UKSRC at the National Astronomy Meeting - ‘Community - Science Through Connection’

UKSRC attended the National Astronomy Meeting 2025 at Durham University, represented by Dr Lara Alegre (University of Hertfordshire) and Andrew Gordon (University of Manchester).

We shared a stall with e-MERLIN and the UK ALMA Regional Centre, alongside LOFAR-UK, which gave us the chance to speak with postgraduate and early career researchers about UKSRC’s work and the broader landscape of radio astronomy in the UK. These conversations often touched on career development, training opportunities, and how researchers can get involved with UKSRC development.

We also had many informal discussions about current SKA pathfinder facilities, and how they’re already shaping the way we work with large radio datasets — both technically and scientifically.

Dr Louise Chisholm, UKSRC Director, gave a talk on the development of UKSRC as a component of the SKA Regional Centre Network (SRCNet), as part of a wider session on large-scale digital infrastructures. She outlined how SRCNet will support SKA science by providing distributed data storage, processing, and collaborative infrastructure across partner countries. The talk also covered how UKSRC is contributing to the design and testing of this global network, and how it is working with the UK astronomy community to ensure strong scientific engagement and impact from the SKA Observatory.

Lara and Andrew spreading the word about UKSRC!