From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Fri Nov 30 15:58:49 2012 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Fri, 30 Nov 2012 15:58:49 +1100 Subject: [ASA] ANITA Workshop/Astroinformatics Summer School 2013 Message-ID: ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ANITA 2013 AND ASTROINFORMATICS SUMMER SCHOOL 18th-22nd February 2013 University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia OPEN FOR REGISTRATION ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------ ANITA 2013: ------------------ Registration is now open for the 7th Annual Theory Workshop of the Australian National Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (ANITA), which will be held on the 21st and 22nd of February 2013 at the University of Queensland, Brisbane. There is a 55 AUD registration fee for the workshop for Postdocs and Faculty, but there is no fee for students. Professor Lawrence Krauss has been invited, and will be giving the opening address. All other talks will be contributed by the attendees, with 15-20 minutes given for each. Talks will be allotted by the organisers, with preference given to students and those that request talks early. The closing date for registration is 15th January 2013. For details and registration see the workshop website http://www.smp.uq.edu.au/anitaworkshop2013/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ASA/ANITA Astroinformatics summer school ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Registration is now open for the 3 day ASA/ANITA Astroinformatics Summer School, 18th-20th Feb. The school will cover techniques and resources for use in astrophysics. Topics covered will be similar to the last school, which included: * Unix and unix-like operating systems * Python * Virtual observatory tools * Databases and SQL * TOPCAT and PyRAF * MPI Programming and HPC The summer school is open to all advanced undergraduate, honours and PhD students as well as active Astronomy and Astrophysics researchers within Australia and New Zealand. However, numbers are limited and so when allocating spaces priority will be given to students. There is a 110 AUD fee to attend the school for salaried researchers, which is waived for students. The closing date for registration is 15th January 2013. For details and registration see the workshop website http://www.smp.uq.edu.au/anitaworkshop2013/ Looking foward to seeing you there. On behalf of the SOC (David Parkinson (chair), Tamara Davis, Holger Baumgardt and Signe Reimer-Sorensen) and the ANITA steering committee ______________________________ David Parkinson University of Queensland d.parkinson at uq.edu.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Sat Dec 1 23:40:33 2012 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2012 23:40:33 +1100 Subject: [ASA] SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY AUSTRALIA December E-Bulletin In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5212C597-8D1B-47A9-96FF-75E4F93DE00E@sydney.edu.au> The following (rather long) newsletter is from Science & Technology Australia: Dear STA members and supporters A note from the CEO: This will be the last e-bulletin you receive from me as I conclude my appointment as CEO of Science & Technology Australia. Thank you for your support and collaboration over the last three years. It has been a tremendous pleasure and privilege working for Science & Technology Australia. Time and time again Australia's research community shows me what humility and tireless commitment look like. Your perseverance and hard work make a difference to the lives and well being of so many and you have my deepest respect and support. I'm sure I will have reason to continue to work with many of you in my new role as General Manager of Questacon ? the National Science & Technology Centre. I also look forward to continuing to work for the betterment of the science and technology sector. Until I have my feet under my new desk, I can be reached on annamaria.arabia at gmail.com or 0412 940 921. It is anticipated that my replacement will commence early in 2013. Over the December period I ask for your patience as transitional arrangements will be in place to respond to members. Professor Michael Holland, STA President, will be the primary contact person (mike.holland at uq.edu.au) and Gillian will be able to attend to inquiries regarding membership and financial matter (accounts at sta.org.au). My very best wishes to you for a healthy and prosperous 2013. Anna-Maria Arabia In this E-Bulletin: 1. Preparing for the 2013 Federal Election ? making science, maths and technology count ? your input is sought on the development of STA's Federal Election Questionnaire/2013 Election Manifesto 2. National Conversation on Capturing the Benefits of Research in Australia 3. Newly elected STA Executive Committee Members 4. National Research Investment Plan released 5. REMINDER: Careers in the Scientific Research Workforce Survey ? deadline extended to 10 December 2012 6. Australian Science Media Centre ? Science Savvy ? a useful resource for scientists who face the media 7. Science meets Parliament 2013 8. Papers and Publications of interest 9. STA Christmas message and office shut down (STA office will be closed from Monday 17 December to Friday 4 January 2013) ________ 1. Preparing for the 2013 Federal Election ? making science, maths and technology count ? your input is sought on the development of STA's Federal Election Questionnaire/2013 Election Manifesto At the STA AGM held on 23 November 2012, STA members discussed strategies to give the science sector a strong and united voice during the 2013 federal election year. With this in mind STA is leading several science and technology advocacy activities. These are outlined in the attached paper together with a draft Election Manifesto - your input and comments are strongly encouraged and requested by 31 January 2013. 2. National Conversation on Capturing the Benefits of Research in Australia On 14 August 2012, STA were amongst 26 people assembled at Government House, to hold a National Conversation on Capturing the Benefits of Research in Australia. The event was hosted by Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC CVO, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, and was organised in consultation with Professor Brian Schmidt, 2011 Nobel Laureate of Physics. A summary of the National Conversation on Capturing the Benefits of Research in Australia is available on request. 3. Newly elected STA Executive Committee members The STA Executive Committee Members as elected on 23 Nov at the STA AGM are: President: Professor Michael Holland President- Elect: Dr Ross Smith Vice-President: Claude Gauchat Secretary: Dr Jeremy Brownlie Treasurer: Professor Peter Adams Chair, Policy- Committee: Assoc Prof Rebecca Ritchie Early Career Scientist: Dr Enzo Porrello Congratulations to all the newly elected Executive members. Full Board and Executive details can be found here: http://scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/about-science-australia/governance-and-board/ 4. National Research Investment Plan The National Research Investment Plan was developed by the Australian Research Committee (headed by the Chief Scientist Professor Ian Chubb) and was launched by Minister Chris Evans on 28 Nov 2012. Further information including a copy of the report is available on the Department of Innovation's website: http://www.innovation.gov.au/Research/Pages/NationalResearchInvestmentPlan.aspx The Plan seeks to support future decisions by the government in relation to the level and balance of research investment. The paper sets out a framework, in the form of a national research fabric, that seeks to enable the development of Australia?s research capacity and capability to be responsive to the needs of all sectors including business. It also proposes a statement of strategic-research priorities that enables investment to be focused on meeting the government?s priorities. 5. REMINDER: Careers in the Scientific Research Workforce Survey ? deadline extended to 10 December 2012 Researchers at the University of Melbourne together with industry partners, the Bio21 Cluster, the Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) and Science and Technology Australia (STA) have been awarded an Australian Research Council Linkage grant to investigate the experience of careers and career paths of those in the scientific workforce and make suggestions for improvements. As part of this project you are invited to participate in a survey examining careers in the biological sciences and chemistry related research workforce. You have received this survey because either you or your employer is a member or associate of one of the industry partners. There has been a lot of discussion in the media about careers in science and about the sustainability of the scientific research workforce in Australia. Whilst a lot is known about careers in the academy, there is less knowledge about careers in the science workforce. Your participation in this survey is voluntary and is anonymous. Results will be collected by the researchers and results reported in aggregate form only. Survey results will be publicly available. The survey has ethics approval from The University of Melbourne and the contact person for the survey is the Project Coordinator, Robyn May (Robyn.May at unimelb.edu.au). Whilst we are interested in the experiences of those currently working in the scientific research field, we are also interested in the experiences of those who are qualified, but no longer working in the field. If you have colleagues who fit this description, would you please forward the survey to them. The survey can be accessed here, and should take no more than 20 minutes to complete: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/careersinscience We look forward to receiving your response by 10 December 2012. For more information about the research project, please click here: http://education.unimelb.edu.au/news_and_activities/projects/careers_in_science 6. Australian Science Media Centre ? Science Savvy ? a useful resource for scientists who face the media The Australian Science Media Centre has just launched a brand new free online tool to help scientists work with the news media and better inform public debate on the major issues of the day. Developed with support from CSIRO, Science Media Savvy.org provides tips and advice for understanding and dealing with the news media. The resource features interviews with news journalists and editors, advice from researchers experienced in media and videos highlighting how to improve print and broadcast interview experiences. ScienceMediaSavvy.org is not designed to replace hands-on media skills workshops, instead it is a new tool that will help scientists who are unable to take the time or foot the cost of attending a course or for those who need a quick refresher. The instant online availability of Science Media Savvy.org will help fill a gap in terms of what is currently available to scientists, giving them advice on dealing with the media as they need it, from any internet-enabled computer, mobile phone or tablet. A short video explaining what ScienceMediaSavvy.org is all about is available here. 7. Science meets Parliament 2013 is scheduled for 12 and 13 August in Canberra??unless of course a federal election is called around that date! Enjoy this short video capturing what happens when 200 scientists meet 60 politicians at Science meets Parliament: https://vimeo.com/50181483 8. Papers and Publications of interest: A) Professor Doug Hilton, Director WEHI in conversation with the Hon Andrew Robb: http://theconversation.edu.au/in-conversation-andrew-robb-research-must-back-our-strengths-10958?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+26+November+2012&utm_content=Latest+from+The+Conversation+for+26+November+2012+CID_ddda7848a0d175ff19a3c819369670f2&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=In%20Conversation%20Andrew%20Robb%20research%20must%20back%20our%20strengths B) Advocating science to politicians You are encouraged to read a useful paper on science advocacy published in Cell. While the paper refers to the importance of science advocacy for biologists, it could be applied to all scientific disciplines. : The Obligation for Biologists to Commit to Political Advocacy, Thomas D. Pollard Cell, Volume 151, Issue 2, 239-243, 12 October 2012 C) the Australian Council of the Deans of Science have published a report: "A Background in Science: what science means for Australian society" which can be downloaded here: http://www.acds.edu.au/docs/2012/BackgroundInScience.pdf D) Choosing Science: a large scale national study seeking to understand the on Year 10 students' decision to study science subjects in Year 11 http://www.une.edu.au/simerr/pages/projects/131choosingscience.php E) Starting out in STEM: A study of young men and women in first year science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses which investigates whether their experiences of these courses met their expectations, with a particular interest in the motivations and experiences of young women in male-dominated fields such as physics, IT and engineering. The report can be downloaded here: http://www.une.edu.au/simerr/pages/proje influences cts/132iris.php F) The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers Common myths about immunisation have been laid to rest in a comprehensive new booklet written by the nation?s top immunologists and published by the Australian Academy of Science. Devised by a national panel of experts in response to confusion created by contradictory information in the public domain, The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers explains the latest immunology science in accessible language. The Science of Immunisation: Questions and Answers is available for download from www.science.org.au/immunisation.html _________________________________________________________________ Anna-Maria Arabia Chief Executive Officer Science & Technology Australia Giving voice to Australian Science & Technology for over 27 years www.sta.org.au www.respectthescience.org.au T: 02 6257 2891 M: 0412 940 921 F: 02 6257 2897 PO Box 259 Canberra City ACT 2601 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: 2013 Federal Election Questionnaire-Background paper.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 192310 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: