The EXTRACT project is leveraging cutting-edge data processing technology across the compute continuum (edge, cloud and HPC) that is being tested in the Transient Astrophysics with a Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder (TASKA) use case, spearheaded by partners from the Observatoire de Paris. In this case, project technology is being used to filter raw data from NenuFAR radio telescopes in Nançay, France to allow for the creation of high-quality, actionable datasets that can be used for advancing scientific discoveries.
Throughout the project, the TASKA use case team has actively engaged with the scientific community and industry peers to demonstrate the potential benefits of EXTRACT technology. This article highlights key opportunities where these insights and advancement have been presented.
SKA-SRC Working Group 3
On 5 July 2024, an online presentation, entitled “Summary of TASKA”, and a live demo were shared with several IT engineers, researchers, project managers working in working group 3 of the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)- SKA Regional Centre (SRC). SRCs offer data access and processing resources for use by SKA scientists and general users. Working group meetings are important for sharing information on the development of software tools, included analysis, modelling and visualization.
See the slides here
SKA-France/NumPEx Meeting
On 4 October 2024, a presentation on “Survey Use Case illustrated with LoTSS (and Extract)” was delivered to 25 attendees at the Laboratoire de Physique LPENS in Paris. The meeting was held within the framework of the SKA- Exascale NumPEx (numérique pour l’Exascale) meeting, which seeks to encourage scientific and industrial application domains to exploit the capabilities of exascale systems. Julien Girard (Observatoire de Paris) presented the EXTRACT project and its specific application to the TASKA use case, including the development of a python package that can be operated by non-specialists, the implementation of the chaining of tasks and decision making capabilities and replay capabilities.
See the slides here
2024 French national conference on radio astronomy
On 14 November 2024, Observatoire de Paris partners were able to share a presentation on EXTRACT to the French national conference on radio astronomy at the École Normale Supérieure in Paris. This three-day event offered a platform for sharing scientific results, methodologies and projects from French teams focused on radio frequency data analysis and interpretation. A presentation was given on “EXTRACT: preparing large-scale radio interferometric data processing in the SKA era” to 111 attendees from engineering, research and project management background at ENS Ulm, Paris.
The conference agenda is available here.
See the slides here
Meeting of the Paris Observatory IT department.
On 22 November 2024, members of the Paris Observatory IT Department were shown a demo on the TASKA Use Case C. The Live demo sought to show colleagues contributing to the project, the vision behind the projects and the advancements made thus far. This scientific and technologically oriented presentation provided a deep look into the capabilities of EXTRACT technology.
See the MVP demo here
ECLAT Lab Technical Meeting
Project partners presented “EXTRACT: preparing large-scale radio interferometric data processing in the SKA era” to 30 IT engineers, researchers, and private sector partners at the University of Bordeaux on 28 November 2024. The presentation was held with within the framework of the common Extreme Computing Lab for Astronomical Telescopes (ECLAT), in partnership with the CNRS, Inria, Observatory of Cote D’Ázur, the Observatoire de Paris-PSL and Eviden. The first meeting of this center of excellence highlighted important initiatives underway in these organizations and helped highlight their needs. Julien Girard from EXTRACT presented the work conducted within the project and its applications to the TASKA use case and sub use cases.
More information on this meeting can be found here