SARAO News
Newsletter for the South African Radio Astronomy Observatories
#01 2017
The South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) spearheads South Africa’s activities in the Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope, commonly known as the SKA, in engineering, science and construction. SARAO is a National Facility managed by the National Research Foundation and incorporates radio astronomy instruments and programmes such as the MeerKAT and KAT-7 telescopes in the Karoo, the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in the North West province, the African Very Long Baseline Interferometry (AVN) programme in nine African countries as well as the associated human capital development and commercialisation endeavours.
Foreword
The National Research Foundation (NRF) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) have been working towards the consolidation of South Africa’s radio astronomy facilities. The Minister of Science and Technology, the Honourable Naledi Pandor MP, has therefore gazetted the simultaneous withdrawal of HartRAO as a National Research Facility of the NRF and the establishment of the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) as a National Research Facility.
Featured News
Outcomes of the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the SKA African partner countries
Members of the nine Square Kilometre Array (SKA) African partner countries represented by its respective Ministers and Deputy Ministers of Science and Technology concluded the Fourth Ministerial Meeting on the SKA in Accra, Ghana, on 24 August 2017 by signing a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on radio astronomy.
Roscosmos satellite laser and radio ranging system officially inaugurated
The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) in Gauteng was host to the official opening of the Russian satellite laser and radio ranging system, SAZHEN-TM+OWS on 27 February 2017. Dr Thomas Auf der Heyde, Deputy Director-General: Research Development and Support in the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Sergey Saveliev from the Russian State Space Corporation officiated the opening.
Sasol Inzalo Foundation Mobile Science Lab officially handed over to HartRAO
The Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) celebrated an enormous milestone on 11 April 2017 when the official handover of the Mobile Science Lab from the Sasol Inzalo Foundation (SaIF) took place at the Observatory in Gauteng. The Sasol Inzalo Foundation Mobile Lab will greatly increase HartRAO’s capacity to reach more learners, by taking observatory demonstrations out to schools.
Pioneering research and data management in Africa: a dual first
The first Big Data Africa Summer School on the African continent was held in Cape Town from 2-12 April 2017. This unique initiative, also the first partnership between the Square Kilometre Array South Africa (SKA SA) and the Medical Research Council (SAMRC), exposed students from various academic backgrounds to the fundamentals of big data research by applying their knowledge to practical areas in astronomy, bioinformatics and health sciences.
African partner country students complete AVN training at HartRAO
Students from four African SKA partner countries completed training on the African Very Long Baseline Interferometry Network (AVN) at the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory in Gauteng from 6-24 March 2017. The 19 participants included postgraduate students in various science and technology related fields of whom 10 were from Zambia, three from Namibia, five from Botswana and one from South Africa.
SKA SA participates in Expo 2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan
SKA SA represents the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and South Africa at Expo 2017, currently underway in Astana, Kazakhstan until 10 September 2017. Expo 2017, which kicked off on 10 June 2017, showcases 115 countries and 22 international organisations participating. While the theme of the Expo is Energy of the Future the expo presents an ideal opportunity to promote South Africa and the African continent’s involvement in the SKA.
Two SKA SA staff members present at Engineering Meeting in Amsterdam
Two Young Professional Development Programme protégés from SKA SA presented their work to more than 300 delegates at the SKA Engineering Meeting held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands in June 2017. Katleho Madisa and Athanaseus Ramaila, who both joined the Control and Monitoring team at SKA SA in 2016, presented their work on a Local Monitoring and Control (LMC) Interface Simulator Framework.
Big Data project launched in Ghana
A one-day work session was held on 11 July 2017 at the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI) in Ghana to kick off the High Performance Computing (HPC) training programme in Ghana. The training programme, named the Big Data Project, includes the donation of HPC equipment to Ghana.
2017 Jansky Lectureship Awarded to South African Astronomer Bernie Fanaroff
Associated Universities, Inc. (AUI) and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) have awarded the 2017 Jansky Lectureship to South African astronomer Bernie Fanaroff for his exceptional contributions to radio astronomy and his unparalleled leadership through public service. He is specifically recognised for his work with the South African Square Kilometre Array Radio Telescope Project (SKA).
Science
AR 1.5 presented to Minister of Science and Technology Naledi Pandor
The Minister of Science and Technology, Naledi Pandor, delivered the Budget Vote of the Department of Science and Technology in Parliament on Tuesday, 16 May 2017. Students sponsored by SKA SA and staff members were invited to attend in the gallery. Prior to the Budget Vote, the Minister embarked on a tour of the exhibition at the Iziko Museum in Cape Town, where SKA SA joined other exhibitors for the showcase.
New resources available
New resources were developed on the 32-metre refurbished Ghana antenna, which forms part of the Ghana Radio Astronomy Observatory (GRAO) and the African VLBI Network. A new AVN Newsletter was also published to coincide with the launch of the GRAO. The brochure on the African Data Intensive Research Cloud (ADIRC) is available in six languages.
Outreach
IAU and SKA SA collaborate to promote science communication in Africa
The International Astronomical Union (IAU) Office for Young Astronomers (OYA) and SKA SA collaborated to host a science communication training workshop for 30 African postgraduate astronomy students in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from 20-21 May 2017. The workshop was an extension of the IAU 2017 International School for Young Astronomers (ISYA), a two-week school that offered students selected by the IAU OYA the opportunity to broaden their perspectives on astronomy.
Schools outreach in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN)
The Square Kilometre Array conducted an outreach activity at the Siyamukela High School and the ArcelorMittal Science Centre in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal on 22 May 2017, and participated in the Zululand Festival (Zulfest) from 24 to 27 May 2017. SKA was represented by were Namhla Mabombo, a Junior Systems Engineer in the Digital Backend Unit, and Nkululeko Qwabe, a Software Engineer in the AVN unit, both based in the Cape Town office.
Eding International Festival in Polokwane
The SKA participated in the Eding International Festival, which was held at Polokwane Showgrounds in Limpopo, between 15 and 19 May 2017. The festival is an annual event, which aims to showcase cutting edge innovation in the field of science, technology, engineering and innovation (STEMI) fields in South Africa, to provide career guidance and share some of the country’s success stories in these fields with learners. It also aims to inspire and motivate learners to select careers in these fields.
Career Awareness Day in Mamelodi, Pretoria
The SKA and HartRAO participated in Career Awareness Day, which took place in Mamelodi West in Pretoria on 27 May 2017. The event was organised by and held at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of South Africa. The Career Awareness Day is an annual event, which is led by the Young Adults League of the church, and it has been running since 2008. The purpose of the event was to give career guidance to members of the youth in and around Mamelodi.
SKA SA hosts SA’s 2016 top matriculants
SKA SA hosted South Africa’s 2016 top 20 matriculants in mathematics and physical science at the SKA site at Losberg on 25 June 2017. The visit formed part of a collaboration between SKA SA and the National Science and Technology Forum (NSTF) to host the students on a week-long national astronomy tour.
SA Agulhas II Open Day
HartRAO and SKA SA exhibited at the SA Agulhas II Open Day, which was held at the East Pier Quay, V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on 23 and 24 June 2017. The SA Agulhas II is a state-of-the-art polar research and supply vessel, and plays a fundamental role in support of the country’s involvement in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic Islands, carrying out research of national interest in the Southern Ocean.
ASSET Mathematics and Science Holiday Programme
SKA SA content specialists Audrey Dikgale, Lerato Sebokolodi, Isaac Sihlangu, Vereese van Tonder and Namhla Mabombo participated in workshops and presentations for Grade 8 and Grade 9 learners at the Cape Town Science Centre on 5 and 11 July 2017. The learners were part of a holiday programme administered by ASSET in partnership with Living Maths and the Cape Town Science Centre. In the programme, the learners are exposed to mathematics and science in interactive and practical ways.
Profile
Dr Khadija El Bouchefry
Dr Khadija El Bouchefry is a Research Fellow at the Hartebeesthoek Radio Astronomy Observatory (HartRAO) and is excited most by being an astronomer, being in South Africa, and the anticipation of the wonders that will be uncovered by the MeerKAT radio telescope. She is also excited when helping students, motivating them and inspiring them to reach their full potential.
Last Updated on September 14, 2017
Overview
SARAO is leading South Africa’s involvement in the SKA on behalf of the Department of Science & Innovation.
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