Freestyle Physics
Pro. Francis Paul
Areas of expertise
Science, Technology And Engineering Curriculum And Pedagogy
Astronomical And Space Instrumentation
Planetary Science (Excl. Extraterrestrial Geology)
Stellar Astronomy And Planetary Systems
Learning Sciences
Cosmology And Extragalactic Astronomy
Paul is an astrophysicist, who focussed his research on galaxies and black holes in the early universe, before catching a bad case of the teaching bug. Since then, he has focussed on teaching large classes, both in-person and online. He is infamous amongst his students for talking much too fast in an incomprehensible pommie accent, and for his dubious taste in waistcoats.
He has been involved in many educational innovations, including using role-plays to teach astrophysics, developing the ANU's first MOOCs, which have currently been taken by over 300,000 students from 178 countries around the world, and for teaching the large 1st year physics classes without any lectures. He has won a wide range of prizes for education and science communication, including the 2016 Australian Award for University Teaching.
