From andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au Mon Dec 19 15:33:43 2016 From: andrew.hopkins at aao.gov.au (Andrew Hopkins) Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2016 15:33:43 +1100 Subject: [ASA] AAO Research Astronomer and Public Outreach Officer Message-ID: Dear ASA members, The Australian Astronomical Observatory is currently advertising for the role of Research Astronomer and Public Outreach Officer: http://careers.industry.gov.au/cw/en/job/493652/research-astronomer-and-public-outreach-officer-aps-level-6-aao The Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO) is a division of the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. We operate the Anglo-Australian and UK Schmidt Telescopes on behalf of the astronomical community in Australia. The AAO provides world-class observing facilities for Australian researchers, enabling them to do excellent science. We are a world leader in astronomical research and in the development of innovative telescope instrumentation and take a leading role in the formulation of long-term plans for astronomy in Australia. The AAO seeks a suitably qualified and experienced candidate to undertake the role of Research Astronomer and Public Outreach Officer responsible for delivering the public outreach activities of the AAO, engaging with the media and general public and maintaining active engagement in high-profile research programs to ensure public engagement reflects the latest scientific developments. The AAO supports flexible working arrangements, including part-time options, as appropriate. Please encourage suitable candidates to apply online through the link above. Applications close 31 Jan. 2017. Any questions may be directed to me. Andrew Hopkins -- Prof. Andrew Hopkins, Head of Research and Outreach Australian Astronomical Observatory P.O. Box 915, North Ryde, NSW 1670, Australia ph: +61 2 9372 4849 fax: +61 2 9372 4880 From k.williams at sydney.edu.au Tue Dec 20 11:21:47 2016 From: k.williams at sydney.edu.au (Kylie Williams) Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2016 00:21:47 +0000 Subject: [ASA] First Announcement and call for Abstract submission: Black Hole to Environment: galaxy evolution across multiple wavelenghts, Canberra 20-24 August 2017 Message-ID: ANNOUNCENEMT AND CALL FOR PAPERS: From Black Hole to Environment: galaxy evolution across multiple wavelengths 20 - 24 August 2017 Australian National University, Canberra Australia SUMMARY * www.caastro.org/event/2017-blackhole * Early Bird Registration and abstract submission OPEN. To register and submit your abstract please go to Black Hole Registration or www.caastro.org/event/2017-blackhole On August 20 - 24, 2017, the Australian National University will host an international scientific conference "From Black Hole to Environment: galaxy evolution across multiple wavelengths". This conference aims to bring together both our observational and theoretical understanding of how galaxies evolve through feeding and feedback processes. The meeting will address our current understanding of feeding and feedback from large scales (clusters) to small scales (galactic centres) including gaseous outflows, star formation, and black hole co-evolution. The conference will be split into four categories: * Galaxy groups, clusters, large scale structure: dynamics, mergers, interactions; * Galaxies in the high redshift universe: AGN feedback and gaseous outflows; * Galaxies in the low redshift universe: refuelling and feeding black holes and star formation; and * Centres of galaxies: black hole accretion, launching jets and galactic winds, starbursts and star formation. This meeting will focus on multi-wavelength science that addresses the above science. We have invited leading scientists from the major galaxy surveys and leading scientists working on theoretical simulations. This will provide a platform to reconcile theoretical predictions with ongoing and upcoming observational projects to foster new collaborations. Registration is now open Conference Fees (Incl. GST) Early Bird Registration Fee: $AUS400 Registration Fee: $AUS500 Student Registration Fee: $AUS300 Dates Registration opens December 12, 2016 Oral Presentation Abstracts Close: March 31, 2017 Poster Abstracts Close: July 14, 2017 Programme Available: May 1, 2017 Early Bird Closes: May 15, 2017 Registrations Close: July 14, 2017 Accommodation We have booked a block of rooms for conference participants at the following hotels: * Quest www.questcanberra.com.au o Code: ANU2017 o Studio apartment $177 per night (max. 2 guests) o Queen 1 Bedroom apartment $197 per night (max. 2 guests) o Queen 1 Bedroom executive apartment $205 per night (max. 3 guests) * University House http://unihouse.anu.edu.au/hotel-accommodation/ o Code: Galaxies2017 o Twin room $155 per night o Queen room $170 per night o Apartment $205 per night All hotels are within walking distance to the conference venue. Meals Your registration fee includes the following meals for each day: * Morning tea * Lunch * Afternoon tea If you have any dietary requirements, please ensure you make a note of these when you register for the conference under the Dietary Information field. The Registration fee will also cover the Welcome Function on 20 August 2017 and the conference dinner being held on 22 August 2017. VISA Information All travellers other than Australian and New Zealand citizens need a valid visa or authority to enter Australia (including electronic visas). More information is available on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (http://www.border.gov.au/). Please contact the organisers if you need a letter of invitation for your visa application. For some nationalities, processing and issuance of visas can take several weeks/months, so apply well before your planned travel. Invited Speakers: Scientific Organising Committee: * Julie Banfield (Chair), ANU * Judith Croston, Southhampton * Alastair Edge, Durham * Anne Medling, Caltech * Dipanjan Mukherjee, ANU * Matt Owers, AAO/Maquarie * Kevin Pimbblet, Hull * Elaine Sadler, USYD * Stas Shabala, UTAS * Ivy Wong, ICRAR/UWA * Cathie Zheng, VUW Local Organizing Committee: * Julie Banfield (Chair), ANU * Suryashree Aniyan, ANU * Kate Gunn, USYD * Anais Moller, ANU * Rob Sharp, ANU * Philip Taylor, ANU * Brad Tucker, ANU * Kylie Williams, USYD KYLIE WILLIAMS | Events and Communications CAASTRO | School of Physics | Faculty of Science | ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics Rm 352 Building A28 | School of Physics The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T +61 2 9114 2183 | F +61 2 9114 2195| M +61 478 404 619 Email k.williams at sydney.edu.au W http:// www.caastro.org Please note: I am in the office Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (9:00am - 5:30pm) and Wednesday (9:00am - 2:00pm) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From k.williams at sydney.edu.au Tue Dec 20 11:21:52 2016 From: k.williams at sydney.edu.au (Kylie Williams) Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2016 00:21:52 +0000 Subject: [ASA] First Announcement: Mock Perth: Challenges for Simulations in the Era of SKA and Large IFU Surveys, Perth, 20-22 March 2017 Message-ID: Dear Colleagues Registrations are now open for the Mock Perth: Challenges for Simulations in the Era of SKA and Large IFU Surveys workshop being held in Perth, 20-22 March 2017. We are entering an exciting era in the study of galaxy formation and evolution. Over the last decade or so, precision experiments have derived stringent limits on the key cosmological parameters, while large galaxy surveys (e.g. 2dF, SDSS, GAMA) have provided compelling insights into galaxy evolution in the nearby Universe using statistical samples of galaxies. Over the coming decade, next generation galaxy surveys (e.g. on ELTs, SKA, etc...) will probe in great detail the complex physical mechanisms that drive galaxy formation and evolution over a wide range of galaxy masses and over a much longer baseline in cosmic time, from the Epoch of Reionization to the present day. In particular, our understanding of the low-mass regime will be transformed, as multi-object spectrographs and radio telescopes will survey galaxies with stellar masses below 100 million solar masses, and in some cases (e.g. 4MOST WAVES, ASKAP WALLABY/DINGO, SKA) will probe systems as low as a million solar masses. Modelling the properties of low-mass galaxies represents an exciting yet challenging opportunity for galaxy formation simulators. The success or failure of a model is judged typically against its ability to reproduce - broadly - the properties of populations of more massive galaxies. However, low-mass galaxies provide (arguably) the most stringent limits of the models, offering tests of the influence of formation time, gas accretion, feedback, environment, etc... The aim of this workshop is to bring together world-leading simulators and observers in the field to identify and discuss how the models must be improved to provide robust predictions across the range of galaxy masses, from dwarf-scale upwards. We will focus on developments in modelling star formation, feedback and environmental processing, and what we have learned from small scale simulations and modelling that can be applied to cosmological simulations and semi-analytic models. We will also review the current observational status of dwarf galaxies and determine which observables are the key ones one would want to obtain if we are to apply our simulations to the next generation of surveys. Workshop Details * Date: 20-22 March 2017 * Location: ICRAR/UWA, Perth * Registration: Please register here. Registration is $75, to cover the cost of catering for postdocs and staff members. Registration is free for students. INVITED SPEAKERS * Luca Cortese - ICRAR * Elisabete Da Cunha - ANU * JJ Eldridge - Auckland * Violeta Gonzalez-Perez - Portsmouth * Brent Groves - ANU * Alex Knebe UMadrid * Mark Krumholz - ANU * Naomi McLure-Griffiths - ANU * Simon Mutch - Melbourne University * Nelson Padilla - Pontifical Catholic University of Chile * Matthieu Schaller - Durham * Jing Wang - CSIRO SCIENTIFIC ORGANISING COMMITTEE * Claudia Lagos * Chris Power, Chair * Charlotte Welker * Ivy Wong This event is sponsored by: ICRAR, UWA, Curtin University, the State Government of WA, and CAASTRO. KYLIE WILLIAMS | Events and Communications CAASTRO | School of Physics | Faculty of Science | ARC Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics Rm 352 Building A28 | School of Physics The University of Sydney | NSW | 2006 T +61 2 9114 2183 | F +61 2 9114 2195| M +61 478 404 619 Email k.williams at sydney.edu.au W http:// www.caastro.org Please note: I am in the office Monday, Tuesday and Thursday (9:00am - 5:30pm) and Wednesday (9:00am - 2:00pm) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From David.Luchetti at industry.gov.au Tue Dec 20 15:19:21 2016 From: David.Luchetti at industry.gov.au (Luchetti, David) Date: Tue, 20 Dec 2016 04:19:21 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Australian SKA Project Director Update [SEC=UNCLASSIFIED] Message-ID: <1DE44E6EBA039D4680EF9537615B6DFDB8755790@PPAC01EXC004.PROD.PROTECTED.IND> Dear SKA stakeholders, For your information, my latest Project Director's Update is now available on the SKA Australia website (www.ska.gov.au). The update is also pasted below and summarises recent SKA-related activities and developments in Australia and internationally. As we approach the end of 2016, I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate everyone in the Australian SKA community on our many achievements over the year. We have made good progress across SKA science, engineering and governance, and I look forward to another productive year as we build towards the beginning of construction later this decade. Wishing you all the best over the holiday period, 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 [http://www.ska.gov.au/sitecollectionimages/logo-auska.gif] December 2016 It's been a busy few months with plenty of exciting new activity in the project. In November, we were proud to launch the Australian SKA Fellowships program. The program enables Australia-based scientists and engineers to spend up to four months in the UK contributing to SKA delivery at the SKA Headquarters. Congratulations to all four recipients of the first round of fellowships, the first two of which have already commenced work at the SKA HQ. Watch this space for future fellowship opportunities. Another major milestone for the Australian SKA project was the formal beginning of negotiations to establish an Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) with the Wajarri Yamaji, the traditional custodians of Australia's SKA site. I have always enjoyed visiting the rugged and beautiful Wajarri country, meeting Wajarri people and hearing their stories about their connection to the land. For many years the SKA and Wajarri community have had a positive relationship based on respect. A well-considered ILUA will ensure that this respectful and productive relationship continues for generations to come. September to November saw a flurry of international SKA meetings. In September I attended the fourth treaty negotiation meeting between SKA member countries in Rome. Good progress was made on many issues. There is a strong willingness from the partnership to complete negotiations early next year ahead of an initialing ceremony amongst the member governments around February. Also in September, I had the opportunity to visit a number of impressive data institutes in the UK with a group of high-level Australian big data specialists. Along with strengthening Australia-UK ties in big data, it was a great opportunity to share in some of the latest developments in data science. It is clear the SKA is set to make a hefty contribution in this area. In October I attended the International Conference on Research Infrastructure in Cape Town, South Africa. The SKA featured prominently at the conference. Our South African colleagues promoted the SKA impressively, and plenary talks were given by current and former South African SKA Project Directors, Dr Rob Adam and Dr Bernie Fanaroff. SKA Director-General Prof Phil Diamond also delivered a plenary address. Rounding out October were the Regional Stakeholders Group meeting in Geraldton and the Science Advisory Committee meeting in Sydney. The First Pietro Baracchi Conference, entitled 'Italo-Australian Radio Astronomy in the Era of the SKA' also took place in early November in Perth. The conference was the first in a series of meetings planned to alternate between Australia and Italy. Future meetings will continue to bring together Italian and Australian researchers from all areas of radio astronomy. November also saw the 22nd SKA Organisation Board Meeting in Manchester where the Board reaffirmed its commitment to managing the costs of the SKA project and keeping the project on track. Australia's precursor telescopes continue to make good progress and exciting headlines. Most notably, the recently published 'GLEAM' all-sky survey conducted on the Murchison Widefield Array caught the public's imagination by showing what the Universe would look like if we could see radio waves. In other news, the Dutch King and Queen visited Perth in the first week of November. While in Perth, the King and Queen visited Curtin University where they heard about the SKA. The visit was part of a celebration of the 400 year relationship between Australia and the Netherlands - a relationship that began with exploration and continues to this day with collaboration on a number of projects, including the SKA. On top of the royal visit, the Netherlands have also published a new stamp series immortalising the MRO, the Australian SKA Pathfinder telescope and the soon to be constructed SKA-Low array. As well as celebrating the close relationship between the countries, it's wonderful to see the SKA promoted to a wide audience in new and interesting ways. 2016 has been an extremely busy year for the SKA project. Great progress has been made and member countries are keen to maintain this momentum into 2017. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and all the best for the New Year. David Luchetti Australian SKA Project Director -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 4282 bytes Desc: image001.jpg URL: From jeffrey.simpson at aao.gov.au Wed Dec 21 10:08:18 2016 From: jeffrey.simpson at aao.gov.au (Jeffrey Simpson) Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2016 10:08:18 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Surveying the Cosmos (5-9 June 2017): ANNOUNCENEMT AND CALL FOR PAPERS Message-ID: ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS Southern Cross 2017: Surveying the Cosmos, The Science From Massively Multiplexed Surveys 5 - 9 June 2017 Luna Park, Sydney, Australia https://www.aao.gov.au/conference/2017SouthernCross SUMMARY Registration and abstract submission OPEN. To register and submit your abstract please go to the registration tab at https://www.aao.gov.au/conference/2017SouthernCross The Southern Cross Astrophysics Conferences, which are jointly supported by the Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO) and the CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science (CASS), are held annually in Australia with the aim of attracting international experts with wide ranging skills to discuss a particular astrophysical topic. The 2017 conference will be on the results of massively multiplexed surveys across the electromagnetic spectrum and at all scales of the cosmos. Large astronomical surveys have been key to many of the major advances in our understanding of the cosmos at all scales over the last two decades. This conference will focus on the scientific returns from massively multiplexed surveys: in terms of the number of targets that are observed simultaneously, and massive in the number of objects observed in totality. Australia has often been at the forefront of these types of surveys, with a key development being the start of regular scientific observations with the Two-Degree Field instrument on the Anglo-Australian Telescope in 1997. The 2017 Southern Cross Astrophysics Conference will include a retrospective on such surveys, the current surveys underway, and also a look forward to the future. REGISTRATION FEES AND DEADLINES The conference fees will be confirmed in early January 2017. The registration deadline will be 28 February 2017. INVITED SPEAKERS Sven Buder (MPIA): The GALAH survey Keith Hawkins (Columbia University): The Galactic Halo in APOGEE/Kepler/Gaia-ESO Sarah Jane Schmidt (Potsdam, AIP): Surveying the coolest stars in the Milky Way Yuan-Sen Ting (Harvard University): Chemical tagging of stars in large surveys Vivienne Wild (University of St Andrews): Galaxy evolution with IFU surveys Caroline Foster (Australian Astronomical Observatory): SLUGGS Luca Cortese (Internation Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Australia): IFU/radio synergies Julia Bryant (University of Sydney): HECTOR Matthew Colless (Australian National University): The MANIFEST instrument and other multiplexed spectrographs on ELTs Alessia Moretti: IFU surveys (MUSE, VIMOS, GMOS) Benedetta Vulcani (University of Melbourne): The HST grism survey GLASS Luke Davies (Internation Centre for Radio Astronomy Research, Australia): Future results from WAVES LOCAL ORGANISING COMMITTEE Jeffrey Simpson (Chair) Amanda Bauer Andrew Hopkins Elaina Hyde Karen Lee-Waddell Chris Lidman Angel Lopez-Sanchez Duncan Wright Tayyaba Zafar SCIENTIFIC ORGANISING COMMITTEE Jeffrey Simpson (Chair) Andrew Hopkins Minh Huynh Sarah Martell Bianca Poggianti Matt Owers Nicholas Seymour Jennifer Sobeck Lister Staveley-Smith Scott Trager Martin Zwaan ________________________________ Jeffrey Simpson Research Fellow & AAT Scheduler Australian Astronomical Observatory -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From duncan.wright at aao.gov.au Wed Dec 21 14:39:43 2016 From: duncan.wright at aao.gov.au (Duncan Wright) Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2016 14:39:43 +1100 Subject: [ASA] The UCLES spectrograph on the AAT - gauging interest for semester 2017B and beyond Message-ID: <3da1-5859f980-7-65a18f80@26953005> To all potential users of the UCLES spectrograph on the AAT In anticipation of the arrival of Veloce in semester 2018A, the Australian Astronomical Observatory is interested in gauging the demand for UCLES on the 3.9m Anglo-Australian Telescope (AAT) in semester 2017B and beyond. Because the UCLES spectrograph has been primarily used by exoplanet-focused researchers over the last few years, and that the coming Veloce spectrograph will be more capable in most areas of exoplanet science, it is prudent to consider whether maintaining the UCLES spectrograph through 2017B and beyond is optimal use of AAT resources. If you are interested in proposing to use UCLES in 2017B or later, or wish to make a comment on this topic, then please email duncan.wright at aao.gov.au with a very brief outline of your interest in UCLES before January 31st 2017. For those who are unfamiliar with the instrument, the University College London ?chelle Spectrograph (UCLES) is the high-resolution spectrograph capable of observing over the whole optical range (~380nm - 1000nm), which can be fed light from the AAT by several mirrors and a slit, or the CYCLOPS fibre bundle. More information on UCLES can be found on the AAO website (https://www.aao.gov.au/science/instruments/current/ucles/overview). Regards, Duncan Wright (Instrument scientist for UCLES) Reply to: duncan.wright at aao.gov.au From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Fri Dec 23 10:26:11 2016 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 22 Dec 2016 23:26:11 +0000 Subject: [ASA] 2017 Heidelberg Gaia Sprint Message-ID: Dear ASA members, We will have the next Gaia Sprint from 2017 July 17 to 2017 July 21 in Heidelberg. The idea behind the Sprints is to bring together people who have an interest in timely scientific investigation and use of the Gaia Data. These are not traditional scientific meetings; they are intended to facilitate completion of first scientific papers. The Sprints are structured to support collaborative refinement and execution of (fairly) mature scientific ideas. It is hoped that new partnerships will form and lead to co-authored publications for the scientific literature ready or near-ready by the end of each Sprint. If you are interested in attending, please fill out this application form by January 31 2017. See http://gaia.lol for details and application instructions. Andy Casey (Cambridge) (Monash) for the Scientific Organising Committee -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: