FROM ROCK STAR TO STUDENT
A ROCK star student is adding another notch to his belt – taking up an astrophysics PhD at the University of Southern Queensland.
Based in the Bay Area of California, Dan Peluso, who is also known as Astro Party Dan and is the front man of a rock band, waited many years for the stars to align to start his very own exploration of space and social change.
After years working in the music industry, he found himself amid transitional change as record labels started feeling the pinch of music streaming services.
“I was let go from the record label I was working for in New York City and I took it as a sign that the time was right to head home to Pittsburgh and enrol in a Bachelor of Science, focused on planetary science,” Mr Peluso said.
After further study, he landed himself a job as a physics teacher and it was here he learnt about USQ.
By July 2019, Mr Peluso was a student at USQ, where he started working remotely on a PhD in astrophysics and astronomy education.
“I’m working to create a citizen science network that’s geared towards primary and secondary schools that actually places telescopes in the hands of classroom teachers and their students,” he said.
“The connections I’ve made with other students also studying remotely have been surprisingly great.
“I hope to one day be able to have my day job as an astrophysicist and then my side-hustle can be writing new albums, playing shows and touring the world.”