Dr Garry Robinson Lecturer BSc PhD Melb., ARMIT School of Physical, Environmental and Mathematical Sciences UNSW @ ADFA Canberra   ACT   2600 AUSTRALIA Phone: +61 2 6268 8800 Fax: +61 2 6268 8786 Email: g.robinson@adfa.edu.au Location: PEMS Sth, Room 133

Research Interests:
Studies of circumstellar and interstellar grains through theoretical radiative transfer models. Dust shell models of ultracompact HII regions and pre-main sequence objects. Infrared and radio observations of Bok globules. Laboratory astrophysics studies.

Astronomy and Astrophysics - Laboratory astrophysics, Star formation

Biography

Current Research

Circumstellar dust shells around asymptotic giant branch and post asymptotic giant branch stars
Dr Garry Robinson with Dr Marco Maldoni & Prof. Trevor Ireland

Radiative transfer modelling of the spectrum of IRAS 22036+5306 has shown that its unusual 11 μm band can be suitably modelled with an alumina-olivine mixture substantially dominated by alumina. The results of this work add further credence to recent findings that significant amounts of Al2O3 dust grains are present in the dust shells of stars near or beyond the tip of the Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB).

Interstellar medium
Dr Robert Smith, Dr Chris Wright, Dr Garry Robinson with Dr Steve Charnley, Dr Steve Rogers,
Dr Yvonne Pendleton & Dr Harold Butner

We are studying the formation, evolution and composition of the dust component of the interstellar medium, inparticular the molecular ices found in cold, dense molecular clouds. Techniques employed are(i) observational; collecting infrared spectra of astronomical ices at both ground-based and space borne telescopes, (ii) theoretical; modeling the transmission, absorption and scattering properties of dust grains with different ice coatings and modeling different ways of incorporating the ices into the grains, and (iii) laboratory; infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy of analogs of astronomical ices and ice mixtures allows comparison with astronomical spectra.

Teaching

Courses presented in recent years include the following physics courses:

• Physics 1B, ZPEM1502 (Electromagnetism and Applications section)
• Engineering Physics 1A, ZPEM1503 and Electrical Engineering Physics 1A, ZPEM1505 (Wave Motion and Optics section)
• Cosmology and Modern Astrophysics, ZPEM3502 (Dense States of Cosmic Matter – White Dwarfs, Neutron Stars and Black Holes section)
• Thermodynamics and Propulsion (ZPEM3528)
• Astronomy (for General Education), ZGEN2401 (Stars, The Milky Way Galaxy and the Universe of Galaxies section)

I also coordinate of the following courses:

• Experimental Physics – Laboratory (ZPEM3521)
• Experimental Physics – Project (ZPEM3522)
• Astronomy (for General Education), ZGEN2401

Recent Publications

Maldoni, M. M., Ireland, T. R. & Robinson, G., 2008, IRAS 22036+5306: An Al₂O₃ oxide-dominated post-AGB star, Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 386(4), 2290-2296.

Memberships

• Member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU) Commission 34–Interstellar Matter (elected September 1991).