Dr Karl Kruszelnicki AM is one of Australia’s most recognised and enduring science communicators. For more than four decades, he has brought science, curiosity and good humour to audiences across radio, television, books, live events, podcasts and digital media.
When NASA classified Karl as non-astronaut material in 1981 he walked straight into ABC Radio station Triple J and offered to talk about the Space shuttle launch. They said ‘Okay’ and his radio career took off from there. Great Moments In Science ran on Triple J while Karl moonlighted as a medical student.
He made his television debut as presenter of the first series of Quantum in 1985, and has since reported science for programs including The Midday Show, Good Morning Australia, Today and Sunrise. With Adam Spencer, he also wrote and co-produced two ABC TV series of Sleek Geeks. The ABC series Dr Karl’s How Things Work debuted in 2025, followed by series 2 in 2026. The series is set inside factories across Australia explaining the intricate workings of our most productive manufacturing plants.
A prolific author, Karl has written 48 books for adults and younger readers. His latest book, the memoir A Periodic Tale: My Sciencey Memoir, was published in 2024 and shortlisted for the 2025 Australian Book Industry Awards Biography of the Year. His recent work includes Dr Karl’s Little Book of Climate Change Science, Dr Karl’s Random Road Trip Through Science and Dr Karl’s Surfing Safari Through Science.
From 1995 to 2026, Karl was the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney, inspiring generations of students to pursue science and fostering a lifelong curiosity about the world around them.
Karl holds degrees in physics and mathematics, biomedical engineering, medicine and surgery. His honours include appointment as a Member of the Order of Australia in 2006; UNESCO’s Kalinga Prize for the Popularisation of Science in 2019; NSW Senior Australian of the Year in 2025; and honorary doctorates from the University of the Sunshine Coast and the University of Newcastle. In 2025, he was selected for the Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center Residency Program to develop strategies using AI to counter climate-change disinformation.
His enduring mission is simple: to share the excitement, wonder and everyday relevance of science.
Did you know?
- Karl received an Ig Nobel Prize in 2002 for research into why belly-button lint is so often blue.
- Asteroid 18412—discovered at Siding Spring Observatory in 1993—was named Dr Karl in his honour.
- His 2006 book It Ain’t Necessarily So… Bro was launched, quite literally, by rocket from Bondi Beach.
- In 1996, Karl visited NORAD, Dryden Air Force Base and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory as a Distinguished Foreign Guest of the United States Information Agency, and sat in the front seat of an SR-71 Blackbird.
- Karl was one of the first eight Australian Apple Masters, announced in 2000.
- In 2003, he was named Australian Father of the Year.
- In 2012, he was named a National Living Treasure by the National Trust of Australia (NSW).
- Karl has also worked as a physicist, tutor, filmmaker, car mechanic, labourer and medical doctor at Sydney Children’s Hospital
