From andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au Mon Feb 17 13:49:53 2014 From: andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2014 13:49:53 +1100 Subject: [ASA] New "Media and Outreach Coordinator" co-opted ASA Council position Message-ID: <530178D1.9000806@aao.gov.au> Dear ASA members, On behalf of the ASA Council, I am pleased to report that Dr Michael Brown, a Future Fellow at Monash University, has been appointed to the new "Media and Outreach Coordinator" role on the Council. Following the restructure to the ASA Council that was passed last year in the constitutional amendments approved by the Society Members, an additional co-opted Council position was created. The Council decided that our best use of this position would be to appoint someone to take on primary responsibility for managing the ASA's media and public engagement presence, as well as being the Council representative on the Education and Public Outreach Chapter (EPOC). This new co-opted role, with the title of "Media and Outreach Coordinator", will involve overseeing the Council's education and outreach resources, promoting the Society and member activities to the media and public through traditional and new media avenues, serving as a point of contact for the ASA with various media organisations, and expanding the Society's visibility as the peak body representing Australian Astronomers nationally. Michael is well positioned for this role, with his active and growing media profile, including regular contributions to "The Conversation", a visible social media presence, and regular media interviews. The Council looks forward to working with Michael for the coming two years of the appointment. 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 From andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au Mon Feb 17 13:58:23 2014 From: andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Mon, 17 Feb 2014 13:58:23 +1100 Subject: [ASA] AAO Honours and PhD scholarships Message-ID: <53017ACF.60001@aao.gov.au> The Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO) is pleased to be able to offer both Honours Scholarships and PhD Scholarships in 2014. Full details are available here: http://www.aao.gov.au/students/studentsgrad.html Honours/Masters Scholarships: --------------------- The AAO offers a $5000 scholarship for Honours or Masters students enrolled at any Australian university, for a research project substantially co-supervised with an AAO staff-member. The deadline for applications is **************** 1 March 2014 **************** Details, including the application forms and application process, are available here: http://www.aao.gov.au/students/studentsgrad.html In addition, we also support jointly-funded scholarships with Macquarie University and with Monash University. Students wishing to apply for these scholarships should use the relevant application form from the host university, and follow the instructions on their web pages. Any questions about the AAO Honours/Masters Scholarships or the application process can be directed to the Head of AAT Science at the AAO, Andrew Hopkins (ahopkins at aao.gov.au). PhD Scholarships: ----------------- The AAO is offering up to two AAO PhD Scholarships, and up to two Trevor Burgess PhD Scholarships to students at Australian universities. All scholarships are for a period of 3 years, with a possible extension for a further 6 months. The value of the scholarships will be $5000 per annum. Annual renewal is conditional upon satisfactory performance by the student. The scholarships are open to any student accepted for a PhD programme at any Australian university who are substantially co-supervised by an AAO staff member. The Trevor Burgess PhD Scholarships are only open to Australian Citizens. The scholarships can support students with backgrounds in astronomy, physics, engineering or mathematics with thesis research programs in astronomy or astronomical instrumentation (and related fields). For further details, including the application forms and procedure, please see the website: http://www.aao.gov.au/students/AAOscholarship.html The deadline for PhD scholarship applications is: ************* 15 March 2014 ************* Please consider whether your incoming students this year, and their planned projects, would benefit from an association with the AAO, and discuss the possibility of co-supervision with an AAO staff member. The research interests of AAO staff and some potential projects that could be discussed are available at: http://www.aao.gov.au/AAO/students/studentsgrad.html Any questions about the AAO PhD Scholarship Scheme can be addressed to the Head of AAT Science, Andrew Hopkins, atahopkins at aao.gov.au. Andrew Hopkins -- 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 From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Tue Feb 18 12:55:45 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Tue, 18 Feb 2014 12:55:45 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Wide Area VISTA Extra-galactic Survey with 4MOST@AAO March 11th Message-ID: <4118EAF7-3D8D-487E-AB24-9DE96C93B7BB@sydney.edu.au> Wide Area VISTA Extra-galactic Survey with 4MOST: http://www.wave-survey.org Discussions are underway regards the prospect of an Australian Consortium joining the 4MOST collaboration to lead a 2-3million galaxy redshift survey (WAVES). To involve the community in this process a one day meeting has been organised at the AAO on 11th March 9am-4pm. The intention of the meeting is three-fold: - to inform the community about 4MOST and its current surveys (mainly GAIA and eROSITA follow-up) - to hear from the community on the current WAVES design and any suggested additions/embellishments/modifications - to discuss the path forward to securing Australian involvement via a 2014 ARC LIEF bid Details on 4MOST, WAVES and the preliminary programme are at: http://www.wave-survey.org If you're interested in coming to the meeting please email aaron.robotham at uwa.edu.au so we can have an idea of numbers. Please also feel free to make contact with your node representative to discuss ideas before the meeting (see team tab on WAVES website). We hope to see many of you there, regards, Simon and the WAVES Design Team. -- Simon P. Driver Winthrop Research Professor Ph: +61 8 6488 7747 Mobile: +61 N/A ICRAR: Discovering the hidden Universe through radio astronomy www.icrar.org | Subscribe to ICRAR's eNewsletter | ICRAR on Twitter | ICRAR on Facebook The University of Western Australia, M468, 35 Stirling Highway, Crawley, WA 6009, AUSTRALIA -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ausgo at aao.gov.au Wed Feb 19 09:20:48 2014 From: ausgo at aao.gov.au (Australian Gemini Office) Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 09:20:48 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Extension of Australia's Magellan access Message-ID: <5303DCC0.5090200@aao.gov.au> The Australian Gemini Office is pleased to be able to announce that the Carnegie Institution for Science and Astronomy Australia Limited (AAL) have signed an agreement to continue Australian access to fifteen nights per year on the Magellan telescopes until Semester 2017B. AAL secured funding in August 2013 from the Australian Government?s NCRIS-2013 programme to support astronomical research infrastructure, including continued Australian access to large overseas optical telescopes. AAL consulted with the Australian astronomical community via its Optical Telescopes Advisory Committee who recommended that AAL invest NCRIS-2013 funds to maintain access to the Magellan telescopes. That advice was consistent with the high demand (mean over-subscription since 2007 ~3.5) by Australian astronomers to use the Magellan telescopes. AAL would like to thank the Australian Government for their continued support of research infrastructure via the highly-successful National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). The next call for Magellan proposals in Semester 2014B will be issued in early March. Stuart Ryder (AusGO) and Yeshe Fenner (AAL) P.S. Don't forget the deadline for submitting content to the new Gemini Data Reduction User Forum (http://drforum.gemini.edu/), in order to be eligible for the Director?s Discretionary Time prizes, is February 28 2014. From andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au Wed Feb 19 16:13:38 2014 From: andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 16:13:38 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Fwd: Tickets available to Science meets Parliament gala dinner! In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <53043D82.1070208@aao.gov.au> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Tickets available to Science meets Parliament gala dinner! Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 15:47:56 +1100 From: Catriona Jackson To: Catriona Jackson Minister Ian Macfarlane and health-care hero Professor Christine Bennett AO at SmP Get your tickets now! Science & Technology Australia (STA) is proud to confirm Federal Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane and health-care hero Professor Christine Bennett AO as speakers at the Science meets Parliament (SmP) 2014 gala dinner. *For the first time a small number of tickets will be released for sale to this previously members-only event.* Now in its 14^th year and firmly established in the political calendar, SmP draws the nation's current and future leaders in science, technology and health to the heart of Canberra. With ABC national icon Robyn Williams AO as MC, the gala dinner will be attended by a wide range of parliamentarians from all sides of politics, as well as science leaders. In addition to the addresses by Industry Minister Macfarlane and Professor Bennett, the Parliamentary Friends of Science, a cross party group of parliamentarians with an interest in science as a central part of Australia's future, will be launched on the night. Find out more information about the speakers here: www.scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/focus-on/smp-2014-speakers-panellists-and-special-guests What: SmP 2014 gala dinner Where: Great Hall, Parliament House, Canberra When: Monday 17 March, 6.30 for 7pm start Cost: $195 per head or $1,800 for a table of ten To purchase tickets follow this link: www.eventspro.net/ausbiotech/getdemo.ei?id=7300075&s=_5WC12R1TH STA is the peak group for the nation's 68,000 scientists and those working in technology. Our mission is to bring together scientists, governments, industry and the broader community to advance the role, reputation and impact of science and technology in Australia. Further information can be found at www.sta.org.au SmP 2014 is funded by the Australian Government Department of Industry. *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 -- 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 -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpg Size: 109252 bytes Desc: not available URL: From andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au Wed Feb 19 16:35:27 2014 From: andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 16:35:27 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Fwd: [APRIM 2014] Online abstract submission is avaliable! In-Reply-To: <201402190504.s1J541bi014138@localhost.localhost> References: <201402190504.s1J541bi014138@localhost.localhost> Message-ID: <5304429F.9080808@aao.gov.au> -------- Original Message -------- Subject: [APRIM 2014] Online abstract submission is avaliable! Date: Wed, 19 Feb 2014 14:27:51 +0900 From: APRIM 2014 Reply-To: aprim2014 at aprim2014.org To: ahopkins at aao.gov.au APRIM 2014 -- 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 -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Feb 20 08:52:36 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 08:52:36 +1100 Subject: [ASA] News from GMTO Message-ID: Having trouble viewing this email? click here System Level Preliminary Design Review and Cost and Organizational Review Passed with Flying Colors Eric Manuel (Structural Engineer, M3) presents designs for the telescope enclosure and facilities. Photo ? 2014 George Jacoby. In January, the GMT team completed two significant reviews, bringing the group closer to the start of the Construction and Commissioning Phase of the project. The System Level Preliminary Design Review investigated the overall technical readiness of the project, while the Cost and Organizational Review analyzed the financial plan, including a close look at estimated costs and contingencies, and GMTO's organizational structure. Feedback from both review panels has been highly positive. In their report, the System Level Preliminary Design Review panel recommended that the GMT proceed with the construction phase "as rapidly as possible." More... Bruce Bigelow joins GMTO as Opto-Mechanical Systems Lead Bruce Bigelow, GMT Opto-Mechanical Systems Lead Photo ? 2013 Poppy de Garmo. In November, Dr. Bruce C. Bigelow joined GMTO as the Opto-Mechanical Systems Lead. Bigelow has worked on large astronomical telescopes and their instrumentation for more than 25 years. Most recently, he held the position of Research Astronomer at the University of California Observatories, where he was the project manager lead engineer for the Multi-Object Broadband Imaging Echellette (MOBIE) spectrograph, a wide-field optical spectrograph for the Thirty Meter Telescope project. Bigelow earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara and his Ph.D. in Physics and Astronomy from University College London. Among his past positions, he was Project Leader for the Keck Observatory ESI Spectrograph, Project Manager and Chief Engineer for the Magellan imaging spectrograph (IMACS) for the Carnegie Observatories, and a Senior Research Engineer at the University of Michigan, where he worked on U.S. Department of Energy "dark energy" missions including the SNAP space telescope and the Dark Energy Camera for the CTIO 4m Blanco telescope. More... Third Segment of the GMT Primary Mirror Unveiled GMT's third primary mirror is unveiled at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory Mirror Lab. Photo ? 2013 Chris Summitt, Steward Observatory, University of Arizona. On December 6, 2013, GMT's newest primary mirror segment was unveiled at the University of Arizona's Steward Observatory Mirror Lab. This is the third of seven segments that will function together as one primary mirror once the telescope is operating at full capacity. The event was attended by the GMT community and distinguished guests. Presenters included University of Arizona President, Ann Weaver Hart; Chair of the GMTO Board of Directors, Wendy Freedman; Dean of the University of Arizona College of Optics, Tom Koch; and Steward Observatory Director, Buell Jannuzi, among others. More... Copyright ? 2014, GMTO Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Forward email This email was sent to john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au by info at gmto.org | Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe? | Privacy Policy. GMTO | 251 South Lake Avenue | Suite 300 | Pasadena | CA | 91101 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From stello at physics.usyd.edu.au Thu Feb 20 09:25:03 2014 From: stello at physics.usyd.edu.au (Dennis Stello) Date: Thu, 20 Feb 2014 09:25:03 +1100 (EST) Subject: [ASA] ESA selects PLATO! Message-ID: Excellent news from Europe. The PLATO - Planetary Transits and Oscillations of stars - mission was selected yesterday by ESA's Science Programme Committee for implementation as part of its Cosmic Vision 2015-25 Programme. More information via: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ESA_selects_planet-hunting_PLATO_mission A paper detailing the mission concept and goals can be found here http://arxiv.org/pdf/1310.0696v1 Beyond detecting planets and stellar oscillations, the mission's 50% coverage of the sky over a 6-year period, will provide tremendous potential for investigating the Galaxy when combined with results from missions such as Gaia and large scale ground-based spectroscopy. Kind regards Dennis Stello -- DENNIS STELLO | Senior Lecturer School of Physics A28 | Faculty of Science THE UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY Rm225, K90 | The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T +61 2 9036 5108 | F +61 2 9351 7726 E stello at physics.usyd.edu.au | W http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~stello/ From yeshe.fenner at astronomyaustralia.org.au Fri Feb 21 12:28:13 2014 From: yeshe.fenner at astronomyaustralia.org.au (Yeshe Fenner) Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 12:28:13 +1100 Subject: [ASA] European Southern Observatory seminars and the ESO Science Outreach Network Message-ID: <001901cf2ea4$302d8ec0$9088ac40$@astronomyaustralia.org.au> Dear ASA members, Next week, the Director General of the European Southern Observatory (ESO), Prof Tim de Zeeuw, will be giving a series of seminars around Australia to summarize ESO's current program and perspectives for the future. Please find the abstract and colloquia schedule below. On a related matter, Astronomy Australia Ltd (AAL) has teamed up with the Melbourne Planetarium to join ESO 's Science Outreach Network (ESON) to help promote Australia's involvement in ESO. Tanya Hill (Melbourne Planetarium) and Yeshe Fenner/Mita Brierley (AAL) will be the ESON representatives in Australia. Our aim is to raise the profile of ESO within Australia by getting more local ESO connections out to the media and public. But we need your help. ESO sends out a weekly media news release and we can highlight any links to Australian astronomers as well as any local ESO related meetings that are occurring. So, what can you do? - Let us know if you have ESO results or an ESO related meeting/conference that we can help publicise through the ESON network. - If an ESO release is linked to your research, we may contact you to ask for quotes or help arrange opportunities for you to talk to the media. - Share relevant ESO news releases with media contacts you have. Kind regards, Tanya Hill and Yeshe Fenner Dr Tanya Hill Planetarium Manager | Senior Curator, Astronomy Melbourne Planetarium, Scienceworks MUSEUM VICTORIA | GPO Box 666, Melbourne 3001 t: 03 9392 4503 (except Mondays) | e: thill at museum.vic.gov.au | w: museumvictoria.com.au/planetarium Dr Yeshe Fenner Executive Officer Astronomy Australia Ltd T: 03 9214 5520 M: 0430 708 995 ****************************************************** Title: The European Southern Observatory (ESO): Present and Future Speaker: Prof. Tim de Zeeuw (Director General, ESO) Abstract: ESO is an intergovernmental organization for astronomy founded in 1962 by five countries. It currently has 14 Member States in Europe with Brazil poised to join as soon as the Accession Agreement has been ratified. Together these countries represent approximately 30 percent of the world's astronomers. ESO operates optical/infrared observatories on La Silla and Paranal in Chile, partners in the sub-millimeter radio observatories APEX and ALMA on Chajnantor and is about to start construction of the Extremely Large Telescope on Armazones. La Silla hosts various robotic telescopes and experiments as well as the NTT and the venerable 3.6m telescope. The former had a key role in the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe and the latter hosts the ultra-stable spectrograph HARPS which is responsible for the discovery of nearly two-thirds of all confirmed exoplanets with masses below that of Neptune. On Paranal the four 8.2m units of the Very Large Telescope, the Interferometer and the survey telescopes VISTA and VST together constitute an integrated system which supports 16 powerful facility instruments, including adaptive-optics-assisted imagers and integral-field spectrographs, with half a dozen more on the way and the Extremely Large Telescope with its suite of instruments to be added to this system in about ten years time. Scientific highlights include the characterisation of the supermassive black hole in the Galactic Centre, the first image of an exoplanet, studies of gamma-ray bursts enabled by the Rapid Response Mode and milliarcsec imaging of evolved stars and active galactic nuclei. The single dish APEX antenna, equipped with spectrometers and wide-field cameras, contributes strongly to the study of high-redshift galaxies and of star- and planet-formation. Early Science results obtained with the ALMA interferometer already demonstrate its tremendous potential for observations of the cold Universe. The talk will summarize ESO's current program and consider perspectives for the coming decades Colloquia schedule: . Monday 24th February 2014, 10AM, University of Sydney, Redfern Campus . Monday 24th February 2014, 2PM, AAO Large Meeting Room (Room 1, Ground Floor, Building 3) . Tuesday 25th February 2014, 2PM, Swinburne University, Virtual Reality Theatre . Thursday 27th February 2014, 3PM, ANU, Mt Stromlo Observatory . Friday 28th February 2014, 3:30PM, ICRAR/UWA . Friday 28th February 2014, 4:15PM (Tea and Coffee from 3:45PM), University Club Auditorium, UWA. Lecture: "Reaching new heights in astronomy - The European Southern Observatory" -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Nuria.Lorente at aao.gov.au Fri Feb 21 12:40:05 2014 From: Nuria.Lorente at aao.gov.au (Nuria P. F. Lorente) Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 12:40:05 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Shaping the future of the ADASS conference: 2014 Survey Message-ID: <5306AE75.1060208@aao.gov.au> Dear colleagues, We are conducting a survey to ascertain the community's needs and wants in relation to the ADASS conference. ADASS (Astronomy Data Analysis and Software Systems) has been a successful conference series for 23 years. If it is to continue to be successful and relevant we need to ensure that it provides what we, the astronomy software, methods and algorithms providers and users need from a regular conference. To this end we would appreciate if you would spare a few minutes of your time to fill out the ADASS 2014 questionnaire. This consists of 17 non-mandatory questions about the content, style and governance of ADASS. The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ADASS2014 In 2015 ADASS will be held in Sydney: the first time in Australia and only the second time outside Europe and the USA. This will be a great opportunity to increase the visibility of the excellent work that takes place in Australian institutions. Even if you have never attended an ADASS conference it would be helpful to hear your ideas on what would constitute an interesting and useful software conference for you. We encourage you to participate and look forward to receiving your comments and suggestions. We will use these to ensure that future ADASS conferences are vibrant, interesting and remain at the cutting edge of our subject. Apologies if you've received more than one copy of this message. Best regards, Nuria Lorente on behalf of the ADASS Program Organising Committee -- ------------------------------------------------------------------ Nuria P. F. Lorente Australian Astronomical Observatory e: nuria.lorente at aao.gov.au p: +61 2 9372 4897 w: http://www.aao.gov.au t: @NoTruerAlien ------------------------------------------------------------------ From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Fri Feb 21 13:59:33 2014 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 13:59:33 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Women in Astronomy Chapter of the ASA - Inviting Nominations for the Steering Committee Message-ID: Dear ASA Members, The Women in Astronomy Chapter of the ASA is inviting WIA Chapter Members to nominate for three full representatives and one student representative to the Chapter Steering Committee. We encourage both women and men to consider nominating for one of these positions. If you are not a Chapter member yet, please consider registering for the Chapter and contributing to its worthy goals. Please find information below. Women in Astronomy Chapter of the ASA - Steering Committee Elections. The Women in Astronomy Chapter of the ASA aims to promote and assist the career development of women in the Australian astronomy community. The primary goal of the Chapter is to monitor the status of women working in astronomy, recommend actions that will improve their working environment, and collect relevant statistics. The WIA Chapter has been active for over three years. Over that period it has organised activities that have been beneficial to both men and women working in astronomy, including: - Organised three highly successful national workshops for Women in Astronomy - Conducted special sessions at the ASA Annual Science Meetings - Organised ?Meet-a-Mentor? sessions at the ASA Annual Science Meetings - Collated statistics on women in astronomy, and - Lobbied for best practice for organisations in STEM The WIA Chapter is run by a Steering Committee who play a leading role in devising and implementing initiatives to fulfil the Chapter?s goals. The Committee consists of a Chair, six Steering Committee members, a student representative and an ASA Council representative. Terms are held for two years (full representatives) and one year (student representative) . We are now inviting nominations for three full representatives and one student representative. These positions are open to all Chapter members and we encourage both women and men to consider nominating for one of these positions. Existing Steering Committee members can renominate if they wish. The election schedule is as follows: - call for nominations: 10 - 28 February - election period: 3 - 14 March - results announced: 19 March - new positions commence: 24 March Please email your nomination to WIA-elections at mso.anu.edu.au, Returning Officer, C?line d?Orgeville. Each nomination must include a brief paragraph summarising your interest in the position and how you envisage to contribute to the broad goals of the Chapter. Please note that this information will be made available to voters. Kind regards Raquel Salmeron - WIA Chapter Secretary C?line d?Orgeville - Returning Officer On behalf of the Steering Committee: Lisa Harvey Smith (Chair), Bryan Gaensler, Sarah Brough, Stuart Ryder, Virginia Kilborn, Tanya Hill, Andrew Hopkins, Louise Howes (Student representative), Raquel Salmeron (Secretary). -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: