INSTITUTE OF ASTRONOMY AND NATIONAL ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATORY AT THE BULGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Their core work

IANAO BAS is Bulgaria's national astronomical research center, operating under the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, with core expertise in radio astronomy and nuclear astrophysics. Their primary scientific work involves observing and interpreting cosmic phenomena using large-scale radio telescope arrays — most notably the International LOFAR Telescope (ILT), a pan-European network of phased-array radio antennas. Beyond observation, they develop and apply big data analysis and digital signal processing pipelines to handle the massive data volumes that modern radio interferometry produces. They also contribute to nuclear astrophysics infrastructure by participating in networks that study how chemical elements in the cosmos trace stellar and galactic evolution.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their earliest H2020 activity (STELLAR, 2020) was firmly rooted in radio astronomy infrastructure — LOFAR, interferometry, signal processing, and space weather observation — with a strong emphasis on training and widening Bulgaria's participation in European radio astronomy networks. The second project (ChETEC-INFRA, 2021) marks a shift toward nuclear astrophysics, a theoretically deeper and instrument-diverse field concerned with the origin of chemical elements across cosmic timescales. This suggests the institute is deliberately broadening from a single-instrument radio focus toward multi-method astrophysics, following the scientific career paths of its research staff rather than a strategic pivot driven by funding trends.

IANAO BAS appears to be expanding from a specialised radio astronomy base into broader astrophysical infrastructure networks, making them an increasingly versatile partner for multi-method observational and theoretical astronomy projects.

How they like to work

IANAO BAS has demonstrated both leadership and partner roles across their two H2020 projects — coordinating STELLAR while joining ChETEC-INFRA as a participant — indicating comfort operating at different levels of project responsibility. The scale of their network is striking: 34 unique partners across 19 countries from just two projects, which reflects participation in large, distributed European research consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. For a prospective partner, this suggests an organisation accustomed to consortium dynamics, distributed governance, and working across cultural and institutional contexts.

With 34 unique partners across 19 countries from only 2 projects, IANAO BAS is embedded in broad pan-European research networks, consistent with the large international consortia typical of LOFAR and nuclear astrophysics infrastructure initiatives. Their network skews toward Western and Northern European astronomy institutes, though the Widening Participation framing of STELLAR suggests deliberate links to Central and Eastern European research centres.

What sets them apart

IANAO BAS is one of the very few institutions in Southeast Europe with active participation in the International LOFAR Telescope network, giving them a rare technical foothold in European radio astronomy infrastructure that most Bulgarian or Balkan institutions lack. As the national astronomical observatory of Bulgaria, they carry both institutional authority and a mandate for scientific capacity building in the region, which makes them a natural gateway partner for Widening Participation calls targeting southeastern Europe. Their combination of observational radio astronomy, data processing capability, and nuclear astrophysics affiliation positions them as a credible multi-disciplinary astrophysics partner rather than a narrowly specialised group.

Highlights from their portfolio

• STELLAR
  This is IANAO BAS's only coordinator role in H2020, and its largest grant (EUR 248,551), designed explicitly to build Bulgaria's scientific excellence and integration into the International LOFAR Telescope — a high-stakes national capacity-building mission.
• ChETEC-INFRA
  Participation in this pan-European nuclear astrophysics infrastructure network signals the institute's expansion beyond radio methods into theoretical and experimental astrophysics at a European infrastructure level.