Swiss SKA Days 2025

25 Aug 2025, 10:00 → 27 Aug 2025, 15:30 Europe/Zurich

SW E11 (Aula) (ZHAW - SW Building)

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

We are pleased to invite you to participate to the 9th 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 2025 will discuss the Swiss interest and participation in this ambitious project.

The 9th Swiss SKA meeting will take place from Monday 25th August to Wednesday 27th August 2025 in Winterthur on the campus of ZHAW, University of Applied Sciences.

Monday, 25 August

10:00 → 10:30 Registration and Welcome Coffee

10:30 → 12:55 Monday Morning: Opening Session (Day 1)

Convener: Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

10:30 Welcome

Speaker: Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

Intro_JPK.pdf

10:35 Welcome to Swiss SKA Days 2025 from ZHAW

Speaker: Prof. Reto Steiner (ZHAW)

10:50 Welcome - Logistical information

Speaker: Dr Elena Gavagnin (ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences)

2025_08_25_SKADays_Welcome_Logistics.pdf

11:00 SKAO Progress update

Speaker: Dr Simon Berry (SKAO)

Berry - SKAO Update.pptx

11:20 Switzerlands's perspective on the SKA radio-astronomy project

Speaker: Dr Simon Berger (CH - SERI)

250825_Simon-Berger_SERI-perspective_V1.pdf

11:30 SKACH Communications Update

Speaker: Tanya Petersen (EPFL)

SKACH Communications SKA Days August 2025.pdf

11:50 SKACH 2025-2028 Overview

Speaker: Carolyn Crichton

Swiss SKA Days 2025.pdf

12:05 Quick Break/Stretch and Refresh

12:15 Keynote - Learning in low frequency: Charting a path for SKA-Low from LOFAR lessons

Speaker: Jessica Dempsey (ASTRON)

Lessons_from_LOFAR_for_SKA_Zurich_Aug_2025.pptx

13:00 → 14:00 Lunch (Group photo)

14:00 → 15:05 Monday Afternoon: SKAO Regional Centers (SRCs)

Convener: Pablo Llopis Sanmillan (EPFL)

14:00 Updates from SRCNet Project Scientists

Speaker: Chin-Shin Chang (University of Geneva)

20250825_PSUpdates_cschang.pdf

14:20 Swiss SRC contributions to SRCNet

Speaker: Rohini Joshi (FHNW)

2025-08-25 Swiss SKA days CHSRC Overview RJ.pdf

14:45 SRCNet Infrastructure updates for CHSRC

Speakers: Carolina Lindqvist (EPFL), Dino Conciatore (ETHZ/CSCS)

CHSRC-update-ska-days-aug-2025.pdf

15:05 → 15:35 Coffee Break

15:35 → 16:35 Monday Afternoon: CTAO-SKAO Synergies

Convener: Victor Holanda (ETHZ/CSCS)

15:35 Unveiling the origins of high energy cosmic rays with the SKAO and CTAO

Speaker: Dr Katharine Mulrey (Astro)

SKACH_mulrey.pdf

15:55 Behind the Firewall: Unseen Synergies in CTAO and SKAO

Speaker: Victor Holanda (ETHZ/CSCS)

synergies.pptx

16:15 CTAO Off-site ICT

Speaker: Andrii Neronov (EPFL)

SKA_days_2025.pdf

15:35 → 17:05 Monday Afternoon: Industry Contributions & Opportunities

Convener: Michel Hübner (Swiss ILO Office)

15:35 SKAO Procurement Update

Speaker: Ryan Leadbetter

2025 Swiss SKA Day Presentation V1.2.pdf

15:50 State-of-the-art Time & Frequency references for SKA-Low & SKA-Mid

Speaker: Gilles CIBIEL (T4Science)

Safran Timing Technologies - G. Cibiel - SKA Days 2025.pptx

16:05 From raw material to the horn

Speaker: Lukas Rohr (Mecha AG)

SKAODays2025.pptx

16:20 Scaling up the Central Signal Processor

Speaker: Ivana Novak (Cosylab Switzerland)

CSL-SwissSKADays2025_inovak_v2.pdf

16:35 Co-design for the SKA Science Data Processor

Speaker: Hamza Chouh (EPFL)

ska_days_2025_chouh_compressed.pdf

16:50 Progress towards an industrial Rb two-photon clock tailored for scientific applications

Speaker: Victor Helson (CSEM)

SKA_2025_vhn_pres_sent.pptx

17:05 → 17:10 Closing Remarks

18:00 → 21:00 Welcome Reception

Tuesday, 26 August

08:30 → 09:00 Arrival & Coffee

09:00 → 09:15 Tuesday morning: Opening Session (Day 2)

Convener: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

09:00 A plenary overview of the parallel sessions

Speaker: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

PlenaryOverviewParallelSessions.pdf

09:15 → 10:55 Tuesday morning: Dark & Quiet Skies

Convener: Carolyn Crichton

09:15 Satellite Mega-constellations: The risks for the SKA and a Potential Solution with TABASCAL

Speaker: Dr Chris Finlay (EPFL)

Satellite Mega-Constellations_ The Risks for the SKA and a Potential Solution with TABASCAL.pptx

09:35 Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies: an update on our ongoing work for protecting radio astronomy

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

SKA_Days_2025_Wampfler_CRAF.pdf

09:55 The renewed IAU Centre for the Protection of Dark and Quiet Sky

Speaker: Prof. Piero Benvenuti (International Astronomical Union CPS)

IAU CPS - Swiss_SKA.pdf

10:15 Satellite software tools for the community

Speaker: Mike Peel (Imperial College London)

IAU_CPS_SatHub_Swiss_SKA_Days_2025.pdf

10:35 The importance of Dark and Quiet Skies in Swiss Astronomy and the Dialog with the Space Industry

Speaker: Stephan Hellmich (EPFL)

2025_08_SKACH_days_Hellmich_David.pptx

09:15 → 10:35 Tuesday morning: Data Science & Imaging (Part 1)

Convener: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

09:15 The R2D2 deep neural network series paradigm for radio-astronomical imaging

Speaker: Mr Ayoub Tajja (EPFL)

Conference_2025_08_SWISSSKADAY_robustR2D2-3.pdf

09:35 Classification of cluster radio emission with machine learning

Speaker: Markus Bredberg (EPFL)

bredberg_classification.pdf

09:55 Radio Astronomy in the era of Large Models: Specialised Fine-tuning

Speaker: Erica Lastufka (University of Geneva)

SKADays25_Lastufka.pdf

10:15 Complex-valued DDRM for Visibility inpainting

Speaker: Michel Morales (EPFL)

visibility_inpainting_DDRM_Morales.pdf

10:55 → 11:25 Coffee Break

11:25 → 11:45 Monday Morning: SKACH Science Tools

Convener: Dr Chris Finlay (EPFL)

11:25 Karabo Community Poll

Speaker: Dr Chris Finlay (EPFL)

Karabo User Poll Link

Status Report Karabo.pdf

11:25 → 12:25 Tuesday morning: Data Science & Imaging (Part 2)

Convener: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

11:25 Separating Point Source Contaminants at the Visibility Level

Speaker: Shreyam Krishna (EPFL)

Shreyam_Swiss_SKA_Days_25

11:45 Galaxy Clusters on the Road to the SKA: Probing Diffuse Emission with Machine Learning

Speaker: Dr Swarna Chatterjee (Rhodes University)

Chatterjee_Swiss_SKA_Days_2025.pptx

12:05 Radio Astronomy in the era of Large Models: Can Vision-Language Models Generalize to Unseen Scientific Data?

Speakers: Mariia Drozdova (University of Geneva), Vitaliy Kinakh (University of Geneva)

vlms3.pdf

11:45 → 12:25 Tuesday morning: Precursor Science

Convener: Devin Crichton (ETH Zurich)

11:45 The Hydrogen Intensity and Real-time Analysis eXperiment (HIRAX) - Overview and Status Update

Speakers: Devin Crichton (ETH Zurich), Jennifer Studer (ETH Zurich)

250825_SKADays-1.pdf

12:05 Primary Beam Chromaticity in HIRAX: Characterization from Simulations and Power Spectrum Implications

Speaker: Ajith Sampath (University of Geneva)

SKAdays2025_ajith.pdf

12:30 → 13:30 Lunch

13:30 → 14:30 Tuesday afternoon: Karabo Workshop

13:30 Karabo Update and Tutorial: Radio Interferometry Simulations, Now Including RFI

Speaker: Dr Chris Finlay (EPFL)

14:30 → 14:55 Tuesday afternoon: VIRUP

14:30 Updates on the VIRUP tool

Speaker: Florian Cabot (EPFL)

presentation.pdf

14:55 → 15:55 Tuesday afternoon: CHSRC Workshop

14:55 CHSRC workshop

Speakers: Chin-Shin Chang (University of Geneva), Rohini Joshi (FHNW)

15:55 → 16:00 Closing Remarks

Convener: Joanna Jermini-Howard

16:00 → 21:30 Social Event - Visit of Technorama and Dinner

16:00 Departure by shuttle from the conference venue to Technorama Winterthur

16:15–18:00 Visit of Technorama, Switzerland’s Science Center

18:00–18:15 Transfer by shuttle to Restaurant Goldenberg, Winterthur

from 18:15 Dinner and informal networking at Restaurant Goldenberg

ca. 21:30 Return shuttle transfer to Winterthur (walking option available)

Wednesday, 27 August

08:30 → 09:00 Arrival & Coffee

09:00 → 09:05 Wednesday Morning: Opening Session (Day 3)

Convener: Carolyn Crichton

09:05 → 10:35 Wednesday Morning: Astro Science

Convener: Daniel Schaerer (Observatoire de Geneve)

09:05 A Spin-Glass Formulation for Solar Magnetic Field Disambiguation

Speaker: Brandon Panos (FHNW)

brandon_panos.pdf

09:20 Extragalactic survey science in deep SKA multi-frequency continuum observations

Speaker: Dr Mark Sargent (EPFL LASTRO)

presMTSargent_270825.pdf

09:35 Stochastic Star Formation and Its Role in Shaping Cosmic Reionization

Speaker: Michele Bianco (ETH Zurich)

Stochastic Star-Formation and its Role in Shaping Cosmic Reionization

09:50 Spectral studies of MERGHERS cluster sources

Speaker: Keletso Dichaba (Rhodes University)

SKACH 2025_Dichaba.pdf

10:05 Gravitational lensing of FRBs: prospects for probing microlens populations in lensing galaxies

Speaker: Prasenjit Saha (University of Zurich)

LensedFRBsV2.pdf

10:20 The Science Data Challenge 3b (Inference) results

Speakers: Davide Piras (University of Geneva), Massimo De Santis (HES-SO)

SDC3b: Inference

10:35 → 11:05 Coffee Break

11:05 → 12:20 Wednesday Morning: Data Science & Simulations

Convener: Darren Reed (University of Zurich)

11:05 Fast Simulation of Cosmological Neutral Hydrogen based on the Halo Model

Speaker: Pascal Hitz (ETH Zurich)

SwissSKADays2025_Pascal_Hitz.pptx

11:20 Investigating the Birth of Galactic Discs in the PHOEBOS Simulation

Speaker: Daniel Swingler (UZH)

SKA_slides_daniel_swingler_2.pdf

11:35 Connecting galaxy theory and observables using generative deep learning

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

Connecting galaxy theory and observables using generative deep learning

11:50 Advancing cosmological simulations of fuzzy dark matter (FDM) with physics informed neural networks (PINNs) and generative modeling

Speaker: Ashutosh Kumar Mishra (EPFL)

Swiss SKA Days.pdf

12:05 Tidal Disruption Events with SPH-EXA

Speaker: Noah Kubli (Universität Zürich)

p1.pdf

12:20 → 12:25 Closing Remarks

Convener: Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

12:30 → 13:30 Lunch - End of conference