From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Wed May 23 08:24:23 2012 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 08:24:23 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Call for interest in position of MWA Assistant Director Message-ID: <0F6CB084-D9E2-4645-86C3-EB19F9D63473@sydney.edu.au> Assistant Director, Murchison Widefield Array The Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) is a low frequency SKA Precursor telescope, currently in the final stages of construction at CSIRO's Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory (MRO) in Western Australia. As commissioning of the partially complete array will commence in August 2012, and practical completion of the final 128 element array is expected in November 2012, the MWA project will soon be seeking to employ staff to manage and operate the facility from approximately mid 2013. As such, the MWA Director is seeking expressions of interest in the position of MWA Assistant Director. This position is expected to entail responsibility for MWA operations and facility management and is expected to be filled by a scientifically active individual. The position would be based at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia, and is expected to commence in the first half of 2013. The period of the appointment will depend on the level of operations funding available at the time, but is expected to be a fixed term appointment of between 1 and 5 years initially. The level of the appointment is expected to be at Academic Level D or E (Associate Professor or Professor), depending on qualifications. Confidential enquiries regarding this upcoming opportunity can be made via email or phone to the MWA Director, Prof. Steven Tingay (s.tingay at curtin.edu.au or +61 (0)8 9266 3516). -- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Professor Steven Tingay Premier's Fellow Deputy Director ICRAR Deputy Director Western Australian Radio Astronomy Centre of Excellence Director, Science and Operations Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy Department of Imaging and Applied Physics Curtin University of Technology Bentley, Western Australia Australia Street address: Brodie Hall building 1 Turner Ave Technology Park Bentley 6102 Western Australia Email: s.tingay at ivec.org OR s.tingay at curtin.edu.au WWW: http://astronomy.curtin.edu.au Phone: +61 (0)8 9266 3516 Mobile: +61 (0)425 771 856 From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Wed May 23 21:46:32 2012 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Wed, 23 May 2012 21:46:32 +1000 Subject: [ASA] STA MEDIA RELEASE: Health of Australian Science Report In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <6420CEBA-8499-47CD-B95C-6529CE4BD60D@sydney.edu.au> The following email is from Science and Technology Australia: The Chief Scientists' Health of Australian Science Report was released today. STA?s media release is below and the report can be downloaded from the link on our website: www.sta.org.au. STA was a member of the Advisory Group for this report. I encourage you and your members to read the Report (or at least the Executive Summary). Regards Anna-Maria Health of Australian Science Report: decision makers can?t say they haven?t been warned Science & Technology Australia welcomes the Chief Scientist, Professor Ian Chubb?s Health of Australian Science Report that outlines the strengths and vulnerabilities in Australia?s science system. ?The comprehensive Health of Australian Science Report provides the evidence needed to drive policy decisions that can shape Australia?s science system strategically so as to meet the nation?s future economic and social needs? said Professor Michael Holland, President of Science & Technology Australia. ?Decision makers, including politicians, education providers, the science sector, and industry leaders now have the information they need to make strategic decisions about how they each contribute to a strong science system. ?Australia?s current demand driven education system may let the nation down in the long term, so attention and action is needed now to ensure crucial opportunities are not missed. ?I urge political leaders to take a close look at the Health of Australian Science Report and embrace the opportunities it presents. ?Australia cannot remain internationally competitive if it neglects to build stronger relationships between science and industry domestically and internationally. Nor will we reap the benefits of our world-class research if knowledge is not converted to technologies that improve all our lives. ?Australia needs a total re-think on how we finance Australian research and innovation so that we can make good of Australian genius. ?The Health of Australian Science Report gives us the information we need to develop a quality science education system which underpins a coherent innovation strategy. A coherent innovation strategy will include: measures to build a strong commercialisation environment; better collaboration between researchers and industry; measures to forge strategic partnership with our international counterparts; and diverse science financing mechanisms? Professor Holland concluded. _______ Media contact: Anna-Maria Arabia 0412 940 921 Released: 23 May 2012 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 15048 bytes Desc: not available URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Fri May 25 23:23:42 2012 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Fri, 25 May 2012 23:23:42 +1000 Subject: [ASA] AIP 2012 Congress: Call for Papers NOW OPEN! Message-ID: <60186C81-44B9-4657-B791-7CFEA302F224@sydney.edu.au> ASA members are invited to consider participating in the 20th AIP Congress at UNSW from 9-13 December 2012. Apart from a wide range of Australian physicists, the incorporation of ACOFT will attract specialists working on diverse research applications of optical fibre technology. Brian Schmidt will be one of the Plenary speakers. Astronomical presentations will be collected into a special session. Please consider the opportunity to engage with the wider Physics community. AIP CONGRESS 2012 - CALL FOR ABSTRACT AND PAPER SUBMISSIONS NOW OPEN! Extended Abstracts and Paper submissions are invited for the 20th Australian Institute of Physics Congress which incorporates the 37th Australian Conference on Optical Fibre Technology. Submissions close on 9 July 2012 and will be accepted via online submission only. Notification of acceptance will be issued on 27 August 2012. Please note that acceptance is on the understanding that you intend to register to attend the Congress. Further information on the Congress and submission can be found at www.aip2012.org.au Please do not hesitate to contact the Congress Office should you have any queries: 20th Australian Institute of Physics Congress Office: 119 Buckhurst Street South Melbourne VIC 3205 Australia T +61 3 9645 6311 F +61 3 9645 6322 E aip2012 at wsm.com.au www.aip2012.org.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Fri May 25 23:34:18 2012 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Fri, 25 May 2012 23:34:18 +1000 Subject: [ASA] SKA announcement - full text References: <13249_1337952195_q4PDNBN2021186_15D58E60724A8149AB0F3D0BF0BD6ABE0328DC3E@EX2010.ASMC.internal> Message-ID: <0EC5F56D-6AE7-41A7-A42D-A6BA45FB3C00@sydney.edu.au> Dual site agreed for Square Kilometre Array telescope 25 May 2012, Amsterdam, the Netherlands ? The Members of the SKA Organisation today agreed on a dual site solution for the Square Kilometre Array telescope, a crucial step towards building the world?s largest and most sensitive radio telescope. The ASKAP and MeerKAT precursor dishes will be incorporated into Phase I of the SKA which will deliver more science and will maximise on investments already made by both Australia and South Africa. The majority of the members were in favour of a dual-site implementation model for SKA. The members noted the report from the SKA Site Advisory Committee that both sites were well suited to hosting the SKA and that the report provided justification for the relative advantages and disadvantages of both locations, but that they identified Southern Africa as the preferred site. The members also received advice from the working group set up to look at dual site options. The majority of SKA dishes in Phase 1 will be built in South Africa, combined with MeerKAT. Further SKA dishes will be added to the ASKAP array in Australia. All the dishes and the mid frequency aperture arrays for Phase II of the SKA will be built in Southern Africa while the low frequency aperture array antennas for Phase I and II will be built in Australia. ?This hugely important step for the project allows us to progress the design and prepare for the construction phase of the telescope. The SKA will transform our view of the Universe; with it we will see back to the moments after the Big Bang and discover previously unexplored parts of the cosmos.? says Dr Michiel van Haarlem, Interim Director General of the SKA Organisation. The SKA will enable astronomers to glimpse the formation and evolution of the very first stars and galaxies after the Big Bang, investigate the nature of gravity, and possibly even discover life beyond Earth. ?Today we are a stage closer to achieving our goal of building the SKA. This position was reached after very careful consideration of information gathered from extensive investigations at both candidate sites,? said Professor John Womersley, Chair of the SKA Board of Directors. ?I would like to thank all those involved in the site selection process for the tremendous work they have put in to enable us to reach this point.? Factors taken into account during the site selection process included levels of radio frequency interference, the long term sustainability of a radio quiet zone, the physical characteristics of the site, long distance data network connectivity, the operating and infrastructure costs as well as the political and working environment. The agreement was reached by the Members of the SKA Organisation who did not bid to host the SKA (Canada, China, Italy, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom). The Office of the SKA Organisation will now lead a detailed definition period to clarify the implementation. Scientists and engineers from around the world, together with industry partners, are participating in the SKA project which is driving technology development in antennas, data transport, software and computing, and power. The influence of the SKA project extends beyond radio astronomy. The design, construction and operation of the SKA have the potential to impact skills development, employment and economic growth in science, engineering and associated industries, not only in the host countries but in all partner countries. About the SKA The Square Kilometre Array will be the world?s largest and most sensitive radio telescope. The total collecting area will be approximately one square kilometre giving 50 times the sensitivity, and 10 000 times the survey speed, of the best current-day telescopes. Thousands of receptors will extend to distances of 3 000 km from the centre of the telescope, the SKA will address fundamental unanswered questions about our Universe including how the first stars and galaxies formed after the big bang, how dark energy is accelerating the expansion of the Universe, the role of magnetism in the cosmos, the nature of gravity, and the search for life beyond Earth. The target construction cost is ?1,500 million and construction of Phase 1 of the SKA is scheduled to start in 2019. The SKA Organisation, with its headquarters in Manchester UK, was established in December 2011 as a not-for-profit company in order to formalise relationships between the international partners and centralise the leadership of the project. Members of the SKA Organisation: ? Australia: Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research ? Canada: National Research Council ? China: National Astronomical Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences ? Italy: National Institute for Astrophysics ? New Zealand: Ministry of Economic Development ? Republic of South Africa: National Research Foundation ? The Netherlands: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research ? United Kingdom: Science and Technology Facilities Council Associate member: ? India: National Centre for Radio Astrophysics For more information contact: SKA Organisation Jo Bowler, Interim Outreach Officer, Office of the SKA Organisation, UK Office: +44 (0)161 275 4239 Mobile: +44(0)759 307 7153 Email: bowler at skatelescope.org Australia Rhys Davies, Media Adviser, Australian Science Minister, Senator Chris Evans, +61 (0)411 138 572 rhys.davies at innovation.gov.au OR Amy McKenna, Media Adviser, Australian Science Minister, Senator Chris Evans +61 (0)408 570 603 amy.mckenna at innovation.gov.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Sat May 26 15:49:30 2012 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Sat, 26 May 2012 15:49:30 +1000 Subject: [ASA] SKA site decision In-Reply-To: <92A96D0D-6F93-4E73-8E31-75CD793EB8BA@sydney.edu.au> Message-ID: <8582B7A8-9A2B-4C58-8C65-910D7C33C876@sydney.edu.au> Dear colleagues I?m pleased to report that the international SKA Organisation has announced that the $2.5 billion Square Kilometre Array radio telescope will be deployed in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in South Africa. The SKA Organisation has agreed that Phase 1 of the SKA project should be split between both regions. Such a deployment means researchers will get the best possible results by capitalising on the respective infrastructure and strengths of both sites. In Phase 1, Australia will build 60 SKA dishes equipped with Australia?s innovative phased array feed technology, which will work in conjunction with ASKAP, as well as an array of 4000 low frequency dipole antennas. South Africa will receive 190 SKA dishes, which will work with MeerKAT to deliver deep images of individual fields. The two instruments will be complementary, with Australia hosting the survey instrument, South Africa the follow-up array. Phase 2 of the SKA, which is more than a decade away, will see the entire low frequency array in Australia, with the dish array and, if successfully developed, a mid-frequency dense aperture array in Southern Africa. The implementation of all parts of SKA Phase 2 will be dependent upon the successful delivery of Phase 1. I believe this to be an excellent result for Australia and New Zealand, as well as for CSIRO and am proud of the fantastic work that has been undertaken by the very many people involved across the ASKAP and SKA projects. There are far too many people to mention in this email, but I?d like to highlight the efforts that have been made over many years by Brian Boyle and Michelle Storey. Without their efforts I can safely say that Australia would have no ASKAP or SKA ? Their efforts have been instrumental in keeping us at the forefront of radio astronomy. The efforts too, of everyone who has had a hand in our ASKAP construction, or worked with various SKA Working Groups, Committees and Design Groups, or who have provided technical input to the international SKA Organisation should also be applauded. In the short term, CSIRO and our partners will aim to participate in work-packages supporting SKA pre-construction and construction activities. We will also seek to continue our scientific and technical leadership role in SKA related activities. In the longer term, CSIRO will work with the Australian and New Zealand Governments, as well as the SKA Organisation to see how exactly CSIRO can best contribute to the future success of the SKA telescope. The decision as announced is one that we can be proud of and I look forward to the future and being further involved in what will truly be a world changing project. Regards Phil Diamond Philip Diamond | Chief, Astronomy & Space Science | CSIRO Phone: +61 2 9372 4300 | philip.diamond at csiro.au | PO Box 76, Epping NSW 1710