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 → 10:00 Welcome Coffee

10:00 → 12:00 Tuesday Morning: Welcome & Overview

Convener: Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

Recording

Zoom Connection

10:00 Opening remarks

Speaker: Prof. Jean-Paul Kneib (EPFL)

Welcome_jpk.pdf

10:10 Keynote

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

Speech

10:25 SKA Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

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

CCSwiss days0921.pdf

10:40 Update on SKAO Status

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

Swiss SKA Day SKAO Update presentation Berry.pptx

11:10 Update on Swiss Status

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

HIR_SKA_Days_high.mp4

11:20 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

11:35 MeerKAT Status

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

210907_SwissSKADays_FCamilo.pdf

210907_SwissSKADays_FCamilo.pptx

12:00 → 13:15 Lunch

13:15 → 15:30 Tuesday Afternoon: Industry

Convener: Michel Hübner

Industry Recording part I

Industry Recording part II

recording_projects.mp4

Zoom Connection

13:15 Session Introduction

Speaker: Industrial Liaison Adviser Michel Hübner (ILO Office)

A_SwissILO_MHUBNER.pdf

13:25 SKA Procurement status

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

2021 Swiss SKAO day Final.pdf

13:40 T4SCIENCE – An innovation case study

Speaker: Pascal Rochat

1_T4Science_Rochat.pdf

14:00 Pitches

15:20 Q&A

15:30 → 16:00 Cofee Break

16:00 → 18:00 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

16:00 The European SKA Forum

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

Ferrari_ESKAF_SKA-Swiss_2021.pdf

16:17 SKA Canada

Speaker: Michael Rupen

rupen_SwissSKA7sep2021c.pdf

16:29 SKA and 21-cm Cosmology

Speaker: Prof. Leon Koopmans (Kapteyn Astronomical Institute)

Koopmans-NL-SKA-Switserland.pdf

16:41 SKA computing

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

Swiss SKA Days 2021 - M Deegan.pdf

16:58 EcoCloud

Speaker: Babak Falsafi

SKA-EcoCloud-2021.pdf

17:10 SKA Regional Centers

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

SKA Regional Centres

SKA Regional Centres, 2021 Swiss SKA Days.pdf

17:22 CSCS & SKA

Speaker: Pablo Fernandez (ETH Zurich / CSCS)

20210907 - Swiss SKA Days - CSCS v2.pdf

17:34 CTA Computing

Speaker: Dr. Andrii Neronov

CTA_DC_Swiss_SKA_day_07-09-21_v3.pdf

18:00 → 20:00 Apéro

Wednesday, 8 September

09:00 → 10:30 Wednesday Morning: Science Session

Zoom Connection

09:00 SKA Science Capabilities

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

SKA_Science_Capabilities_Sept2021s.pdf

09:15 SKA cradle of life

Speaker: Prof. Didier Queloz (University of Cambridge)

Cradle of life.pdf

09:38 Solar Science with SKA

Speaker: Dr. Rohit Sharma

rohit_sharma_ska_talk.pdf.pdf

09:51 The MeerKAT Galaxy Cluster Legacy Survey

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

SwissSKA_MGCLS_Knowles.pdf

10:04 Searching for Jellyfish Galaxies with MeerKAT

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

M_Ramatsoku_Swiss_SKA_Days.pdf

10:17 Astrochemistry with the SKA - and how CRAF protects radioastronomy from interference

Speaker: Prof. Susanne Wampfler

SKAdays2021_Wampfler.pdf

10:30 → 11:00 Coffee

11:00 → 12:30 Wednesday Morning: Science Session II

Convener: Prof. Jennifer Schober

Zoom Connection

11:00 Fundamental physics using intensity mapping with the SKA

Speaker: Hamsa Padmanabhan

swiss_ska_days.pdf

11:13 Galaxy Formation Simulations in the era of SKA and its precursors

Speaker: Prof. Lucio Mayer (University of Zurich)

SKAdays2021lmayer-compressed.pdf

11:26 Links to CTAO

Speaker: Prof. Teresa Montaruli

CTAO-SKAO.pdf

11:39 Intergalactic magnetic fields with SKA and CTA

Speaker: Dr. Andrii Neronov

IGMF_Swiss_SKA_day_07-09-21.pdf

11:52 The HIRAX project

Speaker: Prof. Alexandre Refregier

HIRAX Swiss SKA days 2021.pdf

12:07 HIRAX Status and Systematics Studies

Speaker: Dr. Devin Crichton

Swiss SKA Days 2021.pdf

12:19 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 → 14:00 Lunch

14:00 → 15:30 Wednesday Afternoon: Data Science Session

Convener: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

Zoom Connection

14:00 AI for Astronomy in the SKA Era

Speaker: Prof. Anna Scaife

Scaife-210908.pdf

14:14 Information-theoretic astro-imaging and data analysis

Speaker: Prof. Slava Voloshynovskiy (University of Geneva)

2021 Swiss SKA Days_Voloshynovskiy.pdf

12

14:26 Identifying ionized bubbles during reionization from SKA observations

Speaker: Michele Bianco (University of Sussex)

SwissSKA2021_MBianco.pdf

14:38 Anomaly Detection in Astronomical Data using Machine Learning

Speaker: Dr. Michelle Lochner

Lochner Anomaly Detection.pdf

14:50 Accelerating the Computational Modeling of HI via Deep Learning

Speaker: Robert Feldmann (University of Zurich)

Feldmann_SKA.pdf

15:02 A Deep Denoising Autoencoder approach for radio astronomy data

Speaker: Dr. Claudio Gheller

SwissSKADays-Gheller.pdf

15:14 Public Engagement in Times of Open Data and Open Science

Speaker: Hanna Sathiapal

SKAO_CH_PEpresentation3.pdf

15:30 → 16:00 Coffee Break

16:00 → 17:24 Wednesday Afternoon: Data Science Session II

Convener: Dr Matthieu Simeoni (EPFL)

Zoom Connection

16:00 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

16:13 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

16:25 Towards fast and accurate predictions of the cosmic dawn for SKA

Speaker: Aurel Schneider (ICS, University of Zurich)

SwissSKAdays2021.pdf

16:38 SETI with SKA

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

20210908-5_HEIG-VD_Swiss_SKA_SETI.pdf

16:50 SKA Science Data Challenge 2

Speaker: Emma Tolley (EPFL)

SKA_SDC2.pdf

17:02 Interferometric Imaging in Radio Astronomy with the Sparsity-Promoting Frank-Wolfe Algorithm

Speaker: Adrian Jarret (EPFL)

SKA_Meetings_AdranJarret.pdf

17:14 A MIGHTEE Study of the Group Environment

Speaker: Shreyam Krishna

A_MIGHTEE_STUDY_OF_THE_GROUP_ENVIRONMENT_SKA_DAYS .pdf