This grant will partially fund a workshop titled "CASPER2010: Workshop for New Paths in Heterogeneous Digital Signal Processing". The base mission of CASPER (Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research) is to enhance and streamline the development of astronomical instrumentation through the development of platform-independent, open-source hardware and software. The aims of this workshop are to:

* Provide hands-on training in hardware and firmware development to students and experienced astronomers * Discuss and disseminate scientific accomplishments enabled by CASPER projects * To broaden the participation of the wider Digital Signal Processing community in the mission of CASPER

The funding provided by NSF will be used exclusively to provide travel and participation support for students and junior faculty to attend the workshop. Additional outreach activities related to the workshop will enhance the experience for the student participants. These activities include participation in lectures at the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) and night time observing with optical telescopes at the CfA. In addition, the participants will have access to a 2-m radio telescope and high-resolution spectrometer setup specifically for the workshop which will be run by CASPER circuit boards and tools.

Project Report

Researchers within the Collaboration for Astronomy Signal Processing and Electronics Research (CASPER) seek to make the design of instrumentation accessible to astronomers rather than only engineers and other specialists. CASPER members work to create public-use signal-processing hardware and software that streamline, simplify, and accelerate the design and implementation of astronomical instrumentation. The approach emphasizes modularity and reuse of building blocks. Recognizing new trends in signal processing, the investigators hosted an international CASPER workshop on cutting-edge heterogeneous digital signal processing (CASPER2010). This was held at Harvard University on August 16-20, 2010. This workshop was unusual in terms of its promotion of mixing signal processing technologies, in particular substantive discussion of Graphics Processing Units (GPU) as signal processing engines. Attendees (89) hailed from institutions, mostly universities and academic labs, in the United States, Australia, Europe, South Africa, India, and the Far East. The workshop mixed talks, tutorials, and hands-on training using signal-processing hardware donated by academic groups within CASPER. The talks focused on notable scientific results enabled by CASPER technology, new applications in progress, reports on research and development, and discussions of pioneering development. NSF support enabled attendance by 17 students and junior researchers who otherwise did not have adequate resources to participate and begin contributing to the CASPER community. This reflects the Intellectual Merit underlying the award. Training of students and junior researchers has been a foremost priority in CASPER and was a priority at the workshop. Knowledge gained is applicable to astronomy and other scientific disciplines with cutting-edge signal processing challenges - several of which were the subject of talks. Education and general applicability reflect the Broader Impact of the award. Most of the students gave presentations, and these contributed substantially to the success of the workshop. Many also helped to set up the hands-on tutorials.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Astronomical Sciences (AST)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
1048718
Program Officer
Robert Scott Fisher
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2010-07-15
Budget End
2011-06-30
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$20,000
Indirect Cost
Name
Harvard University
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Cambridge
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02138