The Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive and the Astronomy Department at the University of Cape Town (UCT) will host Dr Ugo Becciani from the Catania Astrophysical Observatory, Italian Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) in Catania (Sicily). As part of the visit Dr. Becciani will give a talk at the UCT entitled “Towards Astronomical Big Data Analysis – Visual Analytics, Machine Learning … Read More
IDIA is pleased to welcome Prof. Ewine F. van Dishoeck from Leiden Observatory (Leiden University) who will be our next speaker for the SEADS Series. Prof. van Dischoeck is the current President of the International Astronomical Union. The elements we know, from helium to uranium, are made in stars. Now, research is looking into how these elements combine – still … Read More
This SEADS seminar was held at the South African Astronomical Observatory because access to the UWC campus was not possible. We are grateful to SAAO for hosting the seminar. It was therefore also streamed online with good participation in spite of the logistical challenges we faced. Dr. Ramanujam covered many topics in his presentation, giving an overview of popular science … Read More
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are the most luminous explosions in the cosmos. These explosive events last several seconds and during that time they they release in 10 seconds in gamma rays as much energy as the sun will emit in its 10-bilion year life. Such extreme amounts of energy can only be released during catastrophic events like the death of a … Read More
Astrophysicist Carolina Ödman was born in Switzerland, earned her PhD at Cambridge University, and has worked all over the world – but it’s in South Africa that she’s found her true home. Her work in pushing science outreach and education in the country (and beyond) has earned her a nomination for AfricaCom Female Innovator of the Year 2019. “The nomination … Read More
We are pleased once again to welcome another international visitor, Prof. Jayanne English from the University of Manitoba, a university in Winnipeg, Canada. Prof. English is visiting IDIA from 31 October to 10 November 2019, and will be hosted by the University of Cape Town. Prof. English is a long time acquaintance of Prof. Russ Taylor, the Director of IDIA. … Read More
IDIA is welcoming Prof. Jayanne English from the University of Manitoba as a visitor on the 1st week of November. Prof. English is behind some famous images from the Hubble Space Telescope and was a key person in setting up the Hubble Heritage Project. As part of the visit, she will give a special seminar and workshop on astronomical data … Read More
After last week’s participation at the DARA Big Data Africa School held in Cape Town where 27 students from 9 African countries worked on big data science projects using the IDIA research cloud, we are now also proud to support an additional skills development initiative, the DARA Big Data Hackathon at NUST in Windhoek. More information here, on GitHub. Our … Read More
Our next speaker in the Science Engagement And Development Seminar series is Dr. Niruj Mohan Ramanujam from the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory and the Public Outreach and Education Committee of the Astronomical Society of India. Abstract: Starting from the Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha in 1987, India has seen more than 3 decades of mass movements to promote science awareness and scientific … Read More
ADASS stands for Astronomical Data Analysis Software & Systems. It is an annual conference and a natural destination to present the diverse IDIA activities. This year, we are there with two oral contributions (talks) and two posters. Alexander Sivitilli, Angus Comrie, Lucia Marchetti and Tom Jarrett from the Visualization Lab are presenting a poster on Virtual Reality and Immersive Collaborative Environements. … Read More
