'IEEE Milestone' status for Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope

I appreciate their support, the sense of purpose and genuine enthusiasm towards the common objective," Gupta said, adding the IEEE recognition will provide broader visibility to GMRT at the global level. Harish Mysore, senior director, IEEE (India Operations) said IEEE has recognised 212 milestones all over the world for their scientific and engineering contributions.

The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) near here has received the prestigious 'IEEE Milestone' status that honours significant technical achievements and excellence in unique products, services, seminal papers and patents for th benefit of humanity, authorities from National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) said on Friday. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology in all areas related to electrical and electronics engineering.

As per the NCRA, this is only the third such IEEE Milestone recognition for an Indian contribution. "It is a very proud and special moment, not just for GMRT and NCRA (and theglobal astronomy community), but also for the science and technology fraternity in the country, to see a modern, made in India facility earn this international recognition," Professor Yashwant Gupta, NCRA centre director, said at a press conference.

He said this was a fitting tribute to late Prof Govind Swarup, who was the driving force behind GMRT. "It was fantastic to work with colleagues from IEEE on this project. I appreciate their support, the sense of purpose and genuine enthusiasm towards the common objective," Gupta said, adding the IEEE recognition will provide broader visibility to GMRT at the global level.

Harish Mysore, senior director, IEEE (India Operations) said IEEE has recognised 212 milestones all over the world for their scientific and engineering contributions. "The GMRT is the third IEEE Milestone in India. It not only recognises contributions of scientists and engineers of India, but also helps attract young talent towards fundamental science and engineering," he added.

The previous two Indian IEEE milestones (recognized in 2012) were for pioneering work by Sir JC Bose in 1895 to demonstrate the generation and reception of radio waves, and for the Nobel prize-winning discovery by Sir CV Raman in 1928, Mysore informed. The GMRT is among the largest and most sensitive low- frequency radio observatories in the world. It is operated by Pune-based NCRA, which is part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai.

It consists of an array of 30 antennas of 45 metre diameter each with sophisticated electronics and computing for processing data. The GMRT was proposed in the late 1980s, built and made operational during the 1990s, and opened for use by the global astronomy community in 2002.

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