From David.Luchetti at industry.gov.au Mon Oct 26 16:32:27 2015 From: David.Luchetti at industry.gov.au (Luchetti, David) Date: Mon, 26 Oct 2015 05:32:27 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Australian SKA Project Director Update [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED] Message-ID: Dear ASA Members Summary of first SKA Convention Negotiations meeting On 14-16 October I attended, in Rome, the first formal negotiation meeting for the establishment of an intergovernmental treaty organisation for the construction and operation of the SKA. All SKA Member countries were represented and all commented positively on the collaborative and collegiate approach taken by participants. As this was the first meeting the negotiating parties dealt with many procedural matters, secured outcomes on a range of matters and established several working groups to refine the detail in four key policy areas: Privileges and Immunities; Financial Protocols; Procurement and Intellectual Property; and Operations and Access. The next meeting will be held in January 2016, and will further review the convention's text and consider reports from the working groups. A further meeting is currently scheduled for April 2016, followed by the endorsement of the final text in mid/late-2016 for formal consideration by partner governments. Upcoming international SKA Board meeting and ANZSCC meeting Australia's Board Representatives Patricia Kelly (Department of Industry, Innovation and Science) and Dr Sarah Pearce (CSIRO), and I will attend the next SKA Board meeting on 19-20 November in Manchester, UK. In advance of the SKA Board meeting, the Australia-New Zealand SKA Coordination Committee (ANZSCC) will meet in Sydney on 16 November, and the ANZSCC Science Advisory Committee (SAC) will meet on 6 November in Perth. If you have any queries about the issues described in this summary, please email me at David.Luchetti at industry.gov.au. Kind regards David David Luchetti Australian SKA Project Director Australian Square Kilometre Array Office __________________________________________ Department of Industry, Innovation and Science Level 9, 10 Binara Street, Canberra City ACT 2601 GPO Box 9839, Canberra ACT 2601 Ph: +61-2-6213 6068 Mob: +61 411 021 135 Email: david.luchetti at industry.gov.au Internet: www.ska.gov.au [SKA-Australia-logo] -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: winmail.dat Type: application/ms-tnef Size: 35516 bytes Desc: not available URL: From sarah.brough at aao.gov.au Tue Oct 27 12:09:11 2015 From: sarah.brough at aao.gov.au (Sarah Brough) Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2015 12:09:11 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Reminder: Call for Pleiades Awards Applications Message-ID: <562ECEB7.8080306@aao.gov.au> Dear ASA Members Applications for the 2015 ASA Chapter for Women in Astronomy Pleiades Awards are due *this Friday 30th October 2015*. The Pleiades Awards recognise organisations in Australian astronomy that: 1. Take active steps to advance the careers of women through focused programs and 2. Strive for sustained improvement in providing opportunities for women to achieve positions of seniority, influence and recognition. The Awards are bestowed by the ASA Chapter for Women in Astronomy to organisations that demonstrate a strong commitment to the aims of the Chapter. Applications are welcome from eligible organisations before the deadline of the end of Friday 30 October 2015. Further information and the application form are available from our webpages: http://asawomeninastronomy.org/ Many regards, Sarah Brough Chair, ASA Chapter for Women in Astronomy on behalf of the Steering Committee From Paul.Francis at anu.edu.au Wed Oct 28 10:13:37 2015 From: Paul.Francis at anu.edu.au (Paul Francis) Date: Tue, 27 Oct 2015 23:13:37 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Call for Proposals: SSO 2.3m Message-ID: Dear Observer, The closing date for observing proposals for time on the ANU/RSAA 2.3m telescope at Siding Spring Observatory (SSO) in the quarter 1st FEBRUARY 2016 - 30th APRIL 2016 is 23:59 November 15, 2015. Instruments available: Nasymth A: WiFeS Nasymth B: Imager or echelle. Observing proposals must be submitted electronically via the RSAA web pages. Full instructions are available at http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/observers/observing-rsaa . You will need the most recent versions of the template and style files which can be obtained from the web pages. *************************** PLEASE NOTE *********************************** (1) WiFeS users are requested to indicate on the proposal form whether they will be present at the telescope or observe remotely. Remote observing is available only to experienced WiFeS observers but can now be carried out from Australian sites other than Mt Stromlo subject to technical feasibility. (2) Proposals for use of the 2.3m will only be considered if the PI is from the ANU or from another institution that contributes financially or has contributed financially and directly to the building and/or operations of the 2.3m telescope and its commissioned instruments. These institutions include those that collaborated on the successful ARC LIEF bid to fund the Blue Arm of the WiFeS spectrograph and the successful ARC LIEF bid for the WiFeS upgrade. All such proposals will be judged on their scientific merit alone. There will be no quotas placed on the amount of time available for qualifying institutions. These policies will remain in place for the present. Currently eligible (non-ANU) institutions are the AAO, UQld, UNSW and USyd as well as Swinburne, Monash and Macquarie. (3) Macquarie, Swinburne and Monash proposals have a certain amount of guaranteed time. All proposals wishing to claim this should state explicitly in the abstract how much of this time they wish to claim. (4) Limited first night support at the telescope is provided to new observers. Nevertheless new observers are strongly encouraged to be present at the telescope at least one night before their observing run to familiarise themselves with the telescope and instrument operating systems. The latest information on using the telescope and its instruments can be found at http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/observers/obsering-rsaa . (5) Proposers are reminded to limit their scientific case to TWO pages, including figures and references. *************************************************************************** If you have technical problems in using the web-based submission process, please email tacinfo at mso.anu.edu.au . Paul Francis Chair, ANU TAC ============================= A/Prof. Paul Francis Astrophysicist Mt Stromlo Observatory, and the Physics Education Centre College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences Building 38a, Tel 02 6125 2824 or 8031 The Australian National University Canberra ACT 0200 Australia paul.francis at anu.edu.au http://www.mso.anu.edu.au/~pfrancis/ CRICOS Provider #00120C -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From daniel.price at monash.edu Wed Oct 28 14:14:26 2015 From: daniel.price at monash.edu (Daniel Price) Date: Wed, 28 Oct 2015 14:14:26 +1100 Subject: [ASA] PASA Editorial Board - call for applications Message-ID: <4DD7F7E8-D301-47AF-9DC7-C0491D1C677B@monash.edu> ============================================ PASA EDITORIAL BOARD - CALL FOR APPLICATIONS ============================================ Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia (PASA) is an ISI-listed, fully-refereed journal for new and significant research in astronomy and astrophysics. PASA seeks two suitably qualified astronomers to join its Editorial Board for three-year terms, beginning January 2016. Applications can be made by sending a statement of strengths and suitability and a brief CV to the Chair of the PASA Editorial Board, Daniel Price (daniel.price at monash.edu) by 13th November 2015. About the Journal ------------------------ PASA (journal home page at http://journals.cambridge.org/pas) publishes new and significant research in astronomy and astrophysics. PASA covers a wide range of topics within astronomy, including multi-wavelength observations, theoretical modelling, computational astronomy and visualisation. PASA also maintains its heritage of publishing results on southern hemisphere astronomy and on astronomy with Australian facilities. PASA publishes research papers, review papers and special series on topical issues, making use of expert international reviewers and an experienced Editorial Board. As an electronic-only journal, PASA publishes paper by paper, ensuring a rapid publication rate. There are no pages charges. PASA's Editorial Board approve a certain number of papers per year to be made available without a paywall or subscription to the journal. All papers are indexed by the NASA ADS database; the ISI impact factor for PASA is currently 2.65. PASA is published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Astronomical Society of Australia (ASA). The PASA Editorial Board ---------------------------------- PASA maintains an Editorial Board of seven members (currently chaired by Daniel Price). The main duties of the Editorial Board are to select referees for submitted papers, to make final decisions based on those reports, to solicit papers for submission, and to be an advocate for the Journal. Detailed duties are outlined below. There will be up to three vacancies on the Editorial Board, beginning in January 2016. Appointment to the Editorial Board is for a period of three years. An honorarium is paid annually, currently at the level of AU$3000 per year. Members of the Editorial Board are selected on the basis of their standing in the community, the breadth of their knowledge, and their specific areas of expertise. Applications are sought from candidates with expertise in any areas of astrophysics. A decision on the appointment will be made by the ASA Council shortly following this closing date. Note that ASA Council members may apply, but if selected are not eligible to receive an honorarium. We encourage prospective candidates to discuss their application with the chair of the Editorial Board beforehand. PASA Editorial Board Responsibilities -------------------------------------------------- Members of the Editorial Board of PASA are appointed by the ASA Council. The ASA also appoints a Chair from among the seven Editorial Board members. The Editorial Board is responsible for the overall scientific success of the journal in the international astronomical community. Measures of success include number and quality of submissions, rejection rate, citations and impact factor, and timeliness of peer review. Individual Editorial Board members contribute to this by: 1) Attracting submissions of quality research papers to the journal. 2) Organising peer review of submitted manuscripts in a timely fashion, using Cambridge University Press' electronic submission and peer review system. Key components of this process are: a) Assessing a manuscript's suitability for review, including identification of possible cases of plagiarism using the results of automated plagiarism-checking software provided by the publisher. b) Selection of suitable reviewers, to be undertaken within 3 days of receipt of a manuscript. c) Delivery of a recommendation for publication/revision/rejection based on reviews, to be completed within 3 days of receipt of a review. 3) Other duties and responsibilities of Editorial Board members are to: a) Act fairly, courteously, and without personal bias in all dealings with authors and reviewers. b) Immediately declare to the Chair of the Editorial Board any personal involvement or potential conflict of interest that may arise for any manuscript or in any component of the review process. c) Be a public advocate for the Journal, including the identification of at least one "special issue" or topical series of articles per year. d) Actively seek to publish one's own work in the Journal, and to encourage colleagues to do the same. e) Enhance the standards and scope of the Journal. f) Ensure that refereeing guidelines are adhered to and comprehensively considered by referees g) Provide strategic advice to the ASA, to the Chair of the Editorial Board and to the publisher on current directions in relevant research disciplines that can be used to the benefit of the Journal, its subscribers and its readers. To this end, the Editorial Board meets 3-4 times per year (each meeting typically consisting of a two-hour telecon). ------------------------------------------------------ From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Oct 29 22:00:06 2015 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 29 Oct 2015 22:00:06 +1100 Subject: [ASA] SKA science update for ASA members In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <0291320B-7C1B-47A0-8989-4152A493A1A6@sydney.edu.au> Dear ASA Members SKA Science Update One of the aims of the ANZSCC Science Advisory Committee (SAC) is to improve our communication within the Australian astronomical community. As SAC chair, I would like to take this opportunity to provide a set of updates on a few recent SKA happenings and invite your input/responses. 1. Summary of the SKA Key Science Projects (KSP) workshop (by Jill Rathborne, CSIRO) In August 2015, ~120 international astronomers met in Stockholm, Sweden to begin discussions around SKA Key Science Projects (KSPs). The principle aims of this workshop were to aid and facilitate the development of potential KSP concepts and collaborations, and to explore commensality between different science areas. The workshop was the first in a planned series that will likely occur approximately annually. The intention is that these workshops will build toward a call for Letters of Intent for KSPs around 2018. Sixteen astronomers participated from Australian and New Zealand. CASS recently hosted an informal meeting for the Australian community to summarise this workshop and to provide a forum for discussion. The program and links to slides can be found here: http://www.atnf.csiro.au/research/workshops/2015/ASKAPEarlyScience/Program.html . A document containing short summaries of the discussions held within several of the Science Working Groups (SWGs) can be found at http://www.ska.gov.au/science/Documents/2015-10-09-SKA_KSP_workshop-Summary.pdf 2. Online Australian/NZ science content on www.ska.gov.au (by Jerry Skinner, Australian SKA Project Office) As part of our commitment to keeping the Australian scientific community up to date on SKA developments, we have made some improvements to the online content available at www.ska.gov.au . The Science section (www.ska.gov.au/science ) of the site now provides clearer information about the SKA science priorities (through the recent SKA science book), updates readers on SAC activities and lists the SKA science working groups and their Australian members (with a view to encouraging greater collaboration). In addition, an ?SKA Science? email address SKA.Science at industry.gov.au has been set up to allow people to ask specific science-based questions. If you have a ?scientific? query about the SKA or SKA research in Australia/NZ, send an email to this address and the Australian SKA Office and SAC Chair will determine who we think the best person (in science, government or industry) might be and seek a response. Note: please allow a reasonable time period for us to connect you with the right person. This site is under continuous improvement: suggestions for additional content or other useful links are welcome and should be made to jerry.skinner at industry.gov.au 3. Next ANZSCC SAC meeting: 6 November 2015 ? Professor Carole Jackson, ANZSCC SAC Chair The next SAC meeting will be on 6 November 2015 at ICRAR-Curtin. Key items on the agenda include: The next ?OzSKA? meeting Efforts to encourage the SKA SWGs to hold key meetings in Australia, and perhaps even the next KSP workshop Ongoing communications & updates in the Aus/NZ SKA community The SAC welcomes input from the community regarding SKA science strategy and is always open to suggestions for topics that ANZSCC should consider. Carole Jackson ANZSCC SAC Chair Professor Carole Jackson Professor, Radio Astronomy & WA Premier?s Fellow International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research (ICRAR) Street Address Building 610, Room 134, Brodie-Hall Building 1 Turner Avenue Bentley Technology Park Bentley WA 6102 Post: GPO Box U1987, Perth WA 6845 Australia Curtin University Tel | +61 8 9266 4908 Mobile |0401 103 500 Email |carole.jackson at curtin.edu.au www.icrar.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: