About
Richard de Grijs is a prolific and popular public speaker with in-depth knowledge of astronomy and maritime history. He holds professional appointments as professor of astrophysics at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia) and Executive Director of the International Space Science Institute–Beijing, a 25% secondment. Richard spends his weekends as volunteer guide on the Australian National Maritime Museum’s historical (replica) tall ships, Captain Cook’s H.M.B. Endeavour and the Dutch East Indiaman Duyfken.
He received numerous awards, including the 2012 Selby Award for excellence in science from the Australian Academy of Science and a 2017 Erskine award from the University of Canterbury (New Zealand). In addition to his academic accolades, in 2022 he was awarded the Blacktown Mayoral History Prize (Sydney).