African VLBI Network Training Site

Download the AVN 2019 Training Programme here

 

Programme Overview: 2019 AVN Training School:

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Sunday 05 May: Arrival

• 10:30 - 14:30: Arrival of trainees
• 12:30 - 13:30: Lunch
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner

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PART I:
CHPC Training - Basic Introduction to Linux and Python

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Monday 06 May: Welcome and Introduction, CHPC Training: Linux

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 08:00 - 08:30: Registration 
• 08:30 - 10:00: Welcome & Introduction   <download>  <download>  <download>
• 10:00 - 10:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 10:30 - 11:30: Participants to introduce themselves
• 11:30 - 12:30: Introduction to CHPC-DARA     <download>
• 12:30 - 13:30: Lunch
• 13:30 - 14:30: Running commands and getting help 
• 14:30 - 15:30: Browsing the file system and bash shell 
• 15:30 - 16:00: Tea/Coffee Break
• 16:00 - 17:00: Standard I/O and pipes, user groups & permissions 
• 17:00 - 18:00: Linux text editors, Manual Pages
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Tuesday 07 May: CHPC Training: Linux

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Recap 
• 10:00 - 10:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 10:30 - 12:30: Linux file system in depth 
• 12:30 - 13:30: Lunch
• 13:30 - 15:30: Regular expressions: sed, grep and find 
• 15:30 - 16:00: Tea/Coffee Break

• 16:00 - 17:30: Introduction to shell scripting 
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Wednesday 08 May: CHPC Training: Linux and Python

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Shell scripting and recap
• 10:00 - 10:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 10:30 - 12:30: Python basics, launching Python (new students join programme)
• 12:30 - 13:30: Lunch
• 13:30 - 15:30: Strings, lists, arrays and dictionaries 
• 15:30 - 16:00: Tea/Coffee Break
• 16:00 - 17:30: Input and output 
• 17:30 - 18:30: Introduction of new students
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Thursday 09 May: CHPC Training: Python

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Recap 
• 10:00 - 10:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 10:30 - 12:30: Conditionals and loops 
• 12:30 - 13:30: Lunch
• 13:30 - 15:30: Conditionals and loops, functions 
• 15:30 - 16:00: Tea/Coffee Break

• 16:00 - 17:30: Numerical routines, Numpy 
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Friday 10 May: CHPC Training: Python

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Recap 
• 10:00 - 10:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 10:30 - 12:30: Numerical routines, Scipy 
• 12:30 - 13:30: Lunch
• 13:30 - 15:30: Curve fitting 
• 15:30 - 16:00: Tea/Coffee Break, group photo 
• 16:00 - 17:00: Access to the  CHPC cluster in South Africa 
• 17:00 - 18:00: Q & A Linux for new students 
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)
• 20:00 - 22:00: Cultural Evening

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Saturday 11 May: No class, free time

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Sunday 12 May: No class, free time

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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PART II:
Observational and Technical Radio Astronomy Training

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Monday 13 May: Overview and Tour of the Facility, Coordinate and Time Systems

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 08:30 - 09:30: Radio Astronomy Overview, Talk  <download>
• 09:30 - 11:00: Tour of the Facility
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: The Merry-Go-Round in the Potato Field, Invited Talk & Demonstration <download>
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 15:00: Coordinate Systems I, Lecture <download>
• 15:00 - 16:00: Coordinate Systems II, Lecture
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Geodesy at SARAO & Time Systems Overview, Invited Talk <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Tuesday 14 May: Introduction to Radio Astronomy and Instruments

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 08:30 - 10:00: Radiometer Equation & Signal Flow,Lecture & Demonstration <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: Radio Antennas, Lecture  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Introduction to Equipment & Instrumentation, Practicals & Exercises
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 15:00: Antenna Conversion, Invited Talk <download>
• 15:00 - 16:00: Receiver & Optics Design for the Goonhilly Antenna Conversion, Invited Talk  <download>
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Design of MeerKAT, Invited Talk  <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Wednesday 15 May: Signal Processing

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Introduction to Digital Signal Processing,Lecture  <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: Digital Signal Processing Theory & Applications with Examples  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Fourier Transform Theory & Applications with Examples  <download>  <download2>
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 15:00: Overview of Matlab & Simulink, Lecture <download>
• 15:00 - 16:00: Digital Signal Processing, Exercises    
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Scientific data management system for the HartRAO Space Geodesy Programme, Invited Talk <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Thursday 16 May: Astronomy with a Small Radio Telescope
,
                               Measuring the Brightness Temperature of the Sun

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 08:30 - 10:00: Calibrating a Small Radio Telescope, Practical
• 10:00 - 11:00: Measuring the Brightness Temperature of the Sun, Lecture  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Continue with exercises
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 15:00: Continue with Exercises & student feedback
• 15:00 - 16:00: Radio Cosmology & the Cosmic Microwave Background, Invited Talk <download>
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Design of SKA Band 5, Invited Talk <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Friday 17 May: Microwave Receiver Systems

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 08:30 - 09:30: Microwave Receiver Systems Overview,Lecture  <download>
• 09:30 - 11:00: Microwave Receiver Systems, Practicals
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Microwave Receiver Systems, Practicals
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 16:00: Microwave Receiver Systems, Exercises & student feedback
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Water Vapour Radiometry, Invited Talk   <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)
• 20:00 - 22:00: Games Night

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Saterday 18 May: No class, free time

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• Excursion: shuttles leave at 08:45 from HartRAO
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Sunday 19 May: No class, free time

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Monday 20 May: Single-Dish Continuum Observations

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Radio Continuum Observations, Lecture  <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: Antenna Systems & Maintenance, Lecture  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Drift Scan Observations & Calibration, Lecture & Exercises  <download>
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 15:00: Radiometers, Square Law Detectors & Noise Diodes, Lecture  <download>
• 15:00 - 16:00: Continue with Exercises & student feedback
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Our weird Universe - an exploration of the odd phenomena and extreme conditions  <download>
                         in far outer space, Invited Talk
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Tuesday 21 May: Single-Dish Spectral Line Observations

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Spectroscopy with a Single-Dish, Lecture  <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: Spectrometer, Lecture  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 12:00: Introduction to Spectral Line Data Reduction, Lecture  <extra download>
• 12:00 - 13:00: Spectroscopy, Demonstration & Exercises
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 16:00: Continue with Exercises & student feedback
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 18:00: Hike
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Wednesday 22 May: Pulsar Observations

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Introduction to Pulsars, Invited Talk  <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: Pulsar Data Analysis
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Pulsar Data Analysis
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 15:00: Pulsar Timing Instrumentation & Techniques, Lecture  <download1> <download2>
• 15:00 - 16:00: Pulsar Timing Exercises
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Astrophysical Radiation Mechanisms, Invited Talk
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Thursday 23 May: Radio Frequency Interference, 
Bayesian Statistics

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), Lecture <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: RFI & EMI in VLBI, Invited Talk  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: RFI Practicals & Demonstrations
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 15:00: The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), Invited Talk <download> 
• 15:00 - 16:00: Bayesian Statistics, Parametric Modelling & PyMC4, Lecture <download>
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 – 18:00: Parametric Fitting using PyMC3, Exercises
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Friday 24 May: Radio Surveys and Data Mining
, Astronomy Outreach and Education

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Radio Surveys in the Era of AI, Invited Talk <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: Data Mining, Lecture  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Virtual Observatory Tools, Exercises
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 16:00: Continue with Exercises & student feedback
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 18:00: Astronomy Outreach & Education  <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)
• 20:00 - 22:00: Star Party

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Saturday 25 May: No class, free time

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• Excursion: shuttles leave at 08:30 from HartRAO
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00) 

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intSunday 26 May: No class, free time

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Monday 27 May: Introduction to Interferometry

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Introduction to Interferometry, Lecture  <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: Advanced Interferometry, Lecture  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Two-element Interferometer & Imaging using CASA, Practicals
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 16:00: Imaging using CASA, Exercises
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Current & Future Connected Arrays, Invited Talk  <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Tuesday 28 May: Introduction to VLBI
, Astronomical VLBI and Radio Sources

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 09:00 - 10:00: Radio Sources, Lecture   <download>
• 10:00 - 11:00: VLBI Fundamentals I, Lecture  <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: The Path Less Travelled: The adventures ofbuilding the AVN, Invited Talk & VGOS Tour     
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch              
• 14:00 - 15:00: VLBI Fundamentals II, Lecture <download>
• 15:00 - 16:00: VLBI Science, Invited Talk  <downlaod>
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: Introduction to Gamma Ray Astronomy, Invited Talk  <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Wednesday 29 May: Introduction to Geodetic VLBI, Geophysical Modelling

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 08:30 - 09:30: Overview of Geodesy & Why VLBI, Invited Talk  <download>
• 09:30 - 11:00: Geodetic VLBI & VieVS, Lecture & Demonstration  <download> <download>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Exercises using VieVS
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch              
• 14:00 - 15:00: Geophysical Modelling & Atmospheric Propagation, Lecture <download>
• 15:00 - 16:00: Models & Mapping Functions used in VieVS, Demonstration  
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: VLBI Simulations & their Applications for the AVN, Invited Talk  <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Thursday 30 May: 
Experiment Scheduling and Simulations, Introduction to Astrometric VLBI 

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 08:30 - 11:00: Scheduling and Simulating a Geodetic VLBI Experiment, Exercises  <download1>  <download2>
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 13:00: Overview of  Astrometric VLBI & Celestial Reference Frames, Invited Talk  <download>
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch              
• 14:00 - 16:00: Exercises using ICRF-3 Data
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 16:30 - 17:30: VLBI Celestial Reference Frames & Assessment with Gaia, Invited Talk  <download>
• 18:30 - 19:30: Dinner (labs will close at 20:00)

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Friday 31 May: SANSA Visit, 
AVN Talks, Closing Ceremony

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 08:30 - 11:00: SANSA visit (EA)
• 11:00 - 11:30: Tea/Coffee break
• 11:30 - 12:30: The African VLBI Network,Invited Talk   <download1> <download2> 
• 12:30 - 13:00: Evaluation of  the Noise Levels of Stations in the National Academic Co-Located Seismology Network in
                         SA, Invited Talk  <download>
• 13:00 - 14:00: Lunch
• 14:00 - 14:15: Site Suitability for a new Fundamental Geodetic Observatory, Student Talk  <download>
• 14:15 - 15:15: Systems Engineering at SKAO, Invited Talk  <download>
• 16:00 - 16:30: Tea/Coffee break
• Closing Ceremony: Shuttles leave at 16:30

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Saturday 01 June: No class, free time

• 07:00 - 08:00: Breakfast
• 10:00 - 10:15: Departure to Cradle Moon, DARA Netwroking Meeting

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