Adam Beardsley, assistant professor of physics at Winona State University, will visit campus to discuss his research in radio astronomy and how to make the technology more accessible to the next generation of scientists.
Radio astronomy has seen lots of excitement in recent years, such as the direct imaging of supermassive black holes, the detection of electromagnetic counterparts to gravitational waves, and an explosion of Fast Radio Burst discoveries at low frequencies. The facilities used to make these discoveries and push our understanding of the universe are increasingly sophisticated and usually located in remote parts of the world, such as the Australian Outback, to avoid human-made radio frequency interference (RFI). As a result, while there is no shortage of data for students to analyze, hands-on experiences with instruments are expensive, constrained by international cooperation, and relatively rare when compared to past generations. The field was pioneered nearly a century ago by engineers-turned-astronomers, and today we must recover the intimate understanding of instrumentation and technology to gain insights and realize the full scientific potential of the many low-frequency observatories around the world.
In this talk, I will discuss a few scientific promises of low-frequency astronomy and the associated challenges to realize them. I will also present my approaches to make technology development accessible and train a new generation of scientists-turned-engineers. I have begun the development of a local test-bed observatory designed to foster collaboration and rapid prototype testing while supporting hands-on experiences for students. These same motivations have led to a very low-cost radio telescope platform, the Completely Hackable Amateur Radio Telescope, which is intended for students and hobbyists to build, experiment, and tweak.
Join us on Friday, Feb. 13, for this exciting presentation from Beardsley. Lunch will be available in Hayes 216 from 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., and the presentation will begin in Hayes 211/213 at 12:10 p.m. We hope to see you there!