SKA Membership Approval for French Researchers

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Organisation has welcomed a consortium of French research institutions and industry as its 12th member following approval by SKA Board of Directors. The CNRS is the leading organisation for the participation of French institutions in the SKA through the Maison SKA-France consortium, a national coordination that presently includes five research organisations (CNRS, Paris Observatory, Côte d'Azur Observatory, Orléans University and Bordeaux University) as well as seven private companies (Air Liquide, ATOS-Bull, Callisto, CNIM, FEDD, Kalray, TAS).

The SKA project is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, led by SKA Organisation based at the Jodrell Bank Observatory near Manchester. The SKA will conduct transformational science to improve our understanding of the Universe and the laws of fundamental physics, monitoring the sky in unprecedented detail and mapping it hundreds of times faster than any current facility.

STFC represents the UK as part of the SKA consortium and STFC Executive Chair Professor Mark Thomson said: “It is fantastic news that France has become the 12th member country of the SKA organisation - the UK strongly supported this initiative. STFC has had a long history of collaboration with colleagues in France, across a range of disciplines and we are delighted to have the opportunity for continued collaboration on this ground-breaking astronomy project."

Dr. Michel Pérault, who has been the observer from CNRS on the SKA Board of Directors, stated: “We’ve worked hard to get to this point over the last few years making this news extremely satisfying. We look forward to increasing our involvement and submitting a convincing funding case to the French government that would secure industrial participation from French companies in the construction and operation of the SKA and access to the telescope for our scientists.”