Today, DESY and the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) celebrated the official opening of the new Science Data Management Centre (SDMC) building on the DESY campus in Zeuthen. In the presence of Mario Brandenburg, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Tobias Dünow, State Secretary at the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg (MWFK), and CTAO Managing Director Stuart McMuldroch, as well as members of the CTAO Council, the event brought together key figures from the international CTAO community, political representatives, regional partners, DESY and CTAO staff to celebrate an important milestone in the further exploration of the high-energy processes in the Universe.

Speaking about the importance of the new facility, Mario Brandenburg said: “The opening of the Science Data Management Centre (SDMC) in Zeuthen marks a milestone on the way to the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO). With the SDMC we are not only making a significant contribution to managing and processing the immense amounts of data generated by the CTAO observations. We also strengthen Germany's position as a location for innovation. The SDMC impressively demonstrates how international co-operation in research and the use of state-of-the-art data management technologies can enable future scientific breakthroughs.”

The CTAO is an international observatory for very high-energy gamma-ray astronomy with telescope arrays located on the Canary Island of La Palma (Spain) and in the Atacama Desert (Chile). Its headquarters are located in Bologna, Italy. Its broad array of science goals includes understanding the origin and role of relativistic cosmic particles, probing extreme environments like black holes or neutron stars and exploring frontiers in physics, for example the search for dark matter. The SDMC in Zeuthen near Berlin coordinates the software and computing work of the observatory, making CTAO's data products available to the worldwide community.

Tobias Dünow, State Secretary at the Ministry of Science, Research and Culture of the State of Brandenburg, said: “If you want to know why science and research are so immensely important and why every Euro invested there is an investment in the future, you just have to go to DESY in Zeuthen. DESY conducts research into questions of the future, from astroparticle physics to projects in the field of cancer therapy with accelerators and quantum computing, the answers to which will make our lives better and healthier. That is why we are delighted to have supported the construction of the Science Data Management Centre. The decision to locate the SDMC of the international gamma-ray observatory CTAO in Zeuthen is impressive proof of DESY's excellence in research.”

Aligning with the regional importance of DESY in Zeuthen, this is the first time an international research project will be co-hosted on the Zeuthen campus, fostering top international research in Brandenburg and attracting scientist worldwide to work on its premises.

“We are very pleased that the CTAO is locating its SDMC on the DESY campus in Zeuthen and we look forward to even closer co-operation with the Observatory, in particular the headquarters of the CTAO in Bologna, in the future. The decision is proof that DESY in Zeuthen has truly developed into a centre for astroparticle physics,”commented Christian Stegmann,Head of DESY Zeuthen site, during the moderation.

DESY is shareholder of the CTAO gGmbH and one of the CTAO’s hosting partners, providing the building of the SDMC. The €14-million SDMC building was financed through federal and state funds. The building provides space for 60 people and also includes a new canteen for the campus.

“The opening of the SDMC represents a significant success and major milestone for the Observatory,” explained Stuart McMuldroch during the inauguration. “The SDMC is a critical and essential part of our international effort to explore the high-energy Universe. It will provide essential data processing, software, and computing capabilities that significantly advance our mission. We are grateful to DESY and all those who made the SDMC a reality.”

“As one of Germany’s largest research centres, DESY carries out fundamental research that creates new knowledge and new conceptual approaches,” Beate Heinemann, DESY Director in charge of Particle Physics, said. “DESY has a long tradition of performing research in international collaborations, not only to foster scientific progress but also to enable exchanges between people from many nations. I am delighted that DESY continues this tradition by hosting the SDMC of the CTAO. The large competence of DESY in data management and analysis will be pivotal to fully exploit the CTAO data, and to learn more about some of the most mysterious and violent objects in our Universe.”

Speaking from the perspective of the President of the Helmholtz Association, Helmholtz president Otmar Wiestler added: “The Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO) enables groundbreaking discoveries in astrophysics and opens new pathways for our understanding of the universe. At the Helmholtz Association, we are proud to make another important contribution to this remarkable international research project with the opening of the CTAO’s Science Data Management Centre (SDMC) at the German Electron Synchrotron DESY site in Zeuthen. The SDMC will be an excellent addition to the CTAO, serving as a central hub for processing and analyzing vast amounts of data, fostering long-term international collaboration, and thus making a significant contribution to the overall success of the project.”

 

For further information and interview inquiries (both in person and online), please contact:

Ulrike Behrens

Head of Communications | DESY in Zeuthen

ulrike.behrens@desy.de

 

Dr. Alba Fernández-Barral

CTAO Chief Communications Officer

alba.fernandezbarral@cta-observatory.org

 

Further photo material and information can be found here: desy.de/inauguration_sdmc_press