From tobias.westmeier at uwa.edu.au Tue May 1 12:34:38 2018 From: tobias.westmeier at uwa.edu.au (Tobias Westmeier) Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 02:34:38 +0000 Subject: [ASA] 2018 ICRAR/CASS Radio School - 1st announcement Message-ID: <1157fa81-fafe-964e-d328-5926daef6290@uwa.edu.au> Dear Colleagues, We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2018 ICRAR/CASS Radio School to be held in Geraldton, Western Australia, in the week of October 1-5, 2018. The School is jointly hosted by the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research and CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science, with generous support from the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre. While past Radio Schools in Australia have traditionally been designed around the ATCA and Parkes, we are now turning our focus towards the new capabilities provided by the SKA precursor telescopes in Western Australia, namely ASKAP and the MWA. In addition to teaching the fundamentals of radio interferometry, the School will introduce participants to hands-on reduction of data from ASKAP and MWA. With the advent of science operations on ASKAP and MWA phase 2, the School also intends to facilitate more cross-use of the two facilities and to expose participants to tools and techniques likely to be useful for analysis of data from the future Square Kilometre Array. Participants will also be introduced to the Pawsey Supercomputing Centre, part of which is dedicated to the reduction and analysis of radio astronomy data. The 2018 ICRAR/CASS Radio School is aimed at PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in astronomy. The format of the School will be similar to previous CASS Radio Schools, with a mix of lectures and practical sessions. No prior experience with radio interferometry is required. Attendance will be limited, and priority will be given to students and early-career postdocs. The registration fee will be AUD 300 and will cover lunches, tea/coffee, the conference dinner, and a day trip to the Murchison Radio-astronomy Observatory, the site of ASKAP, MWA, EDGES, and the future home of the low-frequency component of the SKA. For more information on the School and the registration form, please see the official Radio School website: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/tLyXC4QZ1RFro4mJfOL4Ea?domain=icrar.org Please don?t hesitate to contact either Tobias Westmeier (tobias.westmeier at icrar.org) or any other member of the SOC if you have any questions or enquiries regarding the School. Best wishes, Tobias Westmeier on behalf of the SOC ____________________________________________________________ Tobias Westmeier Senior Research Fellow ICRAR M468 The University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway Crawley WA 6009 Australia Telephone: +61 (0)8 6488 4592 E-mail: tobias.westmeier at uwa.edu.au Website: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/bYibC5QZ29FAvkx0IO4Fk_?domain=atnf.csiro.au ____________________________________________________________ ICRAR: Discovering the hidden Universe through radio astronomy Web: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/oJ36C6X13RtXDL1oFmZbws?domain=icrar.org From richard.mcdermid at mq.edu.au Tue May 1 13:06:09 2018 From: richard.mcdermid at mq.edu.au (Richard McDermid) Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 03:06:09 +0000 Subject: [ASA] REMINDER: Call for White Papers on Science with MAVIS (new instrument for ESO VLT) In-Reply-To: <5A0233FF-C387-4297-BB79-C2F05C14436B@mq.edu.au> References: <5A0233FF-C387-4297-BB79-C2F05C14436B@mq.edu.au> Message-ID: Dear ASA Colleagues, Just a friendly reminder of the call for scientific white papers with the proposed ESO Adaptive Optics Facility instrument ?MAVIS?. The deadline for initial drafts and expressions of interest is this Friday, May 4th. Final white papers are still expected June 15th. Initial drafts are not required for submission of a white paper in June, but would be beneficial for consideration in advance of the MAVIS workshop at the AAO in Sydney next week: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/RTcwCZYM2VFzGrJxFjInor?domain=mavis-ao.org). Note that the preliminary workshop program is now online: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/MPs7C1WZXri8R2VOtp2S47?domain=mavis-ao.org. The growing list of MAVIS white papers proposed so far is now online here: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/MIUOC2xZYvC7jPM6f2B3iZ?domain=mavis-ao.org. There are currently >35 proposed papers on a wide variety of topics. However, we expect there are still many strong cases to be made that are not yet represented in the current list, and topics where Australian researchers and collaborators have a lot to contribute. We strongly encourage your participation! The initial white paper call is appended below, including links to resources available here: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/71w-C3Q8Z2FZB6nxFQ7Ipk?domain=mavis-ao.org, such as simulated PSFs and some initial sensitivity estimates. We will keep this page up to date as new resources/simulations become available. Your engagement with MAVIS white papers will also put you on the MAVIS science mailing list to keep you up to date with the project (in addition to periodic ASA communications). As always, please feel free to circulate this within your institution (not everyone is a member of the ASA, and sometimes direct ASA emails are filtered), and get in touch with us if you have any questions. Best regards, Richard McDermid (MAVIS Project Scientist) Francois Rigaut (MAVIS Principal Investigator) On 11 Apr 2018, at 4:28 pm, Richard McDermid > wrote: Dear Colleagues, We are writing to solicit short white papers describing exciting science cases that make use of the unique capabilities of ?MAVIS? (MCAO Assisted Visible Imager & Spectrograph) - a new Australian-led instrument concept for the Adaptive Optics Facility on ESO?s VLT. More details on MAVIS can be found on the MAVIS blog (https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/Btr2C4QZ1RFroMX6HMQR6E?domain=mavis-ao.org). In summary, the expected top-level requirements are: * Field of View: 30?x30? * Wavelength Coverage: VRI, extended to UBz (goal) * Imager with broad- and narrow-band filters * Angular resolution (FWHM): 20 milliarcsec at V (~7 milliarcsec imaging pixels) * Strehl ratio of 10-15% in V under median seeing conditions * Sky coverage: > 50% at the Galactic poles * Spectroscopy options include single monolithic IFU, deployable multi-IFUs, or single-fibre MOS, with R > ~5000 (Additional requirements can also be explored within the White Paper, but we recommend contacting the MAVIS team - project-scientist at mavis-ao.org - for further guidance.) As part of defining the detailed MAVIS instrument design, we are looking for compelling science case descriptions from the astronomical community that can make use of these unique capabilities to make progress on critical and timely science questions. These ?White Papers? should be no more than six pages in length (including all material such as figures and references), written as succinctly as possible, and within a general context understandable by scientists outside your specific field. Following review and iteration with the MAVIS team, the White Papers will form the basis of the MAVIS science case going forwards. How to Get Involved If you are interested in contributing a MAVIS White Paper, or would otherwise like to receive updates on the process, please proceed as follows: Step 1: Get in touch as soon as possible by emailing project-scientist at mavis-ao.org. Include information on what specific topic will be addressed, and the names of any co-authors, if known. We would like to encourage coordination and collaboration between White Paper authors, and will work with you to avoid redundancy where possible. Early expressions of intent will help facilitate this process. Step 2: Please aim to send an initial draft of your White Paper to project-scientist at mavis-ao.org by May 4th. White Papers received by this deadline will be included for discussion at the MAVIS Workshop in Sydney, May 7-9th, where the overall shape of the MAVIS Science Case will be defined. You are strongly encouraged to present your White Paper at the workshop by registering here: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/kRy6C5QZ29FAv5BRiN8m0_?domain=mavis-ao.org. Step 3: Final White Paper submissions will be accepted up until June 15th. Following this date, construction of the final MAVIS Science Case will begin, and White Paper authors should expect to be directly involved in that process. Final White Papers will be made public on the MAVIS website (with author permission). We will also explore the possibility of publishing the White Papers through a journal special edition. White Paper Structure Each White Paper should address the following aspects under separate section headings: Key Questions: One sentence descriptions of the 1-2 proposed science questions. Open Problems: What are the open problems/questions in this field? Observational Needs: What kinds of observations are needed? Instrument Requirements: How does this translate into specific minimum requirements? Namely: - Field of View (imaging field, or IFU size) - Image quality (required Strehl or FWHM) - Spectral range / bandpasses, highlighting any narrow-band needs - Spectral resolving power (R = Lambda / DeltaLambda) - Multiplexing needs (e.g. targets per square arcminute) We provide a template (MS-Word | LaTeX) to assist in preparing your White Paper. White Paper Submission White Papers (drafts and final versions) must be submitted electronically, as a pdf document, via email to project-scientist at mavis-ao.org. Files larger than 10Mb should be provide via a download link or similar. White Papers should be up to six pages in length, including text, tables, figures and references. Text must be single spaced with a minimum font size of 12 points. We strongly encourage authors to use the templates provided (MS-Word | LaTeX). MAVIS Information and Resources Here we provide links to information related to this call. This information will be updated in the coming weeks, and prospective authors who have contacted the MAVIS team will receive notifications of these updates by email. MAVIS Resources ? Evolving collection of simulation materials (image simulations, sensitivities, etc.) MAVIS Blog ? General updates from the MAVIS team About MAVIS ? Overview of the MAVIS instrument and science White Paper templates (MS-Word | LaTex) ? Template to be used when generating your White Paper ESO Science Case ? Initial collection of science cases from ESO Working Group Call for White Papers - Web version of this email on the MAVIS Blog Summary of Timeline and Key Dates The overall timeline is summarised as follows: 11 April 2018 - Release of Call for White Papers 4 May 2018 - Deadline for White Paper initial drafts 7-9 May 2018 - MAVIS Science and Technology Workshop, AAO, Sydney (https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/kRy6C5QZ29FAv5BRiN8m0_?domain=mavis-ao.org) 15 June 2018 - Final White Paper Deadline Mid July 2018 (TBD) - Expected ESO Call Deadline If you have any questions, please don?t hesitate to contact project-scientist at mavis-ao.org. Please also feel free to forward this email to anyone you think may be interested. Best regards, Richard McDermid (MAVIS Project Scientist) Francois Rigaut (MAVIS Principal Investigator) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From caroline.foster at sydney.edu.au Tue May 1 14:01:02 2018 From: caroline.foster at sydney.edu.au (Caroline Foster) Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 04:01:02 +0000 Subject: [ASA] ESO studentships - deadline 31 May Message-ID: <2649F526-7708-40BD-9263-B23B8A743770@sydney.edu.au> Dear colleagues, The ESO studentship program (https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/ZFSPCoVzGQik4G0WT12oJ-?domain=eso.org) is open for applications until 31 May. The studentship is a unique opportunity for PhD students to work on their PhD science at ESO Germany or Chile for up to 2 years under the co-supervision of an ESO astronomer. For more information, see https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/iZJECp8AJQt5DLB6cDtETv?domain=eso.org. Please publicise this opportunity to possibly interested PhD students you may know. Kind regards, Caroline -- Dr Caroline Foster | ASTRO3D Fellow The University of Sydney Faculty of Science, Sydney Institute for Astrophysics 360B, A28 | The University of Sydney | NSW | +61 286 276 411 | +61 430 453 532 caroline.foster at sydney.edu.au | www.carofoster.com Office days: Monday (@USyd), Tuesday (@AAO), Thursday, Friday (@USyd) INSPIRED ? the Campaign to support the University of Sydney sydney.edu.au/inspired CRICOS 00026A This email plus any attachments to it are confidential. Any unauthorised use is strictly prohibited. If you receive this email in error, please delete it and any attachments. Please think of our environment and only print this email if necessary. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From s.martell at unsw.edu.au Tue May 1 14:13:23 2018 From: s.martell at unsw.edu.au (Sarah Martell) Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 14:13:23 +1000 Subject: [ASA] Postdoctoral position at UNSW Message-ID: <5e23d487-8031-0f62-1fff-9f22fe0ab3c4@unsw.edu.au> Dear colleagues, The University of New South Wales is currently inviting applications for a 2.5-year postdoctoral research position in Galactic archaeology. The candidate will work with Dr. Sarah Martell on chemical tagging and abundance signatures of dwarf galaxy stars in collaboration with Prof. Kim Venn (UVic) and A/Prof. Daniel Zucker (Macquarie). The position also provides the opportunity to participate in the GALAH, FunnelWeb and 4MOST survey projects. For further details on the position, the University, and the application requirements, please see the job ad at this link (Job ID 61558). The application deadline is 13 May. Please feel free to forward this to likely candidates. Cheers, Sarah -- Sarah Martell Senior Lecturer School of Physics, UNSW Sydney s.martell at unsw.edu.au / +61 2 9385 6547 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From Robert.Hollow at csiro.au Tue May 1 14:59:51 2018 From: Robert.Hollow at csiro.au (Robert.Hollow at csiro.au) Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 04:59:51 +0000 Subject: [ASA] IAU OAD Call for Proposals 2018: Applications Open References: Message-ID: <0144B057-296C-4A07-BF99-72E863D316CD@csiro.au> Dear Colleagues The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development has just announced the call for proposals for funding for projects for 2018-19. Please see the details below. The process has been refined this year and is a two-stage one. The deadline for Stage 1 is May 31 2018. "Dear all, Greetings from the OAD. We are pleased to announce that the 2018 Call for Proposals is now open for applications. The 2018 call follows a two-stage process like last year. Stage 1 applications are open for proposals that use astronomy as a tool to promote sustainable development. Applications can be submitted by anyone from anywhere in the world. Please read through our Getting Started section on the OAD website to help you develop your proposal. Details on the call, including scoring criteria, timeline etc can be found on our website. Getting Started: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/OkIlCyoNVrcYnvxoIZnafk?domain=astro4dev.org Call for Proposal: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/MLCQCzvOWKiKLl5qcXjJ64?domain=astro4dev.org Deadline for Stage 1: May 31, 2018 ------------------------------------------- Regards Ramasamy Venugopal OAD Operations Manager +91 7350834221 IAU - Office of Astronomy for Development www.astro4dev.org " Regards Robert Robert Hollow Education & Outreach Specialist Astronomy and Space Science CSIRO Member of IAU OAD Task Force for Astronomy and Schools E robert.hollow at csiro.au T +61 2 9372 4247 M 0412 890 472 PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 Australia www.csiro.au | www.atnf.csiro.au PLEASE NOTE The information contained in this email may be confidential or privileged. Any unauthorised use or disclosure is prohibited. If you have received this email in error, please delete it immediately and notify the sender by return email. Thank you. To the extent permitted by law, CSIRO does not represent, warrant and/or guarantee that the integrity of this communication has been maintained or that the communication is free of errors, virus, interception or interference. Please consider the environment before printing this email. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From swyithe at unimelb.edu.au Wed May 2 08:30:03 2018 From: swyithe at unimelb.edu.au (Stuart Wyithe) Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 22:30:03 +0000 Subject: [ASA] STA communique Message-ID: <58CE1FCF-5FC0-45EF-9A84-5676EBF6C1ED@unimelb.edu.au> Dear ASA members, Please find below a communique from STA. This communique is the first step in a campaign to highlight the important role that science and technology will play in Australia?s future, and is aimed at raising the profile of science and technology in preparation for the next federal election. A link to the communique can also be found on the STA website - https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/BqMyCq7BKYt9pvllSZcyfQ?domain=scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au ASA members are encouraged to distribute this through their own networks and communication channels. Regards, Stuart (ASA president) STEM leaders forge path to stronger Australian science and technology Presidents, CEOs and other leaders of Australia?s most prominent science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) organisations gathered in Canberra today (1 May) to highlight the important role that science and technology will play in Australia?s future. They released the following statement: ________________________________ Collectively representing more than 70,000 Australian scientists and technologists through our membership and staff, we call for science to be a priority platform for the major parties? campaigns in the next federal election. Science and technology will shape our future, but without adequate support and high profile, Australian science, innovation and discovery will fall by the wayside. There are four areas of focus we call on decision-makers and candidates to address when Australians are called to vote at the next election: * A whole-of-government plan for science and technology * A strategy to equip the future Australian workforce with STEM skills * Strong investment in both basic and applied research * Creating policy informed by the best available evidence Specific issues to be addressed include: * A thorough and thoughtful response to the R&D Tax Incentive review, that achieves a system that boosts public-private collaboration and accentuates Australia?s scientific and technological strengths * A clear and long-term plan to support Australia?s research infrastructure, informed by the National Research Infrastructure Roadmap * A bold and ambitious national target for scientific and technological research investment, which puts Australia in a position to lead the world in STEM. * Action to remove barriers (such as caps and limits) that stand in the way of Australians participating and excelling in STEM education A government that uses science to inform and underpin its decisions will lead Australia to a brighter future. A government that directly invests in discovery-led, basic research will unlock the solutions of the future. A government that fosters and rewards innovation and entrepreneurship will secure Australia?s economic success. A government that leads from the front, inspiring the private sector to invest in science and technology, will help Australia achieve a stable and prosperous future. We, the nation?s science and technology leaders, will work hard to ensure that the health, wealth and wellbeing of all Australians are secured for many generations to come. Working in the solutions sector, the thousands of STEM professionals in Australia will work to tackle the great challenges facing the world, and solve them with science. In striving towards this bold vision, we ask for the support of Australians, Australian governments and candidates in future federal elections. ________________________________ The Science & Technology Australia membership supports this statement, including the following organisations: [https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/E_AFCwVLQmioDn99iKdIY8?domain=gallery.mailchimp.com] [https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/7Pu9CxnMRvtZ2jwwIRSUha?domain=gallery.mailchimp.com] ?????????????????????????????? Professor Stuart Wyithe | Head, School of Physics Deputy Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D Shirley Els | Executive Assistant ? Head, School of Physics T: +61 3 8344 5453 E: shirley.els at unimelb.edu.au Faculty of Science Room 104, David Caro Building (192) The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia T: +61 3 8344 5420 and +61 3 8344 5083 F: +61 3 9347 4783 E: swyithe at unimelb.edu.au W: science.unimelb.edu.au I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which I work, and pay my respects to the Elders, past and present [signature_1776861952] This email and any attachments may contain personal information or information that is otherwise confidential or the subject of copyright. Any use, disclosure or copying of any part of it is prohibited. The University does not warrant that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or defects. Please check any attachments for viruses and defects before opening them. If this email is received in error please delete it and notify us by return email. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 15418 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: From swyithe at unimelb.edu.au Wed May 2 08:42:44 2018 From: swyithe at unimelb.edu.au (Stuart Wyithe) Date: Tue, 1 May 2018 22:42:44 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Congratulations to Ron Ekers Message-ID: Dear ASA, Please join me in congratulating Prof Ron Ekers on his election as a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. With only 21 foreign associates elected across all fields world-wide this is a rare honour indeed. https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/LmBwCVAGXPtMDqODHGvEvR?domain=nasonline.org Congratulations Ron! -Stuart ?????????????????????????????? Professor Stuart Wyithe | Head, School of Physics Deputy Director, ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics in 3D Shirley Els | Executive Assistant ? Head, School of Physics T: +61 3 8344 5453 E: shirley.els at unimelb.edu.au Faculty of Science Room 104, David Caro Building (192) The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010 Australia T: +61 3 8344 5420 and +61 3 8344 5083 F: +61 3 9347 4783 E: swyithe at unimelb.edu.au W: science.unimelb.edu.au I acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the land on which I work, and pay my respects to the Elders, past and present [signature_340772788] This email and any attachments may contain personal information or information that is otherwise confidential or the subject of copyright. Any use, disclosure or copying of any part of it is prohibited. The University does not warrant that this email or any attachments are free from viruses or defects. Please check any attachments for viruses and defects before opening them. If this email is received in error please delete it and notify us by return email. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.png Type: image/png Size: 15418 bytes Desc: image001.png URL: From Douglas.Bock at csiro.au Fri May 4 10:10:03 2018 From: Douglas.Bock at csiro.au (Douglas.Bock at csiro.au) Date: Fri, 4 May 2018 00:10:03 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Doug Milne Message-ID: <239c0a091d7b4095bc0c4701a9a962e7@exch3-cdc.nexus.csiro.au> Dear ASA members, It is with much sadness that I inform you of the passing of Dr Douglas Milne last week. Doug joined the CSIRO Radiophysics Laboratory in 1951 and worked in the pioneering development of semiconductor devices, and, later, maser and parametric amplifiers for Parkes. In 1962 he joined the radio astronomy group, contributing to the early Parkes surveys, and developing a major interest in supernova remnants, their polarisation and magnetic fields. His most highly cited publication is "A new catalogue of galactic SNRs corrected for distance from the galactic plane", with other notable papers including the discovery of the remnant of the supernova of 1006 AD, recombination line studies of H II regions, and studies of the Vela X supernova remnant. After retiring from CSIRO in 1998, Doug remained active in the Ku-ring-gai Historical Society, and with the University of the Third Age. Doug was one of the ASA's longest-serving Council members, having been treasurer for 19 years between 1977 and 1998, and is one of only 31 people accorded honorary membership of the ASA. Doug is survived by partner Joan, children and step-children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. A celebration of Doug's life was held at Macquarie Park earlier this week. Douglas Bock Director CSIRO Astronomy and Space Science E douglas.bock at csiro.au T +61 2 9372 4300 M +61 457 552 777 P.O. Box 76 Epping NSW 1710 Australia -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: