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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita

@reggiek.bsky.social
843 followers 670 following 407 posts

Sri Lankan-Australian Astrophysicist 🇱🇰🇦🇺. Post-doc at the Australian National University. Binary and multiple star formation! ✨ Cats, Space, science-based life choices, DV survivor, She/her, opinions my own

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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Matthew Kenworthy @mattkenworthy.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Anyone at Disks on the Exe willing to post results? Definite FOMO here... #exoplanets
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Daniel Clery @danclery.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Clear sighting of ‘wandering’ black hole reveals escapee from galaxy merger | Science | AAAS @science.org 🔭🧪 www.science.org/content/arti...
science.org
Clear sighting of ‘wandering’ black hole reveals escapee from galaxy merger
Stripped-down behemoth promises new insights into how galaxies grow, astronomers say
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
Is there a point to solo author papers in astrophysics? I have a paper that truly is entirely my work, but I worry high IF journals will not take the work seriously, due to being a solo author. I see now professors had some solo papers in their career, and I was told to own it. But it's daunting. 🔭
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Thank you Sam Neil for helping bring the story of Australia's role in the moon landing to the masses! Of course I loved him in Event Horizon and Jurassic Park 🌙 🔭
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
My former master's student released an album!! Their band name is named after their thesis and the album title it the thesis topic 😭😭😭😭 oh my heart is going to explode! 😭😭😭😭 open.spotify.com/album/7sGWOQ...
open.spotify.com
MULTIPLICITY - Album by Simulated Analogues | Spotify
Simulated Analogues · album · 2026 · 12 songs
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
What happens when paper writing stress is keeping me up at night? I guess I end up writing in bed from my phone 🙃
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
The Guardian @theguardian.com · 16/05/2026
I’m a Eurovision superfan, but this year’s contest brings only sadness. I won’t be tuning in
theguardian.com
I’m a Eurovision superfan, but this year’s contest brings only sadness. I won’t be tuning in
Mismanagement and political campaigning have sucked the joy out of an event meant to bring people together
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 07/04/2026
The ultra depressing moment when I've finally gotten back to working on a paper and see its already been a year since I produced some of the analysis pickles for said paper 🙃. I guess an intercontinental move, data migration, setting up at a new institution and computing cluster will do that...
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 10/03/2026
Annoyed at how long it took me to FINALLY start using VS Code. But to be fair, I am an older grumpy academic, set in my ways. #AcademicSky
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
*sigh* I know that an international move, and getting set up at a few workplace is intense, and it's reasonable I missed some abstract submission deadlines for conferences. But I am bummed to not be able to mingle with the star formation community at some upcoming meetings.#AcademicChatter
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 09/02/2026
I have student projects available for all levels! Interested in simulating star formation and interactions with the star-forming cloud? Have a look at these! I work with students to align the project to their skills, interests, and academic level. 🔭✨#Astronomy rajikalk.github.io/html_pages/s...
rajikalk.github.io
Student projects - Kuruwita
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
The local supercomputer is down for maintenance, so I guess I finally have time to catch up my myADS paper notifications that I've been ignoring for weeks 😅 #astronomy #academia
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
I was lucky enough to be interviewed on ABC Brisbane radio! I got to talk about stargazing and my work! 😊 www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...
abc.net.au
Mornings - ABC listen
You'll get a deeper insight into the issues that matter each morning.
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
AUSTRALIAN REALTORS! If you're going to attach a floor plan of an apartment to the listing, can you at least make sure the scale is CORRECT. measured one to be over 200m^2, and few others >120m^2, which was way too large for the price. Just list the area. That really should be standard.
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
"Not hearing anything? Turn up volume" "Not hearing anything? Turn up volume" "Not hearing anything? Turn up volume" "Not hearing anything? Turn up volume" "Not hearing anything? Turn up volume" Please hit the X 🙏🙏🙏. I want to focus on the talk, but I can't. Is it just me?
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 05/10/2025
I turn 33 today, and survived the gommage (because I finished #ClairObsur Expedition 33 😂)
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 20/08/2025
Rediscovered music I composed for my high school exams. Inspired by the Voyager space craft 🔭. My thought of the parts were: 1. The launch, 2. Discovering the weirdness of space, 3. Excitement about what's to come. I was embarrassed, but it's not bad for a 16yo 😅 on.soundcloud.com/YiUFgvT8gMtr...
soundcloud.com
Voyager, The Escape
HSC composition of Rajika Kuruwita, performed by Brent Giggins Copyright 2009
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Moving back to Australia, which I am excited about. But there are definitely little things I'm already missing during my rental hunting. Namely: 1. I hate that the m^2 isn't listed and I need to calculate it from floor plans 2. I'm going to miss hardwood floors. So much easier to clean than carpet!
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
At the Stars to Life at McMaster for the rest of the week! 🔭
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 10/06/2025
Maybe the worm inside RFK's head was an agent of the Absolute #BaldursGate
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
Is it just me, but I tend to wear headphones while doing tasks that don't need too much focus (debugging, cleaning up plots), but I don't on tasks that need more focus (writing). I just wish my colleagues knew I was more open to being interrupted when I'm wearing headphones 🤣
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Leanne @luckyleanne.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
What the hell just NEARLY happened? #eurovision
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 16/05/2025
It was on #Eurovision!!! 🥹 FYI, Tommy Cash borrowed my Australian flag hahahaha. I know it's small, but it was such a lovely way to wrap what will be my last Live Eurovision experience for a few years.
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
I'm moving back to Australia!! 🇦🇺 I'll be continuing as a post doc at the Australian National University, back where it all started. I have absolutely loved my time in Europe and working with the Astronomical communities here, but it was always the long term plan to go back.
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 24/04/2025
I'm actually hoping my train arrival is delayed by a few more minutes so I can get compensated. It's already 58min late, what's a couple more minutes? Haha
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Companies that like to poach grad students might benefit a lot from PromoPlot ;) #AprilFools arxiv.org/abs/2503.24254
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
Finally some practical advice to deal with rising publication costs! #AprilFools arxiv.org/abs/2503.24254
arxiv.org
PromoPlot: Covering open-access fees by filling wasted space in corner plots
In an effort to reduce drain on grant funds and decrease unused space in publications, we have developed a Python package for inserting advertisements into the space left empty by corner plots. This n...
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 20/03/2025
Submit your abstracts for the multiplicity in Young Stars Conference! 🔭 ✨
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 12/03/2025
Today is exactly 30 years since my family left Sri Lanka (due to civil war) I was two years old. I have realised that no matter where I go, I will always be seen as an immigrant, and it is a core part of identity. I hate Immigration politics, but talk of it makes me wary of who I want to befriend.
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Super proud of Germany's song this year! And it's in German! The time Germany had a song in German was 2007
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 03/03/2025
NGL, I haven't been the most productive this afternoon when THIS IS HAPPENING WHERE I LIVE. Thankfully all my loved ones are safe, but WTF is happening in Germany
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 02/03/2025
I had a few hours to waste... #Strava
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
Just a gal from New South Wales 🇦🇺 hanging out in Old South Wales! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 I'll be visiting Cardiff University for the rest of the week, talking multiple-star formation ✨
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
I feel like a lot of the people I'm losing out to are folks that moved straight onto an independent postdoc from their PhD. Is doing a group postdoc before moving onto something independent really such a stain on your CV? #AcademicSky
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Yes!! I can still remain on the electoral roll in Australia! I was really afraid of losing my right to vote anywhere in the world... I do like that no-matter where an EU citizen is living within the EU, they can always vote in local elections. The right to vote is sacred, so please vote 🙏
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Benjamin Pope @benjaminpope.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
we get distracted by fees easily but the biggest threat to the university in Australia is the housing crisis
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Deborah Blum @deborahb.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
From a journalist friend: Just spreading the word. The CDC is purging data, so people should archive their favorite CDC datasets today, namely ones around race/ethnic diversity, LGBTQ, and reproductive health. Also health data involving climate. The youth risk behavior survey has already gone down.
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Science Magazine @science.org · 30/01/2025
Exclusive: NSF this week began to search through billions of dollars of grants the agency has already awarded for anything touching on topics that President Donald Trump has criticized. And NSF has blocked grantees and trainees from accessing funds while the review is underway. scim.ag/3El0NZh
scim.ag
EXCLUSIVE: NSF starts vetting all grants to comply with Trump’s orders
Grantee accounts remain frozen, while union accuses NSF of ignoring rules governing peer review
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
Oh a slightly random and positive note: January is basically over, and I've stuck to my resolution of reading myADS emails when they come! Even saved some papers and made notes in my Zotero along the way 😊 I actually find checking out these papers to be a little mental break haha #AcademicSky
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 31/01/2025
*sigh* applying for a DECRA again, and this time I need a Statutory declaration witnessed by a Justice of the Peace. Usually not an issue if living in Australia, but I have to basically take a day off to travel to the consulate in Frankfurt and it costs €53 Euro.
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
Definitely Ig Nobel Prize winning research! Seriously, it's fascinating www.nature.com/articles/d41...
nature.com
All together now: chimps engage in contagious peeing
If one animal urinates, others are likely follow, according to a study of captive apes.
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Guardian Australia @australia.theguardian.com · 28/01/2025
My petty gripe: I’ve been yelled at, huffed at and filled with rage at humanity. Why does Sydney hate bikes?
theguardian.com
My petty gripe: I’ve been yelled at, huffed at and filled with rage at humanity. Why does Sydney hate bikes?
As a proud Victorian I’ve warmed to Sydney’s charms – but in this one aspect, Melbourne is light years ahead * More summer essentials I was a proud partaker of the Sydney v Melbourne debate – until I made the move myself. Over three years, me, a…
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Joanna Drążkowska @astrojoanna.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
I'm so grateful for this opportunity to expand my research group at @mpsgoettingen.bsky.social thanks to the Lise Meitner Excellence Program 🪐 www.mps.mpg.de/studying-pla...
mps.mpg.de
Studying Planetary Systems in the Making
How do planets form from the disks of gas and dust that orbit around young stars? At the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research (MPS) in Germany, Joanna Drążkowska is investigating this questi...
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Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita @reggiek.bsky.social · 27/01/2025
I'm taking two rest days in a row! Reddit would have me believe I'm going to lose all my gains, but I'm pretty pooped.
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Mehdi Hasan @mehdirhasan.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Wow
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Miriam Goldstein @miriamgoldstein.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
🧵: I am getting texts on what scientists should do in this perilous and scary moment. My advice: your biggest power is to organize through your professional societies. A few ideas -
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Kaz Cooke @kazcooke.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
If Australian govt had guts and vision they’d lure all the top US research scientists here who’ve had funding and projects frozen by Trump, and fund them and locals as a dream team.
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Pop Base @popbase.tv · 23/01/2025
Starting today, same-sex marriage is officially legalized in Thailand. It’s the first country in Southeast Asia to recognize marriage equality.
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Reposted by Dr Rajika "Reggie" Kuruwita
Laura Lopez @ohdearz.bsky.social · 22/01/2025
Here's an e-mail that just went out to NASA agency wide. 🔭
Letter reading, "Dear agency employees,
We are taking steps to close all agency DEIA offices and end all DEIA-related contracts 
in accordance with President Trump’s executive orders titled Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing and Initial Rescissions of Harmful Executive 
Orders and Actions.
These programs divided Americans by race, wasted taxpayer dollars, and resulted in 
shameful discrimination. 
We are aware of efforts by some in government to disguise these programs by using coded or imprecise language. If you are aware of a change in any contract description or personnel position description since November 5, 2024 to obscure the connection between the contract and DEIA or similar ideologies, please report all facts and circumstances to 
DEIAtruth@opm.gov within 10 days. 
There will be no adverse consequences for timely reporting this information. However, 
failure to report this information within 10 days may result in adverse consequences.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Janet Petro"
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