Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
I am a Senior-Lecturer, astrophysicist, and instrumentation scientist, with research focused on understanding the evolution of dust (a catalyst for star and planet formation), gas, and metals in galaxies across cosmic time. My work explores how the interstellar medium changes across diverse environments, from nearby galaxies to the distant Universe.
I study the lifecycle of the interstellar medium across a wide range of galaxy types and redshifts. A central part of my research involves using transient events such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), alongside galaxy observations, to investigate dust and gas in the distant Universe.
I am actively engaged in international collaborations with leading observatories, including the Subaru Telescope and the Giant Magellan Telescope, contributing to strengthening Australia’s global role in observational astrophysics and instrumentation.
In parallel, I work on next-generation instrumentation, with expertise in fibre-fed spectroscopy and adaptive optics. This dual focus, science and instrumentation, enables me to extend the observational capabilities of major international observatories.
Education/Academic qualification
Astronomy, PhD, Spectroscopy of high redshift sightlines, Univ Copenhagen, University of Copenhagen, Niels Bohr Institute, Niels Bohr Inst
Award Date: 18 May 2011
External positions
Deputy Chair, Astronomy Australia Limited, Science Advisory Committee (ASAC)
Jan 2026 → Jan 2027
Chair, Astronomical Society of Australia, Inclusion, Diversity and Equity in Astronomy (IDEA) Chapter
Jun 2025 → Jun 2027
EMCR member, National Committee for Astronomy, Australian Academy of Science
18 Mar 2024 → 31 Dec 2027
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Projects
- 4 Finished
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MQRIS S 2022: A broad-band light source for the development of world-leading astronomical instruments
Ellis, S. (Primary Chief Investigator), Lawrence, J. (Chief Investigator), Zafar, T. (Chief Investigator), Zheng, J. (Chief Investigator), Schwab, C. (Chief Investigator), Owers, M. (Chief Investigator), Kotachery, D. (Chief Investigator), Zucker, D. (Chief Investigator) & Gross, S. (Chief Investigator)
1/01/22 → 31/12/22
Project: Research
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A Spectrograph for KMTNet
Lawrence, J. (Primary Chief Investigator), Waller, L. (Chief Investigator), Farrell, T. (Chief Investigator), Zhelem, R. (Chief Investigator), Mohanan, M. (Chief Investigator), Zafar, T. (Chief Investigator), Zheng, J. (Chief Investigator), Hwang, H. S. (Partner Investigator) & Kim, J.-W. (Partner Investigator)
10/12/21 → 30/06/24
Project: Research
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MQAAAstro: Macquarie University Astronomy, Astrophysics and Astrophotonics Research Centre
De Marco, O. (Primary Chief Investigator), McDermid, R. (Centre Deputy Director), Casali, M. (Centre Member), Wardle, M. (Centre Member), de Grijs, R. (Centre Member), Hopkins, A. (Centre Member), Coutts, D. W. (Centre Member), Withford, M. (Centre Member), Zucker, D. (Centre Member), Spitler, L. (Centre Member), Owers, M. (Centre Member), Dawson, J. (Centre Member), Kotachery, D. (Centre Member), Purcell, C. (Centre Member), Schwab, C. (Centre Member), Sealey, K. (Centre Member), O'Toole, S. (Centre Member), Lorente, N. (Centre Member), Ellis, S. (Centre Member), Lopez Sanchez, A. R. (Centre Member), De Silva, G. (Centre Member), Zafar, T. (Centre Member), Ryder, S. (Centre Member), Mulligan, J. (Centre Member), Feger, T. (Centre Member), Choudhury, S. (Centre Member) & Lawrence, J. (Centre Member)
1/01/20 → 31/12/22
Project: Other
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K-band testing and progressing to conceptual design phase of the Subaru/ULTIMATE multiple integral field unit instrument
Zafar, T. (Primary Chief Investigator) & Hopkins, A. (Supervisor)
1/01/19 → 31/12/20
Project: Other
Research Outputs
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A census of double-peaked Lyman-α emitters in MAGPI: classification, global characteristics, and spatially resolved properties
Mukherjee, T., Zafar, T., Nanayakkara, T., Gurung-Lopez, S., Gupta, A., Croom, S. M., Battisti, A., Glazebrook, K., Papaderos, P., Riggs, M., Wisnioski, E., Foster, C., Harborne, K. E., Lagos, C. D. P., Mendel, J. T., Prathap, J., Barsanti, S., Sweet, S., Valenzuela, L. & Mailvaganam, A., 19 Jan 2026, In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. 43, p. 1-22 22 p., e021.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Link opens in a new tab Citations (Scopus)2 Downloads (Pure) -
ASKAP EMU detection of an Odd Radio Circle (ORC) candidate: J094412–751016 (Anglerfish)
Filipović, M. D., Smeaton, Z., Bradley, A., Kothes, R., Crawford, E. J., Ahmad, A., Akahori, T., Barnes, L., Bordiu, C., Dai, S., Duchesne, S. W., Gordon, Y., Gupta, N., Hopkins, A., Koribalski, B. S., Lazarević, S., Leahy, D., Luken, K., Macgregor, P. & Mailvaganam, A. & 16 others, , 10 Apr 2026, In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. 43, p. 1-10 10 p., e043.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile11 Downloads (Pure) -
BLUEPRINT: Blue-dominant Lyman-α emission as evidence of gas inflow in ultra-low-mass galaxies at z = 3
Mukherjee, T., Li, Z., Zafar, T., Nanayakkara, T., Tornotti, D., Costantin, L. & Aalia, I. U., Jun 2026, In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. 710, p. 1-8 8 p., A331.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile1 Downloads (Pure) -
EMU/GAMA: Refining dust extinction corrections for Hα luminosity functions using radio-based calibration
Willingham, J., Hopkins, A., Zafar, T., Afonso, J., Ahmed, U. T., Ahmad, A., Battisti, A., Bomans, D., Brown, M., Cowley, M., Farrah, D., Galvin, T., Holwerda, B. W., Leahy, D., Maio, U., Mukherjee, T., Prathap, J., Seymour, N., van Loon, J. T. & Ward, E., 27 Mar 2026, In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. 43, p. 1-13 13 p., e051.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure) -
EMU/GAMA: A statistical perspective on active galactic nuclei diagnostics
Prathap, J., Hopkins, A., Carvajal, R., Cowley, M., Croom, S., Farrah, D., Prandoni, I., Shabala, S., van Loon, J. T., Pappalardo, C., Pimbblet, K., Ahmed, U. T., Bilicki, M., Brown, M., Leahy, D., Mailvaganam, A., Marvil, J., Mukherjee, T., ur Rahman, S. F. & Vernstrom, T. & 2 others, , 25 Mar 2026, In: Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia. 43, p. 1-17 17 p., e047.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile3 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
Impacts
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2024-2026 Interactive Visual Learning in Maths & Stats
Kordzakhia, N. (Participant), Thomas, C. (Participant), Hawkins, S. (Participant), Valckenborgh, F. (Participant), Binkowski, K. (Participant), Zafar, T. (Participant), Allen, D. (Participant), Garner, R. (Participant) & Sikora, A. (Participant)
Impact
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