Nick Rattenbury

Dr Nicholas Rattenbury is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Physics, Faculty of Science, The University of Auckland. He completed his PhD in Physics at The University of Auckland, followed by post-doctoral research at Jodrell Bank Observatory at the University of Manchester. Dr Rattenbury’s research focuses on astronomy and astrophysics, space systems research, and computational physics. Nick is particularly interested in refining the microlensing technique further to discover more complicated planetary systems, and in the development and use of nanosatellites to develop and test innovative satellite subsystems. He is part of a team of University researchers working towards fostering the New Zealand space industry, and he is active in the Auckland Programme for Space Systems (APSS). His team are members of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST), a survey telescope that is currently under construction and will observe a large fraction of the sky frequently and down to faint magnitudes. Further interests include creating algorithms that can analyse observed microlensing data without any human intervention (eg. investigating how graphical processing units (GPUs) may be used to perform the intense numerical calculations necessary for modelling planetary microlensing events) and using data collected from the microlensing databases to improve our understanding of our solar system. He is also leading the design and construction of a satellite ground tracking station to monitor satellite assets.