Prof. Philip Diamond reappointed to head up SKAO

BY ANIM VAN WYK (SKAO)

As construction of the SKA telescopes picks up steam, a firm and experienced hand will continue steering the work.

The SKA Observatory Council has reappointed Prof. Philip Diamond as leader of the organisation. His new contract will run until 1 July 2025.

“I am honoured that the SKAO Council have granted me another term in office,” says Prof. Diamond. “I believe it reflects their comfort with the status and direction of the Observatory which is, of course, a direct result of the staff of SKAO and our partners, who are all working hard to make it a success.”

Under Prof. Diamond’s leadership, international engineering consortia developed and delivered the SKA telescopes’ design, several new countries joined up, and the project’s Global Headquarters was formally selected. The SKAO furthermore transitioned into an intergovernmental organisation and the Council last year approved construction of the SKA telescopes, with SKAO teams rapidly growing in Australia and South Africa.

Prof. Diamond, who holds a PhD in radio astronomy from The University of Manchester, has been a staunch supporter of the SKA project since it was first broached in the early 1990s. He joined the then SKA Organisation in October 2012. Before that, Prof. Diamond worked at radio astronomy facilities in Sweden, Germany, the United States, and Australia – notching up over 300 journal articles.

“My goal for the next few years is to ensure that construction proceeds as planned and that we see first light – or first fringes as we radio astronomers call it – from SKA dishes and antennas as rapidly as possible,” he says.