(He/Him)
Sammy is a radio astronomer and musician. He and his partner of 9 years, Gary, married in 2020, shortly after the COVID lockdowns began.
Sammy grew up in Perth, the third of five children. After high school, he moved to Germany and then to Scotland with his family, living in each place briefly, before jumping completely out the nest and pursuing a Piano Performance degree at Brigham Young University, Idaho. After returning to Perth and working odd jobs to save money, he served as a proselytising missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Taiwan for two years, immediately following which he quit the Church.
He worked and studied as a freelance musician for another three years before deciding to switch careers completely and begin a new undergraduate degree in Astronomy at Curtin University. He graduated with his PhD in 2019, and now works as a faculty member at Curtin, conducting research into pulsars at the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research. He has a passion for maths and science, seeing them as every bit as beautiful, elegant, and creative as the finest music and art. Nevertheless, he still retains one professional musical outlet as the Piano Accompanist with Perth Pride Choir.
