From Robert.Hollow at csiro.au Thu Feb 17 08:11:59 2022 From: Robert.Hollow at csiro.au (Hollow, Robert (S&A, Marsfield)) Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2022 21:11:59 +0000 Subject: [ASA] New IAU Prizes in Astronomy Education, Outreach and Development Message-ID: <51A50936-FA3B-4954-882A-58F444A58CFF@csiro.au> Dear Colleagues The IAU has launched three new prizes to be awarded every three years at the General Assembly: the IAU Astronomy Education Prize, the IAU Astronomy Outreach Prize and the IAU Astronomy Development Prize. The prizes are open to individuals and organisations who have made outstanding contributions to astronomy education, outreach or development. These contributions may be either lifetime achievements or major one-off projects. Nominations are open from 15 February 2022 until 15 March 2022 for the first round of prizes, which will be presented at the IAU XXXI General Assembly in Busan, South Korea, in August 2022. Details and how to apply at: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/pOBpC6XQ4LfrK4QDRIpDdmM?domain=iau.org Regards Robert Robert Hollow (he/him) Education Manager Student Coordinator Space & Astronomy | CSIRO National Astronomy Education Coordinator for IAU OAE Committee Member of IAU Commission C1 Astronomy Education and Development E robert.hollow at csiro.au T +61 2 9372 4247 M 0412 890 472 PO Box 76, Epping, NSW 1710 Australia https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/7RU1C71R2NTAkB3qrCWhYvA?domain=csiro.au | https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/eIdiC91WPRTkBwo1JCOFsco?domain=atnf.csiro.au CSIRO acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the land, sea and waters, of the area that we live and work on across Australia. We acknowledge their continuing connection to their culture and we pay our respects to their Elders past and present. 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 note, if I send you an email outside reasonable work hours I?m doing so because it?s convenient for me. In the spirit of encouraging work life balance I look forward to a response if appropriate at a time that suits you. CSIRO Australia?s National Science Agency | csiro.au -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From francois.rigaut at anu.edu.au Thu Feb 17 11:57:23 2022 From: francois.rigaut at anu.edu.au (francois rigaut) Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2022 11:57:23 +1100 Subject: [ASA] ESO Tech dev program - talk 7 March. Message-ID: <1F230722-07C2-4A90-937B-87BA8C6B6567@getmailspring.com> Dear All, As you probably know, ESO has broaden the scope of its strategic partnership with Australia to include access to the ESO Technology Development program (TechDev), which means Australian companies and institutes are now eligible to work with ESO in developing future technologies for ground-based telescopes. This is an interesting opportunity for Australia. Norbert Hubin, who is leading and managing the TechDev program at ESO, has accepted to give a presentation on the program: Technologies and thematic it covers; Funding available and funding mechanisms; How to apply, etc etc The talk (all virtual) will be: - March 7, 6:00PM AEDT (8:00AM CET) - Zoom: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/Yz-mCL7EwMfRxRElmhBbapL?domain=anu.zoom.us Plan on one hour total, with Norbert's presentation being followed by open question time. Apologies that it is scheduled so late in the day; hopefully many of you can still attend. We will record it in case you can't. Cheers, Francois Prof. Francois Rigaut MAVIS (https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/lzQiCMwGxOtqKqEvRIkpfJw?domain=mavis-ao.org) Principal Investigator Astralis-AITC Director francois.rigaut at anu.edu.au (mailto:francois.rigaut at anu.edu.au) Mobile: +61 499 680 000 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From gpoole at swin.edu.au Fri Feb 18 11:19:59 2022 From: gpoole at swin.edu.au (Gregory Poole) Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:19:59 +0000 Subject: [ASA] ADACS Merit Allocation Scheme - EoIs now being accepted Message-ID: <14f940a1-51f5-43ec-9f28-d69862a036b6@Spark> Do you face demanding computing challenges that you could use some advice or assistance with? The ADACS Merit Allocation Program (MAP) represents an opportunity for any Australian astronomer to secure bespoke training in skills related to software development &/or dedicated design or development effort from skilled software engineers, to accelerate or extend the capabilities of their research program. Expressions of interest (EoIs) for the program are now being accepted. An essential feature of the program is its initial consultation and audit process. This is particularly necessary to retire risks inherent to projects with limited previous ADACS engagement. Resources have been allocated to conduct code & project audits in the lead-up to the next proposal deadline (a few months from now). These resources are limited and will be allocated on first-come-first-serve and needs bases. We strongly encourage researchers presently contemplating engaging the ADACS MAP to do so at the earliest possible convenience. Submitting an EoI is easy. Send a 1 page pdf to map at adacs.org.au with the following: 1. a clear indication of whether you are interested in training or software support; 2. Project Background: a brief (~1 paragraph) statement about the project's scientific background; and 3. Project Goals: a concise plain-language description of the problem you are seeking help with (note: we don't seek suggested solutions or implementation details at this point). For more details, please consult the Application Guidelines for the ADACS Merit Allocation Program. ADACS is a collaboration between Swinburne University of Technology and Curtin University. It is funded under the Astronomy National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Program via Astronomy Australia Ltd (AAL). Gregory B. Poole Astronomy Data Science Coordinator Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology [Email me] [LinkedIn] [Github] [Homepage] [Phone me] [Office location] [ADACS logo] I respectfully acknowledge the Wurundjeri People and their Elders past and present who are the traditional custodians of the land on which Swinburne's Australian campuses are located. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: BA81DE1F3285453F81F22AD92DA2FBC0.png Type: image/png Size: 1394 bytes Desc: BA81DE1F3285453F81F22AD92DA2FBC0.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: D03823AD31DE4B09BE18A2B11329047A.png Type: image/png Size: 925 bytes Desc: D03823AD31DE4B09BE18A2B11329047A.png URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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Name: 27640808602747878F44AF90FBCCAA6C.png Type: image/png Size: 2951 bytes Desc: 27640808602747878F44AF90FBCCAA6C.png URL: From mmurphy at swin.edu.au Fri Feb 18 14:15:53 2022 From: mmurphy at swin.edu.au (Michael Murphy) Date: Fri, 18 Feb 2022 14:15:53 +1100 Subject: [ASA] Australian access to the ESO Technology Development Program Message-ID: Dear ASA members, As Australia's representative on the European Southern Observatory's (ESO's) Scientific Technical Committee, I'd like to bring to your attention the following good news about ESO's Technology Development Program (TDP). In short, Australian institutions and businesses are now eligible to participate in the TDP after a recent amendment to the Australia?ESO Strategic Partnership Arrangement. This is a welcome opportunity to further our community's involvement in ESO instrumentation development. Further details, from the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, are included below. Thanks very much, Michael. In 2021, the European Southern Observatory (ESO) Council agreed to invite Australia to participate in *ESO?s Technology Development Programme (TDP) *for the remaining duration of the Australia-ESO Strategic Partnership. ESO?s TDP is funded by the ESO Member States, through their annual contributions. The Programme supports targeted, focused projects to develop and deliver future technologies for ESO observing facilities. Past TDP projects have included new infrared test arrays, cryogenic amplifiers for advanced ALMA receivers, pulsed lasers for laser guide stars, advanced reflective coatings, large format IR SAPHIRA detectors, new generation detector controllers, deformable mirror technology, curved CCD detectors and planetary camera spectrometer development. ESO currently allocates around ? 2 million to ? 4 million per year to the TDP in the approved Budget and Forward Look period, of which around ? 1 million is awarded each year, through competitive tender, in the form of contracts with ESO?s Member States, Australia was not previously eligible to participate in ESO?s TDP under the terms of the *Australia-ESO Strategic Partnership Arrangement, *which offers limited access rights at a significantly reduced cost compared to full ESO membership*.* Following ESO?s generous offer, and productive negotiations between the Department and ESO in recent months, we are pleased to have executed Amendments to the *Australia-ESO Strategic Partnership Arrangement* and its annexed Contract on Wednesday 9 February 2022. This puts on a legal footing the inclusion of ESO?s TDP among the benefits Australia is eligible to enjoy under the Arrangement for the remaining years of the Partnership, at no additional cost to Australia. The Amendments were signed during a closed virtual event involving the Hon Melissa Price MP, Minister for Science and Technology, ESO Director General, Professor Xavier Barcons, and A/g Deputy Secretary Jane Urquhart. Witnesses supporting the event included ESO Council President, Dr Linda Tacconi; the five ESO Directors - Dr Claudia Burger, Dr Robert Ivison, Dr Andreas Kaufer, Dr Mich?le P?ron, and Dr Adrian Russell; TDP Manager Norbert Hubin; Head of Cabinet of the Director General and Head of Legal and International Affairs Laura Comendador Frutos; Head of Division - Science and Commercialisation Division, Janean Richards; and several officials from the Minister?s Office and the Department. A Media Release by the Hon Melissa Price MP, Minister for Science and Technology, to mark this signing and recognise the special significance of the ESO offer for Australia, has been published here: ? https://www.minister.industry.gov.au/ministers/price/media-releases/morrison-government-and-european-southern-observatory-grow-technology-opportunities ESO has also released its own announcement at https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/BD2kCr81nyt8K65pnt7GV7w?domain=eso.org on Thursday 10 February 2022, including images from the virtual signing event. The department warmly encourages our astronomy sector to make the most of this new opportunity and generous ESO offer. We will provide further information about the Technology Development Program and how to access it in the near future. We hope that access to ESO?s TDP will further encourage Australia?s optical instrumentation groups and their industry partners to find new opportunities for mutual engagement, explore and build technological capability, and continue their excellent track record of innovation. Success in securing and completing projects under the TDP may position Australia favourably to participate in future ESO instrumentation consortia, and potentially to commercialise astronomical innovations. The Australia-ESO Strategic Partnership and ESO?s Technology Development Programme should not be seen in isolation. The Australian Government is focused on building a modern Australian economy through investments in manufacturing capability and boosting commercialisation of research and ideas. On 1 February 2022, Prime Minister Morrison announced funding of $1.6 billion for ?Australia?s Economic Accelerator? as part of the government?s $2.2 billion Commercialisation package. (Further details are available at https://www.dese.gov.au/zh-hans/node/13157 ). This will help to bring our institutions and businesses together to commercialise innovations under the National Manufacturing Priorities, including from their astronomy research and innovation in the Space sector. The department encourages Australia?s talented astronomical instrumentation teams to work with their institutions? business support teams, to continue to explore avenues for industry cooperation and commercialisation, to explore grant and program opportunities and monitor program rounds through Government programs, including the Entrepreneurs? Programme and the $1.3 billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative, to build capability, develop industry partnerships and support the translation of astronomy innovation to wider applications and national economic benefits. -- Professor Michael T. Murphy, ARC Future Fellow , Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, Mail H29, PO Box 218, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia. @MTMurphy77 , https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/W7FVCwV1vMfGMPD7Vt94IN4?domain=astronomy.swin.edu.au Pho: +61 (0)3 9214 5818; Mob/Cell: +61 (0)405 214 461. CRICOS Provider No.: 00111D -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: