Melissa Ness

Professor Melissa Ness is a Professor of Astronomy at the Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics (RSAA), Australian National University (ANU). She leads research in Milky Way formation, chemical evolution, and galaxy formation. Her work combines stellar spectroscopy, data-driven models, and large-scale surveys like GALAH and Gaia.

Education: PhD in Astronomy. Research focuses on Milky Way structure, chemical abundance patterns, and nucleosynthesis. She explores the interplay between stellar ages, element abundances, and orbital properties to understand galaxy formation processes.

Key research projects include ACACIAS (Local Group census), chemical tagging in the Milky Way halo, and disk archaeology. She supervises PhD student Sarah Aquilina.

Publications span over 112 articles, with recent work on dwarf galaxy abundance analysis, lithium-rich stars, and Sagittarius stream dynamics. Active in collaborations like the ANU Futures Scheme project (2024–2028), focusing on advancing astronomy research and instrumentation.

Labs/Teams: Involved with the GALAH survey team, AITC (Astronomy Instrumentation & Technology Centre), and international collaborations like the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE).