Research Overview

Research Overview

IDIA members are involved in a number of international research collaborations. IDIA services five MeerKAT Large Survey Projects (MLSPs). IDIA is also involved in large collaborative projects and international partnerships.

IDIA Supported Projects

  • A Transient IDIA
    • Pipelines processing and joint post-processing analytics for ThunderKAT radio and MeerLICHT optical observations
  • Pipeline Development for the MeerKAT Imaging Large Survey Projects
  • IDIA Visualization Toolkit: Converting Data Into Discoveries
    • Development of visualization and visual analytics for MeerKAT big image data sets and use cases.
  • HIPPO: HELP-IDIA Panchromatic Project
    • Multi-wavelength data fusion and analysis
    • Machine learning for classification from multi-wavelength data
  • Data Intensive Astronomy with LADUMA
    • Analytics and simulations for LADUMA HI science
  • How do Galaxies Form and Evolve
  • HI Intensity Mapping
    • MeerKLASS preparatory studies
  • Wide-field Very Long Baseline Interferometry
    • Calibration, imaging and analytics of VLBI data sets
  • Open time science projects
    • MHISHAPS
    • VELA
  • African Research Cloud
    • A research partnership between the North-West University and the University of Cape Town.
    • The ARC provides a cloud-based infrastructure, which is hosted by the partner institutions. One of the current research projects hosted at the ARC is the Astronomy Proof of Concept, which is lead by researchers from IDIA.
    • The Astronomy POC involves the development of a data intensive calibration and imaging pipeline for radio telescopes, with an emphasis on MeerKAT.
    • The pilot of this initiative is ARCADE. At the ARC we are testing different models of data management, storage and transfer with the aim of supporting the data processing steps required to transform raw MeerKAT data into scientific data projects.

Large Collaborations

An efficient, scalable platform to visualize three-dimensional data products that are produced by radio interferometers.

An interactive platform, which offers a versatile interface to solve the many problems that radio astronomers face when collaborating on science projects with the Square Kilometre Array and its associated pathfinders.

A 5-year project that uses the ALFA instrument on the Arecibo telescope to perform a sensitive (90 micro-Jy) mapping of the entire Arecibo continuum sky in all four Stokes parameters.

A key element in the global SKA radio telescope project that focuses on the design of the computing hardware platforms, software, and algorithms needed to process science data from the data correlators or non-imaging processors into science data products.

IDIA works with the Iziko Digital Dome on the development of modalities for astronomical visualization with planetarium domes.

A project whose primary objective is developing a concept and design for a distributed, federated European Science Data Centre (ESDC).

International Partnerships