Matthew Colless

Chief Investigator

Australian National University

Biography

Professor Matthew Colless is a Distinguished Professor at the Australian National University (ANU). He was Director of the ANU Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics from 2013 to 2022 and before that Director of the Australian Astronomical Observatory from 2004 to 2012. He obtained his BSc at Sydney, his PhD at Cambridge, and has held positions at Durham University, Kitt Peak National Observatory, and the University of Cambridge. His research uses large redshift and peculiar velocity surveys of galaxies to understand galaxy evolution, the large-scale structure of the universe, and cosmological physics. He has developed advanced astronomical instruments to carry out these surveys. Prof. Colless is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an ISI Citation Laureate. He is a former Vice-President of the International Astronomical Union and is currently an Australian representative on the European Southern Observatory Council. He is also ANU Founder representative for the Giant Magellan Telescope project, a billion-dollar next-generaton 25-metre optical telescope.