Organizers:
Y. Wadadekar, T. Prabu, T. Roy Choudhury, N. Roy (on behalf of the SKA-IC)
Objective of the workshop:
To bring together the scientific, technical and industry persons in the country involved and interested in SKA to discuss and prepare for the construction phase of the SKA Phase 1.
Background:
The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), the next generation radio telescope, has completed the detailed design phase, and will start the construction from mid-2021 onwards. India has made significant contributions during the design phase and has been allocated roles in specific work packages for the construction phase, including a leadership role for the “Observatory Management and Control” work package. Furthermore, plans for a SKA regional data centre in India are being finalised, alongwith growing the activities of the scientific community. India's participation in the construction phase of the SKA will have a significant role of Indian industry. The SKA-India Consortium (SKA-IC) has been coordinating the overall effort of SKA related activities in India.
Rationale:
In order to prepare for the upcoming SKA construction phase, a significant amount of planning is needed on various fronts, and we intend to use the 2021 ASI SKA India workshop as a major platform for doing this. The following are the main goals for our workshop:
(i) To disseminate widely the current status of the SKA project, the plans for the construction phase, and India's projected role in the same -- over a 10-year window of 2021-2030.
(ii) To update the SKA science case from India, and review science efforts by the Indian community using / with the SKA pathfinders and precursors, with special emphasis on participation by the next / younger generation.
(iii) To refine the plans for a prototype data centre, leading towards the full scale SKA regional centre over the next 10 years.
(iv) To attract and familiarise the technical community and industry partners with the plans for India's role in the construction phase, as well as with the procedures that will be followed.
Participants:
Expected ~100 participants including
(i) scientific & technical persons from the institutions who are already involved or interested in the SKA related activities,
(ii) participants from the industries who have interest in one or more of the SKA construction work areas that India will be involved in, and
(iii) a few key members from the international SKA Organisation, as it will be useful. Young students/postdocs who are interested in SKA are encouraged to attend.
More about the workshop including the detailed schedule will be available here https://sites.google.com/view/ska-india-asi-workshop/home.