CASSA: Bangladesh’s first academic astronomy research centre

At the Centre for Astronomy, Space Science and Astrophysics (CASSA), the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB), a group of researchers are working on classifying galaxies using machine learning, observations and simulation of cosmic hydrogen during the early stages of the universe and detecting sharp features in the intergalactic gas of clusters of galaxies.

Although yet to be formally launched, CASSA is already building a Small Transient Array Radio Telescope (START), which will be a milestone for Bangladesh. START is a five-metre small radio telescope containing 25 antennas. CASSA collaborated with a group at the University of Otago in New Zealand to design the telescope. 

The structure is being built by the IUB Fab Lab, and the electronics are being imported from New Zealand. The telescope will be used for radio astronomy research and the radio astronomy course taught at IUB.

According to Dr Khan Muhammad Bin Asad, the main objective of CASSA is to show people the proper way to establish academic astronomy in the country through research, teaching and outreach.

Currently, Dr Asad is the only astronomer working there, but the staff also includes theoretical physicists, computer scientists, and electrical engineers. As such, research is currently shaped by the expertise of the members.

Dr Asad stated, "The centre's main focus now is to increase the capacity of its High Performance Computer and expand the research areas by hiring more astronomers who will venture into unknown territories."

CASSA also collaborates with the University of Toronto to provide an outreach program named Durbin. "Durbin intends to make people citizens of the universe by allowing them to engage with images of deep-sky objects through small, powerful telescopes," Dr Asad said.

So far, CASSA has picked numerous national volunteers, mostly students, who have taken images of over 70 deep sky objects.

CASSA is a result of years of effort of Dr Asad, who dreamt of starting astronomy research and study at a university in Bangladesh, while still living abroad. 

After joining the Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) as a professor, Dr Asad formed the Astronomy Research Group (ARGI) in 2020. He received two research grants from IUB to start his research and began the journey to bring an academic astronomy research centre to Bangladesh for the first time. 

It is a product of years of labour, collaboration and perseverance, explained Dr Asad, an observational astronomer. 

"With the first grant, we purchased a high-performance computer (HPC) because that is the best way to start astronomy research in a country for the first time," claimed Asad. 

Eventually, with the second grant, he collaborated with Bangladeshi scientist Dr Lamiya Mowla, a professor at Wellesley College. This would ultimately lead to the decision to form the Centre for Astronomy, Space Science and Astrophysics (CASSA).

How it all began

Photo: Courtesy

Dr Asad graduated from the Islamic University of Technology with a BSc in Electrical Engineering before going abroad to pursue an MSc in Astronomy and Astrophysics in Europe. He completed his PhD in Radio Astronomy from the University of Groningen in the Netherlands.

After joining IUB and opening ARGI, Asad sought to establish a collaboration with one of Bangladesh's foremost astronomers working abroad, Dr Lamiya Mowla. In 2022, Dr Mowla invited Dr Asad to visit the Dunlap Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Toronto in Canada, where she worked as a fellow at the time.

The visit inspired Dr Asad to develop ARGI into something more substantial than it originally was. So, in 2023, he started an outreach program called Durbin. He was provided with two outreach telescopes and an outreach grant by Dunlap Institute through Dr Mowla.

Although the initial purpose of the program was not research, the collaboration boosted the public image of astronomy in Bangladesh significantly, making shareholders more interested in investing in astronomy.

This led to ARGI being transformed into the Computational and Observational Astronomy Lab (COALab) in 2023, when the then Vice Chancellor of IUB became interested in building a room on the rooftop of IUB's main academic building for COALab and especially for digital stargazing events called 'Astronomy Nights.'

The university also introduced a minor degree in astronomy and astrophysics. 

Dr Asad utilised the new telescopes he received from the grant to design a general education course called 'Our Cosmic History,' open to students from all backgrounds. Consequently, the course has now become one of IUB's most popular among students.

The construction of the rooftop was interrupted during the July uprising, which, in turn, inspired Dr Asad to turn COALab into a full-fledged Centre for Astronomy, Space, Science and Astrophysics (CASSA), with the help of five Bangladeshi astronomers working abroad.

CASSA, currently under construction, is in the process of being introduced by IUB officially, but the research has already begun, garnering significant attention from the international astronomy community. The five Bangladeshi astronomers from abroad associated with CASSA have already visited IUB in 2024 to present their research.

How can students pursue astronomy from Bangladesh?

According to Dr Asad, even though there are no astronomy majors offered at the undergraduate level in Bangladesh, this is not mandatory to pursue a career in astronomy. In fact, even in developed countries, it is uncommon. He said, "Normally, students graduating from engineering, physics, math, and computer science can start their astronomy journey at the graduate level."

As such, IUB has plans to offer a master's degree in astronomy soon, rather than an undergraduate degree. Currently, IUB is the only university that offers a minor in astronomy where students can specialise in one of three tracks: data-intensive astronomy, space and planetary science, and theoretical astrophysics. Dr Asad hopes that the government will soon permit private universities to offer PhD programs so that he can introduce PhD-level astronomy research in Bangladesh.

Dr Asad also stated that another good avenue for those interested in astronomy is to pursue astronomy Olympiads from the school-level. "I have seen many students who get into good universities abroad after performing well in the Bangladesh Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (BDOAA), which is now a part of CASSA," he said.

Biggest challenges to developing academic astronomy in Bangladesh

Despite much interest in astronomy, particularly from the students, "the funding system is very unprofessional. Some people want to acquire funds to control it without knowing how to utilise it properly. Funds should not be allocated to people who are not astronomers," Dr Asad explained.

Additionally, he said that public universities find it difficult to get astronomers because they cannot match the high pay scale that these astronomers get abroad. He asserts that the salary scale for public universities needs to be revamped.

For private universities, he believes that others should follow IUB on this. "The largest private universities typically have a lot of competent students in engineering and computer science. Universities should look to hire astronomy experts to lead a center that combines astronomy with engineering and computer science," Dr Asad mentioned.

Furthermore, research is also impacted due to a lack of equipment and observatories. "While you can do a lot just by increasing the computing power and analysing data, working on the world's largest telescopes with international collaborations is the best way to improve," Dr Asad claimed.

While astronomers can request to receive 'observing times' on an international telescope, there is usually fierce competition, making it difficult. As such, Dr Asad believes that the government should establish research centres and should get its telescope and observatory. However, pointing to the failure of the Bhanga observatory, he cautioned, "Observatories should not be proposed, funded or built if they are not led by actual astronomers who know what they are doing."

He added, "I think Bangladesh should pursue joint ventures of space science and radio astronomy, as they have shown that there is room to create a field here."