Following the establishment of a radio-quiet zone in remote Western Australia to host a new generation of radio telescopes, the WA government and UWA jointly established two Premier's Fellowships in radio astronomy. These positions, held by Professors Peter Quinn and Lister Staveley-Smith, serve as the focus for a new group of talented researchers and students.

The principal goal of this new astronomy and astrophysics group is to conduct world-class research using leading radio astronomical instrumentation and supercomputing facilities. The research program will focus on the development and capabilities of the next generation of radio telescopes such as ASKAP, MWA and the SKA. The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is a radio telescope of unprecedented sensitivity, capable of seeing the early stages of the formation of galaxies, stars and planets, and undertaking powerful tests of General Relativity. Currently the Murchison Radio-Astronomy Observatory (MRO), in the Midwest region of Western Australia, is a front-runner for selection as the site for the construction of the SKA starting in 2012.

The group is part of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR), a joint venture between UWA and Curtin University of Technology, whose headquarters is hosted by the School of Physics. The group works alongside researchers from the Gravity Wave and the WASP groups.

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Students

• Nova SKA Education Module
• Astronomy WA
• Courses and Scholarships
• Research Projects

Research

• Astronomy & Astrophysics
• Radio Astronomy
• Physics
• Seminars
• Gravity Waves/Zadko
• Pulsars, GRBs
• SKA
• ASKAP