Project Grant 2229496

This $259,799 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems Engineering program will support research into using an intelligent surface installed near a radio telescope to help mitigate radio frequency interference from other electromagnetic spectrum users. The Research Foundation for the State University of New York at the University at Albany will construct an experimental radio telescope based on the Small Radio Telescope design and test signal cancellation approaches using the intelligent surface on their telescope and one antenna of the Owens Valley Radio Observatory's DSA-110 telescope array. The project aims to accurately estimate radio frequency interference incident at the telescopes and configure the intelligent surface so its reflected signal precisely cancels the interference upon arrival at the telescope receivers. This will help preserve the value of expensive radio telescope instruments and ensure their continued scientific capability as formerly remote locations experience increasing radio frequency interference over time.