Jessica Dempsey has been appointed the new Director of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), one of the most ambitious and large-scale radio astronomy projects ever conceived. The SKA, an international collaboration, aims to build the world's largest radio telescope, with the goal of unraveling fundamental mysteries of the universe, such as the formation of the first stars and galaxies, the nature of dark energy, and the search for extraterrestrial life. Dempsey's appointment marks a significant milestone in the construction and development phase of this next-generation observatory.

The SKA project is being built in two main locations: in Australia, with SKA-Low operating at low frequencies to detect signals from the early universe, and in South Africa, with SKA-Mid exploring a range of mid-frequencies. The combined infrastructure will utilize thousands of dish antennas and millions of dipole antennas, generating massive volumes of data that will require unprecedented supercomputing capabilities for processing and analysis. This global effort involves multiple countries and thousands of scientists and engineers.

Dempsey's experience in large astronomical projects and her leadership will be crucial in guiding the SKA through its complex phases of construction, integration, and commissioning. The SKA promises to revolutionize our understanding of the cosmos, offering unprecedented sensitivity and resolution that will allow astronomers to observe the universe in detail never before possible. Her direction will be fundamental to ensuring that the SKA fulfills its promise of opening a new window to the universe.