Fwd: Poll: are you interested in radio astronomy distance learning courses?

[SOURAV KUMAR SAHOO]

Hello all,

Are you interested in taking radio astronomy courses via distance learning?

The NRAO in Green Bank has stated that it is looking at offering distance education courses.
http://www.nrao.edu/news/newsletters/enews/enews_3_1/enews_3_1.shtml#epo

I imagine this might be through the University of Virginia.  There are three that look particularly interesting:
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/courses.php
ASTR 3140: Observational Radio Astronomy
ASTR 5340: Introductory Radio Astronomy
ASTR 5350: Radio Astronomy Instrumentation

The ASTR 5340 course material is available online through the NRAO.  The material is dense.  Without actually taking a formal course, it'd be a rather tough row to hoe.  The material for this course may be found here:
http://www.nrao.edu/index.php/resources/era
http://www.cv.nrao.edu/course/astr534/ERA.shtml

The same may be said for the ASTR 5350 course.  The material is online, but it would be far more productive, I think, to work through it in a formal class setting.
http://www.astro.virginia.edu/class/bradley/astr535/index.html

I have contacted the NRAO about its plans to offer distance learning courses and have been asked to obtain an idea of how many students might enroll in such courses.

To that end, I am asking here: are you interested?  If so, please either reply here or send me an email direct.

It is my hope that with enough positive responses, U Virginia might be convinced to get into the radio astronomy distance learning business.

The University of Manchester and Jodrell Bank offered this course:
http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/distance/exploringfacts.html

Unfortunately, U Manchester / Jodrell Bank no longer offers any distance learning classes at all.  I was in the last group of students to take this course; we just wound it up last week.  It was outstanding; the lectures were /very/ well written.  It was a little light on the math (no calculus), but that's appropriate to a first year introductory course.

Hopefully, the NRAO will find a way to fill the distance learning vacuum left by Jodrell Bank.

Thank you!
--
Dave Typinski
AJ4CO Observatory

--
Sourav Kumar Sahoo
1st yr, Int BS-MS,
Convener,
IISER-K Astronomy and Model Making Club,
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research-Kolkata(IISER-K)
Ph:+919614734100
EMAIL:sahoo...@iiserkol.ac.in
sahoo...@gmail.com