The State Government is to contribute $500,000 to the cost of a new professorial position in radio astronomy at Curtin University of Technology.
Science and Innovation Minister Francis Logan announced the funding today, saying the appointment of a professor of radio astronomy at Curtin would help increase Western Australia's international competitiveness in the field.
"There are some major international projects on the horizon, including the $2billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) proposal," Mr Logan said.
"SKA involves 17 countries building the world's biggest radio telescope and WA has a good - and genuine - case for hosting the project.
"Initiatives like the Curtin professorial position will help attract high calibre researchers to WA and therefore enhance our position to secure the SKA project.
"Curtin is a world-class, internationally renowned university which promotes research and development, therefore making it an ideal institution for radio astronomy initiatives."
The Minister said the State Government had recently announced a number of initiatives designed to enhance the State's reputation in the field of radio astronomy.
These included:
- a $7million commitment to establish a radio astronomy park at Mileura Station, north-east of Geraldton;
- the awarding of two $1million fellowships in radio astronomy; and
- the creation of an Astronomy WA website, designed and run by Scitech.
"All these initiatives help to build WA's capabilities and reputation in radio astronomy and sends a clear message to the world that we are serious about our commitment to this field," Mr Logan said.
The $500,000 will be paid to Curtin over four years and will support a $1million commitment by the university to develop the professorial position.
The Vice-Chancellor of Curtin, Professor Jeanette Hacket, welcomed Mr Logan's announcement and said the university had been a strong supporter of radio astronomy initiatives in WA for a number of years, including SKA, low-frequency radio astronomy and developments on Mileura Station.
