Announcement of Successful Proposals for the Global Research Council Sustainable Devlopment Goals Pilot Call
ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS FOR SARChI FIRST-TIME DOCTORAL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FUNDING IN 2025 ACADEMIC YEAR Read More >
ANNOUNCEMENT OF SUCCESSFUL APPLICATIONS FOR SARChI FIRST-TIME MASTERS SCHOLARSHIPS FOR FUNDING IN 2025 ACADEMIC YEAR Read More >
wpadmin NRF in the News February 3, 2025 Dr Rosalind Skelton has been appointed the new Managing Director of the South African Astronomical Observatory (NRF-SAAO). She has held the position of Acting Managing Director of the facility since 2024, following the resignation of its previous MD, Professor Petri Vaisanen, who left to take up a position as the director of the Finnish Centre for Astronomy with ESO at Turku University. Dr Skelton completed her Honours degree in Theoretical Physics at the University of Cape Town where she also completed her Master’s degree through the National Astrophysics and Space Science Programme (NASSP). She then moved to the University of Heidelberg and the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany where she completed her PhD in Galaxy Formation and Evolution. After a stint as a postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University in the USA, she returned to South Africa in 2013 to take up a postdoctoral Fellowship at NRF-SAAO under the NRF’s Professional Development Programme. She joined the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) Astronomy Operations team at NRF-SAAO in 2016 and was appointed as facility’s Head of Research in 2023. Dr Skelton has been closely associated with NASSP for many years, as a supervisor, lecturer, as NRF-SAAO’s NASSP representative, and as the Chair of the NASSP Partnership from 2021 – 2024. She is an Honorary Research Associate of the University of Cape Town and has supervised a number of postgraduate students. Her group investigates the processes and interactions affecting galaxies in different environments through multiwavelength observations. Her work has led to more than 60 co-authored publications. She is also involved in a number of international research collaborations, including the 4MOST Hemisphere Survey, where she is the science policy lead; as well as multiple large projects involving South Africa’s flagship telescopes, SALT and the MeerKAT radio telescope. In addition to her ongoing research and duties as the MD of NRF-SAAO, Dr Skelton co-chairs one of the science working groups of the LADUMA Large Survey Project on MeerKAT and is a member of the South African National Committee for Astronomy of the International Astronomical Union and South African Women in Science and Engineering. The management and staff of the NRF congratulate Dr Skelton on her new appointment and wish her well in guiding optical and infra-red astronomy. Share on Facebook Share on X
-NRF in the NewsNRF Briefs Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on South African Astronomy February 13, 2025
-NRF in the NewsNRF and the FirstRand Empowerment Foundation Renew Black Academics Advancement Programme (BAAP) Agreement February 12, 2025
-NRF in the NewsNewly Appointed South African Governing Council for the International Science Council (ISC) February 10, 2025
-NRF in the NewsNRF-iThemba LABS and isoSolutions bring major boost to Canada’s innovative diagnostic capabilities February 7, 2025