Breakthrough Listen sponsored Summer Internship with I-LOFAR

Would you like to spend the summer conducting research at a world-class radio telescope located in the beautiful historical setting of Birr Castle Demesne? Are you interested in the quest for a scientific answer to one of humanity’s oldest questions: Are we alone in the Universe?

If so, the I-LOFAR Summer Research Internship with Breakthrough Listen is for you!

Breakthrough Listen (BL) is a world-leading, comprehensive program to search for intelligent life in the Universe.  Successful candidates will get an opportunity to participate in conducting experiments with the recently installed instruments at I-LOFAR in collaboration with the BL team.  Over the course of 12 weeks, candidates will gain experience in radio astronomy, data analysis, and instrumentation, and will also have the opportunity to take observations with the I-LOFAR telescope and work with the wider LOFAR research team. They will draw on their knowledge of physics, specifically astrophysics and radio astronomy, to engage with a wide range of visitors to the I-LOFAR Education Centre and through online channels.

The successful candidates will be supervised and mentored by Dr. Evan Keane, National University of Ireland, Galway, and collaborate with the team at Berkeley by participating remotely in team meetings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a 12 week placement running from June to August 2021 (7th June – 27th August), with a stipend of €400 per week.

To apply, please see additional information and application form at https://seti.berkeley.edu/Internship.html. Applications are open until Friday 12th of February 2021.

This is open to second, third and final year undergraduate students registered at Irish third level institutions or who have freedom of movement to Ireland. Applications will be accepted from students of physics, astrophysics and related disciplines.

NOTE: This position is based at the I-LOFAR Education Centre in Birr Castle Demesne, Birr, Co Offaly – COVID restrictions permitting.

 

 

Explore the historic and modern astrophysics research happening in Birr, in the heart of the Irish Midlands! 

Join us for Culture Night 2020 on a virtual tour to discover the engineering and science behind the 19th century Leviathan telescope, before journeying nearly 200 years into the present day to the 21st century Irish Low Frequency Array (I-LOFAR) radio telescope. Learn about the astronomical discoveries made here at our observatory in Birr Castle Demesne and Ireland’s role in the future of radio astronomy.

The tour will be followed by a live question and answer session with I-LOFAR staff and researchers to answer any queries from attendees on the operation of and discoveries with I-LOFAR.

 

Suitable for all, registration required via Eventbrite.

 

This event will be hosted online via Zoom. The link to join will be sent to ticket holders by 15 minute before the start of the event. Should you have any questions please email education@lofar.ie

 

Presented by the Astronomical Midlands team at I-LOFAR, a Science Foundation Ireland Discover Project led by Trinity College Dublin, in collaboration with ESERO Ireland.