ABOVE: Group photo of participants from the fourth Swiss SKA Days. Some 150 people attended the three-day meeting from all over Switzerland and beyond. Credit: SKACH
Clear skies for Swiss SKA Days 2023 BY TANYA LISE PETERSEN (SKACH)
Switzerland officially joined the SKAO in January 2022 but Swiss SKA Days have been going for much longer. This year’s event was held at the University of Zurich, and what a journey it was – from Zurich to Australia, South Africa and the stars! Around 150 participants from Switzerland and the global SKA community joined together to hear presentations on everything from the research possibilities that the SKA telescopes will open up, to dark and quiet skies and the importance of sustainability in space for radio and other astronomy. Professor Lucio Mayer, from the university’s Institute for Computational Science Center for Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology, welcomed participants to the event, which was the seventh edition of the Swiss SKA Days. The audience then heard from University of Zurich President Michael Schaepman, who reminded them that no fewer than 12 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to the university’s scientists, including Albert Einstein who received his PhD there in 1905. Ambassador Michael Gerber, Head of the International Programmes and Organisations Division at the State Secretariat of Science, Innovation, Research, and Education (SERI), presented Switzerland’s perspective on the SKAO,
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including the commitment to contribute to construction and operation of infrastructure until beyond 2030 and the merging of astrophysics and computer science. Dozens of other enthralling presentations covered subjects including efforts to foster space sustainability, the physics of the Cosmic Dawn and the Epoch of Reionisation in the SKA era, astrochemistry, and ranging deep-space missions for gravitational waves and dark matter. Of course, it wouldn’t have been a proper Swiss event without a visit to the Lindt chocolate factory just outside of Zurich, to see how the famed sweet treat is made! The organisers wish to thank everyone who attended this year’s event, and look forward to welcoming attendees again next year. SKACH, comprising 10 Swiss institutions, is leading Switzerland’s contributions to the SKAO on behalf of SERI. It will deliver contributions in five key programmes: science, data science, computing platforms and infrastructure, instrumentation, and education and public outreach.
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