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NEW NRC BUILDING NAMED AFTER FATHER OF CANADIAN RADIO ASTRONOMY(September 27, 2003 -- Penticton, B.C.) – The National Research Council (NRC) announced today that a new building at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) has been officially named after Dr. Arthur Covington, a renowned NRC researcher considered by many as the father of Canadian radio astronomy. Part of the NRC Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics (NRC-HIA), DRAO is located near Penticton, British Columbia. "The naming of this new building is a most appropriate way to honour Dr. Covington's memory as it is dedicated to the advancement of the field he helped to pioneer," said Dr. Arthur Carty, NRC President. "Dr. Covington's discoveries have contributed in no small measure to Canada's recognition as one of the world's leaders in the fields of astronomy and astrophysics." The Covington building will be home to a world-class engineering team at NRC-DRAO and will provide all Canadian astronomers with access to state-of-the-art facilities. It will also provide space for industrial partners and is the site of the development of a major engineering project, the signal-processing computer for the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA). Dr. Arthur Covington joined NRC in 1942 to work on the development of radar. After the war he adapted his radar technology to observation of the natural sky. He succeeded in detecting radio emissions from the Sun in 1946, taking Canada's first step into radio astronomy. Covington was the first in Canada to employ radio interferometry through his use of widely separated small antennas to precisely locate the source of the Solar radio emissions. The people he attracted to his program quickly placed Canada in a leadership position in the new field of radio astronomy. His legacy is found throughout NRC-HIA and in Canadian universities. NRC-DRAO's 56-year record of carefully calibrated, uniform solar flux measurements constitutes a valuable, uniquely Canadian dataset that is used everyday by industries and researchers worldwide. Among its multitude of users are the satellite communications industry and scientists studying global climate change. With its Solar Monitoring program, NRC-DRAO will continue to distribute reliable and accurate measurements that trace an unbroken line from Arthur Covington's pioneering work. NRC-DRAO is used to observe and study the sources of radio waves from space. It supports research conducted by astronomers in Canada and abroad by operating telescopes at its site near Penticton. NRC-DRAO staff are also developing concepts for the next generation of world radio telescopes. The Canadian Galactic Plane Survey, a research partnership of NRC with Canadian universities, uses the telescopes at NRC-DRAO in a wide-ranging study of our Milky Way. Aimed at understanding the dynamic processes that lead to the birth of stars, and studying their effects on their surroundings, the Survey has attracted international attention and acclaim. NRC recently received funding of $20 million for the development of a powerful signal-processing computer for the Expanded Very Large Array, a radio telescope located in New Mexico. This contribution from the world-leading engineering team at NRC-DRAO helps to provide all Canadian astronomers with access to state-of-the-art facilities now and in the future. The technology of receiving and processing signals from the remote reaches of the Universe may be applied to more Earthly pursuits and NRC-DRAO is committed to assisting Canadian enterprises in exploiting this technology. Recognized globally for research and innovation, Canada's National Research Council (NRC) is a leader in the development of an innovative, knowledge-based economy for Canada through science and technology. For more information, please visit the Web site at http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca, or contact: Nathalie Gour Tom Landecker |
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