Biography

Prof. Jessica Dempsey is a globally recognised radio astronomer and science leader, currently serving as Director of the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) and appointed as the next Director-General of the SKA Observatory.

With expertise in submillimeter instrumentation, wide-field surveys, and data-intensive science, she is also a member of the Event Horizon Telescope team that captured the first image of a black hole. Prof. Dempsey was the first Australian female scientist to work at the geographic South Pole and has led astronomical missions in some of the world’s most extreme environments.

A passionate advocate for inclusive science, she champions ethics, equity, and leadership transformation in STEM, inspiring future generations of girls and women in science and innovation.

Synopsis

Secret ingredients for building discovery engines and the approaching radio astronomy renaissance

The next decade heralds a renaissance in radio astronomy, with a formidable complement of global telescopes, led by the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, set to become powerful discovery engines, pursuing a whispering, invisible universe that has never before been detectable. How do we build these massive, complex discovery engines? What are we going to unveil in this new discovery space? How do we grapple with the formidable deluge of data they will produce? What do radio telescopes have in common with k-pop music groups and what can whiskey distilling tell us about creating radio images of the universe? Come find out why unconventional thinking and these strange ingredients are the secret to building instruments that discover wonders.