DR KARL KRUSZELNICKI
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki is currently the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at Sydney University, where his “mission” is to spread the good word about science and its benefits. Nationwide, Dr Karl is recognised for his flamboyant shirts and infectious enthusiasm for science which has enabled him to become an accomplished author and science media personality.
Born in Sweden in 1948, Dr Karl came to Australia as a child. Both of his parents were concentration camp refugees. His family were tenanted at a migrant camp in Bonegilla, Victoria for first three years before they settled in the city of Wollongong. He attended Edmund Rice Christian Brothers College, West Wollongong and completed university studies at the University of Wollongong, University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney. Dr Karl has degrees in physics and maths, biomedical engineering, medicine and surgery. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of the Sunshine Coast in 2016.
Dr Karl’s media career began in 1981, when he started presenting Great Moments In Science on Double J to pay his way through medical school. Since then, he’s spoken about science on radio, TV, in books, newspapers and magazines. He has been a regular on TV and has appeared on shows such as Quantum, The Midday Show, Good Morning Australia, The Today Show
and Channel 7’s breakfast program Sunrise.
An asteroid discovered by Robert H. McNaught at the Siding Spring Observatory in Coonabarabran, NSW on June 13, 1993, has been named in his honour. Asteroid 18412 Kruszelnicki is a main-belt asteroid and takes five years to orbit our sun.
Dr Karl is the author of 40 popular science books beginning with Great moments in science in 1984. His latest book The Doctor offers answers to questions such as why Americans are no longer the tallest people on Earth. What will the discovery of gravitational waves do for you? Why do you sleep badly in an unfamiliar bed? Why should you exercise before breakfast to stop weight piling on? Is Bitcoin the currency of the future? What connects God, caffeine and chocolate? How does streaming a video for an hour use more electricity than running a fridge for a week? What are the secrets of immortal jellyfish and vampires? Are smoothies good for you? And just what is a “vomitarium”?
Dr Karl will be appearing at the World Science Festival (www.worldsciencefestival.com.au)