Old photographs of one of Australia’s favourite scientists have reemerged on social media, with hundreds impressed by his handsome appearance.
Beloved boffin Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, 73, is almost unrecognisable in his early twenties and thirties with his dark hair, long beard and bushy eyebrows.
The science commentator was featured in an episode of Julia Zemiro’s Home Delivery on the ABC where his old photos were shared and he had an opportunity to share his incredible life story.
Dr Karl was born in Sweden but grew up in Wollongong, New South Wales, and has worked as a science communicator on both television and radio.
In the ABC episode, Dr Karl took Julia on a personal tour of his hometown and the Port Kembla steelworks which sparked his curiosity as a young boy.
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Dr Karl Kruszelnicki ‘trying to climb Mount Bangeta in Papua New Guinea’ at the age of 21
Dr Karl Kruszelnicki, now 73, in another photo from his youth that shows off his dark hair, long beard and bushy eyebrows
Dr Karl grew up in Wollongong, New South Wales but was born in Sweden and has worked as a science communicator on both television and radio
Dr Karl has had an extraordinary working life as a physicist, labourer, mechanic, filmmaker, biomedical engineer, television weatherman, film maker and medical doctor at The Children’s Hospital in Sydney.
His parents fled to Australia in 1950 to escape the second World War and said the most prominent thing he learnt from them was to ‘try to make the world a better place’.
In the 28-minute television episode Dr Karl took Julia on a personal tour of his hometown of Wollongong and the Port Kembla steelworks which sparked his curiosity as a young boy
Dr Karl has had an extraordinary working life with careers ranging from being a physicist to a labourer, mechanic, filmmaker, biomedical engineer, television weatherman, film maker and medical doctor at The Children’s Hospital in Sydney
In an episode of Julia Zermiro’s Home Delivery on the ABC, Dr Karl elaborated on his inspiring life experiences
While reading Plato’s Republic at age 16 he came across the line ‘the unexplored life is not worth living’, which ‘resonated’ with him
Upon recounting his youth and his curious mind, Dr Karl said when he read Plato’s classic novel Republic at age 16 he came across a life-changing line.
‘The line was, “the unexplored life is not worth living” and, for some reason, that just resonated with me,’ he said.
‘Then I saw the truth of that a few years later when I went to work at the steelworks.’
Dr Karl said he noticed some of the employees at steelworks had been working in the same job for 20 years but were still ‘alive and vibrant’, whereas others lacked curiosity or interest in learning anything new.
He was ‘astonished by the magnificence’ of the work produced and how the employees had a tendency to remain in the same job their whole life – a reflection of the time.
Dr Karl told Julia Zemiro he spent time working at the steelworks as a physicist and scientist testing steel
He decided to leave the job at the steelworks for ‘various reasons’, but mostly for the opportunity to begin a new career (pictured over the years)
Dr Karl then turned to medicine, dipped into biomedical engineering and then began sharing his knowledge with others on radio
At the steelworks factory, Dr Karl worked as a physicist, metallurgist and scientist testing different types of steel samples.
He decided to leave the job for ‘various reasons’, but mostly for the opportunity to begin a new career.
‘Unlike everybody else I knew, suddenly, I was on a pathway where every 1.5 years I was shifting into a new career,’ he said.
From there he had a chance to visit Papua New Guinea to teach physics to students, which he loved. It’s also where he started to grow his luscious beard during his ‘hippie’ phase.
Dr Karl then turned to medicine, dipped into biomedical engineering and then began sharing his knowledge with others on radio.
He now shares his knowledge online by making his own TikTok videos – and has a strong following of more than 271,000 people.