Martin was born in England and attended the University of Tasmania, completing an honours degree in physics on the topic of UBVRI photometry.
More recently, Martin’s research has been in the history of astronomy, primarily of low-frequency radio astronomy in Tasmania, which was a major topic of study in the State around 1955 to 1985. This led to several published papers and his PhD thesis at UniSQ. Martin has also collaborated on papers about the history of astronomy in Thailand.
Martin is passionate about astronomy communication and often speaks about astronomy and space topics in the media. He currently runs the Ulverstone Planetarium in Tasmania, and prior to that ran the Launceston Planetarium for many years. Martin is a long-standing member of the International Planetarium Society (IPS) and is a former President and current Chair of International Development of the society. He is also a member of the International Astronomical Union.
Martin is a keen traveller and has visited many planetariums and astronomy facilities around the world. An important project for Martin as part of his IPS work is maintaining contact with planetarium professionals in Ukraine to increase IPS awareness of their situation.
- Completing a paper about the life of Grote Reber in Tasmania, who established a 2 MHz radio array near Bothwell.
- Continuing research into the history of astronomy in Tasmania
- Working to promote STEM education in Tasmania’s North West and statewide in general.
- Writing a biography of Graeme Reade Anthony Ellis for the BIOGRAPHICAL ENCYCLODEPIA OF ASTRONOMERS
- History of astronomy
- Astronomy education
Dr George’s publications can be viewed here