From Lisa.Harvey-Smith at csiro.au Mon Jul 15 14:08:02 2013 From: Lisa.Harvey-Smith at csiro.au (Lisa.Harvey-Smith at csiro.au) Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 04:08:02 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Call for talks - ASKAP early science workshop Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASKAP Early Science Workshop ? August 5th 2013 ? CSIRO Headquarters Marsfield Meeting details here: http://www.atnf.csiro.au/news/news.php?action=show_item&item_id=1212 Full details are in the attached discussion document. We invite your participation in an all-day workshop on ASKAP early science on August 5th at CSIRO Astronomy & Space Science in Marsfield. The workshop will provide a key opportunity to discuss the goals and scope of ASKAP early science, and for community input to help design the early science program. Background Information ASKAP early science is a program of observations designed to explore new scientific parameter-space with ASKAP in parallel with the continued construction of the array. Early science will commence with the first 12 Mk II ASKAP phased array feeds. The observing program will run side-by-side with ongoing commissioning, integration and verification. Completion of the ASKAP array will have the highest priority during the early science period. Options for commensal observing will be explored where possible. Short talks are invited to address the following questions: ? What unique discovery space can be explored with ASKAP-12? ? What are the minimum technical requirements in your area of scientific interest? ? What science topics could be tackled with a short (~few hours) amount of observing time? ? Are there short observations that can tackle a number of different topics simultaneously? ? What could be achieved with a longer survey? ? How does ASKAP-12 compare with other existing telescopes in your research area? ? What is the likely scientific impact of the observations? ? Are observations ?high-risk? or ?low-risk? in terms of implementation? ? What are the likely minimum requirements with respect to observing time? ? Do the observations have advanced data processing, imaging or calibration requirements? ? Are there any requirements that are different from those of the ASKAP SSPs or the intended specifications or deliverables? To attend, please send an e-mail (including dietary or other requirements) to Lisa Harvey-Smith (lisa.harvey-smith at csiro.au). There is no workshop fee. Abstract submissions received by July 25th 2013 will be given full consideration. For reasons of time, existing ASKAP survey teams are encouraged to discuss and consolidate their ideas before the workshop, if possible. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ASKAP_EarlyScience_Note_v1.pdf Type: application/x-msword Size: 3178901 bytes Desc: ASKAP_EarlyScience_Note_v1.pdf URL: From ahopkins at aao.gov.au Mon Jul 15 17:21:18 2013 From: ahopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 17:21:18 +1000 Subject: [ASA] ASA President Update Message-ID: <51E3A2EE.9000400@aao.gov.au> Dear members, The ASA Council members for 2013-14 were announced at the 2013 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on Wednesday 10 July 2013. The new Council is listed below. Thank you to all those who nominated, and I welcome our new Council members, Lee Spitler and Duncan Galloway. I also welcome our new Student Representative Paola Oliva Altamirano. A special thanks to Andrew Walsh whose term came to an end at this AGM. Andrew has been a council member since 2010. Thanks also to Andy Casey for ably representing the Student Members on the ASA Council. Please find attached the 2013 President's Report that was presented at the AGM by our outgoing President, Kate Brooks. I have also attached the slides from her presentation. I look forward to another exciting year of scientific results, national recognition of our members for their work, and other success stories. Just as a reminder, you can send messages for distribution to the full ASA membership by emailing asa at physics.usyd.edu.au . I would also like to especially thank Duncan Galloway for his outstanding efforts in leading the organisation of a very successful and highly enjoyable meeting. I look forward to seeing you all next year at Macquarie for the 2014 Annual Scientific Meeting. The ASA Council for 2013-14 is: President: Andrew Hopkins Vice-President: Darren Croton Immediate Past President: Kate Brooks Secretary: John O?Byrne Secretary: Marc Duldig Treasurer: Katrina Sealey Councillors: Lee Spitler Cath Trott Amanda Karakas Gavin Rowell Duncan Galloway Student Representative: Paola Oliva Altamirano (Ex-officio) Chair, PASA Editorial Board : Bryan Gaensler (Co-opted) Prizes and Awards Coordinator: Tanya Hill (Co-opted but currently unfilled): New Position Andrew Hopkins, President, ASA -- A.Prof. Andrew Hopkins, Head of AAT Science Australian Astronomical Observatory P.O. Box 915, North Ryde, NSW 1670, Australia ph: +61 2 9372 4849 fax: +61 2 9372 4880 -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: President-Report-2013.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 286817 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2013 ASA AGM Slides.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 5813422 bytes Desc: not available URL: From swyithe at unimelb.edu.au Mon Jul 15 23:48:53 2013 From: swyithe at unimelb.edu.au (Stuart Wyithe) Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2013 13:48:53 +0000 Subject: [ASA] 2016-25 Decadal Plan preparation Message-ID: Dear colleagues, The National Committee for Astronomy (NCA) carries out a formal strategic planning process on a 10-year time scale. This provides the opportunity for Australian astronomy to carry out a stock take of its capabilities, assess its impact both nationally and internationally, provide a vision for the future, and to set priorities and develop strategies on how that vision might be implemented. The document New Horizons, A Decadal Plan for Australian Astronomy 2006-15 has been influential as a tool for presenting our vision to key stakeholders outside the research sector. This includes Australian Astronomy's key stakeholder, the Commonwealth Government, as well as industrial/research partners both nationally and internationally. As the currency of the last Decadal Plan for Australian Astronomy concludes in 2015, it is now time to consider the process for producing the next Decadal Plan, covering the period 2016-25. The NCA has formulated a proposed structure and timeline for the preparation of the 20016-25 Decadal Plan, which is set out in the attached document. The proposed structure and timeline was described at the ASA ASM on July 11th, and the presentation from this talk is also attached to this email. The NCA would now like to call for 1) feedback on the timelines and structure of the planning process, and 2) nominations for interest in participation or leadership of the working groups. The NCA encourages participation in preparation of the Decadal Plan from a broad cross-section of the Australian astronomy community. Please provide feedback (to swyithe at unimelb.edu.au) by the 12th of September. Best regards, Stuart ==================================== Professor Stuart Wyithe Australian Laureate Fellow Chair, National Committee for Astronomy School of Physics University of Melbourne Vic, Australia 3010 Phone: +61 3 8344 5083 Fax: +61 3 9347 4783 Email: swyithe at unimelb.edu.au science.org.au/natcoms/nc-astronomy.html ==================================== -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: DecadalPlan_timeline.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 114635 bytes Desc: DecadalPlan_timeline.pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: DecadalPlan_2013ASA_presentation.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 3435452 bytes Desc: DecadalPlan_2013ASA_presentation.pdf URL: From john.lattanzio at monash.edu Tue Jul 16 16:38:43 2013 From: john.lattanzio at monash.edu (John Lattanzio) Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 16:38:43 +1000 Subject: [ASA] PhD Opportunities at MoCA (Monash University) Message-ID: PhD Opportunities at The Monash Centre for Astrophysics The Monash Centre for Astrophysics (MoCA) is one of the most active and diverse astronomy centres in Australia. With a total of 24 staff housed in both the School of Physics and the School of Mathematical Sciences we are in a position to offer cutting edge research projects in theoretical, observational, and computational areas, as well as offering projects that combine two or more of these approaches. Particularly strong research areas include Extra-Solar Planets Star formation Solar physics Galaxy Evolution Galactic Chemical Evolution Galactic Archaeology Active Galaxies Stellar Astrophysics Nuclear Astrophysics High Energy Astrophysics Astrophysical Computational Hydrodynamics Astrophysical Magnetohydrodynamics Supercomputing Stellar and Planetary Dynamics Supernova physics General Relativity Black Holes Gravitational Wave Astrophysics X-Ray astronomy and neutron stars Students with an excellent academic record are encouraged to seek further information from the MoCA website (moca.monash.edu) and from individual staff members listed on the site. For general enquiries please email relevant staff or the Director, John Lattanzio on john.lattanzio at monash.edu Applications close on October 31 2013 for scholarships starting between Jan 1 and June 30 2014. However, you are encouraged to contact potential supervisors well in advance. Top-ups to the standard scholarship are available for certain projects. MoCA has a vibrant culture with over 30 postgraduate students. Staff include a mix of tenured Faculty and research fellows with prestigious Fellowships, such as our six ARC Future Fellows. -- Professor John Lattanzio Monash Centre for Astrophysics School of Mathematical Sciences Building 28, Monash University Victoria 3800 AUSTRALIA Ph: +61 (0)3 9905-4428 Fax: +61 (0)3 9905-4403 WWW: www.maths.monash.edu.au/~johnl/ "I've taken Prozac, Paxil, Wellbutrin, Effexor, Ritalin and Focalin. I've studied deeply in philosophy and religion. But somehow cheerfulness kept breaking through." -- Leonard Cohen -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Baerbel.Koribalski at csiro.au Wed Jul 17 10:20:33 2013 From: Baerbel.Koribalski at csiro.au (Baerbel.Koribalski at csiro.au) Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 00:20:33 +0000 Subject: [ASA] 3D2014: Gas and Stars in Galaxies - A Multi-Wavelength 3D Perspective In-Reply-To: <61499F86-1CB7-46BC-8ADE-66864CE63094@eso.org> References: <3B182DA1-1F7F-4750-8BBC-EF657D87FA9A@eso.org>, <61499F86-1CB7-46BC-8ADE-66864CE63094@eso.org> Message-ID: <7188DFDC5DB7AE42888725368B4F4BFD48B56500@exmbx05-cdc.nexus.csiro.au> ----------------------------------------------------------------- First announcement of the ESO/RadioNet workshop: 3D2014: GAS AND STARS IN GALAXIES - A MULTI-WAVELENGTH 3D PERSPECTIVE ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dear Colleagues, We would like to draw your attention to the following workshop "3D2014: Gas and Stars in Galaxies - A Multi-Wavelength 3D Perspective" March 10-14, 2014 ESO, Garching near Munich, Germany Workshop web page: http://www.eso.org/sci/meetings/2014/3D2014.html Registration deadline is 1 December 2013. In 2008 ESO hosted the first conference on extragalactic 3D multi-wavelength astronomy. This very successful workshop attracted astronomers with expertise ranging from the radio to the optical wavelengths. In the intervening five-year period, 3D spectroscopic techniques have greatly extended our understanding of the key subjects addressed in this workshop. The kinematics, mass assembly and evolution of galaxies has been explored in large samples in the optical and near-infrared by programs such as the SAURON/ATLAS3D, SAMI and CALIFA surveys of nearby galaxies and the SINS and MASSIV surveys at z~1-2. 3D spectroscopy at these wavelengths has become a standard technique to such an extent that on 8-m telescopes survey style instruments have been developed. Meanwhile, for the next generation of extremely large telescopes IFU spectrographs are selected among the first instruments to be commissioned. At the longer end of the wavelength range, ALMA and the JVLA have now come online and new radio facilities are producing commissioning results. Over the last few years millimetre interferometers have produced spectacular 3D maps in atomic and molecular lines of galaxies out to redshifts of z=6, as well as very detailed cubes of nearby galaxies. Against this background, it is an excellent moment to hold a second workshop in this series. The 2nd generation VLT instruments KMOS and MUSE are taking up science operations in 2013/14. ALMA is conducting Cycle 1 observations and is preparing for new observing modes and increased sensitivity and angular resolution in future Cycles. The timing is perfect to evaluate the scientific progress made since 2008 and to make the community aware of the expanding science capabilities of ESO?s 3D instrumentation suite. Scientific topics covered at the conference include: * Nearby Galaxy Dynamics * Starbursts and interacting galaxies * Supermassive black holes and AGN * High redshift galaxies * Cosmology and deep fields By adapting a multi-wavelength approach to these scientific questions the stellar, hot and cold gas dynamics can be combined to provide an unprecedented opportunity to study many processes involved in galaxy formation such as infall, outflows, star-formation, mergers and AGN-related phenomena. Like in 2008, we envisage a highly interactive meeting with a focus on the presentation of scientific results based on current technology, but also an investigation into the exciting possibilities of future technologies. In addition to the science conference we will offer two half-days of parallel user workshops for MUSE, KMOS and ALMA. Invited speakers include: Matt Bershady, Alberto Bolatto (TBC), Nicolas Bouch?, Martin Bureau, Fr?d?ric Bournaud, Michele Cappellari, Michele Cirasuolo, Charlie Conroy, Elisabete Da Cunha, Eric Emsellem, Chris Fluke, Lisa Fogarty, Natascha F?rster-Schreiber, Stefan Gillessen, Luis Ho, Jacqueline Hodge, Phil Hopkins, Adam Leroy, Roberto Maiolino, Simon Lilly (TBC), J?rgen Ott (TBC), Masami Ouchi, Kazushi Sakamoto (TBC), Patrizia Sanchez Blazquez, Glenn van de Ven, Marc Verheijen, and Fabian Walter. Please feel free to forward this announcement to colleagues who might be interested in this topic. Scientific Organising Committee: Matthew Bershady, Michele Cappellari, Francoise Combes, Carlos De Breuck (co-chair), Eric Emsellem, Natascha F?rster Schreiber, Daisuke Iono, Baerbel Koribalski, Harald Kuntschner (co-chair), Alison Peck, Suzanne Ramsay, Mark Swinbank, Joel Vernet, Fabian Walter, Lutz Wisotzki, Martin Zwaan (co-chair) Conference e-mail address: gal3d2014 at eso.org From dcroton at astro.swin.edu.au Wed Jul 17 14:59:12 2013 From: dcroton at astro.swin.edu.au (Darren Croton) Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 14:59:12 +1000 Subject: [ASA] ANITA online lecture series Message-ID: <1B635A3F-7187-4717-938E-5B91D00A5B36@astro.swin.edu.au> Dear ANITA and ASA members. As announced at last week's ANITA Town Hall Meeting at the Monash ASA ASM, we'll be starting up a regular ANITA lecture series, broadcast online through Goggle Hangouts on Air. Each will feature a different speaker, be about an hour long, and cover topics ranging from basic statistics and computational techniques, to advanced specialised subjects, and more. With this we hope to move towards one of the priorities outlined in ANITA's recent Strategic Plan for Theoretical Astrophysics (http://anita.edu.au/?p=487), that of improving student education. I had originally planed to give the first one this Friday, but that unfortunately won't be possible. We've now rescheduled for the following Friday, 26th July 3PM (AEST). More details will follow early next week. So for those who are interested, sit tight. Finally, if you have a topic you think might be interesting please suggest it, and a speaker if you know of one. Thanks, Darren (on behalf of the ANITA steering committee) -- Darren Croton Associate Professor & QEII Research Fellow Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing Swinburne University of Technology PO Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia Phone: 61-3-9214-5537; Fax: 61-3-9214-8797 http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/~dcroton -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From renu.sharma at uwa.edu.au Wed Jul 17 18:50:55 2013 From: renu.sharma at uwa.edu.au (Renu Sharma) Date: Wed, 17 Jul 2013 16:50:55 +0800 Subject: [ASA] STUDENT SUPPORT: Women in Astronomy 2013 Workshop "Pathways to Success" Message-ID: Dear ASA Student Members, Limited funds are available to support student travel/accommodation. Please complete the attached form and send it back to renu.sharma at icrar.org by 29 July 2013. Heads of Departments are requested to co-support applications from their students as we have very limited funds. The ASA Women in Astronomy Chapter invites you to register for the Women in Astronomy 2013 Workshop "Pathways to Success." The workshop is free and all are welcome to attend irrespective of gender and seniority. Workshop Poster is attached. The workshop will be held on the 11th & 12th of September 2013 in Perth Western Australia and will be hosted by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR). Program can be seen on http://asawomeninastronomy.org/wia-workshop-2013/ Do not miss the opportunity to meet and listen to eminent guest speakers from science, astronomy, industry and alternate careers and take part in interactive professional development sessions. There are also opportunities for Early Career Researchers to Chair the sessions! The workshop is free but it is essential to register to help the Organizing Committee plan for all arrangements. Please also take this opportunity to meet and interact with ICRAR staff at Curtin and UWA, we'd be happy to find you a space to work if you'd like to stay a little longer. The Organizing Committee looks forward to welcome you in Perth. Kind regards Renu Dr Renu Sharma GAICD, FLWA Associate Director International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) Web: http://www.icrar.org/ 7 Fairway The University of Western Australia Crawley WA 6009 Phone: +618 6488 7871 ICRAR is a Joint Venture of Curtin University and The University of Western Australia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Poster WIA 2013 Pathways to Success (LR).pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 590132 bytes Desc: Poster WIA 2013 Pathways to Success (LR).pdf URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ASA Women in Astronomy Workshop 2013 Student Support EOI.docx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Size: 348542 bytes Desc: ASA Women in Astronomy Workshop 2013 Student Support EOI.docx URL: From ausgo at aao.gov.au Thu Jul 18 17:18:42 2013 From: ausgo at aao.gov.au (Australian Gemini Office) Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 17:18:42 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Australian Gemini Undergraduate Summer Studentships 2013/14 Message-ID: <51E796D2.3020903@aao.gov.au> Australian Gemini Undergraduate Summer Studentships --------------------------------------------------- The Australian Gemini Office at the Australian Astronomical Observatory is pleased to announce that applications are now open for the 2013/14 Australian Gemini Undergraduate Summer Studentships (AGUSS) program. AGUSS provides an exciting research opportunity for students who have completed at least two years of an undergraduate degree in Physics, Maths, Astronomy or Engineering. Students will spend 10 weeks in the period Dec 2013 - Feb 2014 based in La Serena, Chile carrying out a research project under the supervision of Gemini Observatory staff, and visit both the Gemini South 8m telescope and the Magellan 6.5m telescopes. We would be grateful if ASA members could bring this to the attention of any suitably experienced undergraduates they may be teaching or supervising, and encourage them to apply. A poster promoting this opportunity is available for download at http://ausgo.aao.gov.au/new_aaosf_aguss_poster2.pdf AGUSS applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents enrolled at an Australian university. The Australian Gemini office will pay the return airfare from the student's home city in Australia to the town of La Serena, Chile, and provide a stipend of ~A$710 per week. Details on how to apply are available at http://ausgo.aao.gov.au/aguss.html The closing date for applications is Friday 30 August 2013. Late applications will not be considered. Dr Stuart Ryder Australian Gemini Office ausgo at aao.gov.au From c.tinney at unsw.edu.au Thu Jul 18 17:20:04 2013 From: c.tinney at unsw.edu.au (Chris Tinney) Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2013 07:20:04 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Workshop Announcement - FunnelWeb 2013 Message-ID: FunnelWeb Workshop 2013 FunnelWeb will be a major new stellar and exoplanetary spectroscopic survey undertaken using the UKST and the TAIPAN spectrograph. FunnelWeb current baseline is to target a SNR>100 spectra at R>2000 between 390 and 880nm of all stars down to V=12 and south of +30, plus a volume-selected and metalicity-selected sample down to V=15. It takes advantage of the starbugs technology (currently being prototyped at the AAO), enabling a faster spectroscopic survey than any other technology. All interested members of the Australian astronomical community are invited to attend a 1-day workshop at UNSW on 7 August. The workshop will run from 9:30am until 4:30pm, and will include talks on science, survey strategy, and a discussion session. Community members who would like to take leadership roles in science or analysis subgroups are especially welcome. Confirmed Speakers: * Michael Ireland: Scope of the FunnelWeb survey, dimensionality of spectral space and 3D reddening and Galactic structure. * Robert Content: Optimising the TAIPAN spectrograph design for stars and galaxies using microlenses on injection. * Kyler Kuehn: Optimising the FunnelWeb survey for speed using Starbugs technology. * Chris Tinney: FunnelWeb for pre-mission TESS spectra and future Doppler planet-search targets. * Sarah Martell: Lessons for FunnelWeb from the Sloan survey and GALAH planning. * Steven Marsden: Stellar Activity with the FunnelWeb survey. * Stefan Keller: Identifying classes of metal poor stars with SkyMapper + FunnelWeb [logo.png] If you are interested in taking part in this workshop (or the FunnelWeb survey) please register your interest by emailing c.tinney at unsw.edu.au Chris Tinney & Mike Ireland ___________________________________________________________________________________ Professor Chris Tinney | ARC Discovery Outstanding Researcher, School of Physics, UNSW Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Science | Co-Director, Australian Centre for Astrobiology c.tinney at unsw.edu.au, +61 2 93855168, Rm 131 Old Main, http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/~cgt -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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