York University will play a leading role in a new national program supporting Canada’s first-ever Square Kilometre Array (SKA) Scientists – a program that funds early-career astronomers contributing to an international radio astronomy research initiative.
Announced by the National Research Council Canada (NRC), the Canadian SKA Scientist Program supports future leaders in conducting cutting-edge research to explore some of the universe’s biggest mysteries.
Fengqiu (Adam) Dong will conduct advanced research on radio pulsars in York University’s Department of Physics and Astronomy, Faculty of Science, as part of the Canadian SKA Scientist Program.
Dong, currently a National Radio Astronomy Observatory Jansky Fellow at the U.S.-based Green Bank Observatory, completed his PhD at the University of British Columbia.
Dong’s research focuses on pulsars – dense, rotating remnants of massive stars that emit rhythmic bursts of radiation. At York, he will work with mentor Paul Scholz, assistant professor in the Department of Physic and Astronomy, whose work explores pulsars, magnetars and fast radio bursts – brief, powerful flashes of radio waves from beyond our galaxy.
Together, they will contribute to the global Square Kilometre Array (SKA) initiative over a term of three to five years.
"I'm honoured and excited to play a role in bringing Canada to the forefront of this once-in-a-lifetime instrument,” says Dong. “SKA is the future of radio astronomy for the next decade. It will revolutionize our understanding of the universe, much like the Hubble and James Webb Space Telescopes have done for optical and infrared astronomy."
The SKA is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope arrays, with facilities in South Africa and Australia. Once operational, the SKA Observatory (SKAO) is expected to transform understanding of the universe. Canada is one of the project’s member countries, represented by the NRC and supported through national partnerships with universities and researchers.
“The Canadian SKA Scientists will be the future leaders in the revolutionary science that will come out of the SKA,” says Scholz. “In his role, Adam will enhance and broaden the radio astronomy expertise at York and significantly bolster our involvement in the SKA.”
Canadian SKA Scientist participants receive mentorship from both a university-based expert and the NRC, with the goal of building a national network of researchers contributing to the SKA.
According to NRC program lead Michael Rupen, the initiative is designed to support early-career scientists while ensuring Canadian researchers have equitable access to SKA science. Dong joins Alice Curtin, a PhD candidate at McGill University, as the first two researchers selected for the program.
A second call for applications is expected in fall 2025, with subsequent rounds to follow annually.