e-MERLIN Development 2018-2023

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This proposal expects to deliver a significant and very positive impact for a wide range of individual scientists, engineers, research organisations, businesses and the wider general public.

The scientific data produced by the upgraded e-MERLIN telescope will benefit astronomers and the wider scientific community working at universities and research laboratories in the UK and around the world. e-MERLIN will permit the astronomical community to study distant cosmic objects and related phenomena including proto-planetary disks, starforming regions in the Milky Way and in distant galaxies, pulsars and other transient phenomena, compact objects such as black holes, neutron stars and x-ray binary systems, and active galaxies energised by supermassive black holes. These data will be complementarity to other observations made by telescopes operating in other parts of the spectrum. The unique capabilities of e-MERLIN will place UK astronomers at the forefront of modern astrophysics.

Postgraduate and post-doctoral students will make particular use of the e-MERLIN telescope - the data will form an integral part of many PhD and Masters theses - in this respect e-MERLIN will continue to be an outstanding training ground for many "early-stage" scientists. Senior astronomers will use the data in their own peer-reviewed publications, enhancing their own careers and positioning themselves to compete for future funding e.g. research studentships, compute hardware etc.

Engineers working on e-MERLIN and the associated upgrade programme will have the opportunity to work on a challenging and innovative project, enhancing their skills and boosting the UK's expertise in areas where there is already a growing demand e.g. digital electronics, broadband data transfer and communications systems, highly sensitive RF detection technologies, and advanced software development, to name just a few. The valorization of the technical research associated with the e-MERLIN upgrade will have untold benefits to wider society. Industrial companies and business concerns will also benefit from the contracts that are placed for the hardware and software elements required to realise the new e-MERLIN sub-systems. They too will benefit from being associated with such a prestigious project and the technology by-products that may have application in other unrelated market places.

Wider society will also benefit, apart from possible technology spin-offs, e-MERLIN discoveries will improve our understanding of the Universe that we live in. Astronomical research holds a fascination for the general public, and they want to know answers to the big questions - understanding our place in the cosmos, our own origins, and whether we are alone in the universe. Fortunately, e-MERLIN research outcomes are very relevant to these fundamental questions, and engaging with the general public is something we give great priority. Our sister organisation, the Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre (JBDC) is one of the premier science outreach centres in the country - e-MERLIN research and the wider benefits of the project will be well represented in this collaboration. Our social media

The University of Manchester has a grand vision for the Jodrell Bank site in which JBO, JBDC and SKAO - three highly complementary world-leading institutions - reinforce the effectiveness and prestige of the other. With the possible addition of an industrial/business presence on this radio astronomy campus (currently known as Jodsat), the UK is well positioned to fully capitalise on its substantial investment in both e-MERLIN and the SKA. An upgraded e-MERLIN will therefore benefit the north-west of England in particular, and the nation as a whole.