Nicholas Fourikis

Nicholas Fourikis, MSc PhD

Nicholas was the recipient of a classical Greek education in Cairo, and spent school holidays either in Alexandria, the birthplace of Hypatia or in Greece.

After the family migrated to Australia he pursued undergraduate studies at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, and postgraduate studies at Macquarie and New South Wales universities.

During a distinguished career in Radio Astronomy he spent a year at the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, discovered five interstellar molecules in collaboration with Australian, American and Japanese spectroscopists and authored two university textbooks on Radio Astronomy and advanced Radars. A complete list of his research papers, theses, and books is in his website: www.nicholasfourikis.com

The life and times of Hypatia, a fellow astronomer and scientist, fascinated Nicholas over a long time. More importantly Hypatia of Alexandria was the conduit of the ancient Greek wisdom to the modern world, the quintessential philosopher-hero who championed Humanism and demonstrated that women could make significant contributions in Astronomy, Philosophy and Mathematics.

Hypatia's feud with religious zealots at the dawn of the 5th century CE is our feud too because her foes under different names are ever present.

In his other literary novel, “Hollywood Amarroo - Two lovers shine in Australia’s Deep North,” he chronicled the lives of two young lovers who ignored the prejudices of the sixties to defend an Aboriginal mother accused of manslaughter.

Amarroo a prosperous town in the heart of Queensland borders a reserve the locals euphemistically call Hollywood where two hundred Aborigines live in lamentable poverty. While the story Nicholas chronicled took place during the sixties the Aborigines still live in lamentable poverty to this day.