Australia’s most iconic science communicator, Dr Karl Kruszelnicki AM, is joining the 2026 Orana Youth Forum as our headline speaker - bringing his trademark curiosity, humour and mind‑bending stories to the Orana region.

For more than three decades, Dr Karl has inspired millions through radio, television, books, podcasts and online platforms. A lifelong learner with degrees in physics and mathematics, biomedical engineering, medicine and surgery, he has worked as everything from a physicist and filmmaker to a car mechanic, TV weatherman and medical doctor at the Children’s Hospital in Sydney.

His media career famously began in 1981 when, after being rejected by NASA as “non‑astronaut material”, he walked into Triple J and offered to talk about the Space Shuttle launch. Triple J said yes - and his weekly science talkback has since become a national institution.

Dr Karl is the author of 48 books, the host of countless TV programs including Quantum, Sleek Geeks and ABC’s How Things Work, and one of the most recognisable voices in Australian science. His impact has been celebrated globally: he is the 2025 NSW Senior Australian of the Year, a UNESCO Kalinga Prize recipient, an Ig Nobel Prize winner, and has even won a TikTok Award. 

Since 1995, Dr Karl has served as the Julius Sumner Miller Fellow at the University of Sydney, dedicated to spreading the “good word of science” with unmatched enthusiasm.

At the 2026 Orana Youth Forum, Dr Karl will take students on a journey through the future of science, technology and innovation — exploring the big ideas, emerging opportunities and world‑changing discoveries that will shape the careers of tomorrow.

A rare chance to hear from one of Australia’s most inspiring minds, right here in the Orana region.