India's National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), located on the Pune University Campus, is part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. At Khodad, 80 km from Pune, NCRA has set up the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT), the world's largest telescope operating at meter wavelengths. GMRT consists of 30 fully steerable dishes each having a diameter of 45 meters, spread over a 25 km area. NCRA is in collaboration with Inter University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics(IUCAA) located nearby and many of the people are jointly working for the two institutes.
NCRA is very active institute in science popularization and giving training to students in undergraduate courses. For such students who are interested in rather exotic field of radio astronomy, NCRA has set up several radio antennas in the campus itself. These contain 3-meter and 4-meter radio antennas as well as the construction of a 15-meter antenna in progress. These are generally used by students who participate in the different summer and winter courses organized by the institute.
NCRA also offers exciting opportunities to work in technical aspect relevant for radio astronomy such as analog and digital electronics, signal processing, antenna design, communication and software development.
Facilities:
i. Libraryii. Radio Physics Lab
iii.Computing Facilities
Student Programme:
NCRA runs both short and long term student technical training program. The short term programs are mainly during the summer and are meant for students in their pre-final year. The long term program runs during the academic year and are meant for final year students. Generally students from Pune are considered for the long term program.
The SP programs are open to students in their pre-final/final year of
- BE/BTech (Any Branch)
- MSc (Physics/Astronomy)
Projects are offered in a wide range of topics including
- Electronics (Analog/Digital)
- Instrumentation
- Signal Processing
- Data Analysis and Image Processing
Post-Doctoral Fellowships:
The National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) at Pune, India, invites applications for post-doctoral fellowships. Research activities at NCRA are centered on low frequency radio astronomy, where the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) is a major international facility. NCRA offers challenging opportunities to work at the frontiers of astronomy and astrophysics as well as instrumentation.
IUCAA - NCRA Admission Test:
IUCAA - NCRA Admission Test is being conducted to select candidates for research scholarship (to join Ph.D. Programme) either at Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune, or National Centre for Radio Astrophysics of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (NCRA - TIFR), Pune.
Eligibility:
Applications are invited from students who expect to complete their M.Sc. (in Physics/ Electronics/Astronomy/Applied Mathematics) or B.E./B.Tech./M.E./M.Tech. degree (any branch) with First Class marks, by August 2010. In addition, talented final year B.Sc. and first year M.Sc. (in Physics/Electronics/Astronomy/Applied Mathematics) students may also apply to be PRE-SELECTED for research scholarship at either of the following institutes:
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IUCAA, Pune, for Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Physics,
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NCRA - TIFR, Pune, for Astronomy and Astrophysics.
Contact Us:
National Centre for Radio Astrophysics
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
Pune University Campus, Post Bag 3, Ganeshkhind
Pune 411007, INDIA
Tel - +91 20 2571 9000/9111 Fax - +91 20 25692149
Website: http://ncra.tifr.res.in/