Kristine Spekkens

Dr. Kristine Spekkens is a professor and Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Gas-Rich Galaxy Structure. She leads a research group that focusses on understanding the structure and evolution of nearby galaxies, and she is particularly interested in using their atomic gas reservoirs to probe the interplay between the evolution of galaxies and that of the universe itself. Dr. Spekkens leads a variety of initiatives to survey atomic gas in nearby galaxies using the biggest radio telescopes in the world, including facilities in Canada, Australia, the US and South Africa. Professor Spekkens is also at the forefront national efforts to build hardware and software infrastructure to enable science with these facilities as the co-lead of the Canadian Data Intensive Astrophysics Platform (CanDIAPL) project.

In addition to her scientific research, Dr. Spekkens is deeply involved in the international partnership to build the SKA Observatory (SKAO). Nationally, she is the Canadian SKAO Science Director, a volunteer appointment by National Research Council that focusses on coordinating across academic, government, and industry stakeholders to maximize the benefit of Canada’s SKAO investment. Internationally, Dr. Spekkens is the Chair of the SKAO Science and Engineering Advisory Committee (SEAC), the independent scientific and technical advisory body of the SKAO Council and Director-General composed of specialists from around the world.