MeerKATs with Big IDIAs: How Data-Intensive Astronomy is bringing the Research Cloud to Africa
by Michelle Cluver (U. Western Cape)
Abstract.
In 2018, the 64 dish MeerKAT radio interferometer will begin full
operations, thereby propelling the South African astronomy community
into the era of Big Data. In this talk I will give a brief overview of
the key science projects that will be running on MeerKAT, as well
discuss the role of the Inter-University Institute for Data-Intensive
Astronomy (IDIA) in facilitating this “big data” science and how we
aim to grow this capacity within strategic research areas in
Africa. Global partnerships with SKA countries, such as Australia, are
essential for the development of tools and expertise in this dynamic
field.