Irene Bolognino

• Postdoctoral Research Fellow
• CDM
• University of Adelaide
• Road-tripping in Adelaide (2022)

What do you do?

My job is to understand how the world around us is made.  To do this, I am trying to capture the vibrations of dark matter, which, as it is dark, we cannot see, neither with our eyes nor with telescopes or other instruments.  Basically, I solve mysteries! 😀 

How did you get to where you are today?

The passion for physics came when I was 4 years old: I used to browse my parents’ atlas every night where there were photos and explanations of the planets.  At 8, I already knew everything about the Solar System.  At 9, I bought my first book of Stephen Hawking.  During high school, I won two astrophysics competitions and I chose astrophysics as a course of study at university. 

What’s the best thing about your work?

Every day is always different from the others, you never get bored, you don’t do repetitive things.

What do you enjoy doing outside work?

I am an eclectic person and I do many different things.  I love to play the violin, but I also like to dance (I was a ballerina), meet friends, read a book, watch footy and soccer matches, formula 1 and motorcycles. 

Which three people (living or dead) would you invite to dinner?

Marie Curie, David Oistrakh, Nelson Mandela

Fun fact:

When I was at the university, I organised a Star-Wars-style fight with students and professors.  We built a powerful electricity generator capable of lighting neon lamps suitably coloured in red and green. 

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