Jacob W. M. Baars

International Radio Telescope Projects: a Life Among Its Designers, Builders and Users Jacob W. M. Baars

Scientific research requiring large experimental apparatus are increasingly realised in an international collaboration. Since 1975, the author has been intimately involved in four such collaborations in the field of radio astronomy. From his home base at the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn, Germany, he played a role in radio telescope projects in collaboration with France, the USA, Mexico and the global project ALMA, where North America, Europe and East Asia join forces in building the biggest radio telescope ever at 5000 m altitude in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. In this book he tells the story of these projects from his viewpoint in the role of Project-Manager, -Scientist or -Engineer. Technical, political, organisational and sociological aspects are discussed. Richly illustrated and interspersed with anecdotes and personal observations, the book aims to illuminate the atmosphere in which the projects were executed.