Lofar Data School September 2026

16 Sept 2026, 08:00 → 23 Sept 2026, 18:00 Europe/Amsterdam

van der Hulst auditorium

Wednesday 16 September

08:00 → 09:00 Arrival & registration

09:00 → 09:15 Welcome/Introduction

Speaker: Roberto Pizzo

09:15 → 10:00 Science with LOFAR

Speaker: Tim Shimwell

Shimwell_LOFAR_science.pdf

10:00 → 10:30 Break

10:30 → 11:00 LOFAR data: from the telescope to the archive

Speaker: Noa Peters

Peters_data_flow.pdf

11:00 → 11:45 Beamforming with LOFAR

Speaker: Vlad Kondratiev

Kondratiev_beamforming.pdf

11:45 → 12:30 LOFAR imaging data flow

Speaker: Frits Sweijen

Sweijen_imaging_data_flow.pdf

12:30 → 13:30 Lunch

13:30 → 14:15 LOFAR software landscape

Speakers: Frits Sweijen, Vlad Kondratiev

Kondratiev_pulsar_pipelines.pdf

Sweijen_software_landscape.pdf

14:15 → 15:00 Container tests + initial inspection (tutorial + problem solving)

Speakers: LOC, Tammo Jan Dijkema

15:00 → 15:30 Break

15:30 → 16:30 Systematic (instrumental & external) effects in LOFAR data: inspection & removal

Speaker: Cristina Cordun

Cordun_systematics.pdf

16:30 → 17:00 Introduction to science challenges

Speakers: LOC, Tutors

LDS2026_challenge_overviews.pdf

17:00 → 19:00 Welcome Reception (Borrel)

Thursday 17 September

09:00 → 10:00 LOFAR (self-) calibration

Speaker: Christian Groeneveld

Groeneveld_selfcal.pdf

10:00 → 10:30 Quality assessment of LOFAR data

Speaker: Aleksandar Shulevski

Shulevski_QA.pdf

10:30 → 11:00 Break

11:00 → 11:45 Introduction to pulsar science with LOFAR

Speaker: Nina Gusinskaia

Gusinskaia_pulsars.pdf

11:45 → 12:45 Reading BF HDF5 data with Python

Speakers: Cees Bassa, David McKenna, Vlad Kondratiev

12:45 → 13:45 Lunch

13:45 → 15:45 Solar data analysis and imaging

Speakers: Soham Dey, Maaijke Mevius

Dey_solar_LDS.pdf

15:45 → 16:15 Break

16:15 → 17:00 Q&A session / time to catch up on tutorials / work on science challenge

18:00 → 20:00 School dinner + pubquiz

Friday 18 September

09:00 → 10:00 Low frequency (Wide field) imaging

Speaker: André Offringa

imaging_offringa.pdf

10:00 → 10:45 Analysis techniques to characterize extended sources

Speaker: Andrea Botteon

extended_sources_botteon.pdf

10:45 → 11:15 Break

11:15 → 12:15 LOFAR VLBI

Speaker: Frits Sweijen

Sweijen_long_baselines.pdf

12:15 → 13:15 Lunch + Tour of the Dwingeloo telescope / LOFAR documentary at 12:35

13:15 → 14:30 VLBI data analysis and lofar_facet_selfcal tool usage

Speaker: Roland Timmerman

14:30 → 15:30 LOFAR LBA: LiLF

Speaker: Jort Boxelaar

LBA_LiLF_Boxelaar.pdf

15:30 → 16:00 Break

16:00 → 17:00 Science Lecture: From the Extremely Large Telescope to tiny ones

Speaker: Ramon Navarro

Saturday 19 September

08:00 → 16:00 Free day

Sunday 20 September

13:00 → 17:00 Excursion to LOFAR Core site and Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT)

Monday 21 September

09:00 → 09:30 Cosmic Ray and Lightning Science with LOFAR Transient Buffers

Speaker: Katherine Mulrey

Mulrey_cosmic_rays.pdf

09:30 → 10:00 Working with LOFAR Transient Buffer Data

Speaker: Brian Hare

Hare_transient_buffers.pdf

10:00 → 10:30 The Sky is the Limit: Astronomy Research Within Planetary Boundaries

Speaker: Pragya Chawla

Chawla_sustainability.pdf

10:30 → 11:00 Break

11:00 → 11:30 Transient analysis

Speaker: Antonia Rowlinson

Rowlinson_transients.pdf

11:30 → 12:30 Work on science challenge

12:30 → 13:30 Lunch

13:30 → 14:15 Star and exoplanet research with LOFAR

Speaker: Sanne Bloot

Bloot_stars_exoplanets.pdf

14:15 → 15:00 Science exploitation of wide field sky images

Speaker: André Offringa

Offringa_widefield_imaging.pdf

15:00 → 15:30 Break

15:30 → 17:00 Work on science challenge

Tuesday 22 September

09:00 → 09:30 The coming renaissance in radio astronomy

Speaker: Joe Callingham

Callingham_future_radio_astronomy.pdf

09:30 → 10:30 Low frequency science with LOFAR2.0: future perspective

Speaker: Emanuela Orru

Orru_LOFAR2.pdf

10:30 → 11:00 Break

11:00 → 12:30 Work on science challenge

12:30 → 13:30 Lunch

13:30 → 15:00 Work on science challenge

15:00 → 15:30 Break

15:30 → 17:00 Work on science challenge

Wednesday 23 September

09:00 → 10:00 Science challenge - finalization

10:00 → 10:30 Break

10:30 → 12:00 Science challenge presentations

12:00 → 12:30 Q&A session + Feedback questionnaire

12:30 → 13:00 Concluding remarks, school closing ceremony

13:00 → 14:00 Lunch

14:00 → 15:00 Departure