Title: The SKA: Revealing the Invisible Universe
Speaker: Prof. Naomi McClure-Griffiths (Chief Scientist, SKA Observatory)

Time: 15:00–16:00, Thursday, 8 October 2026

Location: Lecture Hall, 3rd Floor 

Abstract:
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) is well on its way to becoming the world’s next great radio observatory. With goals extending from discovering when the first stars formed in the Universe to testing Einstein’s theory of gravity, the SKA will undoubtedly change our view of the Universe and the objects within it. The SKA science case has recently had a major update with a new science book, Advancing Astrophysics with the SKA II. Over 220 chapter authors from around the world have described the full range of science that they expect to do with the SKA. Progress in the construction of the SKA telescopes in Australia and South Africa is also proceeding rapidly. In 2025 we witnessed exciting first milestones, including the first fringes from SKA-Mid and the first images from SKA-Low. SKA-Low is now producing data with 16 stations and by the end of the year SKA-Mid will have fully commissioned 7 antennas. In this talk I will give an overview of some of the exciting science cases that we can expect with the SKA. I will describe the SKA-Mid and SKA-Low telescope capabilities and our plans for science-ready data products that will make SKA data easy for all astronomers to access. SKA construction and commissioning progress and plans for early operations will also be discussed.

CV:
Professor Naomi McClure-Griffiths is a distinguished radio astronomer and the first Chief Scientist of the SKA Observatory. Known for her discovery of a new spiral arm of the Milky Way, she leads major sky surveys using the ASKAP radio telescope. She earned her PhD from the University of Minnesota in 2001 and previously chaired SKAO’s Science and Engineering Advisory Committee. At SKAO, she works with the global astronomy community to shape the scientific programme and maximise the discovery potential of the SKA telescopes