From ahassan at swin.edu.au Wed Apr 19 10:02:53 2017 From: ahassan at swin.edu.au (Amr Hassan) Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2017 00:02:53 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Scientific Computing and Software Development Services - Call for Expressions of Interest Message-ID: <137741C2-CF13-4D4A-8A24-5EA8EB46BF7F@swin.edu.au> Astronomy Data and Computing Services (ADACS) Call for Expressions of Interest for Scientific Computing and Software Development Services Astronomy Data and Computing Services (ADACS) is a new initiative by Astronomy Australia Limited (AAL) aiming to provide astronomy-focused training, support and expertise to allow Australian astronomers to maximise the scientific return from their data and computing infrastructure. A principle component of this initiative is the provision of expertise for the design and development of software tools and infrastructure. In addition to providing resources and support for our major data platforms (e.g. the All-Sky Virtual Observatory project, and the gSTAR data management and collaboration platform), ADACS will provide support to other small-to-intermediate scale tools/platforms by introducing scientific computing and software development as a service. Within Q3/4 2017, ADACS will provide the equivalent of 1 full time computational scientist as a resource to the community. A diversely qualified team will participate, with expertise covering a variety of areas including (but not limited to): system analysis and design, scientific computing, high performance computing, data science, web development, large scale scientific databases, cloud computing, and scientific visualization. The allocation of these resources will be merit-based with the final evaluation to be performed by the Astronomy Supercomputing Time Allocation Committee (ASTAC). To prepare the community for effective proposals, we have split the application process into two stages: an expressions of interest (EoI) stage where we ask interested parties to submit a one-page proposal outlining their scientific objectives, to which we will provide detailed feedback regarding feasibility, optimal approaches and required resources; and a subsequent round of formal submissions -- shaped by our input -- to be made to ASTAC. We ask that EoI submissions be kept to one page and provide the following: - a concise description of the proposed project; - expected benefits of the final software product; - if possible, an initial estimate of the required resources. When considering projects for this process, we also ask that you keep the following in mind: all ADACS development will be open-source, and as such, made publicly available. Inquires can be directed to Greg Poole (gpoole at swin.edu.au) or Amr Hassan (ahassan at swin.edu.au). The deadline for EoI submissions will be: 12th May 2017, 5pm AEST and should be submitted via email to TAC at adacs.org.au. The review of applications will proceed on a first-come-first-served basis and we welcome submissions any time from now until the deadline. Processing will commence immediately upon receipt. An introductory webinar providing a forum for the community to ask questions and seek further guidance will be hosted at a time TBD. Please register interest here: https://ahassan.typeform.com/to/OvWJG4. Best Regards, Dr. Amr H. Hassan Service Delivery Manager (Acting) Astronomy Data and Computing Services Swinburne University of Technology H29, PO Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia Phone: +61-3-9214-8546 http://www.adacs.org.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From ahassan at swin.edu.au Wed Apr 19 11:21:36 2017 From: ahassan at swin.edu.au (Amr Hassan) Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2017 01:21:36 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Astronomy Supercomputer Time Allocation Committee - Call for Proposals Q3-Q4 2017 Message-ID: <99D338CC-8C56-41FD-932A-69ABB211D7D5@swin.edu.au> Astronomy Supercomputer Time Allocation Committee ** The current call for proposals closes at 5 pm (AEST) Tuesday 1st June 2017. ** ASTAC has issued a call for proposals for the use of the following resources from 1st July 2017 to 31st December 2017 (i.e. Quarters 3-4, 2017): 1. NCI Astronomy Flagship Program: up to 1,000 kSUs 2. gSTAR and swinSTAR: up to 1,700 kSUs 3. Pawsey ATHENA: Up to 5,000 kSUs The attached documents describe the resources available and the specific instructions of each facility. For assistance with the proposal form, or for more information on the resources available, please contact Dr. Amr Hassan (ahassan at swin.edu.au). Note that Amr may also be contacted for enquiries related to the suitability of code for use on GPUs. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ASTAC-form.docx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Size: 29827 bytes Desc: ASTAC-form.docx URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ASTAC-Q3-Q4-2017-call.pdf Type: application/pdf Size: 206611 bytes Desc: ASTAC-Q3-Q4-2017-call.pdf URL: From john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au Thu Apr 20 11:47:29 2017 From: john.obyrne at sydney.edu.au (John O'Byrne) Date: Thu, 20 Apr 2017 01:47:29 +0000 Subject: [ASA] eROSITA update and new call for proposals for joint projects Message-ID: <14A6989B-DEF4-4138-8C78-ED29A0FA5134@sydney.edu.au> Dear colleagues, We would like to draw your attention on the ongoing partnership between the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for All-sky Astrophysics (CAASTRO) and the German eROSITA Consortium (eROSITA_DE), which will provide exciting new opportunities for multi-wavelength astronomy projects across the southern sky. While the MoU was signed by CAASTRO, this agreement covers all Australian astronomers. We are preparing the transition from the current eROSITA_DE-CAASTRO MoU to an agreement between eROSITA_DE and an entity representing the entirety of the Australian astronomical community. This transition will take place at the end of 2017, before the official ending date of CAASTRO on 31 March 2018. Last year, we held a very successful meeting at Ringberg Castle, near Munich, where plans for current future wide-area surveys, and their synergies with eROSITA were laid down. Many scientists from CAASTRO and other Australian-led projects attended the meeting and took first contact with their eROSITA colleagues (presentations are available here: http://ringbergxray2016.weebly.com/). On 20 January 2017, the completed eROSITA X-ray telescope boarded a cargo plane and was transported from Munich, where it had been built at the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, to Moscow. It has now arrived in Moscow and the expected launch date is now in early 2018. For more information see: http://www.mpe.mpg.de/6686210/news-20170120 In the meantime, significant progress has been made on eROSITA, and on a number of other projects, and we would like to give you a brief update on those. Finally, given all the above development, we are now opening a new call for proposals for joint eROSITA_DE/CAASTRO projects. The Expression of Interest will be open until 15 May 2017 and the project template is attached. ** This call is open to all Australian-based astronomers, not just those affiliated with CAASTRO. ** Below, you?ll find information on all these three points. We look forward to hearing your ideas, and to seeing new discoveries emerge from this partnership. Best Regards, Andrea Merloni and Paul Nandra (eROSITA_DE), Elaine Sadler and Kate Gunn (CAASTRO) 1) Project updates: - eROSITA (http://www.mpe.mpg.de/eROSITA): all-sky X-ray imaging, 0.5-10 keV, 15"-30" angular resolution; eROSITA_DE covers Galactic longitudes 180 < l < 360. The telescope has been completed, assembled and shipped to Russia for final test and integration into the spacecraft (see http://www.mpe.mpg.de/6686210/news-20170120). Launch is foreseen in March 2018. The first scientific data from a Performance Verification phase, being planned now, will be taken in June-July 2018. The first all-sky survey should then be completed in January 2019, and it is anticipated that seven more passes of the whole sky will be completed by Summer 2022. Point of contact for inquiries: eROSITA_DE Working Group chairs (http://www.mpe.mpg.de/455860/working_groups) - ASKAP (http://www.atnf.csiro.au/projects/askap/index.html): early science began in 2015; all-sky (decl < +30) radio imaging & spectroscopy, 700-1800 MHz, 15" angular resolution. Contact person: Aidan Hotan > - MWA (http://mwatelescope.org/): fully operational; all-sky (decl < +30) radio imaging, 80-240 MHz, ~2.5' resolution, very large instantaneous field-of-view (30 degs), fast imaging cadence (timescale seconds) capable. Contact person: A/Prof Randall Wayth(R.Wayth at curtin.edu.au) - UTMOST (http//astronomy.swin.edu.au/research/utmost): operational 2014; searches for fast radio transients, 840 MHz, 45" angular resolution. Contact person: Prof Matthew Bailes (mbailes at swin.edu.au) - ATCA (http://www.narrabri.atnf.csiro.au/) fully operational, baselines of 30m to 6km; radio imaging (full synthesis) and spectroscopy, 1.3-105 GHz, ~8" to ~0.1'' max. angular resolution respectively. Contact: Jamie Stevens > - PARKES (http://www.parkes.atnf.csiro.au/): fully operational; radio imaging (pointed and scanned), spectroscopy, high-time resolution observing (e.g. pulsars and FRBs), 0.7-22 GHz, ~23' to ~0.7' angular resolution respectively. Contact: Jimi Green> - SkyMapper (http://rsaa.anu.edu.au/observatories/telescopes/skymapper-telescope): operational 2014; all-sky (decl < 0) optical photometry & transients, uvgriz filters, 1"-2" angular resolution. Contact person: Dr Christian Wolf (christian.wolf at anu.edu.au) - AAT (http://www.aao.gov.au/about/aat.html): fully operational; 3.9m telescope in Australia, focus on wide-field multi-fibre and multi-IFU spectroscopy, 1"-2" angular resolution. Contact person: Prof Andrew Hopkins (ahopkins at aao.gov.au) - TAIPAN is a new facility on the UK Schmidt Telescope at Siding Spring Observatory, to be used for two major survey programs, starting in mid-2017: the Taipan galaxy survey (http://taipan-survey.org/) of more than a million galaxies brighter than i<17, and the FunnelWeb stellar survey (http://funnel-web.wikispaces.com/) of more than 3 million stars brighter than V<12. Contact personTAIPAN: Prof Andrew Hopkins (ahopkins at aao.gov.au) Contact person FUNNELWEB: Prof Chris Tinney (c.tinney at unsw.edu.au) 2) Transition to a new MoU, and extension thereof CAASTRO has commenced discussions with a national body to consider the transition arrangements for the eROSITA_DE and CAASTRO MoU. These discussions are ongoing however we would anticipate a new MoU signed by the end of 2017 which will encompass all Australian astronomers. 3) Call for Proposals: CAASTRO and eROSITA_DE have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that enables collaboration on projects requiring combined data from eROSITA and from Australian wide-field facilities (including ASKAP, MWA, SKAMP, Parkes, ATCA, SkyMapper, AAT, TAIPAN). To briefly summarise, this will oversee science projects that: - require the use of both eROSITA_DE and CAASTRO/AUS data - involve at least one member from each of eROSITA_DE and CAASTRO/AUS - do not conflict with existing eROSITA_DE or CAASTRO/AUS projects - (optionally) allow participation by undergraduate and postgraduate students - adhere to the existing policies for the individual facilities involved (e.g. proprietary periods, data access, survey teams, observing time, publications) Such projects will be formally proposed to, approved by and monitored by a joint CAASTRO/eROSITA_DE Management Committee, as per the details in the attached MoU. The CAASTRO/eROSITA_DE Management Committee currently consists of Prof Paul Nandra (eROSITA_DE), Prof Elaine Sadler (CAASTRO), Dr Andrea Merloni (eROSITA_DE) and Ms Kate Gunn (CAASTRO). At this time, we wish to invite proposals for joint eROSITA_DE/CAASTRO/AUS projects. - If you wish to propose a fully-formed project, please read clause 9 of the attached MoU, complete the attached project template form, and send to coo at caastro.org. Proposals should be submitted by May 15, 2017 in order to be considered at the next MC meeting on May 31st. We strongly encourage potential proposer to get in touch with their corresponding partners early on. If you are generically interested in a facility, but do not know who to contact specifically, do not hesitate to ask either the members of the Management Committee, or the contact persons listed below. 4) List of European Contact points eROSITA PI: Peter Predehl (MPE; predehl at mpe.mpg.de) eROSITA Project Scientist: Andrea Merloni (MPE; am at mpe.mpg.de) eROSITA_DE Science Working Group Chairs: Clusters and Cosmology A. Finoguenov (MPE; alexis at mpe.mpg.de) J. Mohr (USM; jmohr at USM.LMU.de) T. Reiprich (AIfA, Bonn; reiprich at astro.uni-bonn.de) AGN, Blazars: K. Nandra (MPE; knandra at mpe.mpg.de) A. Georgakakis (MPE; age at mpe.mpg.de) M. Salvato (MPE; mara at mpe.mpg.de) Normal Galaxies: F. Haberl (MPE; fwh at mpe.mpg.de) Compact objects: A. Schwope (AIP; aschwope at aip.de) A. Santangelo (IAAT; andrea.santangelo at uni-tuebingen.de) Stars: J. Robrade (UH; jrobrade at hs.uni-hamburg.de) J. Schmitt (UH; jschmitt at hs.uni-hamburg.de) Solar System: K. Dennerl (MPE; kod at mpe.mpg.de) Diffuse emission, SNR: W. Becker (MPE; web at mpe.mpg.de) M. Freyberg (MPE; mjf at mpe.mpg.de) M. Sasaki (IAAT; sasaki at astro.uni-tuebingen.de) Time Domain Astrophysics: J. Wilms (ECAP; joern.wilms at sternwarte.uni-erlangen.de) A. Rau (MPE; arau at mpe.mpg.de) Australia : See contact details above under projects. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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