Global Coordination of International Astrophysics and Heliophysics Activities
from Space and Ground
August 20-23, 2018 Vienna, Austria
Conference Overview
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International collaboration has always been an important part of research in astronomy, astrophysics, and heliophysics. Over the past two decades, the increasing complexity and cost of new facilities, the constrained amount of funding available from individual sources, and the rapidly increasing volume of data produced by newer facilities have made international collaboration on large ground- and space-based facilities essential to moving the fields forward. All IAU members have a stake in the strategic decisions made by nations and various scientific consortiums concerning technology development and international collaborations. This focus meeting will provide a forum to discuss how to improve coordination of global planning in astronomy, astrophysics, and heliophysics and build towards future projects in order to maximize the scientific return.
Key Topics
- Global engagement on Next Generation Large Optical-UV Space Telescopes
- International efforts on far-IR and sub-millimeter astronomy
- International efforts on heliophysics
- Global collaboration on new astronomies: gravitational waves, neutrino astrophysics, and high energy astrophysics
- International efforts on ground/space synergies
- Global coordination of instrumentation on large ground-based telescopes
- Cooperation and collaboration in the ELT era
- Engagement of small countries in international efforts
Scientific Organizing Committee
- Matthew Colless (Australian National University, Australia)
- Ian Corbett (UK)
- Athena Coustenis (Paris Obs., France)
- Roger Davies (Oxford, UK)
- Ron Ekers (CSIRO, Australia)
- Debra Elmegreen (Vassar, USA)
- Sarah Gibson (National Center for Atmospheric Research, USA)
- Richard Green (Arizona, USA)
- Lynne Hillenbrand (Caltech, USA)
- Masanori Iye (NAO, Japan)
- Cristina Mandrini (Universidad de Buenos Aires, Argentina)
- Hermann Opgenoorth (Sweden)
- Maria Teresa Ruiz (U. Chile, Chile)
- David Spergel (Princeton U. & Flatiron Institute, USA)
- Yasushi Suto (University of Tokyo, Japan)
- Pietro Ubertini (INAF, Italy)
- Ewine van Dishoeck (Leiden, Neth.)
- Oskar von der Luhe (University of Freiburg, Germany)
- Patricia Whitelock (South African Astronomical Observatory, South Africa)
- Suijian Xue (NAOC, China)
- Gang Zhao (NAOC, China)
Tentative Conference Schedule
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Session 1: Large international Space Projects: From Black Holes to Cosmology
- August 20 10:30-12:00
- Moderator: Roger Davies (UK)
- Panelists:
- Ryan Hickox (US, LYNX)
- Jeff Kruk (US, WFIRST)
- Yannick Mellier (France, Euclid)
- Gunter Hasinger (Germany, ESA)
- Tom Zurbuchen (US, NASA)
- Didier Barret (France, Athena)
- Stefano Vitale (Italy, LISA)
- Zhan Hu (China, CSS-OS)
-
Session 2: Large international Space Projects: Opportunities for Studying Exoplanets, Planet and Star Formation
- Session Description:
This session will discuss the science drivers for potential international missions including far-IR/sub-mm.
- August 20 13:30-15:00
- Moderator: Ewine van Dishoeck (Netherlands)
- Panelists:
- Scott Gaudi (US)- HABEX
- Ted Bergin (US) Origin Space Telescope
- Toru Yamada (Japan) - Spica/-Safari
- Doug Johnstone (Canada)
- Frank Helmich (Netherlands)
- Thomas Henning (Germany)
-
Session 3: Global Coordination of Ground-based Astronomy
- Session Description: This session will be a panel with
leaders of the major next generation ground-based observatories.
Discussion of synergies
- August 21 10:30-12:00
- Moderator: Debra Elmegreen(US)
- Panelists:
- Xavier Barcons (Spain, ESO)
- Ram Ramaprakash (India, TMT)
- Pat McCarthy (US,GMT)
- Beth Willman (US,LSST & NCOA)
- Phil Diamond (UK, SKA)
- Alan McConnachie (Canada) - WFSS
Session 4: Engagement of countries with emerging astronomical communities in international efforts & Governance of International Projects
- Are there ways to better coordinate the major national and international funding agencies and also ground and space-baed programs? What guidance for future international projects can be derived from studying the governance, fund-raising and project management strategies of past and current projcts? What questions are so important and challenging that they can only be addressed by coordinating truly
global resources?
This session will also discuss possible ways to coordinate the engagement of astronomers in countries that do not have the resources to be major partners in large ground facilities and space missions
- August 21 13:30-15:00
- Moderator: Patricia Whitelock (South Africa)
- Panelists:
- Bob Williams (US)
- Ron Ekers (Australia, SKA)
- Vanessa McBride (IAU Office of Astronomy for Development)
- Silvia Torres-Peimbert (Mexico)
- Peter Michelson (FERMI, US)
- Alisher Hojaev (Uzbekistan)
-
Session 5.
International Efforts in Heliophysics
- Session Description: This session will discuss the science drivers on the ground and in space in the era of the Solar Orbiter and the Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope
- August 22 15:30-17:00
- Moderator: Cristina Mandrini (Argentina)
- Panelists:
- John Morgan (Australia)
- Valentin Martinez Pillet (US)
- Lika Guhathakurta (US)
- Masaki Fujimoto (Japan)
- Daniel Mueller (ESA)
-
Session 6: Gravitational Waves and Transient Science
- Session Description: This session will discuss new opportunities for
gravitational wave astronomy, Fast Radio Bursts, and opportunities for coordinated follow-ups in the LIGO/VIRGO/LSST era.
- August 23 13:30-15:00
- Moderator: Pietro Ubertini (Italy)
- Panelists::
- Bruce Allen (AEI) European post-LIGO/Virgo efforts
- Marica Branchesi (Italy) Virgo
- David Buckley (South Africa)
- Matt Evans (MIT) US post-LIGO efforts
- Alvaro Gimenez (Spain), Francesca Panessa (Italy), Fast Radio Burst Science
- Suijian Xue (NAOC, China)
Link to General Assembly Website
This file is maintained by David N. Spergel
(dns@astro.princeton.edu)