Professor Davis, an astrophysicist at UQ’s School of Mathematics, will receive the medal and deliver the 2025 Moyal Lecture at Macquarie University on Thursday 9 October. Her lecture, titled ‘New light on dark energy: the mystery deepens’, will explore her research on dark energy and the accelerating expansion of the universe.
The annual Moyal Medal recognises significant Australian contributions in mathematics, physics, or statistics. The accolade honours the memory of Professor José Enrique Moyal, who was Professor of Mathematics at Macquarie University from 1973 to 1977.
Born in Jerusalem in 1910, Professor Moyal was a polymath who made significant contributions to quantum mechanics, including developing the ‘Moyal bracket,’ an important mathematical structure.
By measuring time-dilation in distant supernovae and gravitational waves, Professor Davis aims to understand the anti-gravity properties of dark energy, a phenomenon discovered a quarter of a century ago.
“Little did I know when watching Star Wars as a kid that I’d spend my career studying the ‘dark side’,” Professor Davis says. “Using thousands of supernovae and millions of galaxies, we’ve mapped the cosmos and discovered – to our surprise – that dark energy may be changing with time.”
University of Queensland astrophysicist Professor Tamara Davis AM has been awarded Macquarie University's 2025 Moyal Medal.
Professor Sam Muller, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Macquarie University, says Professor Davis’s research represents some of the most important work being conducted in modern astrophysics.
“Professor Davis has made extraordinary contributions to our understanding of the universe, particularly in the field of dark energy research,” Professor Muller says. “Her work in mapping the cosmos and investigating how dark energy has changed over billions of years is reshaping our understanding of fundamental physics.”
Professor Davis is Deputy Director of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery (OzGrav) and also leads the Australian Dark Energy Survey. Among her many accolades, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2020 for significant service to astrophysical science, to education and to young astronomers.
