Science and Engineering Advisory Committee (SEAC)
The SKA Observatory’s (SKAO) Science and Engineering Advisory Committee (SEAC) is a key independent advisory body to the SKAO Council and SKAO Director-General, and is populated by 18 science and engineering experts from the SKAO’s member countries and beyond. SEAC members, who are appointed to three-year terms, are highly regarded specialists in topics of particular relevance to the SKAO.
While each SKAO Member has a representative on the SEAC, they are appointed as experts in their own right and do not represent national interests. The SEAC also includes representatives from countries with observer status at the SKAO Council, and up to five representatives-at-large (nominated by the Director-General) to provide specialist expertise, who may be from countries beyond the Observatory’s membership.
The committee’s establishment is a requirement set out in the SKAO Governance Framework, and its advice is based on the consensus view of the committee. A Science and Engineering Advisory Committee also existed under the Observatory’s forerunner, the SKA Organisation.
The membership of SEAC is as follows:
| Country | Representative | Affiliation |
| Australia (SKAO Member) | Naomi McClure-Griffiths (Chair) | Australian National University |
| Canada (SKAO Observer) | Kristine Spekkens | Royal Military College of Canada |
| China (SKAO Member) | Zheng Qian | Shanghai Observatory |
| France (SKAO future Member) | Guilaine Lagache (from September onwards); interim until September is Marc-Antoine Miville-Deschênes | Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille |
| Germany (SKAO Observer) | tbc | |
| India (SKAO Observer) | Uday Shankar | Raman Research Institute |
| Italy (SKAO Member) | Andrea Ferrara | Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa |
| The Netherlands (SKAO Member) | Wim van Cappellen | ASTRON |
| Portugal (SKAO Member) | Cláudio Melo | Portugal Space |
| South Africa (SKAO Member) | Francois Kapp | SARAO |
| Spain (SKAO future Member) | Antxon Alberdi | Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía |
| Sweden (SKAO Observer) | Garrelt Mellema | Stockholm University |
| Switzerland (SKAO Observer) | Andre Csillaghy | University of Applied Sciences and Arts |
| United Kingdom (SKAO Member) | Carole Mundell | University of Bath/FCDO |
At-large members
| Representative | Affiliation |
| Brian Glendenning | NRAO (USA) |
| Justin Jonas | SARAO (South Africa) |
| Andreas Kaufer | European Southern Observatory |
| Adrian Russell | European Southern Observatory |
| Gillian Wright | UKATC (UK) |
Also in this section
