Trinity and the government today signed a €1.4 million deal that will secure Ireland’s membership of Low Frequency Array (LOFAR) telescopes, a Europe-wide network of radio telescopes – a collaboration that is a significant boost to Ireland’s astronomical community.
The deal, signed by Provost Patrick Prendergast and Minister of State for Training Skills, Innovation, Research and Development John Halligan, formally endorses a project that will see Trinity help lead Ireland in the European project, with the government agreeing to pay the annual membership free of LOFAR.
It was announced last January that Trinity would receive the €1.4 million investment from Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) to construct a LOFAR telescope in Birr, Co Offaly, marking the first major piece of investment in Irish astronomy for decades.
LOFAR is a network of radio telescopes across Europe, built by the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy in 2006 at a cost of €150 million. The network stretches across the Netherlands, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Poland. The new Irish LOFAR (I-LOFAR) telescope will make the overall telescope 30 per cent bigger.
LOFAR in Ireland will be led by Prof Peter Gallagher, the Associate Dean of Research. Gallagher, one of Europe’s leading astrophysicists, emphasised the historic nature of the agreement. “This is the first time that a research-grade radio telescope has been built in Ireland. I-LOFAR will enable Irish researchers to study solar activity and exploding stars, search for new planets, and explore the distant universe in a completely new way”, he said in a press statement.
“This will be achieved by developing cutting-edge data analytics techniques on supercomputers here in Ireland and the Netherlands.”
Irish astronomy and astrophysics have went years without any significant state investment and the formal agreement today between Trinity and the government will be be a boost to researchers across the island. In a press statement, Halligan said: “It is very exciting that researchers across Ireland, both North and South, will now be able to participate in international research on fundamental questions about the origin and structure of the universe.”
“Membership of LOFAR will also increase the engagement of young people with science and inspire our future researcher leaders”, he added. The funding from SFI will support Ireland’s contribution to the network, helping the country become involved in some of the leading astronomical research in Europe.
“Joining the International LOFAR Telescope collaboration will open many new research and funding opportunities for Irish researchers and students in Europe and further afield”, Prendergast said.
“Indeed, one of the I-LOFAR team, Tom Ray, a Professor at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies and an Adjunct Professor of Astronomy at Trinity, has recently won a prestigious €2 million Advanced Grant from the European Research Council.”
