First INTEGRAL Data Analysis Workshop
22 October 2004
The first INTEGRAL Data Analysis Workshop brought together PhD students as well as experienced researchers all wanting to learn more about INTEGRAL and how best to analyse the data from ESA's gamma-ray observatory. The Workshop was organized by the INTEGRAL Science Data Centre (ISDC) on 5-9 October 2004. It was split into two parts.The first session consisted of lectures by specialists from the ISDC and the Instrument Teams on all aspects of the INTEGRAL mission including the calibration and the analysis software. This was followed by a hands-on session during the last two days allowing the participants to exercise what they have learned.
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Workshop participants |
Ten workstations were made available to perform a set of typical analysis problems on public INTEGRAL data. Benefiting from the presence and support of ISDC staff members, the participants were able to become familiar with the Off-line Scientific Analysis software provided by the ISDC for the analysis of INTEGRAL data.
The workshop was deemed to be a success by all those who attended and it showed, if necessary, that many countries outside Europe are also very interested in the results of INTEGRAL. The 30-40 participants came from all around the world including China, India, Iran and Turkey. For several it was their first visit to Switzerland and they took the opportunity to taste the famous Swiss Fondue (melted cheese) at the Workshop Dinner.
In the future, the ISDC plans to organize around one workshop per year. These will demonstrate to the community the progress made in improving the calibration of the instruments and the latest developments in the analysis tools. They will also provide an opportunity for the ISDC staff to meet the INTEGRAL users and to collect their feedback on the ISDC services provided. This is important and very motivating for the ISDC staff as they continue to improve the services offered to the community which include a complete set of user documentation and helpdesk support.