Rate My Professor Katarina Miljkovic

Professor Katarina Miljkovic is a planetary scientist at Curtin University, serving as Professor in the School of Earth and Planetary Sciences within the Faculty of Science and Engineering. She specializes in understanding the geophysics of planetary bodies, including Earth, through impact processes and cratering mechanics. Her research integrates numerical modeling, experimental impact physics, and analysis of remote sensing data from lunar and planetary missions to elucidate the structure and evolution of planetary surfaces. Miljkovic contributes to major space missions, including NASA's Mars InSight Mission, where she studies the Martian crust's porosity and hydrous alteration. Her work has advanced knowledge on lunar impact basins, Moon magnetization mechanisms, and Australian impact cratering records, debunking long-held theories such as impact-generated magnetic fields in the Moon's crust.

Miljkovic earned her PhD in Physics and Astronomy from The Open University and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Belgrade. She joined Curtin University in 2015 as an Early Career Research Fellow in Applied Geology, progressing to Senior Research Fellow, ARC Future Fellow, and Professor. Prior appointments include Postdoctoral Research Associate at Imperial College London (2011-2012), Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, and Research Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She has received prestigious awards, including the Western Australian Young Tall Poppy Scientist of the Year (2019), finalist for the Premier's Science Awards Mid-Career Scientist of the Year (2023), Order of Australia Medal (OAM) in 2024 for service to science as a researcher, and election as an early-career Fellow (2018). Key publications encompass 'Subsurface morphology and scaling of lunar impact basins' (2016, Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets), 'Was the moon magnetized by impact plasmas?' (2020, Science Advances), 'Porosity and hydrous alteration of the Martian crust from InSight measurements' (2025, Planetary and Space Science), and 'Australian impact cratering record: Updates and recent discoveries' (2021). Miljkovic teaches in the Advanced Science program and the new Bachelor of Science (Space and Planetary Science), delivers public lectures such as the 2022 Women in Physics tour, and engages in outreach on planetary evolution and space exploration.