Karl Kruszelnicki

Karl Kruszelnicki AM /krʊʃəlnɪtskiː/ (born 20 March 1948),^[2] often referred to as "Dr Karl",^[3] is a well-known Australian science communicator and populariser,^[3] who is known as an author and science commentator on Australian radio and television.

Kruszelnicki is the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow in the Science Foundation for Physics at the School of Physics, University of Sydney.^[4]

Early life

Kruszelnicki's family immigrated to Australia when he was two years of age. The family were tenanted at the migrant camp in Bonegilla, Victoria, for the first three years^[5] before they settled in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales, where he grew up. After high school, his first job was as a ditch digger in the summer between the end of high school and the start of university, using pick and shovel to dig and lay sewerage pipes in the Wollongong suburb of Dapto.^[6]

After university, Kruszelnicki's first job as a physicist was working for a steel works in his home town of Wollongong where he had to test the strength of steel made for use in Melbourne's West Gate Bridge, which was under construction at that time. Kruszelnicki designed a machine to test the steel but its results suggested that the steel did not meet specifications. His boss at the time asked him to recheck the results but when the steel continually failed to meet the specifications his boss asked him to fake the data. Kruszelnicki refused and eventually quit.^[6] (The West Gate Bridge collapsed during construction but the fault was found to have occurred due to structural failure not due to the quality of the steel used.)

Education

Kruszelnicki attended Edmund Rice Christian Brothers College in Wollongong, New South Wales, between 1960 and 1964.^[7] On completion he attended the University of Wollongong, completing a Bachelor of Science majoring in physics in 1968.^[8] In 1980 Kruszelnicki was awarded a Master of Biomedical Engineering at the University of New South Wales. He completed a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery at Sydney University in 1986.^[8] In 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from the University of the Sunshine Coast.^[9]

Television

Kruszelnicki presented the first series of Quantum (replaced by Catalyst) in 1985. As a science communicator and presenter, he appears on Channel 7's Weekend Sunrise program and on ABC television. From early 2008 to 2010 he co-hosted a TV series called Sleek Geeks with Adam Spencer.

Journalism, radio

Australian Skeptics Convention held in Sydney, November 2014. Kruszelnicki speaking on "Great moments in science".

Radio and podcasts

Kruszelnicki does a number of weekly radio shows. His hour-long show on ABC radio station Triple J has been going on in one form or another since 1981. This weekly science talkback show, is broadcast on Thursday mornings from 11:00 am to 12:00 noon and attracts up to 300,000 listeners; it is also available as a podcast.^[10]

Kruszelnicki also often helps with other science and education Triple J promotions, such as the Sleek Geek Week roadshow with Adam Spencer and Caroline Pegram. He and Adam Spencer release the Sleek Geeks podcast regularly (about once a week).^[11]

In the United Kingdom, Kruszelnicki appears on a live weekly late-night link-up on BBC Radio 5 Live's Up All Night, usually with Rhod Sharp (Thursdays 03:00 - 04:00 UK time), answering science questions.^[12]

Politics

Kruszelnicki was an unsuccessful candidate for the Australian Senate in the 2007 Australian federal election. He was placed number two on the Climate Change Coalition ticket in New South Wales.^[13]

Recognition and awards

In 2000, the Australian Financial Review Internet Awards awarded Kruszelnicki the Best Science and Technology Website.^[14]

One of Kruszelnicki's more notable undertakings was his part in a research project on belly button fluff, for which he received the tongue-in-cheek Ig Nobel Prize in 2002.

He received the Australian Father of the Year award in 2003. In the 2001 honours list, he was awarded the Centenary Medal "for major service in raising public awareness of the importance of science and technology".^[15]

In the 2006 honours list, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia.^[16][17]

In 2006, the Australian Skeptics recognized him as the Australian Skeptic Of The Year.^[3][18]

In 2012, Kruszelnicki was named as a National Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia (NSW).^[19]

Also in 2012, Main-belt asteroid 18412 Kruszelnicki was named in his honour.^[20]

In 2014, Readers Digest readers voted Kruszelnicki as the ninth most trusted person in Australia^[21]

Writing

As of mid-2015, Kruszelnicki has written 36 books, along with numerous lecture series (using material that often ends up in his books, or vice versa). Some of these lecture series and books have been televised for events such as Australia's National Science Week, with him supplying voice-overs and sometimes appearing in claymation. Kruszelnicki's earlier work focused on interesting scientific curiosities, but recently his writing has moved towards the theme of scientific myths and misconceptions.

Books

Dr Karl lecturing at QED 2016.

• Latest Great Moments in Science, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Enterprises, Sydney, Australia, ISBN 0-7333-0144-4.
• Spacescape, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, (Australia), 1992, ISBN 0-7295-1100-6.
• Absolutely Fabulous Moments in Science, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Enterprises, Sydney, Australia, 1994, ISBN 0-7333-0407-9.
• Sensational Moments in Science, Australian Broadcasting Corporation Enterprises, Sydney, Australia, 1995, ISBN 0-7333-0456-7.
• Pigeon Poo the Universe & Car Paint – and other awesome science moments, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 1996, ISBN 0-7322-5723-9.
• Flying Lasers, Robofish and Cities of Slime – and other brain-bending science moments, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 1997, ISBN 0-7322-5874-X.
• Dr Karl's Collection of Great Australian Facts & Firsts

1. Ears, Gears and Gadgets, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 1997, ISBN 0-207-19610-9.

2. Forests, Fleece & Prickly Pears, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 1997, ISBN 0-207-19611-7.

3. Flight, Food & Thingummygigs, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 1997, ISBN 0-207-19612-5.

• Munching Maggots, Noah's Flood and TV Heart Attacks and other cataclysmic science moments, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 1998, ISBN 0-7322-5858-8.
• Fidgeting Fat, Exploding Meat & Gobbling Whirly Birds – New Moments 4, 1999.
• Q&A With Dr. K – Why It Is So. Headless Chickens, Bathroom Queues and Belly Button Blues, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2001, ISBN 0-7322-5855-3.
• Dr. Karl's Collection of Great Australian Facts & Firsts, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2002, ISBN 0-207-19860-8.
• Bumbreath, Botox and Bubbles and other Fully Sick Science Moments, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2003, ISBN 0-7322-6715-3.
• Great Mythconceptions – Cellulite, Camel Humps and Chocolate Zits, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2004, ISBN 0-7322-8062-1.
• Dis Information and Other Wikkid Myths: More Great Myths In Science, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2005, ISBN 0-7322-8060-5.
• It Ain't Necessarily So Bro, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2006, ISBN 0-7322-8061-3.
• Please Explain, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia, 2007, ISBN 0-7322-8535-6.
• Science Is Golden, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia 2008 ISBN 978-0-732-28536-4
• Never Mind the Bullocks, Here's the Science, HarperCollins Publishers Pty Ltd, Australia 2009, ISBN 0-7322-8537-2.
• Dinosaurs Aren't Dead, Pan Macmillan Pty Limited, Australia 2010 ISBN 978-0-330-42579-7
• Curious and Curiouser, Pan Macmillan Pty Limited, Australia 2010 ISBN 978-1-742-61170-9
• Brain Food, Pan Macmillan Pty Limited, Australia 2011 ISBN 978-1-742-61039-9
• 50 Shades of Grey Matter, Pan Macmillan Pty Limited, Australia 2012 ISBN 978-1-742-61138-9
• Game of Knowns, Pan Macmillan Pty Limited, Australia 2013 ISBN 978-1-742-61334-5
• Dr Karl's Big Book of Science Stuff and Nonsense, Pan Macmillan Pty Limited, Australia 2013 ISBN 978-1-742-61368-0
• House of Karls, Pan Macmillan Pty Limited, Australia 2014 ISBN 978-1-743-51951-6
• Dr Karl's Short Back & Science, Pan Macmillan Pty Limited, Australia 2015 ISBN 978-1-743-53334-5

See also

• Sleek Geeks
• Adam Spencer

References

External links

• Official website
• Dr Karl on the ABC website
• Dr Karl's page with the University of Sydney Science Foundation
• TAM 2014 - Karl Kruszelnicki - Great Moments in Australian Science