From asa.ideastronomy at gmail.com Mon Nov 9 15:51:36 2020 From: asa.ideastronomy at gmail.com (asa idea) Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2020 12:51:36 +0800 Subject: [ASA] Statement on Black Lives Matter and EoI for Community Action Committee Message-ID: Dear ASA members, The IDEA Chapter Steering Committee and the ASA Council would like to reaffirm that the ASA is committed to supporting the First Nations Australian community, and Indigenous communities from around the world. We also stand in full support of the Black Lives Matter movement that brings to light the systemic racism that persists in Australia and abroad. We encourage everyone to commit to stopping racism within astronomy, and in academia and research more generally. We must all take time now to educate ourselves, listen to those who have been marginalized, and determine what action we will take. Equity, inclusion, and diversity are core values of the ASA and we must continue the challenging work of supporting our community to make changes and take actions to reflect those values. The ASA IDEA Chapter Steering Committee has decided to organise a Community Action Committee to bring together members of equity, diversity, and inclusion groups from astronomical organisations across Australia to join together and connect with international collaborations (e.g. IAU Executive Committee Working Groups) in identifying strategic, long-term goals and actions needed to make astronomy truly equitable and inclusive. This action is especially pertinent during NAIDOC Week ( https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/wkxbC91WPRTE4mVnUoL6lS?domain=naidoc.org.au its 2020 theme, ?Always Was, Always Will Be?, recognises that First Nations Australians were Australia?s first astronomers. EoI for joining the Community Action Committee: The ASA IDEA Chapter Steering Committee would like to issue a call for expressions of interest (EoIs) from all astronomical organisations across Australia. We ask that each organisation nominate one member (ideally from their EDI committee) to represent the organisation on the Community Action Committee. If you are not part of a relevant organisation, or would like to have more than one representative from the same organisation, please also submit an EoI and explain your interest in the Committee. The Community Action Committee will meet to determine and then work towards long-term goals for the entire Australian astronomical community, and facilitate broad communication throughout our national community and with the international community. We plan to seek guidance and direction from the First Nations Australian community, and will invite members to join the Committee if they wish. Our vision is that we all learn from each other?s successes and mistakes, share resources, and act on large-scale issues that individually we may not be able to address. The EoI should answer the following questions and should be no longer than one page: 1. Name of organisation 2. Name of nominated representative 3. Position of the representative within the organisation 4. Email of nominated representative 5. Is the nominated representative a member of the organisation?s EDI committee? If yes, for how long? 6. What does the organisation hope to gain from participating in the Community Action Committee? 7. Any additional information you would like to share The EoI submissions should be emailed to asa.ideastronomy at gmail.com by 20 November 2020. We would like to acknowledge Aunty Sue Pinckham (Cultural Advisor, Indigenous Strategy, Macquarie University) for her assistance in preparing this statement. Sincerely, *The IDEA Chapter Steering Committee* asa-idea.org -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From robert.shen at astronomyaustralia.org.au Tue Nov 10 14:45:49 2020 From: robert.shen at astronomyaustralia.org.au (Robert Shen) Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2020 14:45:49 +1100 Subject: [ASA] ACAMAR Postdoc Fellowship (2 positions) Message-ID: Dear All, ACAMAR is proud to support *two Postdoc Fellowships* to enhance scientific collaborations in astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology between Australia and China. *Applications will be closed by Monday 30 November 2020. Please email your application to Dr. Lin Li (lilin at pmo.ac.cn ). * *Eligibility Requirements* 1. Applicants obtained their PhD in Astronomy or related fields within 5 years. 2. Strong background and working knowledge of Antarctic Astronomy or Radio astronomy (including ASKAP, MWA, FAST and SKA) or other fields related to ACAMAR. *Duration of Fellowships* 1. The ACAMAR Postdoc Fellowship is a 2?year appointment, subject to annual review and renewable for an additional 1 year, up to a total of 3-years. 2. The ACAMAR Postdoc Fellow must reside in at least two member institutions of Astronomy Australia Limited (AAL) and the Centre for Astronomical Mega-Science, Chinese Academy of Science during his or her fellowship tenure. *Salaries and Benefits* 1. Annual Salary (per person per year): $80,000(AUD) or CNY400,000 2. Start-up fund (per person): $20,000 (AUD) or CNY100,000 For further information, please visit ACAMAR website: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/R6oKCVARKgCoyLnkUGVObg?domain=acamar.org.au Many thanks, Robert -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From matt.owers at mq.edu.au Tue Nov 10 17:42:54 2020 From: matt.owers at mq.edu.au (Matt Owers) Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2020 06:42:54 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Call for eROSITA_DE/Australia Collaboration Proposals Message-ID: Dear colleagues, The purpose of this email is to draw your attention to the second call for joint Australia-eROSITA_DE projects. This follows on from the successful first call for joint projects under the renewed agreement between Australian-based astronomers, represented by Astronomy Australia Limited (AAL) and the German eROSITA Consortium (eROSITA_DE), which attracted nine proposals (see the collaborative proposals website). Since the first call, eROSITA has completed its first all-sky survey in June 2020 (https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/hpDkCANpgjCAoM1XC8kJui?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au), yielding images that are a factor of 4 deeper than previous all-sky X-ray surveys, with a second all-sky pass due to be completed by the end of 2020. At its completion in 2023, eROSITA will have performed eight all-sky scans, and will be 25 times more sensitive in the soft X-ray band (0.2-2.3keV) than its predecessor the ROSAT All Sky Survey. eROSITA will be the first all-sky imaging survey in the higher energy band (2-8keV). A current status and planned eROSITA observations can also be found on the eROSITA Collaboration AAL webpage. Given all the above developments, we are now making a second call for proposals for joint eROSITA_DE/Australia projects. To be discussed at our next meeting, proposals should be submitted before 27 November 2020, 23:59 UTC. How to apply Proposals should be submitted on the template attached and should be sent to the eROSITA_DE/Australian Collaboration Technical Secretary, Dr Lucyna Kedziora-Chudczer via email (lucyna.chudczer at astronomyaustralia.org.au). In the template please use the suggested filename structure, including the name of the most relevant Science Working Group (), the names of the two co-PIs and a version number (). The collaborative science projects will: * Require the use of products associated with both the eROSITA_DE survey and Australian surveys/facilities. * Involve at least one member from each of the eROSITA_DE survey and an Australian Institution. * Not be in conflict with existing eROSITA_DE or Australian 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). The list of participating Australian facilities and surveys is provided on the eROSITA Collaboration AAL webpage. Basic information about eROSITA is available online on the eROSITA MPE webpage (https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/nHDOCD1vlpTlmQOzhZs1OE?domain=mpe.mpg.de). We strongly encourage potential proposers to get in touch with their corresponding partners early on. If you are interested in using eROSITA and Australian facilities for your research, but do not know who to contact specifically, please do not hesitate to ask the contact persons listed below. The eROSITA Collaboration AAL webpage also includes a list of eROSITA_DE contacts: PI, Project Scientist and Chairs of Science Working Groups. We remind you that, according to the eROSITA_DE Policy, each proposal should be approved by the eROSITA_DE Science Working Group before submission. Proposal Submission Outcomes The process of proposal assessment is described in the MoU and the details can be found on the Australian/eROSITA_DE Projects website (https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/-RvtCE8wmrt5GK62HZnSsF?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au). All proposals selected to become the eROSITA/Australian Collaborative Projects will be listed on the AAL (eROSITA) webpage and all PIs will be informed by email about the outcome of their submissions. The AAL/eROSITA Management Committee will monitor progress of approved projects according with the MoU agreement. We look forward to hearing your ideas, and to seeing new discoveries emerge from this partnership. If you have any questions on this exciting opportunity, please do not hesitate to contact me (matt.owers at mq.edu.au) or AAL (Dr Lucyna Chudczer, Program Manager, 02 9372 4842, lucyna.chudczer at astronomyaustralia.org.au). Best regards, Matt Owers (on behalf of the AAL/eROSITA_DE Management Committee: Miroslav Filipovic, Duncan Galloway, Kirpal Nandra, Thomas Reiprich, Mara Salvato) Matt Owers Senior Lecturer eROSITA Australian Science Lead Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macquarie University ph: +61 2 9850 8910 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: erosita_de_au_project_template.docx Type: application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document Size: 24781 bytes Desc: erosita_de_au_project_template.docx URL: From meaghan.dzundza at science.org.au Wed Nov 11 09:26:24 2020 From: meaghan.dzundza at science.org.au (Meaghan Dzundza) Date: Tue, 10 Nov 2020 22:26:24 +0000 Subject: [ASA] Call for membership | National Committee for Astronomy (reminder) Message-ID: Reminder: Closes Friday 13 November 2020 The National Committee for Astronomy (NCA) is one of 22 National Committees of the Australian Academy of Science. The NCA exists to foster astronomy in Australia, to liaise with international scientific bodies and to advise the Council of the Australian Academy of Science on relevant matters. One of its main activities is to oversee the Decadal Plan process for Australian astronomy. In 2020 the committee reviewed the current decadal plan and published the mid-term review. The NCA is made up of eight members appointed by the Executive Committee of the Academy, plus observers. The current members of the committee are listed at www.science.org.au/national-committee-astronomy There are two vacancies on the NCA with terms beginning 1 January 2021 for a period of three years. To make the process of selecting new members as open as possible, the NCA is calling for nominees from the broader astronomy community. Members of the NCA should be respected members of the Australian astronomy community with a broad spread of institutions and specialisations. Interest in these new appointments from female members of the community is encouraged to ensure gender balance of the National Committee. The guidelines relating to membership can be summarised as follows: * Members should be scientists active in the field * Membership shall be appropriate to 'the best interests of Australian science' * Membership will not usually exceed eight people * Members will usually be appointed for up to three years * Re-appointment for one further year is possible in exceptional circumstances Note that all appointments are made by the Academy's Executive Committee on the basis of a nomination forwarded by the Chair of the NCA. Nominations will be reviewed by a panel consisting of the NCA Chair (Lister Staveley-Smith), the President of the ASA (Cath Trott) and one Fellow of the Academy who is not an NCA member (TBA). This review panel (in consultation with the Academy's Secretary for Physical Sciences) will make a recommendation on the vacant positions, which will be forwarded to the Academy's Executive Committee for approval. Please apply using the application form here before 5.00 pm AEDT on Friday 13 November 2020. Self-nominations are acceptable. Kind regards Meaghan Dzundza [cid:image004.png at 01D5A07D.BD4E5040] Meaghan Dzundza Manager National Committees for Science International Programs Australian Academy of Science Ian Potter House, 9 Gordon Street, Acton ACT 2601 | GPO Box 783, Canberra ACT 2601 T (02) 6201 9456 F (02) 6201 9494 E meaghan.dzundza at science.org.au www.science.org.au [cid:image005.jpg at 01D5A07D.BD4E5040] [cid:image006.jpg at 01D5A07D.BD4E5040] The Australian Academy of Science acknowledges and pays respect to the traditional owners of the land on which the Academy is located,the Ngunnawal people, and to their elders, past and present. Disclaimer: This message is intended for the addressee named and may contain confidential information, which also may be legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender and delete. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image004.png Type: image/png Size: 9650 bytes Desc: image004.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image005.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 785 bytes Desc: image005.jpg URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image006.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 791 bytes Desc: image006.jpg URL: From jhurley at swin.edu.au Thu Nov 12 13:16:24 2020 From: jhurley at swin.edu.au (Jarrod Hurley) Date: Thu, 12 Nov 2020 02:16:24 +0000 Subject: [ASA] ASTAC Call for Proposals for astronomy supercomputing time in Q1-Q2 2021 (ASTAC 2021-A) - UPDATED DEADLINE AND LINK In-Reply-To: References: <9E7F297D-CD45-4622-AA9D-95CDC3D22F0C@swin.edu.au>, , , , , , , , , , Message-ID: Please note that the ASTAC call for 2021-A proposals has been updated with an extended deadline and an updated link for accessing the information sheet (in the earlier announcement the hyperlink took you to the sheet for the previous call). ________________________________ Astronomy Supercomputer Time Allocation Committee CALL FOR PROPOSALS: ASTAC 2021-A ** The current call for proposals closes at 8pm AEDT Monday 23rd November 2020 ** The Astronomy Supercomputer Time Allocation call for proposals for Q1-Q2 2021 is now open. The deadline for this call is 8pm Monday 23rd November 2020. Within this call we have 6 million service units available to allocate to the astronomy community on national supercomputing facilities (including allocations for CPU-only and GPU-specific applications) and up to 500 virtual CPUs to allocate on OpenStack virtual machines on the NeCTAR network. The following resources are available: 1. NCI Astronomy Program: up to 4,000 kSUs on the Gadi system; 2. Swinburne: up to 2,000 kSUs on OzSTAR; 3. OpenStack Virtual Machines: up to 500 virtual CPUs. Full details on ASTAC and the current call can be found at: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/SFk5C71R2NTNxA0yI8KUv1?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au or you can access the information sheet for the current call, including details on how to apply, directly via: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/lQiMC81V0PTqZ6AQC1Z0lE?domain=astronomyaustralia.org.au ASTAC is formed by Astronomy Australia Limited (AAL) and the ASTAC process is managed by Astronomy Data and Computing Services (ADACS). Best regards, Jarrod Hurley (on behalf of ADACS and ASTAC) -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: