Karlie Noon facts for kids

Karlie Alinta Noon is an amazing astronomer and a true trailblazer! She was the first Indigenous Australian woman to earn two university degrees at once in maths and physics. Karlie has won many awards and was even named one of the BBC's "100 Women" in 2017. Today, she studies space and stars (astronomy and astrophysics) at the Australian National University.

Growing Up

Karlie grew up in a place called Coledale, near Tamworth, Australia. She has shared that her family didn't have much money, and she felt like the school system didn't always understand her. Karlie also mentioned that she didn't go to high school very often.

Even with these challenges, she did well in science. This was thanks to extra help from a tutor and a special mentor. Her family, especially her grandmother, always encouraged her. This support gave her the confidence to follow her dream of working in science.

Education and Career

Karlie found that regular high school classes weren't the best way for her to learn. She got a lot of her early maths training from a mentor who visited her home. Later, she earned her double degree from the University of Newcastle.

After that, she moved to Canberra to study at the Australian National University (ANU). Karlie then worked for CSIRO's program for Indigenous STEM. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths.

Her research includes learning about the amazing space knowledge that Indigenous cultures have had for a long time. She also looks at old stories from both Indigenous and European people about things like moon haloes.

Awards and Recognition

Karlie Noon has received many awards and honours for her important work:

• 2023 — Her book Astronomy: Sky Country won the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards People's Choice Award. It was also shortlisted for the Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Indigenous Writing.
• 2022 — Astronomy: Sky Country was shortlisted for the 2022 nonfiction Age Book of the Year.
• 2019 — She was a finalist for the 3M ‘Emerging Leader in Science’ at the Eureka Prizes.
• 2019 — Karlie was added to the honour roll for Australian of the Year.
• 2017 — She was voted one of BBC's 100 Women.

Inspiring Others

Karlie Noon loves to share her passion for science. She wants to show everyone, especially young people from minority groups, that they can have a career in STEM. She believes that everyone deserves equal chances.

Karlie has worked with CSIRO to find young Indigenous people for STEM awards. She encourages Indigenous people and those from families with less money to study and work in science. She also strongly believes that girls and women can be excellent in science. Karlie says, "Girls can absolutely do it and they can smash it just as well as any other person can."

In August 2020, the Sydney Observatory chose Karlie as their first astronomy ambassador. This means she helps teach people about space.

• Karlie's work on Indigenous astronomy was shown on SBS.
• Her work on Indigenous science and fairness was featured on Australia’s Science Channel.
• In 2016, the ABC described her work in Indigenous physics as "reaching for the stars."