School Director update

Published in the RSAA Lunations
Vol1 Issue56 1–31 October 2024

Last month I travelled to Siding Spring Observatory for the 50th Anniversary Symposium of the AAT, and the Annual SSO Open Day. It was amazing to be reminded of the very significant role that the AAT has played and continues to play in so much of modern optical astronomy.

The SSO open day over the long weekend was again a great success, with large and enthusiastic crowds enjoying access to the observatory. Both the Symposium and the Open Day were fantastic occasions. Congratulations and thanks to Zoe Holcombe and all the team at SSO for two flawlessly run events, as well to the large team of volunteers.

The next month will see the final two events of the MSO 100th anniversary celebrations. On 25th November Brian Schmidt will present the final public lecture event, 'In conversation with Annabel Crabb discussing 100 years of Discovery'. The event will be held at Llewelyn Hall. Details will soon be available on the RSAA events page.

As you will be aware, next month we also have our external review of RSAA, from the 11th-13th November. The review will include:

• An evaluation of the School’s performance with regard to learning and teaching, research, and community engagement;
• an assessment of the extent to which the School’s activities support the objectives of the University’s Strategic Plan;
• an assessment of the effectiveness of allocated resource utilisation within the School;
• advice on future directions for the School, in both research and education; and
• an assessment of areas for potential improvement.

The review’s Terms of Reference.

The review panel comprises:

• Professor Bryan Gaensler, University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC), Dean, Division of Physical and Biological Sciences
• Professor Tamara Davis, University of Queensland, School of Mathematics and Physics
• Professor Jessica Dempsey, Institute ASTRON, Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy

In addition to the executive teams, the review panel will meet with staff and student groups from all parts of the School as part of the formal schedule. There will also opportunities for informal discussion with the panel. The review schedule is being finalised and will be circulated along with the review documentation that we have prepared in early November.

Please read on to learn about activities in what has been another busy month right across RSAA.

Image:  AAT and 4 (+ a daughter) Directors at the 50th Symposium. Credit: Stuart Wyithe