Presidential Primaries
President Kelly welcomed Rotary Past District Governor Ineke Oliver to present the club with a 2023-2024 Presidential citation certificate for exceeding their goals. A great team effort from the executive and members.
Guest Speaker Dr Sarah Pearce Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO)
July 2021 as Director of the SKA-Low Telescope. There she leads a growing team in Australia preparing for deployment, commissioning, and operations of the world's largest low frequency telescope, to be built at CSIRO’s Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory in Western Australia, on Wajarri Yamaji country.
Before joining SKAO, Dr Pearce was with CSIRO for 10 years as the Deputy Director of CSIRO Space & Astronomy and was Acting CSIRO Chief Scientist from January 2021 until her move to SKAO. Dr Pearce led CSIRO’s engagement in the SKA and was Australia’s science representative on the negotiating team for the SKA Treaty. She also established CSIRO’s Space research program, as well as the cross-organisational Centre for Earth Observation.
Her previous roles included senior science advisor in the UK Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology, and project manager of the UK’s computing for particle physics program. She has a PhD from the University of Leicester and an undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Oxford.
In 2020, Dr Pearce was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. She was also named NSW Business Woman of the Year, and Executive of the Year at the 2020 Australian Space Awards. Dr Pearce is a strong advocate for diversity in science and engineering and was selected as one of Science and Technology Australia’s Superstars of STEM.
The SKAO will be Australia’s largest science project and the first time Australia has hosted one of these mega-projects on behalf of the international community. Sarah acknowledged the Wajarri Yamaji as traditional owners and title holders of Inyarrimanha Ilgari Bundara, the Murchison area where the SKA-Low will be built.
Familiar telescopes such as the Hubble and James Webb work in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Radio telescopes (such as SKA) look at the long wavelength part, similar to what TV antennas and mobile phones work on. Radio waves can look far back in the universe. They act like a time machine, to look back at early stars and galaxies.
The International SKA project is one of only two treaty organisations in world Astronomy. Eleven nations are SKAO partners (no USA). The SKA-Mid will be located in South Africa and the SKA-Low in Australia.
The SKA-Mid in South Africa will be a dish telescope, with many little telescopes (like the Parkes Telescope in NSW) joined together. There will be 197 fully steerable dishes a cross a maximum distance of 150 kilometres, that will act as one big telescope.
The SKA-Low in Australia will differ, with 131,00 two meter tall “Xmas trees”, being many log-periodic antennas. They will be looking for very faint signals that will give detail of the sky.
These areas were chosen for their “radio quiet” locations, avoiding much of the light in the radio spectrum, such that we give out with our microwaves, phones, TVs, fridges etc.
One particular thing SKA-Low is looking for is the “Cosmic Dawn”, back through the 14 billion years of the universe.
- How did stars and galaxies evolve?
- What are galaxies made of?
- What are dark matter and dark energy?
The SKA project in numbers:
There is too much data to be stored and processed, so there will be two super computers in SKA regional centres in Perth and Capetown (South Africa). The Pawsey Centre is located right here in Kensington.
A PDF version of Sarah’s presentation can be viewed at:
millpointrotaryclub.org.au>members only (password)> this link>Guest Speaker Presentations>PEARCE Sarah – SKA Telescope
Directors Reports and Announcements
Veronica:
- Reminder Guess Who's Coming to Dinner on 7 September. Last chance to sign up as host or guest. Urgent call for extra host please as one host has had to cancel due to imminent travel.
- Annual report 2023-2024 show of hands who wants a hard copy to be distributed at the AGM/Club Forum on 4 October.
- Member satisfaction survey to be sent out over the next week. RSVPs by 6 September would be appreciated so we can collate responses and report back to club.
Debbie:
- Offered a wonderfully labelled and collated collection of stamps from her father's estate, and now needs a good home. Free to any serious, budding philatelist.
Scott:
- Invitation to Peter Steven's 'Living Wake' at the RPGC next Thursday, 3pm. Partners are also invited for a celebration of life - oh and Peter would like you to wear a funny hat or attire - clowns are good!
Rick:
- Thank you to everyone who contributes frozen meals for PICYS, in particular Sana and Dianna for their constant offerings and everyone else who takes the time to provide meals.
Another Fine(s) mess by Wayne the Elder...
Still smarting from the rebellion last week, fines were doled out to the following:
- Geoff Longshaw for having the audacity to say "No" to being this week's fines-master.
- President Kelly for leading the rebellion last week.
- Wayne the Elder (nominated by Treasure Lyn M) for asking Joy to be finesmaster then reneging on the deal...
- Everyone who was in attendance last week and 'boo-ed' Wayne off when he got too deep into primary numbers (zzzzzzzz)
Winner of Heads and Tails
Two double headers, and two heads and tails saw the weekly wine won by Daivd (Daisy) Rowell - and just look how pleased he was!
Thanks to Lyn and Margaret Metcalf for supplying the grog!
Attendance
34 attendees in all, including guest speaker Sarah Pearce, visiting Rotary Past District Governor Ineke Oliver, Rotarian Bill Boekman from Wongan Hills and visitors Sana Dimovich and Kirsten Gottschalk (Gorby's wife and namesake in that order)
