National Speaker Series by NSW Branch: An Invitation to Exoplanet Science for Statisticians

The New South Wales Branch of the Statistical Society of Australia invites you to a presentation titled "An Invitation to Exoplanet Science for Statisticians" delivered by A/Professor Benjamin Pope, Macquarie University

Date: Wednesday 19 August 2026

Times (AEST): 6:00 - 7:00 PM

Venue: UNSW Sydney - Electrical Engineering G23

Format: Hybrid

Online attendance: Zoom details will be provided in the registration confirmation.

Abstract:  An Invitation to Exoplanet Science for Statisticians

Exoplanet science has revealed over the last decade that nearly every star hosts a planetary system. We are now beginning to search for Earth-sized planets, and to observe planetary atmospheres and their composition - and software and data analysis are as important as hardware in pushing the limits of this science. I will give an overview of some major topics in exoplanet science of interest to a statistical audience, with little physics background assumed: first, the application of Gaussian Processes in modelling the correlated noise processes in astrophysical time series; and second, the inverse problem of deconvolving sharp images of faint planets next to bright stars, demanding machine-learned "digital twins" of telescope optics and electronics, and modern Bayesian sampling tools.

Presenter Bio: A/Professor Benjamin Pope, Macquarie University

Benjamin Pope is an Associate Professor at Macquarie University. He researches extrasolar planets - planets around other stars - and develops and applies new data science approaches for detecting and characterizing them.

Event Schedule : 

For any questions, please contact Dr. Tom Stindl - t.stindl@unsw.edu.au