Robert Beswick

I am a Academic and Research staff member working at the University of Manchester with primary responsibility for e-MERLIN. Additionally I am involved with VLBI, and the UK's ALMA Regional Centre. I am based at the Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics and Jodrell Bank Observatory, which are part of The University of Manchester's Department of Physics and Astronomy.

As Head of Science Operations and Support for the UK's national radio astronomy facility, e-MERLIN/VLBI, and have key roles both at Jodrell Bank Observatory and within the University of Manchester's Interferometric Centre of Excellence which draws together research and operational staff working on e-MERLIN, VLBI, ALMA, LOFAR and the SKA. Along with this I am co-Chair of the SKA molecular spectral line science working group and an active research scientist.

My main areas of research are extragalactic radio astronomy, encompassing star-formation and accretion processes through cosmic time, spectral line observations at high resolution, transient astronomical events and radio interferometric techniques. I am PI (along with Ian McHardy, Southampton) of the e-MERLIN Legacy project, Legacy e-MERLIN Multi-band imaging of Nearby Galaxies (LeMMINGS). This programme will image 300 nearby galaxies with sub-arcsecond resolutions and microJansky sensitivities.