Journalism of Courage
Over 100 astronomical digital signal processing experts will be trained in the city in an astronomical workshop Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) 2011from Monday.
The workshop is being organised by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR). CASPER is a collaboration that helps scientists put together a vast array of softwares and hardwares that have varied applications ranging from space research to help ones brain control a prosthetic limb.
Dan Werthimer,from the University of California,Berkeley,who is one of the co-founders of CASPER said,CASPER has a free of cost website where anyone can sign up and donate computing time. So far eight million people have done the work that would normally be done by a supercomputer in 1,000 years,so it has literally democratised the supercomputer.
Yashwant Gupta,chief scientist,Giant Metre Wave Radio Telescope (GMRT),a unit of NCRA,said,This is the biggest CASPER workshop ever and were proud to host it. For the workshops,special tutorial laboratories have been set up to train people during these four days.
While on Monday,Matthew Bailes from Swinburne University of Technology,Australia will deliver a speech on Discovery of a Diamond Planet,on Wednesday,Werthimer will deliver a public lecture on Is anybody out there,where he will discuss the possibility of extra-terrestrial life forms.
