SKA AIP Meeting

Objectives

The SKA Organisation, ASTRON, MFAA, PAF and WBSPF consortia are organizing a meeting to consider new technologies that can improve the scientific capabilities of the SKA beyond Phase 1, and to discuss the structure and timescales of the SKA Advanced Instrumentation Program (AIP) and its successors. Currently, the AIP includes consortia on Mid-Frequency Aperture Arrays (MFAA), Phased Array Feeds (PAF) and Wide-Band Single Pixel Feeds (WBSPF). These consortia are executing research and development programs to demonstrate feasibility and increase maturity of their respective technologies for application in the SKA. After a series of very successful workshops in the past on the AIP technologies individually, this will be the first meeting that brings the technologies together.

The workshop program includes a series of talks on how new technologies will vastly improve the scientific prospects for SKA, a session on the SKA Observatory Development Program (including a presentation by Alistair McPherson), a session on the status and plans of the current MFAA, PAF and WBSPF consortia, and several technical talks by these consortia.

ASTRON will organize a site visit to Westerbork and LOFAR on June 11. Please indicate when registering if you would like to join. The site visit will start at ASTRON-Dwingeloo at approx. noon, the bus will take you to Westerbork and LOFAR and then to Rotterdam for those who will participate in the SKA Engineering meeting, arrival in Rotterdam approx. 19:00.

E-mail: brink@astron.nl