Prof Roger Deane is the Director of the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy and Professor in the UCT Department of Astronomy, as well as an Extraordinary Professor at the University of Pretoria. He completed his DPhil in Astrophysics at the University of Oxford in 2012. Between 2018-2025, he established the Radio Astronomy Research Group at the University of Pretoria and held the DSTI/NRF SKA Chair in Radio Astronomy at the University of the Witwatersrand, where he also served as Director of the Wits Centre for Astrophysics. His research focuses on the cosmic evolution of galaxies and their supermassive black holes, leveraging cutting-edge radio telescopes and advanced computational techniques. He is an active member of several large international collaborations, particularly those associated with the multi-billion-dollar SKA Observatory, and was part of the global team that captured the first image of a black hole in 2019. A passionate advocate for public science engagement, he led the R70-million digital upgrade of the Johannesburg Planetarium and received the 2023 NSTF-South32 Communication Award.
Experience
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2020–presentExtraordinary Professor, University of Pretoria
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2026–presentDirector, Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy
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2026–presentProfessor of Astronomy, University of Cape Town
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2020–2025Director: Wits Centre for Astrophysics, University of the Witwatersrand
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2018–2020Head: Astronomy Research Group, University of Pretoria
Education
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2012University of Oxford, PhD
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2008University of Cape Town, MSc: Astrophysics and Space Science
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2006University of Cape Town, BSc Electrical Engineering
Contact Roger for
- General
- Media request
- Speaking request
- Consulting / Advising
- Research collaboration
- Location: Cape Town, South Africa
- Website
- Instagram: roger_deane_astro
- LinkedIn: roger-deane-3439096
- X (formerly Twitter): @RoogeDeane
- Article Feed
- ORCID
- Joined
