Rate My Professor Gavin Rowell

Professor Gavin Rowell holds the position of Professor in the School of Physics, Chemistry and Earth Sciences within the College of Sciences at the University of Adelaide. He completed his PhD at the University of Adelaide in 1996. Throughout his career, he has progressed through various academic roles at the University of Adelaide, including Associate Professor from 2014 to 2019, Senior Lecturer from 2012 to 2014, and ARC QEII Fellow from 2006 to 2011. Earlier appointments include Max Planck Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics from 2002 to 2006, von Humboldt Research Fellow there from 2000 to 2002, JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Tokyo's Institute for Cosmic Ray Research from 1997 to 1999, and Research Scientist at the Defence Science and Technology Organisation from 1995 to 1997. Rowell has been honored with several prestigious fellowships, such as the Astronomical Society of Australia Fellowship and Australian Institute of Physics Fellowship in 2021, the ARC QEII Fellowship in 2006, the von Humboldt Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2000, and the JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship in 1997.

His research specializes in high energy astrophysics, focusing on astronomy with gamma-ray telescopes operating at TeV energies and above. Primary interests encompass the origins of cosmic rays and high-energy electrons, supernova remnants, X-ray binaries, pulsars, magnetars, and multiwavelength studies of TeV gamma-ray sources, particularly emphasizing the interstellar medium and millimeter/sub-millimeter observations. As the lead Australian researcher for the H.E.S.S. and CTAO gamma-ray observatories, he contributes to major international efforts in astroparticle physics. Key publications include "First Results from the PanRadio Gamma-Ray Burst Collaboration: The 400-day Afterglow of GRB 230815A" (2026, The Astrophysical Journal Letters), "Constraining the nature of the most extreme Galactic particle accelerator: H.E.S.S. observations of the microquasar V4641 Sgr" (2026, Astronomy & Astrophysics), "Detection of very high-energy gamma-ray emission from Eta Carinae during its 2020 periastron passage" (2025, Astronomy & Astrophysics), "eROSITA X-ray analysis of the PeVatron candidate Westerlund 1" (2025, Astronomy & Astrophysics), and "The Gamma-Ray Origin of RX J0852.0-4622 Quantifying the Hadronic and Leptonic Components" (2024, The Astrophysical Journal). Rowell serves on influential committees, including the H.E.S.S. Collaboration Board since 2006, Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory Governing Council since 2017, and the Australian Academy of Science National Committee for Astronomy from 2016 to 2019.