The CHIME telescope, located in the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory in Kaleden, British Columbia, is comprised of four cylindrical reflectors, 256 dual-polarized antennas for data collection and an F-Engine and X-Engine for data processing. Bandura, an assistant professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, played a key role in developing the device’s F-Engine, which digitally processes signals from space into frequencies that can then be processed into digital maps of the Universe.
As reported in the January 9 issue of Nature, the international journal of science, during its pre-commissioning phase CHIME detected 13 FRBs. Prior to this, astronomers, including WVU astronomy professor Duncan Lorimer, had reported between 50-60 examples since they were first detected in 2007.