Swiss SKA Days 2024

2 Sept 2024, 10:00 → 4 Sept 2024, 15:30 Europe/Zurich

Auditorium H8-01 (Campus Biotech Geneva)

Joanna Jermini-Howard (EPFL), Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL), Carolyn Crichton

We are pleased to invite you to participate to the eighth edition of the Swiss SKA days. During this exciting 3-day event we will discuss the ambitious SKA radio-astronomy project at the forefront of advanced technology and computing.

The program will include the following topics addressed in plenary and parallel sessions:

• Updates on the SKA Observatory and precursor facilities
• SKA Regional Centers
• Astrophysics with the SKA and precursors
• Computing, Simulations and Data Science
• Instrumentation and more...

The Square Kilometer Array Observatory (SKAO) project is an international effort to build the world’s largest radio telescope, with eventually over one square kilometer of collecting area in South Africa and Australia. The SKA Days 2024 will discuss the Swiss interest and participation in this ambitious project.

The eighth Swiss SKA meeting will take place from 2-4 September 2024 at the University of Geneva (UniGe) at the Campus Biotech.

Monday, 2 September

10:00 Registration and Welcome Coffee

Monday Morning: Opening Session (Day 1)

Convener: Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

1 Welcome

Speaker: Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

2 Welcome from Unige

Speaker: Prof. Francesco Pepe (University of Geneva)

2024-09-03-Welcome_Pepe_Astro_UniGE_SKAO.pdf

3 Welcome to Swiss SKA Days 2024

Speaker: Daniel Schaerer (Observatoire de Geneve)

welcome_schaerer_FINAL.pdf

welcome_schaerer_FINAL.pptx

4 Switzerland’s perspective on the SKA project

Speaker: Dr Simon Berger (CH - SERI)

240902_Simon-Berger_SERI-perspective_V1.pdf

5 Reflecting on SKACH's Success and Paving the Path Ahead

Speaker: Carolyn Crichton (EPFL)

SKA Days 2024.pptx

6 Simulations & AI for fundamental physics

Speaker: Francisco Villaescusa-Navarro (CCA / Flatiron Institute)

Geneva_September_2024.pdf

12:15 Lunch (Group photo)

Monday Afternoon: SKAO Regional Centers (SRCs)

Convener: André Csillaghy (University of Applied Sciences North Western Switzerland (FHNW))

7 The SRCNet Project - developing the global SKA Regional Centre Network

Speaker: Dr Rosie Bolton (SKAO)

SRCNet Swiss SKA Days 2024 Rosie.pdf

8 CHSRC v0.1 Update

Speaker: Rohini Joshi (FHNW)

2024-09-02 Swiss SKA days CHSRC v0.1 update.pdf

9 SRCNet Infrastructure updates for CHSRC

Speakers: Carolina Lindqvist (EPFL), Pablo Llopis Sanmillan (EPFL)

SRCNet Infrastructure updates for CHSRC

_SRCNet Infrastructure updates for CHSRC (1).pdf

10 Swiss SRC Open Discussion

14:55 Coffee Break

Monday Afternoon: Industry Contributions & Opportunities

Convener: Michel Hübner (Swiss ILO Office)

11 A co-design approach for the SKA Science Data Processor system

Speakers: Adrien Devresse (SKACH), Hamza Chouh (EPFL)

ska_days_presentation.pptx.pdf

12 Co-design for the AA2 SDP processing challenge

Speaker: Shan Mignot (Université Côte d’Azur, CNRS, OCA, Laboratoire Lagrange)

co-design_for_the_AA2_SDP_processing_challenge-Shan_Mignot.pdf

13 Central Signal Processor towards Array Assembly 0.5

Speaker: Ivana Novak (Cosylab Switzerland)

CSL-SwissSKADays2024_v2.pptx

14 Development of an industrial two-photon Rb atomic clock for radioastronomy applications

Speaker: Thibaud Ruelle (CSEM SA)

Development_of_an_industrial_two_photon_Rb_atomic_clock-v20240830_SKA.pptx

15 State-of-The-Art Time & Frequency References for SKA-Low & SKA-Mid

Speaker: Gilles CIBIEL (T4Science)

Safran Timing Technologies - G. Cibiel - SKA Days 2024.pdf

16 Series production of mechanical parts for the Horn Antenna Band 2

Speaker: Lukas Rohr (Mecha AG)

Monday Afternoon: Precursor Science

Convener: Devin Crichton (ETH Zurich)

17 A decade of science with the SKA-Low Precursor: results, prospects and lessons learned from the Murchison Widefield Array

Speaker: Dr Christopher Riseley (Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna)

Swiss-SKA-Days-2024_Riseley.pdf

18 Improving MWA's near-realtime calibration pipeline

Speaker: Dev Null (Curtin University & AusSRC)

2024-09-02 - Improving the MWA Calibration Pipeline.pptx

19 The Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) - Overview and Status

Speaker: Jennifer Studer (ETH Zurich)

Google Slides: HIRAX Ovierview

HIRAX_Overview_JenniferStuder.pdf

20 HIRAX: Overview, Primary Beam Systematics and Instrument Simulation

Speaker: Devin Crichton (ETH Zurich)

Crichton HIRAX Primary Beams - SKA Days 2024.pdf

Crichton - SKA Days 2024 - Slides

21 Astrochemistry below 100 GHz in the SKA band 6, ALMA band 1, and ngVLA era

Speaker: Susanne Wampfler (Center for Space and Habitability, University of Bern)

SKA_Days_2024_Wampfler_Astrochemistry_final.pdf

22 The role of SMART survey in the SKA era

Speaker: Ramesh Bhat (ICRAR, Curtin University)

rbhat_skach.pptx

rbhat_smart_skach.pdf

23 En route to the SKA era: MeerKAT’s sharp new view on galaxy clusters. The MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey II. Preparing for Big data with radio clusters

Speaker: Dr Konstantinos Kolokythas (Rhodes University / South African Radio Astronomy Observatory)

SKACH_Geneva_Sept2024.pdf

Closing Remarks

18:00 Apero/Welcome Reception

Tuesday, 3 September

08:30 Arrival & Coffee

Tuesday morning: Opening Session (Day 2)

Convener: Carolyn Crichton

24 SKAO - General Update and Membership

Speaker: Mr Thijs Geurts (SKAO)

Sep 2024 SKAO General update and Membership V6.pptx

25 Science with the SKA

Speaker: Anna Bonaldi (SKA organization)

SKAO_science_Swiss24.pdf

26 Building SKACH Outreach and Communications

Speaker: Mrs Tanya Petersen (EPFL)

SKACH Outreach and Advocacy SKA Days 04082024.pdf

10:20 Coffee Break

Tuesday morning: Instrumentation and Infrastructure

Convener: Gilles Feusier (EPFL)

27 Mid-band 6 Elegant BreadBoard/proof of concept: status and achievements

Speaker: Dominique Bovey (HES-SO/HEIG-VD)

20248903_SKACH_SKA_Swiss_days_IICT_20240906.pdf

28 MB6 - Digital Acquisition Chain

Speaker: Alberto Dassatti (HES-SO)

20240823_SKACH_REDS.pdf

demo.mov

29 A new antenna beam calibration method: Can this be applicable to the astronomical assets?

Speaker: Mohammad Azadifar

A New Antenna Beam Calibration Method.pdf

30 The EPFL Students Radiotelescope VEGA

Speaker: Aurélien Verdier (EPFL)

VEGA_SKACH_DAYS.pdf

31 Science operations at SKAO

Speaker: Shari Breen (SKAO)

Swiss SKA day - science operations.pdf

Tuesday morning: SKACH Science Tools

Convener: Simon Felix (FHNW)

32 Real-Time Visualization of Astrophysical Data

Speaker: Florian Cabot (EPFL)

presentation.pdf

33 AstroORDAS project for support of Open Research Data Analysis Services in Astronomy

Speaker: Volodymyr Savchenko (EPFL)

AstroORDAS project for support of Open Research Data Analysis Services in Astronomy

AstroORDAS_ SKA 24-1.pdf

Tuesday morning: Workshop on Karabo

Convener: Andreas Wassmer (FHNW)

34 Mastering Radio Astronomy Simulations: A Hands-On Workshop with Karabo

Speaker: Andreas Wassmer (FHNW)

Handout_Workshop.pdf

12:40 Lunch

Tuesday afternoon: Dark & Quiet Skies

Convener: Carolyn Crichton (EPFL)

35 The time for protecting radio astronomy is now! An update on the work of the Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies (CRAF).

Speaker: Susanne Wampfler (Center for Space and Habitability, University of Bern)

SKA_Days_2024_Wampfler_CRAF.pdf

36 Dark and Quiet Skies at UNCOPUOS – An Update on the Sustainable Use of Outer Space

Speaker: Thomas Schildknecht (University of Bern AIUB)

Swiss SKA Days 2024_Thomas_Schildknecht.pdf

37 The IAU CPS: Satellite constellation impacts, observation campaigns, and software tools

Speaker: Mike Peel (Imperial College London)

Swiss SKA Days_ The IAU CPS_ Satellite constellation impacts, observation campaigns, and software tools.pdf

The IAU CPS: Satellite constellation impacts, observation campaigns, and software tools

38 EPFL coordinates research and community interests in Switzerland for the protection of dark and quiet skies

Speaker: Stephan Hellmich (EPFL)

EPFL Coordinates Research and Community Interests in Switzerland for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Skies.pdf

39 Trajectory Based RFI Subtraction and Calibration

Speaker: Chris Finlay (UNIGE)

TABASCAL_Swiss_SKA_2024.pptx

Tuesday afternoon: Data Science & Imaging

Convener: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

40 Image-to-Image Translation with Content-Style Disentanglement for Radio Astronomy

Speaker: Mariia Drozdova (University of Geneva)

SKA2024_zoom-latest.pdf

41 Separating Point Source Contaminants at the Visibility Level

Speaker: Shreyam Krishna (EPFL)

Separating Point Source Contaminants at the Visibility Level

42 R2D2: a deep neural network series for robust ultra-fast precision imaging in radio astronomy (but not only).

Speaker: Prof. Yves Wiaux (Heriot-Watt Edinburgh)

Conference_2024_09_SWISSSKADAYS24_R2D2.pdf

43 High-Time Resolution GPU Imager for FRB searches at low radio frequencies

Speaker: Marcin Sokolowski (ICRAR/Curtin University)

MarcinSokolowski_Swiss_SKA_Days_202409_FINAL2.pptx

44 Radio galaxy image generation with the scattering transform

Speaker: Markus Bredberg (EPFL)

SKACHd24 - Scatgen-3.pdf

Closing Remarks

16:30 ACTIVITY 1 - Departure for CERN TOUR

Need to arrive at CERN for 1630 - Tour Starting at 17:00 sharp

18:30 ACTIVITY 2 - Boat cruise + Dinner

Need to arrive at Boat stop Geneva Jardin Anglais for 18:30 to get your ticket, etc. - Boat leaving at 19:00 sharp.

Wednesday, 4 September

08:30 Arrival & Coffee

Wednesday Morning: Opening Session (Day 3)

Convener: Daniel Schaerer (Observatoire de Geneve)

Wednesday Morning: Astro Science (Part 1)

Convener: Miroslava Dessauges (University of Geneva)

45 Galactic science with SKAO: the Our Galaxy and Cradle of Life SWGs

Speaker: Marc Audard (University of Geneva)

SKAO_GalacticScience.pptx

46 Star-forming galaxies in the high-z Universe may show unsual radio properties

Speaker: Dr Omkar Bait (University of Geneva)

Star-forming galaxies in the high-z Universe may show unusual radio properties

47 Non-Gaussian simulation of post-reionization cosmological neutral hydrogen based on a halo model approach

Speaker: Pascal Hitz (ETH Zurich)

SwissSKADays2024_Pascal_Hitz.pdf

Wednesday Morning: HPC & Eco-Computing

Convener: Victor Holanda (ETHZ/CSCS)

48 Computing Platforms and Infrastructure - Program Update

Speaker: Victor Holanda (ETHZ/CSCS)

2024-09-04 SKACH Platforms and Infra update.pdf

49 Energy-Efficient FPGA Solutions for Large-Scale FFTs and Non-Uniform FFTs: A Software-Hardware Co-Design Approach for Radio Interferometry

Speaker: Mr Rubén Rodríguez Álvarez (EPFL Embedded Systems Lab)

SKADAYS24-Ruben.pdf

50 Sustainability of Extreme-Scale Simulations with SPH-EXA

Speaker: Dr Osman Seckin Simsek (University of Basel)

2024-09-04-SKADAYS-Osman-Simsek.pdf

51 Scaling Sustainable Computing: Advanced ML Techniques for Enhancing the Efficiency in the SKA Regional Data Centers

Speaker: Dr Denisa-Andreea Constantinescu (EPFL Embedded Systems Lab)

2024_SKACH-Days-Sept-4-Denisa.pdf

10:25 Coffee Break

Wednesday Morning: Astro Science (Part 2)

Convener: Daniel Schaerer (Observatoire de Geneve)

52 Probing the ΛCDM Universe and beyond with present and future 21cm Intensity Mapping surveys

Speaker: Maria Berti (University of Geneva)

Suisse_SKA_Maria_Berti.pdf

53 A novel observable expected in gravitationally-lensed fast radio bursts

Speaker: Prasenjit Saha (University of Zurich)

onLensedFRBs.pdf

54 CANCELLED - Towards more accurate predictions of the 21cm signal at cosmic dawn

Speaker: Aurel Schneider (University of Zurich)

55 1283 MHz Deep radio catalog of the core of Saraswati Supercluster

Speaker: Robert Kincaid (EPFL)

A2631 radio source counts - swissSKA- Robert Kincaid.pdf

A2631 radio source counts - swissSKA- Robert Kincaid.pptx

Wednesday Morning: Data Science & Simulations

Convener: Darren Reed (University of Zurich)

56 Simulation based inference with radiative hydrodynamics simulations of the 21cm signal from the Epoch of Reionization

Speaker: Benoit Semelin (Paris Observatory - UPMC)

Geneve.pptx

57 Galactic Alchemy: Crafting Galaxy Models with Generative Deep Learning for Map-to-Map Translation between Cosmological Simulations and Observations

Speaker: Dr Philipp Denzel (Centre for Artificial Intelligence, ZHAW)

240904_swissskadays2024_galactic_alchemy_I.pdf

Swiss SKA Days 2024: Galactic Alchemy I

58 EMBER-2: towards implicit emulators for constraining astrophysics in FIRE-based simulations

Speaker: Mauro Bernardini (Institute of Computational Sciences)

slides_mauro_bernardini.pptx

59 Accelerating radiative transfer simulations with reinforcement learning

Speaker: Brandon Panos (FHNW)

skao_brandon_panos2.pptx

60 The future of cosmological likelihood-based inference: accelerated high-dimensional parameter estimation and model comparison

Speaker: Davide Piras (davide.piras@unige.ch)

Future_of_cosmology_Piras.pptx

Wednesday Morning: SKA Data Science Challenge

61 SKA Data Science Challenge - Update

Speaker: Davide Piras (davide.piras@unige.ch)

SKA_challenge

SwissSKADay_2024_mbianco.pptx

62 YOLO-CIANNA: Galaxy detection with deep learning in radio data, application to the SKAO SDCs

Speaker: David Cornu (Paris Observatory, PSL University)

DCornu_swiss_ska_days_2024.pdf

Closing Remarks

13:20 Lunch