Dr Lee-Anne McKinnell, Managing Director of the South African National Space Agency’s Space Science Programme and Sandbaai resident, died on Saturday 19 August after a short illness.
Born in Vereeniging, Gauteng in 1970 and growing up in Witpoortjie, close to Krugersdorp, she was the first female learner to complete a technical matric at the John Orr Engineering School of Specialisation in Johannesburg.
McKinnell’s father, an electrical engineer, wanted her to follow in his footsteps, but she developed a passion for physics. True to nature, she decided to satisfy both and enrolled for BSc Physics and Electronics.
After obtaining her degree she pursued her honours, master’s and PhD in physics through Rhodes University, Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown). She later obtained an MBA from the Business School Netherlands (BSN) in 2015 with distinction.
McKinnell was accepted as a Postdoctoral Fellow at Graz University of Technology in Austria and fondly remembered the time she spent there.
She was appointed a junior lecturer at Rhodes, but not for long for she rose through the academic ranks and was appointed honorary research professor at the university in 2011. McKinnell was well known for managing the Ionosonde Network in South Africa.
She was appointed to the Hermanus Magnetic Observatory (HMO) in 2004 as a researcher and then appointed acting managing director in 2010, after which she moved to Hermanus part-time. McKinnell’s husband, John McKinnell, joined her in Hermanus in 2012, when the HMO was incorporated in the newly established South African National Space Agency (Sansa) and they relocated permanently.
She played a crucial role in the establishment of the space agency, as a board and an executive member, and many of the students she supervised are now full-time researchers at Sansa and around the world.
She served as Sansa Space Science managing director for 12 years, and in this time made a tremendous contribution to the space-science, skills-development, and science-engagement fields.
The Space Weather Project was her crowning achievement, which produced a space-weather capability for the country in three years, on time and on budget. The launch of the 24/7 Space Weather Centre in November of last year was a highlight for her and the Sansa team. McKinnell was a space-weather advocate and custodian of the unique Sansa Hermanus facility, which she loved, and is now a national key point, thanks to her continued efforts to protect the site.
She served on numerous international committees and working groups, including as the Space Weather co-chair for the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), ensuring Africa’s interests were maintained in the field of space science and related technology. She also received a long list of awards for her contribution to the space-science field.
McKinnell loved animals, especially dogs. She owned several dogs during her life, including a border collie named Skye and a dachshund named Pixie. She loved listening to music and took baking up as her lock-down hobby. She was also a skilled seamstress, a hobby she learnt from her grandmother and practised often.
Her husband expressed his gratitude for all the messages that have been pouring in since the announcement. “I received several messages from prominent scientists who told me they owe their current positions to Lee-Anne,” he said. “Sansa was her life. Lee-Anne gave so much to the organisation, but also received so much in return, particularly from the wonderful Hermanus Space Science team. She will be sorely missed by me and them.”
The Overstrand Executive Mayor, Dr Annelie Rabie, also expressed sadness and shock at McKinnell’s death. “Our condolences go to her family and friends, our prayers and blessings are with them,” she said.
McKinnell is survived by husband John, her parents Lynn and John Williscroft and two brothers Mark and Gerald Williscroft and their families.
