Dr George Heald
Pronouns: he,him,his
SKA-Low Lead Commissioning Scientist
Contact details:
Biography
I am a radio astronomer working in Perth, Western Australia, with the SKA Observatory. As the Lead Commissioning Scientist for SKA-Low, I am responsible for ensuring that this innovative new radio telescope is capable of delivering on its groundbreaking scientific potential. In my previous role at CSIRO Space & Astronomy as the ATNF Science Program Director, I led the team of astrophysicists and support scientists within the Australia Telescope National Facility (ATNF) who collaborate with engineers and operations staff to deliver innovative science from new radio astronomy technology.
My research activities are focused on low-frequency (below 350 MHz) radio continuum surveys that will be pursued with the forthcoming SKA-Low telescope, following on from currently ongoing efforts with SKA precursors and pathfinders such as the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR). I am also closely involved in survey observations with a new widefield radio interferometer, the Australian SKA Pathfinder (ASKAP). ASKAP is already producing groundbreaking widefield images and catalogs of the radio sky covering an instantaneous field of view of 30 square degrees. ASKAP is designed to be the world's most powerful radio survey machine as has already been demonstrated with first results from the Rapid ASKAP Continuum Survey (RACS).
Scientifically I am a leader in the emerging field of radio spectropolarimetry, a domain that makes use of the wideband frequency coverage provided by modern radio telescopes to probe the magnetoionic medium in extragalactic radio sources and their foreground environments. I co-lead the ASKAP POSSUM survey, and initiated and lead the complementary QUOCKA survey.
Achievements and Awards
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2016-2021
Office of the Chief Executive (OCE) Science Leader
CSIRO
Current Roles
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Principal Investigator
ASKAP POSSUM Survey -
Committee member
CSIRO Space & Astronomy Diversity and Inclusion committee -
Committee member
ASTRO3D Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee -
Chair
SKA Magnetism Science Working Group -
Principal Investigator
QUOCKA Survey -
Council member
LOFAR Magnetism Key Science Project
Academic Qualifications
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2006
PhD Physics
University of New Mexico -
2003
MS Physics
University of New Mexico -
2000
BA Physics
Thiel College
Professional Experiences
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2016-2021
Executive Board
Murchison Widefield Array -
2018-2019
Executive Board (Chair)
Murchison Widefield Array
Community and Corporate Citizenship
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2016-current
Fellow of the Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA)
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2009-current
Member of the International Astronomical Union (IAU)
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2002-current
Member of the American Astronomical Society (AAS)
ORCID 0000-0002-2155-6054