Biography:

Kirsten wanted to be an astronomer from her earliest memory, but soon realised she much preferred talking about it than doing it. After some study in Astrophysics and Science Communication, she found her way to the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in Perth. She now gets to meet astronauts, talk about the world’s biggest telescope (the Square Kilometre Array), build telescopes in the desert and show off the gorgeous West Australian night sky to anyone that comes near. Part of her job is also babysitting theSkyNet and communicating with its 19,000 members. She makes sure theSkyNet doesn’t get too unruly on its twitter account (@_theSkyNet) and has been involved in the project since its inception two years ago.

Presentations:

• Why do citizens donate to citizen science projects? Motivations of theSkyNet volunteers