معرفی
Juan Mena-Parra is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, affiliated with the Dunlap Institute and the David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics. His research spans observational cosmology, radio astronomy, and instrument development for cutting-edge telescopes like CHIME and CHORD.
Education:
- Electronic Engineering, Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín, Colombia)
- Honours Mathematics and Physics, McGill University
- Ph.D. in Physics, McGill University (2018)
Research Focus: Juan develops novel instrumentation and data analysis techniques to study the universe's expansion history, dark energy, and fast radio bursts (FRBs). He works on projects such as the Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment (CHIME), CHIME/FRB Outriggers, and the Canadian Hydrogen Observatory and Radio-transient Detector (CHORD), aiming to improve cosmic mapping and transient detection capabilities.
Scientific Contributions: As part of the CHIME collaboration since its inception, Juan contributed to the design of the world’s largest radio correlator, enabling CHIME to process 13+ terabits of data per second. He now focuses on CHIME/FRB Outriggers for precise FRB localization and CHORD, which will combine cylindrical reflectors with dish arrays for enhanced cosmological and transient studies.
Recognition:
- Kavli Fellowship at MIT
Labs and Collaborations: Juan previously worked in the McGill Cosmology Instrumentation Laboratory with Matt Dobbs and is currently based at the University of Toronto's Dunlap Institute. He collaborates with teams at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory (DRAO) and contributes to the CHIME and CHORD telescopes.
