From Kate.Brooks at csiro.au Mon Jun 3 10:10:44 2013 From: Kate.Brooks at csiro.au (Kate Brooks) Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 10:10:44 +1000 Subject: [ASA] 2013 ASA Awards Message-ID: <03F3751D-8092-471E-8EE4-60C25B4680F9@csiro.au> Dear ASA members, The ASA is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2013 ASA Awards. The prize winners will be presenting their research at the upcoming ASA meeting at Monash University. Bok Prize for outstanding research in astronomy by an Honours or eligible Masters student Awarded to Ben Pope for his thesis ?Dancing in the Dark: Kernel Phase Interferometry of Ultracool Dwarfs?. Ben completed his honours research at the University of Sydney, supervised by Peter Tuthill and Frantz Martinache. In addition, Andrew Lehmann receives an honourable mention for his thesis ?Shock Waves in Turbulent Molecular Clouds? completed at Macquarie University and supervised by Mark Wardle. Charlene Heisler Prize for the most outstanding PhD thesis in astronomy Awarded to Emily Wisniosky for her thesis "The Kinematic Properties of Clumpy Star-Forming Galaxies", completed at Swinburne University and supervised by Karl Glazebrook. The field was particularly strong this year, and two Honourable Mentions are also awarded: Daniel Huber for his thesis ?Asteroseismology and Interferometry of Cool Stars? completed at University of Sydney and supervised by Tim Bedding Keith Bannister for his thesis ?Astrophysical Radio Transients: Surveys and Techniques? completed at University of Sydney and supervised by Bryan Gaensler, Tara Murphy and Tim Cornwell. Louise Webster Prize for outstanding research by a scientist early in their post-doctoral career Awarded to Andy Green (Swinburne University) for his paper "High star formation rates as the origin of turbulence in early and modern disk galaxies". In addition, Alan Duffy (U. Melbourne) receives a commendation for his paper on the "Impact of baryon physics on dark matter structures: a detailed simulation study of halo density profiles". Congratulations to all our prize winners and nominees. The entries received for the prizes were, once again, of a very high standard and a credit to their institutions. Many thanks to all our 2013 judges for devoting a considerable amount of their time to reading all of the entries and a special thanks to our ASA Prizes and Awards Coordinator Tanya Hill for making this process run smoothly every year. Looking forward to seeing you next month at Monash. Kate Brooks ASA, President -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Mon Jun 3 22:49:01 2013 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Mon, 3 Jun 2013 22:49:01 +1000 Subject: [ASA] STA member June newsletter References: <000A6D4C-BB19-4BC1-BEE1-029B854AB2C9@sta.org.au> Message-ID: <96A0A2D6-9BB0-4E42-9655-61AA1ED3F60F@sydney.edu.au> The ASA is one of about 60 member groups of Science & Technology Australia, making each ASA member one of 68,000 scientists and technologists represented by STA. Below is another update from the STA CEO. An update from Science & Technology Australia Message from the CEO A number of critical issues were discussed and finalised at last week?s STA Board meeting in Brisbane. It was my first board meeting as CEO and I was made to feel very welcome. I was impressed by the commitment and range of expertise among your representatives ? both Board members and observers. Better communication with members is a top priority for STA, and a range of changes are on the way to help you get more from your membership. For a start a new, better-looking and better functioning newsletter will be coming soon, but for now here?s an update on activities and what they mean for you. Science meets Parliament (SmP) Science Meets Parliament will not be held this calendar year, due to the Federal Election, but will instead take place in 2014, on March 17 and 18. The intention had been to stage the event in mid-August, but the election announcement meant plans had to be changed. This will be a permanent change and will set the event up as a fitting early marker in the in the political and academic year. More information will be provided on the website and in newsletters as we approach the event. We look forward to seeing you in March 2014. Election year activities Election year activities are gaining pace as we count down to the Federal poll. STA will again conduct our election science questionnaire of major and minor parties and Independents. We will be asking for their views and policy intentions on science, technology, education and research. The results will be delivered directly to you in the final weeks of the campaign so you can take the responses into account when casting your vote. Also this election year STA has led a project to bring together a ?research alliance? or a wide range of science and research bodies, to speak with one voice and urge all-party support for science and research. This will culminate in a joint statement to be made on June 17 at Parliament House. This will be the first time peak representative bodies and learned academies - representing hundreds of thousands of researchers across business and industry, universities and medical research institutes - have come together to urge multi-party support for research. STA is proud to have played a formative role in pulling this campaign together, and we are relying on your support to give the message the best possible chance of being heard and of leading to concrete commitments from political leaders. In the days surrounding the public release we will send a pack of information with full details and ways you can get involved. STA Strategic Direction Review The board discussed an investigation of the strategic direction of STA and alternate models of corporate governance to ensure the financial stability and health of the organisation. A group from the STA Executive will work on this in coming months, and will present findings to the members at the AGM on November 22. Science Meets Business STA will run a series of Science Meets Business forums, placing scientists in boardrooms to discuss critical scientific issues for the nation?s future. Backed by Questacon?s Inspiring Australia program, the forums will engage influential audiences who don?t normally have close links with science and scientists. The aim is to build mutual understanding and put science at the centre of policy thinking and high-level public debate. We will be seeking input from members on suggested speakers, topics and host groups as the planning progresses in coming months. Women in Science Toolkit Following on from the STA-commissioned report Women in science: maximising productivity, diversity and innovation, 2009, by Professor Sharon Bell and the Women in Science Summit in April 2011, a Women in Science Toolkit will be developed over the coming 18 months. The Toolkit will provide a practical guide on how to improve the participation of women in the workforce based on best practice harvested from organisations around Australia and abroad, via ARC-supported research, conducted by Professor Bell and her team. A summit to discuss the research will be run next year, and regular updates will be included in future newsletters. Member connections and capabilities and hands-on skills workshop Another of the highly-successful members skills workshops will be held at year?s end, with exact dates yet to be confirmed. Building on the 2011 initiative, STA will again provide a day-long series of talks on the key issues in running a scientific society, from legal advice and social media to declining membership numbers and conference planning. Member societies with relevant experience, as well as outside experts, will take part in sessions. This is part of a broader ongoing project to improve two-way connections with members, giving you a wider range of communications options, including video, social media and other interactive forums for information exchange. Updates will flow as we make progress. June 3, 2013 Catriona Jackson Chief Executive Officer Science & Technology Australia Giving voice to Australian Science & Technology for over 27 years www.sta.org.au www.respectthescience.org.au catriona.jackson at sta.org.au T: 02 6257 2891 M: 0417142238 PO Box 259 Canberra City ACT 2601 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Jun 6 21:03:39 2013 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2013 21:03:39 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Reminder: ATUC Open Meeting 11th June Message-ID: Apologies if you receive multiple copies of this email Dear Users of the Australia Telescope National Facility, The Australia Telescope Users Committee meet regularly to discuss issues that affect users of the ATNF. The next open meeting will be held at Marsfield on Tuesday June 11, 9:30-14:30 The agenda for the meeting is at http://www.atnf.csiro.au/management/atuc/2013jun Telecon details will be added to this webpage soon. Currently there is no plans for videocon facilities to be made available to users outside CSIRO. Please note - the ATNF "Whats on" page had up until about 2 weeks ago the wrong day for the open meeting. Tuesday 11th June is correct date. Regards, Chris Phillips (for) John Dickey ATUC Chair From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Jun 6 23:36:01 2013 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 6 Jun 2013 23:36:01 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Curtin University Research Fellowship opportunities Message-ID: Curtin University Research Fellowship opportunities The Curtin University Research Fellowship scheme aims to attract high quality post doctoral researchers with excellent potential for providing future academic and research leadership at the University. Applications are encouraged in the field of astronomy and astrophysics research, to take up positions in the Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy (CIRA). CIRA is a research group comprised of over 50 staff and PhD students, focused primarily on radio astronomy but spanning all observational astronomy, radio astronomy engineering, applications of high performance computing in astronomy, and astrophysics theory (including simulation). CIRA comprises one half of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) Joint Venture with The University of Western Australia and is a node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO). A clear focus for CIRA research programs is the path to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), including the scientific exploitation of SKA pathfinders and precursors, such as the CIRA-led $50m Murchison Widefield Array (MWA), and a leading role in SKA pre-construction activities over the next three years. In particular, the MWA is about to enter its full science operations phase and many opportunities exist for participation in this program. CIRA researchers have excellent access to the new $80m Pawsey supercomputing Centre. CIRA researchers collaborate widely and are well resourced for participation in national and international projects. The call for applications in 2013, for commencement in 2014, refers to a targeted research-only fellowship with two streams: 1. Early Career Researcher Fellowship: Suitably qualified applicants who received their PhD on or after 1 March 2008; 2. Senior Research Fellowship: Suitably qualified applicants with more than five years post-doctoral experience. Applications Open: Friday 7th June 2013 Applications Close: Monday 5th August 2013 at 5:00pm GMT+8:00 Potential applicants should contact CIRA co-Director Prof. Steven Tingay (s.tingay at curtin.edu.au) for more information and guidance on the application process. The following URL provides links to the application forms, call for applications, and scheme guidelines: http://research.curtin.edu.au/research-funding/fellowships.cfm#commence -- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Professor Steven Tingay Premier's Fellow Director, MWA Director, Science and Operations Curtin Institute of Radio Astronomy Deputy Director, ICRAR 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 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Fri Jun 7 10:34:52 2013 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2013 10:34:52 +1000 Subject: [ASA] News from GMTO Message-ID: <9A235BC0-2FEB-4F00-98F2-32600F80D871@sydney.edu.au> Moving a Mountain to See the Stars The Giant Magellan Telescope will have to function as an extremely precise instrument in order to counter the earth's rotation in 23-hours, 56 minutes and 4.1 seconds. The GMT structure will be anchored firmly to its mountaintop bedrock base to avoid the smallest vibrations. If not firmly anchored, vibrations would make their way up through the steel structure to the mirrors as the 1,100-ton telescope rotates and pivots, shaking the telescope and causing stars' images to blur. Months of meticulously planned blasting in 2012 have removed over 90,000 cubic meters of extremely hard bedrock--about the weight of the Empire State Building--from the 8,500-foot peak high in the Atacama Desert. In addition, a geotechnical survey was carried out 200 feet below grade. This is equivalent to getting a "CAT scan" of the mountain peak. The survey and other seismic tests will inform the design and specifications of the foundation and enclosure. The results of the survey and seismic tests are being studied carefully to determine how much concrete and steel will be needed for the foundation of the telescope. GMT engineers now feel confident that their machine will "see" the stars with unprecedented stability and clarity from the Cerro Las Campanas mountain peak. More ... GMT Enclosure Passes Critical Test At over 200 feet tall--the height of a 20-story building--the GMT Enclosure will accommodate one of the largest ground-based telescopes ever built. Its shutters must protect sensitive optics and instruments from winds that can reach 120 mph on a high mountain peak, while delivering high-resolution images from the universe. Is the enclosure design the right approach to meeting science and operational needs and goals? Can it be built with current engineering technology or will new technology need to be developed? Can the enclosure be built within budget parameters? On January 18th, the GMTO Enclosure and Facilities Group successfully answered all of these questions and many others by passing its Preliminary Design Review (PDR). Now the group moves on to the Construction Document phase, followed by Final Design, and then actual construction. Lead Mechanical/Structural Engineer Arash Farahani described why the Enclosure team was so elated at the news, "Other groups will need the Enclosure and Facilities to be on site before they can start work; the project completion date would have been affected if the Enclosure design was delayed." During science operations, the Enclosure must allow the telescope to operate to its maximum capability, while providing ultimate protection from the sometimes-harsh environment at the summit of Las Campanas peak. The GMTO team found sophisticated solutions to these challenges. More ... Welcome Bret Schaefer - GMT C.F.O. He began as a history major at the University of Chicago,and eventually managed international operations financing for one of Silicon Valley's most successful start-ups. Today, he is overseeing the financial dynamics of building the biggest telescope on Earth. Meet Bret Schaefer - GMT's new Chief Financial Officer. What makes Bret an asset to GMT? "I guess one way to think about it is that I bring Fortune 100-level financial and investor relations expertise. What you learn in the start-up world is that you have to have a small team that is very effective and versatile--but also is capable of engaging with the experts that you need in order to deliver the project." Bret spent nearly 20 years at Sun Microsystems and later helped several non-profit organizations establish long-term financial planning to sustain and grow their operations. Now Bret looks forward to growing with GMT. "You don't see opportunities with projects that have this kind of impact very often." More ... GMT's "Workhorse" Instrument Will See Early Universe A marvel of engineering and about the weight of a large pickup truck, one of the instruments being designed for early use on the GMT will be located underneath the Giant Magellan Telescope's central mirror. Each night, it will gather and dissect very faint infrared light to help solve the mysteries of how galaxies and black holes form and grow over billions of years. Known as "GMTIFS"-- The GMT Integral Field Spectrograph--it will be one of the key Adaptive Optics (AO) instruments used by the observatory. GMT recently held a workshop on March 12th and 13th in Pasadena to discuss the current design of the sophisticated instrument and collect valuable input from the international astronomy community as a key step toward finalizing the instrument's design. Below is a brief video of the meeting: GMTIFS Science Meeting, Pasadena, CA - March 12, 2013 The Australian National University, a GMT partner, is designing the instrument. GMTIFS will operate in two ways, using only natural guide stars as reference, or using the six artificial guide star constellation provided by powerful lasers launched from within the telescope enclosure. These laser beams illuminate sodium atoms in the mesosphere - some 90 kilometers above the Earth's surface and create "artificial stars" - reference points for the GMT AO system. More ... Copyright ? 2013, GMTO Corporation. All Rights Reserved. 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