ICRAR News
ICRAR welcomes new staff
ICRAR has gained new staff members since the last edition of our eNewsletter. We wish them all a warm welcome to ICRAR.
- Tom Booler, MWA Project Manager
- Brian Crosse, MWA Commissioning Engineer
- Prof Simon Driver, Winthrop Research Professor
- Dr John Flexman, Research Officer
- Leanne Goodsell, Admin Assistant
- Tanya Jones, Admin Coordinator
- Dr Budi Juswardy, Research Engineer
- Dr Steve Ord, Project Manager Transient Science
- Dave Pallot, Data Archive Specialist
- Dr Chris Power, Research Associate Professor
- Dr Robert Soria, Research Fellow (Multiwavelength)
Scientists and industry seek the first stars and galaxies.
ICRAR has taken delivery from Poseidon Scientific Instruments in Fremantle of a production-ready receiver for the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA).
This Saturday the 12th of March will see all things astronomy descend on Curtin Stadium in Perth for Astrofest. Starting at 5pm, participants will have the opportunity to meet with local astronomers and scientists as well as experience an Astrophotography exhibition featuring the work of WA astrophotographers and artists. Pre-register to come to Astrofest online and you could win a SkyScout or a telescope!
The nature of the Interstellar Medium has long been a focus for astronomers and scientists. Recent innovation in techniques to image the material occupying the space between stars might be the key to understanding the mechanisms that drive stellar formation and the evolution of galaxies.
Thirteen billion years ago our universe was dark. There weren't stars or galaxies; only hydrogen gas left over after the Big Bang. Eventually the first stars ignited and their radiation transformed the nearby gas atoms into ions. This phase of the universe’s history is called the Epoch of Reionization (EoR), and it has never before been observed.
February saw Australian and international astronomers and students flocking to ICRAR and Perth for a host of conferences and schools. ICRAR hosted the fourth HI Pathfinder workshop, the biannual Astroinformatics School and the fifth ANITA workshop.
Dr Minh Huynh is the Deputy International SKA Project Scientist, acting as the interface between scientists and engineers for the SKA project. Read about what she believes will be the significant outcomes from the SKA and why she enjoys being an astronomer with ICRAR.
National SKA News
A recent episode of ABC TV's Catalyst featured ASKAP and the SKA. ICRAR Director Professor Peter Quinn was interviewed about the capabilities of the SKA and the leap forward it will provide.
During recent talks in New Zealand, Prime Ministers Julia Gillard and John Key praised the Australia-New Zealand joint bid to host the SKA and reaffirmed the strong ties between both countires.
An effective radio spectrum management regime affirms strong support for the Australian and New Zealand SKA bid. Commonwealth and Western Australian Government officials met on the 2nd of December to discuss spectrum management in the Mid West Radio-Quiet Zone
anzSKA newsletter
The March edition of the anzSKA newsletter will soon be available from the anzSKA website.
News from the SKA Program Development Office (SPDO) including:
- New Appointments
- SKA Management Update
- SKA Outreach Update
- Japan: SKA-Japan Workshop
- China: The annual summar meeting of JLRAT
ICRAR Education Update
ICRAR ICT expert Kevin Vinsen has been travelling all around Australia for the Australian Computer Society's 'Education Across the Nation' program. Kevin has been talking to ICT professionals about the SKA and the Information and Communication Technology challenges it faces in his talk 'Space - there's a lot of data out there!'
As part of recent Australia Day celebrations, ICRAR Outreach and Education Manager Pete Wheeler was awarded an Australia Day Team Achievement Medallion for his contribution to the Australia/New Zealand bid to host the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope project.
The Jodcast Celebrates 100 episodes
In her past life ICRAR astronomer and outreacher Dr Megan Argo worked at Jodrell Bank Observatory in the UK, where she became involved in The Jodcast - an astronomy based podcast. Regular listeners will recognise Megan's voice rounding up the astronomy news for every edition. As The Jodcast celebrated their 100th episode, they interviewed Dr Argo about her day job in astronomy. Read about or listen to the 100th episode.
Discover SKA
We want to get the SKA message out to as many people in Australia as possible – and we need your help. Discover SKA is a national outreach program across Australia and New Zealand to raise awareness of the SKA and our bid to host it.
You can be part of this national initiative simply by hosting a Discover SKA event or activity in April-June 2011. Your event will be supported by a suite of promotional and audiovisual materials, and there is the opportunity for your event to be highlighted in national media coverage.
If you have an astronomy related event planned for the April-June period that could help spread the SKA message, send an email to Annie Harris, the Discover SKA Coordinator at AHarris@questacon.edu.au. More details about events in all areas will be coming soon!
For more astronomy news visit the Astronomy WA website


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