Professor Matthew Colless is Director of the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics (RSAA) at the Australian National University. He was for nine years previously the Director of the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), Australia’s national optical observatory. 

Matthew’s research uses large redshift and peculiar velocity surveys of galaxies to understand their evolution and the large-scale structures they form, and to measure cosmological parameters. He led the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey, which provided the first precise measurements of the total density of matter in the universe and established the amounts of dark matter, baryons and neutrinos. He also led the 6dF Galaxy Survey that mapped the motions as well as the positions of galaxies. He has played leading roles in the WiggleZ survey, which probed the nature of the mysterious ‘dark energy’, and the GAMA survey, which elucidates the formation and mass assembly of galaxies.