2 minute read
SKAO meets SXSW
from Contact 14
BY LIZ WILLIAMS (SKAO)
In October, the SKAO hosted a panel at South by Southwest (SXSW) Sydney, a week of innovation, creativity, tech and collaboration with more than 400 sessions and 700 speakers from around the world.
It was the first time that the international creative industries festival SXSW had been held outside of its home city of Austin, Texas.
The SKAO hosted a Q&A-style panel as part of the 2050 track, focusing on long-range, big-picture thinking and projects. Called Better, Faster, Further: Cosmic Origins and the SKAO, it featured people from across the partnership in Australia: SKA-Low Telescope Director Dr Sarah Pearce, Wajarri Yamaji man Dwayne Mallard and Australian SKA Regional Centre Director Dr Karen Lee-Waddell.
Moderated by science communicator and Swinburne astrophysicist Prof. Alan Duffy, the one-hour panel covered a range of topics. They discussed how mega-science facilities can have a societal impact beyond astronomy for the global community; the unique partnership with the Wajarri Yamaji the SKAO and its partners have established in Australia and the lessons other countries can learn from this model; the leap in big data technologies that the project will necessitate; and how projects such as the SKA can inspire future generations into STEM careers.
The audience asked interesting and sometimes challenging questions, including how the community can engage with software development, how the SKAO will meet its commitments to sustainability and the global community, and what the unforeseen consequences of the project could be.
Dr Pearce said it was great to engage with a different audience at the event. “It was really interesting to have the opportunity to speak with people from tech, from the media, arts, filmmakers, all of whom were at the session, who have a really different perspective on what we are doing.”
