Public Lecture by Prof Roger Deane: A Giant African Eye and Ear on the Universe

You are cordially invited to a Public Lecture by Prof Roger Deane.

Topic: A Giant African Eye and Ear on the Universe.

Abstract: 

South Africa’s MeerKAT radio telescope, deep in the Karoo, has become one of the world’s most powerful tools for exploring the Universe and is a key precursor to the billion-dollar Square Kilometre Array Observatory. Built through a bold combination of scientific vision, engineering innovation, and major investment in young African talent, MeerKAT is already transforming astronomy. In this talk, I will share some of its most striking discoveries—from new views of the centre of our Milky Way; the detection of gravitational waves using spinning neutron stars; to making some of the deepest radio images of the early universe. I will also look ahead to the breakthroughs that the SKA, advanced data processing, and new AI-driven techniques are poised to unlock, and how telescopes on African soil are reshaping our picture of the cosmos.

Prof Deane  Bio:

Prof Roger Deane is an astrophysicist who works on the evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes, using the world’s most powerful radio telescopes and advanced data-analysis techniques. He is Director-designate of the Inter-university Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy and holds an Extraordinary Professorship at the University of Pretoria. Roger is a member of several major international collaborations linked to the Square Kilometre Array Observatory, and was part of the global Event Horizon Telescope team that captured the first image of a black hole in 2019. He is also deeply committed to public science engagement, having led the R70-million digital upgrade of the Johannesburg Planetarium, and is the 2023 recipient of the NSTF-South32 Communication Award.