Nipanjana Patra is a Postdoctoral scholar at the Radio Astronomy Lab

Dr. Nipanjana Patra is a Postdoctoral scholar at the Radio Astronomy Lab, New Campbell Hall at the University Of California at Berkeley. She has worked in the field of precision observational cosmology. She says that she is an engineer by instinct, by heart and by training. Her research aims at bridging the large gap between theoretical understanding of the Epoch of Reionization and complex instrumentation of precision cosmology. After finishing Bachelors of Engineering in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering (2003-2007) from IIEST , Shibpur (then Bengal Engineering & Science University) she did her PhD in Astronomy at the Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, India under the Joint Astronomy program in Indian Institute of Science (2008-2014).

Nipanjana Patra

Abstract

The Big Bang theory has been the prevailing cosmological model for the creation of the Universe, from the earliest known periods through its subsequent evolution. However, little known is the fact that the Universe it created was dark and devoid of stars and galaxies. After a hundred million years of nothingness, the first light from the stars and galaxies brought the Cosmic Dawn from where the Universe evolved to what it is today. While a view of a planet or a star or a nebulae through an optical telescope brings an insurmountable joy to an amateur astronomer, it provides only a fraction of the information about the evolution of the Universe through cosmic time and its constituents. An overwhelming volume of information lies in various other electromagnetic wavelength which is ”unseen” and ”unheard”. The study of the the Universe, what it was in the past, what it is today and what it will be in the future, requires eyes and ears beyond mere human capacity. In my talk, I would give a brief introduction of astronomy across the electromagnetic spectrum focusing on radio astronomy. I would discuss how radio astronomy observations have made it possible to observe the ancient as well as today’s Universe beyond the visible. With the brief introduction to some of the world’s biggest radio telescopes, I would discuss a few engineering challenges of present day radio astronomy. Lastly, I would discuss the scopes and opportunities for engineers in the field of Radio Astronomy