Square Kilometre Array Conference - An Industry perspective - 16th September
The Square Kilometre Array is an international project to design and build the next generation of radio telescope. With unmatched improvements in speed and sensitivity it will enable new discoveries and test some of the fundamental theories of cosmology.
As complex as the LHC, over 3,000 Kms across and producing as much data as the whole of the internet of 2020 it represents a major challenge for scientists, engineers and manufacturers.
With clear advantages for academics and scientists - What will industry gain from this project?
This conference will bring together the designers, academics and users of the SKA with the companies that hope to benefit from the investment of 1.5 Billion Euros - benefits coming from either direct contracts or from the spin-out technologies that will developed.
The Square Kilometre Array is an international project to design and build the next generation of radio telescopes. With unmatched improvements in speed and sensitivity it will enable new discoveries and test some of the fundamental theories of cosmology. As complex as the LHC, over 3000 Kms across and producing as much data as the whole of the internet of 2020 it represents a major challenge for scientists, engineers and manufacturers. The SKA will require significant advances in electronics and data processing technologies to achieve the intended goals.
This year has seen the completion of two major activities in the project:
The SKADS White Paper details the results of the three year SKA Design Study project on the potential technologies for the SKA (see document library on _connect website). This document has had expert review and now forms one of the inputs to the revised SKA Specification, Design and Phasing.
The COST workshop brought together a set of international experts to use SKA as a case study for the benefits of investment in large scientific programmes on other areas. The clear message delivered by the study was that SKA could become a new model for international collaborations between governments, universities and industry. It also presented the "non science" benefits to be gained from the investment in SKA.
With clear advantages for academics and scientists - What will industry gain from this project?
This conference will aim to address this question by bring together the designers, academics and users of SKA with the companies that expect to benefit from the investment of 1.5 Billion Euros - either from direct contracts or from the spin-out technologies that will be developed.
It is now timely for UK industry to come together with the project teams, understand/comment on the project requirements/technologies/timescales, the opportunities that will be created and starting to build linkages for the future. Although it will take many years to build and commision the telescope the next two years will be most critical for industry engagement.
The conference will be of interest to companies involved in developments in many sectors from High Performance Computing to low power electronics; from data communications to image analysis and processing. It also represents an opportunity to discuss the benefits of investment in science and the balance between pure and applied science spend.