4th International VLBI Technology Workshop (IVTW)

23 to 26 November 2015

WELCOME

The Fourth International VLBI Technology Workshop will be hosted by the Institute for Radio Astronomy and Space Research at Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. It will take place from Monday 23 to Thursday 26 November in AUT’s newest venue – the Sir Paul Reeves Building.

Sunday 22

5.00 – 7.00 pm Icebreaker reception early evening with light refreshments.  Venue is Level 4, Sir Paul Reeves Building (WG), AUT City Campus.

Monday 23 to Thursday 26

4th IVTW

Thursday 26

The day's program will include a bus trip to our Warkworth Observatory and to Leigh.  Pakiri Hill near Leigh was one of two sites used by John Bolton and Gordon Stanley during their Cosmic Noise Expedition in 1948.

The International VLBI Technology Workshops have evolved from the highly successful 10-year series of International e-VLBI workshops. The expanded scope of the technology workshops aims to encompass all areas of hardware or software development relevant to VLBI. In particular, though, development of global e-VLBI still features prominently and with it the close collaboration VLBI has developed over the years with national and international research network providers.

The fourth Workshop in this series will feature major VLBI topics, such as VLBI Global Observing System (VGOS) and global VLBI developments, receivers, digital backends and recording equipment, e-transport and correlators, as well as mm-VLBI and space VLBI.

Details

SUNDAY 22 November

5.00  Icebreaker. Venue is Level 4 of the Sir Paul Reeves Building (WG)
  

MONDAY 23 November

9.30  Opening and welcome
  

Reports from VLBI Observatories and Arrays

9.50   Leif Morten Tangen (Norwegian Mapping Authority) - Building a new core station in Ny-Ålesund
10.10  Weimin Zheng (Shanghai Astronomical Observatory) - The recent technology development of Chinese VLBI Network
10.30  Leif Helldner, Rudiger Haas, Miroslav Pantaleev (Onsala Space Observatory) - Recent developments at the Onsala Space Observatory: VGOS Twin Telescope project and broadband upgrade
10.50-11.10Tea break (20 min)
11.10  Zhong Chen (Shanghai Astronomical Observatory) - e-VLBI Updates in CVN
11.30  Ganesan Rajagopalan (MIT Haystack Observatory) - The upcoming VGOS station at Kokee Park, Hawaii, and updates from the Westford-GGAO VGOS baseline prototype
11.50  Arpad Szomoru (JIVE) - Technical developments at JIVE and the EVN, now and in the future
12.10  Matteo Stagni (IRA – INAF) - From IRA to ORA - what is happening to the Italian VLBI  
12.30-1.30Lunch (60 min)
1.30  Tomoaki Oyama (National Astronomical Observatory of Japan) - Recent Development Activities of NAOJ
1.50  Pablo de Vicente (Observatorio de Yebes) - Results from the Yebes RAEGE 13.2m antenna     
2.10 Cormac Reynolds (CSIRO) - Update on the Australian Long Baseline array (LBA)
2.30  Michael Lindqvist (Onsala Space Observatory) - Science with the EVN    
2.50-3.10Tea break (20 min)
3.10  Jim Lovell, Jamie McCallum, Lucia Plank, Stas Shabala, David Mayer (UTas) - Towards VGOS with the AuScope VLBI Array
3.30  Yuta Kobayashi (JAXA), Atsushi Tomiki (JAXA), Hiroshi Takeuchi (JAXA), Taichi Ito (JAXA), Yosuke Fukushima (JAXA), Yoshihide Sugimoto (JAXA), Chikako Hirose (JAXA), Tim Natusch (AUT), Sergei Gulyaev (AUT), Ryu Funase (The University of Tokyo), Yasuhiro Kawakatsu (JAXA) - Flight Demonstration Results of the 50kg-class Deep-space Probe (PROCYON): Initial Acquisition at Warkworth Observatory and X-band VLBI Technologies
3.50  Peter Thomasson (Jodrell Bank) - eMERLIN: Current Status and the News
4.10 Chris Lorier (REANNZ) - SDN status and capabilities
4.30Discussion on Day 1
5.00Close day one

TUESDAY 24 November

9.30  Session starts

Front- and Backends

9.30  Do-Heung Je (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute) - mm VLBI Phase Calibration Generator for KVN
9.50  Kazuhiro Takefuji (NICT) - Broad-band VLBI now kick-off!
10.10  Seogoh Wi (KASI) - KVN:  Temperature stabilization in the receiver cabin
10.30  Renjie Zhu (Shanghai Astronomical Observatory) - The progress of VLBI digital backend in SHAO
10.50-11.10Tea break (20 min)
11.10  Harro Verkouter (JIVE – ERIC) - Of Flexing your buffers and Marking your 6's
11.30  Gino Tuccari (INAF), Walter Alef (MPI) - BRAND EVN
11.50  Discussion
12.30-1.30Lunch (60min)

Correlation and Imaging

1.30  Adam Deller (ASTRON) - VLBI imaging at metre wavelengths with International LOFAR
1.50  Yidan Huang (SHAO) - DOR Local-correlation Delay Model Calculation Experiment in CE-3 Mission
2.10  Hiroaki Nishioka (Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica) - Testing on Zoomband mode in DiFX
2.30 Se-Jin Oh, Duk-Gyoo Roh, Jae-Hwan Yeom, Chungsik Oh, Dong-Kyu Jung and Ju-Yeon Hwang (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute), Tomoaki Oyama, Noriyuki Kawaguchi, Hiedeyuki Kobayashi and Katsunori M. Shibata (National Astronomical  Observatory of Japan) - Recent status of Daejeon hardware correlator and its functional expansion in future
2.50-3.10Tea break (20min)
3.10  Nicolas Pradel (AUT) - SKA activities in New Zealand
3.30  Mahmoud Mahmoud (AUT) - SKA Imaging Pipeline
3.50  Chris Phillips (CSIRO) - VDIF2 standard
4.10  Discussion on Day 2
5.00 Close day two   
6.30Dinner at "Fish" Restaurant (Hilton Hotel, Princes Wharf)
  

WEDNESDAY 25 November

9.30  Session starts

Networking, time and frequency transfer

9.30  Tjeerd Pinkert (Vrije Universiteit) - ASTERICS project: precision time and frequency transfer over long-haul optical fibre connections
9.50  Charles Yun (REANNZ) - Network and Activities Update
10.10  Roger Hammargren (Onsala Space Observatory) - Connectivity at Onsala Space Observatory
10.30  Stuart Weston (AUT), Simone Bernhart (Geodäsiegruppe Bonn), Harro Verkouter (JIVE) - Real-time e-transfer and recording of IVS R1 observations
10.50-11.10Tea break (20 min)

Miscellaneous

11.10  Franz Kirsten (Curtin) - Low Frequency VLBI on Pulsars
11.30  Lucia Plank, Jamie McCallum, Jim Lovell (University of Tasmania) - Observations with sibling telescopes: local effects and instrumental delays
11.50  Tim Natusch (AUT) - The Lossless compression of Radio Astronomy Data Flows
12.10 Lewis Woodburn, Tim Natusch, Stuart Weston, Peter Thomasson and Sergei Gulyaev (AUT) - Conversion of the 30m Telecommunications Dish into a Radio Telescope
12.30-1.30Lunch (60min)      
1.30  Discussion
2.50-3.10Tea break (20min)
3.10  Workshop Closing
  

THURSDAY 26 November

9.30  Depart AUT by coach for trip north of Auckland to AUT's Radio Astronomical Observatory, Warkworth.  Lunch will be at the historic Sawmill Cafe, Leigh, followed by a visit to places with significant connections to the beginnings of radio astronomy - the Bolton-Stanley 1948 expedition.
6.00-6.30  Arrival back at AUT

Adam Deller   ASTRON
Arpad Szomoru   JIVE
Ben Hart   AUT
Charles Yun   REANNZ
Chris Phillips   CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science
Christopher Lorier   REANNZ
Colin Lonsdale   MIT Haystack Observatory
Cormac Reynolds   CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science
Do-Heung Je   Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Franz Kirsten   Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy
Ganesan Rajagopalan   MIT Haystack Observatory
Gino Tuccari   INAF-IRA
Harro Verkouter   JIVE
Helge Rottmann   MPlfR
Hiroaki Nishioka    Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica
Jaehwan Yeom   Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Jamie McCallum   University of Tasmania
Jim Lovell   University of Tasmania
John Nicholls   AARNet
Jordan Alexander   AUT
Kazuhiro Takefuji   NICT
Kenichi Harada   Elecs Industry Co. Ltd., Japan
Kerry Shores   National Radio Astronomy Observatory (US)
Leif Helldner   Onsala Space Observatory
Leif Morten Tangen   Norwegian Mapping Authority
Lewis Woodburn   AUT    
Lucia Plank   University of Tasmania
Mahmoud S. Mahmoud   AUT
Matt Luce   NRAO
Matteo Stagni   IRA - INAF
Mauro Nanni   INAF - Istituto di Radioastronomia
Michael Lindqvist   Onsala Space Observatory
MinGyu Song   KASI
Moritz Sieber   Norwegian Mapping Authority
Nicolas Pradel   AUT
Pablo de Vicente   Observatorio de Yebes (OAN-IGN)
Peter Thomasson   Jodrell Bank / AUT
Renjie Zhu   Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Roger Hammargren   Onsala Space Observatory
Se-Jin Oh   Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute
Seogoh Wi   KASI
Sergei Gulyaev   AUT
Stuart Weston   AUT
Tasso Tzioumis   CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science
Tim Natusch   AUT
Tjeerd Pinkert   Vrije Universiteit
Tomoaki Oyama   National Astronomical Observatory of Japan
Weimin Zheng   Shanghai Astronomy Observatory
Yidan Huang   Shanghai Astronomical Observatory
Yong-Woo Kang   KASI
Yuta Kobayashi   JAXA
Zhong Chen   Shanghai Astronomy Observatory

Organising Committees

Scientific Organising Committee

  • Alan Whitney     USA
  • Andrey Mikhailov     Russia
  • Arpad Szomoru     Netherlands
  • Bill Petrachenko     Canada
  • Bong Wog Sohn     South Korea
  • Chris Phillips     Australia
  • Gino Tuccari     Italy
  • Hiroshi Takeuchi     Japan
  • Jim Lovell (Co-chair)     Australia
  • Jon Romney     USA
  • Jonathon Quick     South Africa
  • Pablo de Vicente     Spain
  • Sergei Gulyaev (Co-chair)     New Zealand
  • Weimin Zheng     China

Local Organising Committee

  • Mahmoud S. Mahmoud
  • Nicholas Pradel
  • Patricia Sallis (Admin)
  • Sergei Gulyaev (Chair)
  • Stuart Weston
  • Tim Natusch