Curtin University is in the running to build a key component of the Square Kilometre Array radio-astronomy project after securing Federal Government support.
The government has approved the university’s bid for funding to build prototype antennas and receivers as part of a pre-construction grants scheme.
A total of $19 million of federal money has been allocated to help Australian researchers and industry become part of the global consortia to construct the SKA project.
Curtin will receive $5 million of that funding if its application to build the antennas is approved by the SKA organisation.
It would involve prototyping and developing technology for phase one of the SKA project, to commence in 2017, which requires 250,000 antennas being placed across the Murchison Radio-Astronomy Observatory, 350 kilomtres north-east of Geraldton.
Professor Graeme Wright, Curtin’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Development, said the pre-construction work would strengthen the university’s research capacity in radio-astronomy and took advantage of its current lead role in the Murchison Widefield Array.
Professor Peter Hall, Director of the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy, said researchers would collaborate with others internationally to develop the antennas and technology with the result being a “sea” of antennas.
“But when these Phase 1 antennas are complete, Phase 2 of SKA-low will begin, which is planned to have 2.5 million antennas, so this pre-construction work is the start of something very big,” Professor Hall said.