Tescari E1, Mutch S1, Poole G2, Hurley J2
1The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia, 2Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia
Biography:
Dr Edoardo Tescari, The University of Melbourne, Senior Research Data Specialist, Melbourne Data Analytics Platform
Edoardo is a Senior Research Data Specialist in the Melbourne Data Analytics Platform (MDAP) team at The University of Melbourne. Edoardo has extensive experience in the use of multi-core computer clusters, parallel computational techniques and management of large data sets. In his current role within MDAP, Edoardo has been collaborating with academics from different disciplines, and contributed to research on climate, biosecurity and dietary modelling, as well as bioinformatics and genomics. Edoardo has been advocating for the recognition and development of a digitally skilled eResearch workforce both within and beyond The University of Melbourne.
Dr Simon Mutch, The University of Melbourne, Senior Research Data Specialist, Melbourne Data Analytics Platform
Simon is a Senior Research Data Specialist within the Melbourne Data Analytics Platform (MDAP), with expertise in high-performance computing, scientific modelling, working with large data sets, and visualisation. Through this role he’s gained experience working on a diverse range of research topics from across multiple disciplines, including ecology, climate modelling, phylodynamics, medical image denoising, and hyperspectral imaging of Australian Indigenous rock art. Before his MDAP role, Simon was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Astrophysics where his research focussed on supercomputer simulations of the formation and evolution of the first galaxies in the universe.
Dr Gregory Poole
Gregory Poole is a Lead Software Engineer at Swinburne University of Technology, where he runs the Astronomy Data and Computing Services (ADACS) Merit Allocation Program, a national initiative delivering research software engineering, technical expertise and training to Australia's astronomy community. He manages a multidisciplinary team developing scientific software and digital research infrastructure for data-intensive astronomy. Gregory is a strong advocate for Lean and Agile delivery, user-centred design, and modern software engineering practices that maximise scientific impact.
Prior to this role, Gregory spent more than a decade as a computational astrophysicist at Swinburne University and the University of Melbourne, using large-scale simulations to study galaxy formation and the evolution of the Universe.
Gregory received his PhD in Astronomy from the University of Victoria, Canada.
Prof Jarrod Hurley, Swinburne University of Technology, Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing
Jarrod has led the supercomputing program at Swinburne for 20 years and is the manager of the OzSTAR national supercomputer based at Swinburne. Jarrod obtained his PhD in astrophysics at the University of Cambridge. At Swinburne he is a member of the Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing and a Chief Investigator in the OzGrav Centre of Excellence for Gravitational Wave Discovery. Jarrod has a strong research background in computational astrophysics, specialising in realistic N-body simulations of star cluster evolution. He leads the Gravitational Wave Data Centre (GWDC) and the Swinburne node of the Astronomy Data and Computing Services (ADACS), both national initiatives funded by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) to help astronomers meet their data and computing challenges.
Abstract:
The Melbourne Data Analytics Platform (MDAP) is a team of academic specialists enabling data-intensive, data-informed and collaborative research across the University of Melbourne. Astronomy Data and Computing Services (ADACS) is a national capability with nodes at Swinburne, Macquarie and Curtin University, providing astronomy-focused training, software development and expertise to maximise the scientific return from Australia's investments in astronomical data and computing infrastructure.
MDAP and ADACS initiated an informal personnel exchange program in June 2026 with the goal of promoting knowledge sharing, strengthening professional networks and encouraging the cross-pollination of best practices across the two teams. The program was conceived as a low-cost, high-impact initiative that could serve as a replicable model for other eResearch support units seeking to build stronger inter-institutional relationships without significant administrative overhead.
Members of each team, spanning a range of seniority levels, had the opportunity to visit and shadow colleagues, as well as participate as observers in the day-to-day activities of the other team. These visits provided valuable exposure to different working cultures, tools, methodologies and approaches to research support.
In this talk, we will report on the first four months of the program, focusing on the lessons learnt, successes and challenges encountered along the way. We will also reflect on the broader potential of such exchanges to foster a more connected and resilient eResearch community across Australian institutions.
