Associate Professor Duane Hamacher holds the position of Associate Professor of Cultural Astronomy in the School of Physics, Faculty of Science, at the University of Melbourne, where he has served since June 2019. He is Director of the Burunh Program for Cultural and Indigenous Astronomy and a member of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All Sky Astrophysics in 3D. Originally from the United States, Hamacher completed a Bachelor of Science in Physics, Astronomy, and Mathematics at the University of Missouri in 2004, followed by a second Bachelor of Science in Physics and Observational Astronomy at UNSW Sydney in 2008, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Indigenous Studies with a focus on cultural astronomy at Macquarie University in 2011. His career includes roles such as Associate Professor at the University of the Sunshine Coast from March 2019 to November 2020, Professor of Archaeoastronomy and Astronomy in Culture at the National Autonomous University of Honduras from January to November 2020, and CAPAS Fellow at the Käte Hamburger Centre for Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic Studies at Heidelberg University from 2022 to 2023. He is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society (FRAS).

Hamacher's research specializations encompass cultural astronomy, Indigenous astronomical knowledge, dark sky studies, and the history and philosophy of science, particularly how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander oral traditions encode observations of celestial phenomena such as meteors, comets, supernovae, variable stars, and solar positions. His work addresses impacts of light pollution and artificial satellites on astronomical heritage, human health, wildlife, and culture, often through trans-disciplinary collaborations. Key publications include 'An Aboriginal Australian Record of the Great Eruption of Eta Carinae' (2010), 'Wurdi Youang: an Australian Aboriginal stone arrangement with possible solar indications' (2012), 'Observations of the red-giant variable stars by Aboriginal Australians' (2017), 'Whitening the Sky: light pollution as a form of cultural genocide' (2020), 'The archaeology of orality: Dating Tasmanian Aboriginal oral traditions to the Late Pleistocene' (2023), and the co-authored book 'The First Astronomers: How the First Peoples Discovered the Universe' (2021). With over 1,400 citations on Google Scholar, his contributions have significantly influenced archaeoastronomy, increasing Indigenous representation in astronomical and space sciences through public lectures, podcasts, seminars, and leadership in International Astronomical Union initiatives.

Professional Email: duane.hamacher@unimelb.edu.au