Radio Telescope Instrumentation for Teaching is designed for undergraduate physics instructors seeking to integrate radio astronomy into their courses. After optical astronomy, radio astronomy is the only ground-based method accessible with modest equipment, yet classroom projects can be challenging to implement. This book offers a range of projects, from introductory to advanced, covering standalone classroom systems, networked stations, and larger facilities involving student participation. Activities include observing Galactic hydrogen, Cygnus A, Cassiopeia A, solar bursts, Jovian emissions, and pulsars. Instrumentation options span online setups, small-scale equipment, and permanent small-dish telescopes, with advanced techniques like interferometry now feasible using affordable tools such as field-programmable gate arrays. Chapters are authored by experienced educators.
Key Features:
First book dedicated to developing radio astronomy projects in the classroom
Gives the instructor a starting point for a variety of classroom projects
Describes how rapid advances in computing have enabled locally-built radio telescopes to be accessible to undergraduate students
Edited by:
Timothy Dolch (Hillsdale College (United States))
Imprint: Institute of Physics Publishing
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 254mm,
Width: 178mm,
ISBN: 9780750356015
ISBN 10: 0750356014
Series: AAS-IOP Astronomy
Pages: 244
Publication Date: 29 December 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
I. Standalone systems for the classroom 1. Small dish radio astronomy in coursework (Jim Cordes, Cornell) 2. The RadioJove project (Chuck Higgins, MTSU) 3. Digital Signal Processing in Radio Astronomy (DSPIRA) in the classroom (Kevin Bandura, WVU) 4. Interferometry in a radio astronomy instrumentation lab (Carl Heiles, UC Berkeley) II. Using local stations that are part of a larger network in undergraduate coursework or summer research 1. The Low-Frequency All-Sky Monitor as an undergraduate laboratory tool (Timothy Dolch, Hillsdale/Eureka + Louis Dartez, Caltech LIGO) 2. The Deployable Low-Band Ionosphere and Transient Experiment (DLITE) and undergraduate learning (Joe Helmboldt, NRL) 3. Galactic Radio Explorer: accelerating radio astronomy education for undergraduates (GReX; Liam Connor, Caltech) III. Large facilities/missions that include student participation in instrumentation 1. The Long-Wavelength Array (LWA) and student participation (Greg Taylor / Jayce Dowell, UNM) 2.. LWA-Swarm mini-stations and the ionospheric science with students (Ken Obenberger, AFRL) 3. Sun Radio Interferometer Space Experiment (SunRISE) and ground-based student involvement (Alex Hedegus, U. of Michigan + Joe Lazio, JPL) IV. Innovative methods to use across various radio astronomy teaching projects 1. Advanced radio astronomy lab courses (David L. Kaplan, UWM) 2. External Calibrator for Hydrogen Observatories (ECHO) as student training (Daniel Jacobs, ASU) 3. Radio Astronomy Software for Pedagogical Environments [someone from CASPER at UC Berkeley?] 4. Field Programmable Gate Arrays and Simulink with students in a radio telescope receiver [someone from CASPER at UC Berkeley?] 5. Student Raspberry Pi Usage in the Radio Astronomy Context (Glen Langston, NSF) V. Outcomes – success stories and long-term pedagogical benefits of radio astronomy usage in the classroom (collected from various authors)
Timothy Dolch is Associate Professor of Physics at Hillsdale College. He received his BS from the California Institute of Technology and his PhD in Physics & Astronomy from the Johns Hopkins University in 2012. Before joining the faculty of Hillsdale College, he held postdoctoral positions at Oberlin College and Cornell University, both with the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) collaboration. In NANOGrav he has chaired the Education and Public Outreach Working Group. He is also a research scientist with Eureka Scientific, Inc.
