Two minutes with... Dr Cathy Foley

In March, Australia’s Chief Scientist Dr Cathy Foley visited the SKA-Low Engineering Operations Centre in Geraldton, Western Australia.

Tell us about your recent visit to Geraldton.

I was in Geraldton as part of my consultations around Australia on the refresh of the national science and research priorities. This is something I am leading on behalf of the government. Over six weeks of roundtables, I spoke with a wide range of people about the big challenges that science and research can help address, and to outline Australia’s strengths and opportunities.

I was fortunate to be shown some of the engineering operations that make the SKA project so fascinating and promising for Australia’s future. To see such a clever, high-tech operation in one of the more remote parts of Australia is stunning. They’ve got state-of-the-art IT, they’ve marshalled the engineering so quickly, and it’s already showing itself to be an attractor for researchers around the world.

What role do research infrastructures such as the SKA Observatory play for Australia?

The SKA Observatory is a standout example of the future of science. It will lead the way in helping us understand how to process, store, and make the best use of enormous volumes of data. The scale of data that will be generated by the telescopes is mind-blowing.

The SKA project in Australia demonstrates that state-of-the-art science can be done in remote parts of the country, which will be important for the whole of Australia in the shift to high-tech manufacturing, new forms of mining, and the clean energy transition. It showcases what can be achieved with international collaborations, and the centrality of shared infrastructure to the future of science. It really demonstrates how ambitious we can be in our science and discovery aspirations.

How do you see big science and research infrastructure projects, particularly those with significant Australian involvement, influencing people pursuing a career in STEM?

It takes enormous resources to see a project such as the SKA through. Australia has a long-standing dedication to fundamental research and discovery, and had several decades of radio astronomy expertise under our belt before the SKA project was underway. Australia does excellent science – it’s world-class. Big projects like the SKA show our future STEM workforce that Australia prioritises science and backs its researchers and STEM industries in the long term.