Premier Colin Barnett today officially opened the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) in a ceremony at The University of Western Australia (UWA).
ICRAR will research astronomical science and technologies that will contribute to Australia and New Zealand's international bid to host the Square Kilometre Array, known as anzSKA, at the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in WA's Mid-West.
Mr Barnett said the SKA was the world's biggest radio astronomy project and ICRAR would play a significant role in its realisation.
"ICRAR's commitment to building industry partnerships and research collaborations, both nationally and internationally, will create opportunities that will flow directly into Western Australia," he said.
"In the next five years, ICRAR will attract more than 30 new scientists and engineers to Perth, building on the State's existing expertise in radio astronomy while also creating opportunities for local industry to participate in the wider SKA project. The commodities of the 21st century will be food, energy and ideas. Developing the scientific community and industry in WA with projects like this will help build a smarter Western Australia."
"The State Government has invested $20million to help establish this truly collaborative centre that will create significant benefits for WA.
"ICRAR is seen as one of the four critical elements, along with Australia's recent partnership with New Zealand, the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory and the Pawsey High Peformance Computing Centre for SKA Research, that underpin anzSKA's overall strategy to win the SKA site decision.
"The State can be proud of having the capacity and capability to create a centre of this calibre in Western Australia."
ICRAR, a joint venture between UWA and Curtin University of Technology, will be headquartered at UWA as well as have research nodes at both universities.
The Premier said the centre was another example of the exceptional science and innovation talent that exists in Western Australia.
"The quality of our education and outreach programs will be a critical factor in the final site decision between anzSKA and Southern Africa and the centre will work tirelessly to promote the global SKA project to the wider community," Mr Barnett said.
"I would like to acknowledge the work of the ICRAR Interim Board, its Chair, Dr Bernard Bowen, and the Director and Deputy Directors. I have no doubt that their guidance will create opportunities for the centre and in turn for the State, to participate in leading-edge astronomical and computational science."
ICRAR's Director and Deputy Directors are:
Professor Peter Quinn from UWA, ICRAR Director and Premier's Research Fellow;
Professor Lister Stavely-Smith from UWA, ICRAR Deputy Director and Premier's Research Fellow in Radio Astronomy
Professor Steven Tingay from Curtin University of Technology, ICRAR Deputy Director and Premier's Research Fellow in Radio Astronomy;
Professor Peter Hall from Curtin University of Technology, ICRAR Deputy Director.
The two international sites are in the running to host the SKA, a global initiative to design and build a radio telescope that will be up to 50 times more sensitive than current technologies and will help to answer fundamental questions about the universe. A decision on the location of the SKA project is expected in mid-2012.
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