical methods for different applications.
  3. Lara Marcus: PhD candidate, IMAS (University of Tasmania): Trophic ecology of whale sharks.
  4. Beatriz Contreras: PhD candidate, Plant Science (University of Tasmania). Flowering times in legumes.
  5. Carmen Fernandez-Martos: Research fellow, MENZIES (University of Tasmania). Understanding dementia.
  6. Fernando Arce: PhD candidate, IMAS (University of Tasmania). Inference of foraging success in a top Southern ocean predator.
  7. Waldo Nuez: PhD candidate, IMAS (University of Tasmania) and CSIRO. Sustainable feeding strategies for Atlantic salmon.
  8. Paula Conde: Research fellow (University of Tasmania) and CSIRO. Oceanic carbon cycle.

The event ended up with a mini-tapas festival at the Hobart’s iconic waterfront with views to the Derwent Bay. We are also happy to announce that new Spanish researchers have arrived in Tassie, meaning that a new event will be organised soon to learn more about the activities of the Spanish scientific community in this remote part of the world.

Congratulations to all participants to the first Research Bites of the SRAP-IEAP association in Tasmania!


Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

About Angel.Lopez-Sanchez

Dr Ángel R. López-Sánchez is an astrophysicist and science communicator working at the Australian Astronomical Optics (AAO) and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the Macquarie University (MQ) in Sydney (NSW, Australia). His research is focused in the analysis of star formation phenomena in galaxies of the Local Universe, especially in dwarf starbursts and spiral galaxies, using multi-wavelength (UV, optical, IR, radio) data. He presented his PhD Thesis at University of La Laguna and the Instituto Astrofisica de Canarias (Spain) in 2006. In 2007 he joined CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science (Sydney) with a postdoctoral position. He then joined the AAO (formerly the Australian Astronomical Observatory) and MQ in 2011. In July 2018 he was appointed as Senior Lecturer at AAO-MQ. He has been providing instrument and observing support at the Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT, Siding Spring Observatory, NSW) since 2011, being the instrument scientist of several instruments: the multi-fiber spectrograph 2dF+AAOmega and the near-infrared imager and spectrograph IRIS2. He also has large experience with integral-field spectroscopy (IFS), being a very active member of the SAMI collaboration at the AAT and part of the HECTOR Science Team. He currently is the Instrument Scientist of KOALA+AAOmega at the AAT, and leads the international astronomy survey "HI KOALA IFS Dwarf and irregular galaxy Survey" (Hi-KIDS), that is getting unique, high-quality IFS data of a sample of 100 nearby dwarf and irregular galaxies for which 21cm H I interferometric data is available He has large experience teaching undergraduate and PhD students and giving lectures and classes about Astronomy. Dr. López-Sánchez is passionate science communicator who continuously gives talks and public lectures, writes popular science articles and organizes science communication events and stargazing activities. He is very active in social media, his Twitter feed is @El_Lobo_Rayado.