Swiss SKA Days 2021

7 Sept 2021, 09:30 → 8 Sept 2021, 18:00 Europe/Zurich

Auditorium CE 3 (EPFL - Main Campus)

Emma Tolley (EPFL), Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

We are pleased to invite you to participate to the fifth edition of the Swiss SKA days. During this exciting 2-day event we will discuss the ambitious SKA radio-astronomy project at the forefront of advanced technology and computing.

The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) 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. Switzerland currently has observer position in the SKA project, and is considering joining as a SKAO member in 2022. The SKA Days 2021 will discuss the Swiss interest and participation in this ambitious project.

The fifth Swiss SKA meeting will take place during  September 7 to 8  at EPFL.

If you would like to contribute or participate to the Swiss SKA days please register here.

Campus Map

Health and Safety guidelines

Wifi Information

Tuesday, 7 September

09:30 Welcome Coffee

Tuesday Morning: Welcome & Overview

Convener: Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

Recording

Zoom Connection

1 Opening remarks

Speaker: Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

Welcome_jpk.pdf

2 Keynote

Speaker: President of EPFL Prof. Martin Vetterli (EPFL)

Speech

3 SKA Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

Speaker: Chairperson of the Council of the SKA Observatory Dr. Catherine Cesarsky (SKAO)

CCSwiss days0921.pdf

4 Update on SKAO Status

Speaker: SKA Director of Policy Development Dr. Simon Berry (SKA Observatory)

Swiss SKA Day SKAO Update presentation Berry.pptx

5 Update on Swiss Status

Speaker: State Secretary of Education, Research, and Innovation Dr. Martina Hirayama

HIR_SKA_Days_high.mp4

6 SKA China

Speaker: Prof. Xiang-ping Wu (National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences (NAOC))

SKA-China-upload.pdf

SKA-China-wxp(1).mp4

Video Link

7 MeerKAT Status

Speaker: SARAO Chief Scientist Dr. Fernando Camilo (South African Radio Astronomy Observatory)

210907_SwissSKADays_FCamilo.pdf

210907_SwissSKADays_FCamilo.pptx

12:00 Lunch

Tuesday Afternoon: Industry

Convener: Michel Hübner

Industry Recording part I

Industry Recording part II

recording_projects.mp4

Zoom Connection

8 Session Introduction

Speaker: Industrial Liaison Adviser Michel Hübner (ILO Office)

A_SwissILO_MHUBNER.pdf

9 SKA Procurement status

Speaker: SKA Head of Procurement Services Ian Hastings (SKA Organisation)

2021 Swiss SKAO day Final.pdf

10 T4SCIENCE – An innovation case study

Speaker: Pascal Rochat

1_T4Science_Rochat.pdf

11 Pitches

12 Q&A

15:30 Cofee Break

Tuesday Afternoon: SKA Projects & Computing

Convener: Mark Sargent (U. of Sussex, Astronomy Centre)

Industry Recording part I

Industry Recording part II

recording_projects.mp4

Zoom Connection

13 The European SKA Forum

Speaker: Director of SKA France Dr. Chiara Ferrari (Lagrange Laboratory, OCA)

Ferrari_ESKAF_SKA-Swiss_2021.pdf

14 SKA Canada

Speaker: Michael Rupen

rupen_SwissSKA7sep2021c.pdf

15 SKA and 21-cm Cosmology

Speaker: Prof. Leon Koopmans (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute)

Koopmans-NL-SKA-Switserland.pdf

16 SKA computing

Speaker: SKA Computing Infrastructure Lead Dr. Miles Deegan (SKA Organisation)

Swiss SKA Days 2021 - M Deegan.pdf

17 EcoCloud

Speaker: Babak Falsafi

SKA-EcoCloud-2021.pdf

18 SKA Regional Centers

Speaker: SKA Head of Data Operations Dr. Rosie Bolton (SKAO)

SKA Regional Centres

SKA Regional Centres, 2021 Swiss SKA Days.pdf

19 CSCS & SKA

Speaker: Pablo Fernandez (ETH Zurich / CSCS)

20210907 - Swiss SKA Days - CSCS v2.pdf

20 CTA Computing

Speaker: Dr. Andrii Neronov

CTA_DC_Swiss_SKA_day_07-09-21_v3.pdf

18:00 Apéro

Wednesday, 8 September

Wednesday Morning: Science Session

Zoom Connection

21 SKA Science Capabilities

Speaker: SKA Science Director Dr. Robert Braun (SKA Organisation)

SKA_Science_Capabilities_Sept2021s.pdf

22 SKA cradle of life

Speaker: Prof. Didier Queloz (University of Cambridge)

Cradle of life.pdf

23 Solar Science with SKA

Speaker: Dr. Rohit Sharma

rohit_sharma_ska_talk.pdf.pdf

24 The MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey

Speaker: Kenda Knowles (Rhodes University / South African Radio Astronomy Observatory)

SwissSKA_MGCLS_Knowles.pdf

25 Searching for Jellyfish Galaxies with MeerKAT

Speaker: Mpati Ramatsoku (Rhodes University / INAF-OAC)

M_Ramatsoku_Swiss_SKA_Days.pdf

26 Astrochemistry with the SKA - and how CRAF protects radioastronomy from interference

Speaker: Prof. Susanne Wampfler

SKAdays2021_Wampfler.pdf

10:30 Coffee

Wednesday Morning: Science Session II

Convener: Prof. Jennifer Schober

Zoom Connection

27 Fundamental physics using intensity mapping with the SKA

Speaker: Hamsa Padmanabhan

swiss_ska_days.pdf

28 Galaxy Formation Simulations in the era of SKA and its precursors

Speaker: Prof. Lucio Mayer (University of Zurich)

SKAdays2021lmayer-compressed.pdf

29 Links to CTAO

Speaker: Prof. Teresa Montaruli

CTAO-SKAO.pdf

30 Intergalactic magnetic fields with SKA and CTA

Speaker: Dr. Andrii Neronov

IGMF_Swiss_SKA_day_07-09-21.pdf

31 The HIRAX project

Speaker: Prof. Alexandre Refregier

HIRAX Swiss SKA days 2021.pdf

32 HIRAX Status and Systematics Studies

Speaker: Dr. Devin Crichton

Swiss SKA Days 2021.pdf

33 Proposed RF systems for SKA MID bands

Speakers: Dominique Bovey (HES-SO/HEIG-VD), Dr Miroslav Pantaleev (RUAG SA)

20210908-5_HEIG-VD_Swiss_SKA_RF_systems.pdf

12:30 Lunch

Wednesday Afternoon: Data Science Session

Convener: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

Zoom Connection

34 AI for Astronomy in the SKA Era

Speaker: Prof. Anna Scaife

Scaife-210908.pdf

35 Information-theoretic astro-imaging and data analysis

Speaker: Prof. Slava Voloshynovskiy (University of Geneva)

2021 Swiss SKA Days_Voloshynovskiy.pdf

12

36 Identifying ionized bubbles during reionization from SKA observations

Speaker: Michele Bianco (University of Sussex)

SwissSKA2021_MBianco.pdf

37 Anomaly Detection in Astronomical Data using Machine Learning

Speaker: Dr. Michelle Lochner

Lochner Anomaly Detection.pdf

38 Accelerating the Computational Modeling of HI via Deep Learning

Speaker: Robert Feldmann (University of Zurich)

Feldmann_SKA.pdf

39 A Deep Denoising Autoencoder approach for radio astronomy data

Speaker: Dr. Claudio Gheller

SwissSKADays-Gheller.pdf

40 Public Engagement in Times of Open Data and Open Science

Speaker: Hanna Sathiapal

SKAO_CH_PEpresentation3.pdf

15:30 Coffee Break

Wednesday Afternoon: Data Science Session II

Convener: Dr Matthieu Simeoni (EPFL)

Zoom Connection

41 Optimisation & AI for image formation in the SKA era

The presentation will cover recent algorithmic developments at the interface of optimisation theory and machine learning, towards scalable precision robust image formation in radio interferometry. High-resolution high-dynamic range reconstructions of wideband and widefield images of diffuse emission with complex and faint structure, from both JVLA and ASKAP data, will be presented to showcase the new algorithmic capability for the SKA era.

Speaker: Prof. Yves Wiaux

Wiaux_Swiss_SKA_21_presentation.pdf

42 Tools21cm: a user-friendly package to create mock SKA observations of the epoch of reionization

Speaker: Sambit Giri (Stockholm University)

Sambit_SwissSKAdays_EPFL_Tools21cm.pdf

43 Towards fast and accurate predictions of the cosmic dawn for SKA

Speaker: Aurel Schneider (ICS, University of Zurich)

SwissSKAdays2021.pdf

44 SETI with SKA

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

20210908-5_HEIG-VD_Swiss_SKA_SETI.pdf

45 SKA Science Data Challenge 2

Speaker: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

SKA_SDC2.pdf

46 Interferometric Imaging in Radio Astronomy with the Sparsity-Promoting Frank-Wolfe Algorithm

Speaker: Adrian Jarret (EPFL)

SKA_Meetings_AdranJarret.pdf

47 A MIGHTEE Study of the Group Environment

Speaker: Shreyam Krishna

A_MIGHTEE_STUDY_OF_THE_GROUP_ENVIRONMENT_SKA_DAYS .pdf