Professor Phil Charles, suspended director of the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO), has been cleared of all charges during a disciplinary process and will return to normal duty.
The National Research Foundation (NRF) suspended Charles in February, but now says the matter has been concluded.
A letter from the NRF, circulated to SAAO staff when the matter first arose, revealed Charles faced a disciplinary hearing and possible dismissal for discussing proposed sites for the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) mega radio telescope. This contravened policy, and Charles was suspended for having “caused undue distress”.
In a press release, the NRF says the affected parties presented their case and defence to an independent chairperson and a team of non-participating observers.
“The privacy of the parties was maintained and respected throughout the process. The NRF intends to continue to respect this privacy. The NRF does not, and will not, deal with a member of its staff through the media,” says the NRF in response to requests for details about the charges.
As a key scientist in the 1.5 billion-euro SKA project, Charles' suspension, amid other difficulties, raised concerns that SA risks losing the race for the project against Australia. The suspension was met with criticism from political parties, as well as local scientists.
The Democratic Alliance's deputy shadow minister of science and technology, Marian Shinn, said at the time of the suspension that the NRF decision was questionable. She noted that Charles “spearheaded the roll-out of the Southern African Large Telescope and is a key player in the SKA bid”, saying his actions would not jeopardise the bid.
“The NRF management has now commenced a process of normalising relationships and dealing with normal operational challenges confronting the organisation,” says the foundation.
High stakes
The final decision regarding the successful host country for the telescope is expected in 2012, with work due to start in 2013. Operations will start in 2015, provided a significant portion of the array has been commissioned.
The SKA is a mega telescope, about 100 times more sensitive than the biggest existing radio telescope. It will consist of approximately 3 000 dish-shaped antennae and other hybrid receiving technologies, with a core of about 2 000 antennae and outlying stations of 30 to 40 antennae each, spiralling out of the core. These stations will be spread over a vast area of up to 3 000km.
Botswana, Ghana, Zambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and Namibia are to host remote SKA stations, the central location for which will be Carnarvon, in the Northern Cape.
The Department of Science and Technology (DST) says research areas will include observational radio astronomy, radio astronomy instrumentation, digital signal processing, distributed data processing and RF broadband feeds, receivers and cryogenic packages.
SA has spent R258 million on securing the project. The DST says R23 million was spent on universities, while R155 million had been spent building roads to the site. Another R11.5 million was spent on building accommodation.
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