US-based astronomer Shrinivas Kulkarni is a “big fan” of the Five-hundred-metre Aperture Spherical Telescope (FAST).
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The professor of astronomy and planetary sciences at California Institute of Technology (Caltech), who won this year’s Shaw Prize in Astronomy, described the world’s largest and most sensitive single-dish radio telescope in China’s southwest province of Guizhou as “a terrific facility” with a global presence.
“Kudos to the Chinese government for making it a truly international facility as well as allowing other scientists to use it,” he said, adding that radio astronomers worldwide received invitations every year to propose projects on the telescope.
Kulkarni was one of three Shaw prizewinners who spoke to the Post on the sidelines of the awards ceremony held in Hong Kong on Tuesday. Kulkarni received the top honour for his sustained series of fundamental discoveries in time-domain optical and radio astronomy. He has uncovered astronomical objects including millisecond pulsars, gamma-ray bursts and supernovae.
Describing FAST as the “best demonstration of soft power”, Kulkarni said findings made by international researchers using the telescope would always acknowledge China, and he hoped Beijing would continue to allow international access to encourage high-quality research.
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“Astronomy is by its very nature very international because we all study the same sky,” he said. “If I make a discovery in one country, it does not matter which country it is. Science is really universal.”