New Science and Deputy Director for Space & Astronomy

A new Science and Deputy Director for CSIRO’s Space & Astronomy business unit, Dr Mark Cheung, started today, Monday 29 August 2022.

An astrophysicist by training and practice, Mark’s research has been focused on the Sun both as an astronomical object and as the source of space weather. Mark is currently working on several NASA programs, including as Principal Investigator for the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly onboard the Solar Dynamics Observatory mission. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Adelaide before heading to Germany and then the US. As a student, Mark completed two summer internships with CSIRO.

Mark will be the business unit’s representative on CSIRO’s Science Council and will help grow CSIRO’s portfolio of activities in the space domain by working closely with internal, domestic, and international partners.

Professor Elaine Sadler recently completed her secondment from The University of Sydney as ATNF Chief Scientist and will now spend more time on research as the co-PI of an ASKAP survey science team, FLASH, and a Chief Investigator in the ARC Centre of Excellence ASTRO 3D. Elaine will continue to be a key part of our CSIRO team, providing strategic advice and mentoring one day per week. We won’t be filling the role of ATNF Chief Scientist.

Dr Douglas Bock, Director of the ATNF, said “I’d like to give Mark a warm welcome on his return to CSIRO, and thank Elaine for her valuable contribution to the ATNF over the past four years.”

Added by Rachel Rayner on 2022-08-29