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Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics
Government organization in Canada at the University of Toronto From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto's St. George campus is an astronomical research centre.[1][2][3]
The institute was founded in 2008 with the help of endowed gifts to the University of Toronto from David M. Dunlap and J. Moffat Dunlap,[4] using the proceeds from the sale of the David Dunlap Observatory.[5][6][7] The Dunlap Institute is allied with and co-located with the University of Toronto's Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics and with the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics,[1][8] and no longer has any association or connection to the David Dunlap Observatory.
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Research
Astronomers at the Dunlap Institute investigate a variety of topics including:
Technology & Instrumentation
Telescope, instrumentation and software projects with leadership from Dunlap scientists include:
- The Dragonfly Telephoto Array, which comprises many telephoto lens and is designed to detect dim astronomical objects. Dragonfly was co-designed by the U of T's Roberto Abraham and Yale's Pieter van Dokkum.[16]
- The Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME)[15]
- The South Pole Telescope, designed to study the Cosmic Microwave Background from its location at the South Pole[15]
- The Gemini InfraRed Multi-Object Spectrograph (GIRMOS),[17][18] to be deployed on the Gemini South telescope in Chile in 2024
- The Canadian Initiative for Radio Astronomy Data Analysis (CIRADA),[2][18] which is producing advanced data products for the CHIME, ASKAP and VLA radio telescopes, and which is a pilot project for a Canadian Square Kilometre Array data centre.
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Training
At the Dunlap's annual Introduction to Astronomical Instrumentation Summer School, undergraduate and graduate students from around the world attend lectures and labs.[19] Undergraduate students also pursue summer research projects at the Dunlap Institute's Summer Undergraduate Research Program.[20][21]
Public outreach
The Dunlap Institute runs many public outreach events including:
- Astronomy on Tap TO[22]
- SpaceTime[23]
- Cool Cosmos (part of the International Year of Astronomy in 2009)[24][25]
- Transit of Venus viewing (2012)[26]
- Toronto Science Festival (in partnership with U of T Science Engagement) (2013)[27][28]
- Dunlap Prize Lecture featuring Neil deGrasse Tyson (2014)[29]
- Supermoon Lunar Eclipse viewing (2015)[30][31]
- Partial Solar Eclipse viewing (2017)[32]
- Planet gazing parties,[33][34] in partnership with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada
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Directors
- 2010 - 2012: James R. Graham[35]
- 2012 – 2015: Peter Martin (Acting/Interim)[36]
- 2015 – 2023: Bryan Gaensler[37][38]
- 2023 - present: Suresh Sivanandam[39]
References
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