Dr Ian Heywood

Senior Researcher

Ian Heywood is senior researcher in radio astronomy at the University of Oxford (UK), visiting professor at Rhodes University (South Africa), and holds an honorary affiliation with the South African Radio Astronomy.  His research interests are varied, encompassing galaxy evolution, SETI, astrophysical transients, and understanding the diverse processes at work in our own Galactic center. All of these aspects revolve around the use of radio interferometers, and devising new and accelerated ways to fully exploit the data from such telescopes. He has made key contributions to the commissioning and early science aspects of the South African MeerKAT telescope, as well as to the design, execution and data processing of some of its flagship large survey programs. Prior to his current position he was a senior research scientist and later head of the astrophysics group at CSIRO’s Astronomy and Space Science division in Sydney (Australia), where he played a major role in commissioning the ASKAP radio telescope. He received his PhD (2005) from the University of Manchester’s Jodrell Bank Observatory (UK).