A new $100 million International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) was launched last month to spearhead national efforts to attract the world’s largest science project to Western Australia.

ICRAR will coordinate WA's radio astronomy research efforts, and will play a pivotal role in Australia's bid to secure the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array (SKA) project.

At its official opening in early September, WA Premier Colin Barnett emphasised the significance of the centre in attracting the SKA project. He said it “… is absolutely critical for our bid to be the site for the SKA, one of the world’s greatest scientific endeavours, ranking up there with putting a man on the moon and the cyclotron project”.