Director's message
The appointment of a new Director inevitably heralds in a new era for an organization such as the ATNF. Over the past 15 years, the ATNF has built up a world-class reputation for scientific and technical excellence. Its success lies in its outstanding staff, the vision of its leadership - in particular that of the ATNF's foundation Director, Ron Ekers - and the strength of the community it serves. The ATNF now needs to build on this position, taking advantage of new opportunities including those presented by the next generation of radio astronomy facilities. In moving forward, the ATNF's primary aim must always be to serve its stakeholder base, providing the support necessary to strengthen the Australian academic community as a whole and to expand its links with university, government and industrial partners, both nationally and internationally.
In the short term, the main priority for the ATNF is the completion of the 3-mm system. The spectacular results obtained with the 12-mm system on SNR 1987A amply demonstrate the potential of the superb imaging capabilities of the Compact Array at millimetre wavelengths. The successful commissioning of the 8-GHz analogue correlator with the 12-mm receivers in October has also demonstrated the power of equipping the Compact Array with a wide-band system, underscoring the strategic importance of the wide-band upgrade of the Compact Array to be completed over the next few years as part of the MNRF-II program. Timely delivery of these systems is essential if the ATNF community is to exploit them fully. The ATNF is currently implementing new project management policies and procedures across its development program to facilitate this key outcome.
The strategic development work in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) made possible by the MNRF-II program will continue to be another key aspect of the ATNF's activities over the coming years. The successful development of the Luneberg lens demonstrator and the comprehensive work done on site characterization has not only given Australia a lead role in the international SKA collaboration, but has also provided opportunities to engage in the Dutch/US LOFAR project. In that regard, the recent news that the Mileura site in Western Australia had been ranked first by the LOFAR site evaluation committee demonstrates the effectiveness of the strong partnership that the ATNF has built with government (WA) and industry (Connell Wagner) that led to the successful site submission.
Another highly successful partnership, between CSIRO and NASA, was recently celebrated by the dedication of the 8-GHz receiver by the US Ambassador at Parkes. This partnership stretches back over four decades and, with the opportunities provided by the next generation of Deep Space Networks, holds great promise for the future. The ATNF is also looking to develop new strategic partnerships in major new international initiatives such as International Virtual Observatory and the EU radionet programs.
It promises to be an exciting next few years for the ATNF. As Director, I look forward to helping ATNF capitalizing on these opportunities - maintaining and enhancing its reputation as a world-leader in the field of radio astronomy and technological innovation.
Brian Boyle
(Brian.Boyle@csiro.au)