From bolejko at physics.usyd.edu.au Mon Feb 3 18:47:11 2014 From: bolejko at physics.usyd.edu.au (Krzysztof Bolejko) Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2014 18:47:11 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Third Announcement: ANITA 2014 WORKSHOP AND N-BODY SUMMER SCHOOL Message-ID: ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------ ANITA 2014 WORKSHOP AND N-BODY SUMMER SCHOOL 17th-21st February 2014 Sydney Institute for Astronomy, University of Sydney Deadline for registration extended to 7th of February 2014 ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------ The 8th Workshop of the Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (ANITA) will be held on the 17th and 18th of February 2014 at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA) at the University of Sydney. The Workshop will be immediately followed by N-body Summer School from the 19th to 21st of February 2014. For details and registration information please go to the workshop website: http://anita.edu.au/workshop2014/ Note that there is no registration fee and registration will close on the 7th February 2014. A meeting dinner, at additional cost ($30-35 per person), will be held at a local restaurant on Monday 17th February. The meeting is open to everyone, you do not need to be a member of ANITA or the ASA to attend (though we encourage you to join!), and we especially invite students to attend and contribute talks. Approximately 15-20 minutes will be allocated for each oral presentation. The 2014 workshop will also include a session promoting access to national computing resources and a special session on 'Theory in the Decadal Plan'. There will be no formal proceedings, but contributions will be available on the web after the workshop. The N-body Summer School is limited by available space, and places will be allocated on a first-come-first-served-basis. Looking forward to seeing you in Sydney! The SOC (Geraint Lewis, Chris Power, Orsola De Marco, Krzysztof Bolejko and Weiguang Cui) and the ANITA steering committee (Jarrod Hurley, Darren Croton, Sarah Maddison, Orsola De Marco, Chris Power, Alan Duffy, Cathryn Trott & Camila Correa). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Geoff.Bicknell at anu.edu.au Mon Feb 3 21:36:23 2014 From: Geoff.Bicknell at anu.edu.au (Geoffrey Bicknell) Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2014 21:36:23 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Postdoctoral Fellow/Research Fellow in Computational Astrophysics Message-ID: <52EF7127.4040105@anu.edu.au> *Postdoctoral Fellow / Research Fellow in Computational Astrophysics * *Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics* The Research School for Astronomy and Astrophysics invites applications from outstanding computational scientists to participate in an exciting project: The key role of black holes in galaxy formation. This is a fixed term Level A/B, research position funded by the Australian Research Council. The successful appointee will work with a team of theoreticians ? Geoff Bicknell (lead CI; RSAA), Chiaki Kobayashi (Hertfordshire, UK), Ralph Sutherland (RSAA) and Alex Wagner (Tsukuba, Japan) ? and observers ? Matthew Lehnert (IAP, Paris) and Nicole Nesvadba (IAS, Orsay). You will conduct simulations of jets, winds and radiation interacting with the interstellar media of evolving galaxies and compare features of the simulations with recent radio, infrared and optical images of radio galaxies. You will also collaborate with the project team in determining the best description of the simulation results to incorporate into cosmological simulations of large-scale structure, involving AGN feedback. The appointment will be for three years at Academic Level A (*AU$74,098 ? AU$79,294pa*) or Level B (*AU$86,286 - AU$98,269pa*) depending on skills and experience plus 17% employer superannuation contributions. ANU supports a flexible working environment. The RSAA offers an outstanding scientific environment, which fosters the professional development of its staff and students. Our workplace is family-friendly and we have instituted a mentoring program for the benefit of early career researchers (and others). Your application should include a current CV/Resume, a statement addressing the selection criteria and the names and contact details of three (3) referees who can be contacted by the selection committee in reference to your suitability to the position. Applications should be submitted through the ANU Website before *31 March 2014*, Reference Number (*A026-14TM*). For further information on the position including the application procedures see (http://jobs.anu.edu.au/PositionDetail.aspx?p=3743) or contact Professor Geoff Bicknell, E: geoff.bicknell at anu.edu.au -- Prof. Geoffrey Bicknell Research School of Astronomy & Astrophysics College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Australian National University E: Geoff.Bicknell at anu.edu.au T: +61 (0)2 6125 9088 M: +61 (0)402 302 802 W: http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~geoff From swyithe at unimelb.edu.au Tue Feb 4 12:06:46 2014 From: swyithe at unimelb.edu.au (Stuart Wyithe) Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2014 01:06:46 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Decadal Plan February update Message-ID: Dear colleagues, This is the first of the monthly emails that the National Committee for Astronomy will distribute summarising events associated with the 2016-25 Decadal Plan for Australian Astronomy. * Demographics Survey During February, we will see the launch of the Australian astronomy demographics survey. The purpose of this survey is to understand the current state of the Australian Astronomy workforce, including its diversity, and to assess its scientific impact. An important aspect of the Decadal Plan is comparison with results of demographics surveys from past Decadal Plans, which allows our community to assess its strengths and more effectively plan for the future. There will be two parts to the survey: one for individuals working in Australian astronomy, as well as one for institutes which will be forwarded directly to heads of departments. The NCA strongly encourages all members of the community to complete this survey. The individual survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AustraliaAstronomyCensus-INDIV We request all people working in Australian Astronomy to please complete their surveys by the 1st March 2014. Further details regarding the surveys will be forthcoming from the Demographics Working Group chair Sarah Maddison. * Town Hall meetings A primary method of community consultation during the decadal planning process is via a series of town hall meetings. The first 10 of the 28 planned town hall meetings will be held during February. Details for these February town hall meetings are listed below. Attendance and contribution to these meetings is open and encouraged; please contact the working group chairs if you would like to make a presentation. WG 1.2 Stars and Planets Chair: Michael Ireland 14th February, 9.00am-12.30pm, Rm G29/G30, New Horizons Centre, Building 82, Monash University (organiser Alex Heger) 27th February, 1:30pm - 4:00pm, Room 64 (common room), School of Physics, University of NSW, (organiser Chris Tinney) 28th February, 10.00am-12.30pm, Duffield theatre, Mt Stromlo Observatory, Australian National University, (organiser Michael Ireland) WG 1.3 The Galaxy Chairs: Jill Rathborne and Naomi McClure-Grifiths 26th February, 9:30am - 12:30pm, Room 121 (seminar room), Physics Building, University of Adelaide (organiser Gavin Rowell) 27th February, 9:30am - 12:00pm, Room 64 (common room), School of Physics, University of NSW, (organiser Michael Burton) 28th February, 1.30pm-4.00pm, Duffield theatre, Mt Stromlo Observatory, Australian National University, (organiser Martin Asplund) WG 1.4 High Energy and Fundamental Astrophysics Chair: Duncan Galloway 14th February, 1.30pm-5.00pm, Rm G29/G30, New Horizons Centre, Building 82, Monash University (organiser Alex Heger) 25th February, 10.00am-1.00pm, ground floor seminar room, ICRAR, University of Western Australia (organiser Eric Howell) 26th February, 1:30pm - 4:30pm, Room 121 (seminar room), Physics Building, University of Adelaide (organiser Gavin Rowell) WG 3.2 Education, Training and Careers Chairs: Amanda Bauer and John O?Byrne 18th February 3:30pm - 5.00pm, SIfA Boardroom, 44-70 Rosehill St Redfern H90, University of Sydney (see the map at http://tinyurl.com/lmyzrf4) (organiser John O?Byrne) In addition to these February meetings, a further 18 town hall meetings are planned for locations around Australia during March and April. For information please visit AustralianAstronomyDecadalPlan.org. 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: From jamie.farnes at sydney.edu.au Tue Feb 4 13:48:12 2014 From: jamie.farnes at sydney.edu.au (Jamie Farnes) Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2014 13:48:12 +1100 Subject: [ASA] CAASTRO in the Classroom PLUS Message-ID: Wish you had experience organising a mini-lecture series? Wish you had opportunity to teach your knowledge to high school students (years 11-12)? CAASTRO in the Classroom is to offer an expanded lecture on 'The Electromagnetic Spectrum' to schools across NSW at the end of March. We're currently looking for eager and excellent speakers, who have the organisational finesse required to construct a fun and accessible talk that highlights key aspects of the curriculum. We're particularly keen to hear from students and postdocs who may benefit the most from this rewarding experience. If this sounds good to you, or for further details, then please get in touch at citc at caastro.org All the best, Jamie & Shane -- DR JAMIE FARNES | Postdoctoral Researcher in Polarimetry Sydney Institute for Astronomy | School of Physics | Faculty of Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Room 202, 44 Rosehill Street, Redfern, NSW 2016, Australia T +61 2 9114 2300 | M +61 406 124 259 E jamie.farnes at sydney.edu.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From christian.wolf at anu.edu.au Tue Feb 4 14:45:35 2014 From: christian.wolf at anu.edu.au (Christian Wolf) Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2014 03:45:35 +0000 Subject: [ASA] CAASTRO Workshop Announcement - SkyMapper: everything you need to know to use the Terabytes Message-ID: Dear colleagues, we are happy to announce that registration is now open for the CAASTRO workshop "SkyMapper: everything you need to know to use the Terabytes" RSAA Mt Stromlo 7 April 2014 11am to 9 April 1pm The commissioning of the SkyMapper telescope is finished and regular survey observations will start soon. In light of real performance figures and the survey landscape of 2014 the SkyMapper survey strategy is updated to deliver the primary science value more quickly. This is the time to look at early data and discuss methods of data analysis and ways of sharing the data. The workshop is open to the Australian astronomy community, but capped at 50 participants. It aims to bring together makers and users of the survey, so that it may be used as effectively as possible. The format will include presentations, moderated discussions and break-out mini-workshops. We want to present our core services and discuss the possibility of value-added data products developed jointly with the community. We will also report on science applications with commissioning data and help the community to evaluate science opportunities with the survey. Contributions are welcome, but not required for attendance. Please see the website http://www.caastro.org/event/2014-skymapper for registration. With best wishes, B. Schmidt, D. Sturgess, K. Williams & Ch. Wolf -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Tue Feb 4 22:49:18 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Tue, 4 Feb 2014 22:49:18 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Decadal Plan - Astronomy Education, Outreach and Careers In-Reply-To: <52EED0A2.6080205@aao.gov.au> References: <52EED0A2.6080205@aao.gov.au> Message-ID: <78E07867-3D1C-45AC-BD6E-2A5DBF31612C@sydney.edu.au> As you know, every 10 years the Australian professional astronomy community develops a Decadal Plan - a road map describing where we want Australian astronomy to go over the following decade. This process is widely seen to be a key part of the success of astronomy in this country. It involves a number of Working Groups reviewing all aspects of astronomy. Working Group 3.2 is concerned with Education, Outreach and Careers - key aspects of our science that engage a wide range of participants, well beyond the professional astronomy community. We are seeking your input to understand how best to promote astronomical education in schools, in the public, and in training new generations of professional astronomers. With this in mind, we are planning a series of 'Town Hall' meetings where you can come along and provide your input and comments. These meetings will be both physical (come in person) and virtual (attend on-line or by phone from anywhere in the country). WG3.2 expects to have 4 meetings across the country in the next two months: 18th February in Sydney 6th March in Melbourne late March in Canberra 15th April in Perth You are welcome to participate in one or all of these meetings. The first meeting will be at the University of Sydney, but NOT on the main campus. The location will be the Sydney Institute for Astronomy (SIfA) Boardroom Ground floor of the Rosehill St building. 44-70 Rosehill St Redfern H90. (This is conveniently close to Redfern Railway station - see the map at http://tinyurl.com/lmyzrf4) If you plan to attend, please RSVP to John O'Byrne (john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au) stating whether you will be present in person (numbers are limited) or 'virtually' (on-line or by phone). More information on 'virtual' attendance will follow. We will distribute more information prior to the meeting. For now, we summarise below the recommendations made in the ?2006 ? 2015 Decadal Plan for Australian Astronomy? and 2011' Mid-Term Review? and we would like your feedback on whether you have seen these goals achieved or not achieved. Professional astronomers need to work more closely with public facilities (like planetaria, observatories, museums and science discovery centre?s) and amateur groups to: Assist with the delivery of programs that target school students and teachers; Assist with the delivery of programs that target under-served groups, such as those living in outer metropolitan, regional and remote areas; Indigenous communities; people for whom English is a second language; and people who are disabled or have limited mobility; Raise awareness among young people of opportunities in science and research; and Promote science and astronomy to a wider audience. What should our new goals be? We look forward to your input. Please consider taking part in one of our Town Hall meetings. We would also welcome written feedback (submitted to amanda.bauer @ aao.gov.au), whether you attend a meeting or not. Amanda Bauer John O'Byrne for WG3.2 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR JOHN O?BYRNE Associate Head (Teaching & Learning), School of Physics Associate Dean (Standards), Faculty of Science Secretary, Astronomical Society of Australia Inc. Sydney Institute for Astronomy School of Physics | Faculty of Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Rm 205, Physics Building A28 | alternate: Rm 222, 44-70 Rosehill St Redfern H90 (see map) Postal address: School of Physics | The University of Sydney | NSW | Australia | 2006 T +61 2 9351 3184 | F +61 2 9351 7726 E john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au | W http://sydney.edu.au/science/physics/~obyrne CRICOS 00026A This email plus any attachments to it are confidential. Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please delete it and any attachments. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This email uses 100% recycled words and ideas. Do you really need to print it? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smaddison at swin.edu.au Wed Feb 5 08:46:46 2014 From: smaddison at swin.edu.au (Sarah Maddison) Date: Wed, 5 Feb 2014 08:46:46 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Director's Research Fellow - Swinburne University Message-ID: *Director's Research Fellow at Swinburne Univer*sity Application closes 15 March 2014 Applications are invited for the position of Director's Research Fellow at the Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, Australia, to work in collaboration with the Centre Director Prof Karl Glazebrook. The Director's Research Fellow is a senior appointment at level B for a fixed term of four years and is 70% research and 30% support with a generous package of salary and benefits. The Fellow is expected to pursue a vigorous independent research program in an area closely aligned with the interest's of Prof. Glazebrook's research group (which include the ZFOURGE high-redshift galaxy survey; the OzDES cosmology survey; the SAMI galaxy survey; and the DYNAMO survey of rare high star-formation rate local galaxies), as well as assist with the management of Prof Glazebrook's research group (currently 4 students and 2 PDRAs) and also provide support to the Centre for Keck telescope time allocation and data reduction. For full details, see http://jobregister.aas.org/job_view?JobID=47629 -- Prof Sarah Maddison Professor of Astrophysics Deputy Director, Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing Chair, Department of Physics & Astronomy Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology Swinburne University of Technology H30, PO BOX 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, AUSTRALIA t: +61-3-9214 5971 f: +61-3-9214 8797 w: http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/maddison/ CRICOS Provider 00111D -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ausgo at aao.gov.au Fri Feb 7 09:12:46 2014 From: ausgo at aao.gov.au (Australian Gemini Office) Date: Fri, 07 Feb 2014 09:12:46 +1100 Subject: [ASA] GPI Early Science call Message-ID: <52F408DE.20707@aao.gov.au> The call for Early Science programs using the Gemini Planet Imager (GPI) is now open, with full information posted at http://www.gemini.edu/sciops/instruments/gpi/gpi-early-science/call-proposals. Proposals for shared-risk observations are due February 28 2014, for execution in queue mode during 20-26 April. This call represents an accelerated opportunity for the Gemini community to begin to use the instrument. It is also intended to exercise the instrument with a variety of observing programs and demonstrate to the community, through interesting and challenging science programs, the unique capabilities of GPI on Gemini South. Commissioning is not yet complete, so performance information is preliminary and may not represent the final capability of GPI. Questions about the instrument capabilities can be directed to Fredrik Rantakyro (frantaky at gemini.edu ). A new 2014A PIT (2014.1.2) to support the GPI early science call has been released (http://www.gemini.edu/node/12126) and must be used for GPI early science (select "Other Proposal Types" and "System Verification" in the Proposal Class and the Proposal Type fields respectively), as well as for 2014A poor weather and director's time proposals. Stuart Ryder Australian Gemini Office -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From smaddison at swin.edu.au Sun Feb 9 23:38:55 2014 From: smaddison at swin.edu.au (Sarah Maddison) Date: Sun, 9 Feb 2014 23:38:55 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Australia Astronmy Decadal Plan - Demographics Surveys Message-ID: Dear colleagues, As you are likely aware, the Australian astronomical community carries out a formal strategic planning process on a 10-year time scale run by the National Committee for Astronomy (NCA). The Decadal Plan provides the opportunity for Australian astronomy to conduct a stocktake 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 resultant Decadal Plan can then be used as a highly influential document to present our vision to key stakeholders, such as the Commonwealth Government and industrial and research partners. The planning process for the 2016-2025 Decadal Plan has now begun. The NCA's Demographics Working Group (WG3.1) is charged with collecting and collating the information necessary to quantise and assess the total astronomy effort within Australia. As per the previous Decadal Plan, this involves conducting a census of Australian astronomers and astronomy institutions. The WG3.1 has designed two surveys: one for individuals working in Australian astronomy and one for Australian institutions which will be forwarded directly to heads of departments. The aim of these surveys is to understand the current state of the Australian Astronomy workforce, including its diversity, and to assess its scientific impact. An important aspect of the Decadal Plan is comparison with results of demographics surveys from past Decadal Plans, allowing our community to assess its strengths and more effectively plan for the future. On behalf of WG31 and the NCA, I invite you to take part in the first survey, entitled 'Australian Astronomy Census 2014 - Individual'. This survey has five sections: (1) institutional affiliation, (2) personal information, (3) education history, (4) role and time, which includes information on the type of work you do and your area astronomy, and (5) your employment/educational history specific to postgraduate student, fixed-term and ongoing staff. We ask that you answer the questions as of 31 January 2014 (so if you are moving institutes or graduating in February, your answers should relate to your status on 31/1/2014). Graduate students on scholarships may wish to consider themselves employed as PhD/MSc students (by their university or the government), with their work potentially split between research and tutoring etc. The WG3.1 asks that individuals working in Australian astronomy kindly *complete their surveys by 1 March 2014. *The survey can be accessed here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AustraliaAstronomyCensus-INDIV If you have any questions regarding the survey, or any concerns about your privacy or the nature of the questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind regards, Sarah Maddison on behalf of the NCA WG3.1 -- Prof Sarah Maddison Professor of Astrophysics Deputy Director, Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing Chair, Department of Physics & Astronomy Centre for Astrophysics & Supercomputing Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology Swinburne University of Technology H30, PO BOX 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, AUSTRALIA t: +61-3-9214 5971 f: +61-3-9214 8797 w: http://astronomy.swin.edu.au/maddison/ CRICOS Provider 00111D -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: