Dr Simon Johnston (CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science)
Simon studied physics and astronomy at the University of Edinburgh (1988). He became besotted with pulsars while doing a PhD at Jodrell Bank (University of Manchester, 1991).
He continued to study pulsars while working initially at the CSIRO (Australia Telescope National Facility), and then at the Research Centre for Theoretical Astrophysics, at the University of Sydney, from 1993 to 2004.
In 2004 he was awarded a Professorial Fellowship by the Australian Research Council, allowing him to continue to study pulsars.
But after less than a year's tenure he took up the position of Project Scientist for the CSIRO's Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope, which is currently under construction in the West Australian desert. He is now the Astrophysics Group Leader at CSIRO's Division of Astronomy and Space Science.
Simon has been known to take a good catch at the cricket.