News
The Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) establishes three Task Forces
15 May 2012
Astronomy for Development: Establishment of Task Forces to drive forward its global activities
The International Astronomical Union (IAU), through its Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD), has established the three Task Forces which will drive global activities using astronomy as a tool to stimulate development. These Task Forces are (i) Astronomy for Universities and Research, (ii) Astronomy for Children and Schools, and (iii) Astronomy for the Public.
This milestone forms part of the IAU Strategic Plan which aims to build on the momentum of the successful International Year of Astronomy 2009. The plan recognises and seeks to realise the impact that astronomy has on the development of a country and region because of its contribution to technology and skills; science and research; and culture and society. The OAD was set up to realise these global benefits and the Task Forces are a step towards this. The OAD will also be coordinating the establishment of regional nodes and language expertise centres across the world to ensure local input and wide inclusiveness into strategic planning and implementation.
The Task Forces are made of groups of experts in their field who give their time voluntarily to advise on and coordinate projects in the respective targeted areas of development. They are selected, as far as possible, on the basis of their skills, prior knowledge, experience, geographic locations and cultural diversity. After a lengthy nomination and selection process, approved by the Development Oversight Committee of the IAU, we are pleased to announce the names of the members of the three Task Forces. These individuals, together with the many passionate volunteers they will work with, will contribute to the vision of "Astronomy for a Better World!"
Task Force 1: Universities and Research
- Edward Guinan (Chair - USA)
- Katrien Kolenberg (Vice-Chair - USA/Belgium)
- Jean-Pierre de Greve (Belgium)
- Michele Gerbaldi (France)
- Roger Hajjar (Lebanon)
- Edward Jurua (Uganda)
- Richard de Grijs (China)
- Shengbang Qian (China)
- Hakim Malasan (Indonesia)
- Nicole van der Bliek (Chile/Netherlands)
Task Force 2: Children and Schools
- Pedro Russo (Chair - Netherlands/Portugal)
- Edward Gomez (Vice-Chair - UK)
- Akihiko Tomita (Japan)
- Robert Hollow (Australia)
- Mary Kay Hemenway (USA)
- Ofodum Chukwujekwu Nworah (Nigeria)
- Cecilia Scorza (Germany/Venezuela)
- Rosa Maria Ros (Spain)
- Rosa Doran (Portugal)
- Linda Strubbe (Canada/USA)
Task Force 3: Public
- Ian Robson (Chair - UK)
- Carolina Odman (Vice-Chair - South Africa/EU)
- Thilina Heenatigala (Sri Lanka)
- Sarah Kendrew (Germany)
- German Puerta (Colombia)
- Kumiko S. Usuda (Japan/USA)
IAU Symposia selected for 2013
4 May 2012
| Dates | Number | Title | City | Country |
| Jan. 6-11 | IAUS 296 | Supernova environmental impacts | Kolkata (Calcutta) | India |
| May 20-24 | IAUS 297 | The diffuse interstellar bands | Haarlem | Netherlands |
| May 20-24 | IAUS 298 |
Setting the scene for GAIA: The current and next generation ofsurveys and models |
Lijiang | China Nanjing |
| Jun. 2-7 | IAUS 299 | Victoria, BC | Canada | |
| Jun. 10-16 | IAUS 300 | Paris | France | |
| Aug. 19-23 | IAUS 301 | Precision asteroseismology | Wroclaw | Poland |
| Aug. 25-30 | IAUS 302 | Magnetic fields throughout stellar evolution | Biarritz | France |
| Sep. 30-Oct. 4 | IAUS 303 |
The galactic center: Feeding and feedback in a normal galactic nucleus |
Santa Fe, NM | USA |
| Oct. 7-11 | IAUS 304 | Multiwavelength AGN surveys and studies | Byurakan | Armenia |
The full list of future symposia is available on http://www.iau.org/science/meetings/future/symposia/
IAU Vacancy Announcement: Head of Administration
4 May 2012
The IAU is looking for a talented, self motivated, energetic, enthusiastic and organized individual to fill the full-time position of Head of Administration reporting to the General Secretary of the IAU with overall responsibility for managing the IAU Secretariat.
More information is available here (PDF format, 60KB)
IAU SOFA software that deals with the Leap Second at the end of June
27 April 2012
A new release of the SOFA software was issued on 2012 March 1. This includes an update to the Fortran and ANSI C routines DAT and Dat, respectively, to include the leap second that will be applied on 2012 June 30th. The Web address of the SOFA home page is http://www.iausofa.org/
Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 282 online
26 April 2012
Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 282
"From Interacting Binaries to Exoplanets: Essential Modeling Tools"
Eds: Mercedes Richards, Ivan Hubeny
Cambridge University Press
Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 285 online
23 April 2012
Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 285
"New Horizons in Time-Domain Astronomy"
Eds: Elizabeth Griffin, Robert Hanisch, Rob Seaman
Cambridge University Press
Anna Lisa Varri awarded 2012 Gruber Foundation Fellowship
10 April 2012
The 2012 Gruber Foundation Fellow is Anna Lisa Varri, doctoral student in Astrophysics at the Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy). She will take up the Fellowship to work at Indiana University (Bloomington, IN, United States).
More information: http://www.iau.org/grants_prizes/gruber_foundation/fellowships/recipients/fellow2012/
Reports on Astronomy – IAU Transactions 28A is now on-line
5 April 2012
Reports on Astronomy – IAU Transactions 28A
Eds: Ian Corbett
Cambridge University Press ISSN: 1743-9213
Deadline for abstract submission for 2012 General Assembly extended to 30 March midnight UT
14 March 2012
More information is available in the abstract submission page.
Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 276 online
14 February 2012
Proceedings IAU Symposium No. 276
"The Astrophysics of Planetary Systems: Formation, Structure and Dynamical Evolution"
Eds.: A. Sozzetti, M. G. Lattanzi and A. P. Boss
Cambridge University Press ISSN: 1743-9213
