Radio Astronomy Founder to be Honored at Radio Telescope Rededication


The National Science Foundation's Very Large Array radio telescope will be named after the founder of radio astronomy, Karl Jansky. The National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) website reported that the new name will become official at a rededication ceremony at the VLA site in New Mexico on March 31. The new name was announced at the American Astronomical Society's meeting in Austin, Texas.

"When Karl Jansky discovered radio waves coming from the center of the Milky Way Galaxy in 1932, he blazed a scientific trail that fundamentally changed our perception of the Universe," said Fred K.Y. Lo, NRAO director. "Now, the upgraded VLA will continue that tradition by equipping scientists to address outstanding questions confronting 21st-Century astronomy. It is particularly appropriate that the upgraded very large array honor the memory and accomplishments of Karl Jansky. The new Jansky VLA is by far the most sensitive such radio telescope in the world, as was the receiver and antenna combination that Jansky himself painstakingly developed 80 years ago."

See the NRAO release Iconic Telescope Renamed to Honor Founder of Radio Astronomy for more on the VLA and Karl Jansky's accomplishments.

Doug Lung

Doug Lung is one of America's foremost authorities on broadcast RF technology. As vice president of Broadcast Technology for NBCUniversal Local, H. Douglas Lung leads NBC and Telemundo-owned stations’ RF and transmission affairs, including microwave, radars, satellite uplinks, and FCC technical filings. Beginning his career in 1976 at KSCI in Los Angeles, Lung has nearly 50 years of experience in broadcast television engineering. Beginning in 1985, he led the engineering department for what was to become the Telemundo network and station group, assisting in the design, construction and installation of the company’s broadcast and cable facilities. Other projects include work on the launch of Hawaii’s first UHF TV station, the rollout and testing of the ATSC mobile-handheld standard, and software development related to the incentive auction TV spectrum repack.
A longtime columnist for TV Technology, Doug is also a regular contributor to IEEE Broadcast Technology. He is the recipient of the 2023 NAB Television Engineering Award. He also received a Tech Leadership Award from TV Tech publisher Future plc in 2021 and is a member of the IEEE Broadcast Technology Society and the Society of Broadcast Engineers.