Speaker
Description
The Square Kilometre Array Regional Centres (SRCs) will provide a crucial link between the SKA and the scientific community. They will host a diversity of services and activities, ranging from large scale computing to data- and labour-intensive analyses. These activities, and thus the effective design and operation of the SRCs and the SRC Network, will form an essential part of the scientific lifecycle. In simple terms, science with the SKA will be impossible without an effective network of SRCs.
We've faced a very similar challenge with MeerKAT and the Inter-University Institute for Data Intensive Astronomy (IDIA). Our challenges and experiences with the design, development and operation of Ilifu (in response to the community's diverse and demanding requirements) provided an effective testbed to prototype ideas and approaches which could be scaled up for the SKA and SRCs. That's why we were proud and confident in claiming the title of the premier proto-SRC.
In my talk, I'll cover the evolution of Ilifu. I'll provide a retrospective view of the highlights and challenges we experienced along the way -- from the tremendous success in facilitating hundreds of papers and dozens of science cases, to the technical and leadership "opportunities" involved in operating such a facility. I'll confront several paradoxes that we faced during our journey towards MeerKAT science, and will outline a few lessons learned and approaches for the future.
