Applications for Commissions Organizing Committee Elections

The main focus of my research is the field of space astrometry, focused on the development of the astrometric core solution for the very successful Gaia mission. In 2016 I turned my attention to the future of space astrometry and I have been very active since in promoting a future astrometry mission, called GaiaNIR. In Voyage 2050 the science theme I proposed was selected as a possible Large-class mission to be built and launched in the coming decades.

In Lund I have also been very active in exploiting the science data from Gaia, working with students and postdocs to explore the science that can be achieved with the new data including fields such as fundamental proper motions patterns, exoplanet detection and a number of topics in Galactic Dynamics.

As a Vice-President of the Astrometry Commision I plan to have a strong focus on the future of astrometry, promoting the development of techniques and new projects both on ground and in space. It is critical that we now actively encourage a new generation of astrometry professionals to develop their careers so that they can continue this important work which underpins much of modern astronomy.

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First Name: Federica

Last Name: Spoto

Email: federica.spoto@cfa.harvard.edu

Secondary Email: spoto.fede@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of Division A Fundamental Astronomy
Member of Division F Planetary Systems and Astrobiology
Member of Commission A1 Astrometry
Member of Commission F4 Asteroids, Comets & Transneptunian Objects
Member of Inter-Division A-F WG Near Earth Objects
Member of Executive Committee WG Women in Astronomy

Motivation:

I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to serve as Vice-President of the Commission Astrometry. For those of you who don't know me, I am the project scientist of the Minor Planet Center (the single worldwide location for receipt and distribution of positional measurements of minor planets, comets and outer irregular natural satellites of the major planets), I am a member of the ESA Gaia mission and I lead the validation of the solar system observations for the ESA Gaia mission.

As one of the members of the Gaia mission, I had the possibility of being completely immersed in the most recent development and improvement in astrometry in the last years. Also, as project scientist of the Minor Planet Center I have spent the last years working on supporting the community to improve the discovery and follow-up of minor planets, comets and natural satellites of planets and getting ready for the future surveys, such as LSST.

I believe that my background and my commitment to advancing the commission's objectives and ensuring our readiness for the challenges and opportunities ahead positions me well to contribute to its success. I am very excited about the prospect of working together.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Megan

Middle Name: Christine

Last Name: Johnson

Email: megan.c.johnson15.civ@us.navy.mil

Secondary Email: meg7770@yahoo.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

To support and advocate for the advancement of astrometry

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First Name: Hana

Last Name: Krasna

Email: hana.krasna@tuwien.ac.at

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Austria

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member of the IAU Division A WG Multi-waveband International Celestial Reference Frame (optical+VLBI);
Member of the Joint WG on the Consistent Realization of TRF, CRF, and EOP (IAG Sub-Commission 1.4 joint with IAU Commission A2 and IERS)

Motivation:

During my scientific career at the TU Wien, I focus on the consistent estimation of terrestrial and celestial reference frames (TRF, CRF) from geodetic and astrometric sessions of Very Long Baseline Interferometry. I have a deep interest in the computation of the CRF at multiple radio frequencies and the subsequent comparison of the positions of the radio sources at the traditional geodetic X-band (8 GHz), the higher radio frequencies as K- (24 GHz) or Q-band (43 GHz), and the positions estimated from the novel VGOS system observing between the frequencies 3-12 GHz. I study the systematic differences between astrometric catalogs that lead us to a better next celestial reference frame solution. I am a member of the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS) CRF Committee, a member of the K-band AstroGeo VLBI project, and was an active member of the former IVS Working Group on Galactic Aberration. I am ready and willing to contribute to the astrometric community as an active member of the Commission Organizing Committee and to be an active part of the international astrometric collaboration.

Commission A2 Rotation of the Earth

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Jolanta

Last Name: Nastula

Email: nastula@cbk.waw.pl

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Poland

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Organizing Committee Member of Executive Committee WG Women in Astronomy
Organizing Committee Member of Commission A2 Rotation of the Earth
Member of Division A Fundamental Astronomy
Member of Commission A2 Rotation of the Earth
Member of Commission A2 WG Improving Theories and Models of the Earth’s Rotation (ITMER)
Member of Division A WG Time Metrology Standards
Member of Executive Committee WG Women in Astronomy

Motivation:

My primary scientific research activity focuses on the intersection of modern astronomy, geodesy, and Earth sciences, specifically addressing changes in the Earth's rotational motion and analyzing geophysical sources of these changes. The rotational motion of our planet has a highly complex nature, and to date, a comprehensive analytical model for it has not been developed. I am especially dedicated to scientific investigations related to analyzing mass variations in surficial fluids and gravity field changes using GRACE observations. These studies aim to understand their correlation with the Earth's variable rotation.

I have been a member of the IAU since 2003. In my view, the primary focus of CA2's future efforts should be the ongoing enhancement of its standing within the IAU, collaborating closely with the International Earth Rotation and Reference System Service (IERS) and the International Association of Geodesy (IAG). An additional important goal is to emphasize the significance of research on Earth's orientation changes within the global scientific community, bridging the fields of astronomy, geodesy, navigation, geophysics, and more. Moreover, a crucial responsibility entails actively contributing to the widespread promotion of this subject within society.

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First Name: Hadia

Middle Name: Hassan

Last Name: Selim

Email: hadia_s@nriag.sci.eg

Secondary Email: hassanselim@yahoo.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Egypt

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

- Member committee of scientific news in NRIAG
- Member committee to receive complaints, NRIAG
- Member board of Kottamia observatory, NRIAG
- Member committee of the new Egyptian Observatory 2016 up to now.
- Formulate and president of scientific society of astronomy and space,Egypt,. #SSASEgypt , 2015 up to now
- Vice President of Committee for Academic Upgrades Professors and Assistances 9/2/2017 UP 15/8/2020
- President of committee for academic upgrades professors and assistances 16/8/2020 up 12/2022
- Member of committee for academic upgrades professors and assistances 12/2022 up to now.
- Members of National Committee for Astronomy in Egypt 19/2014 UP TO NOW
- Local and scientific Organizer of the fourth arab school of astrophysics 10/ 2019 , Kottamia,Helwan, Egypt.
- Local Organizer of the virtual workshops” astronomical site selction for Egyptian Large Optical Telescope”, 9-10/6/2020.
- Co-Organizer of virtual Fifth ArAS School of Astrophysics , October 16-23/ 2020
- Organizer of first arab advanced school for astrophysics 16-21/10/2021
- Member Scientific organizer of the sixth ArAb school of astrophysics in katar 5-12/1/2022
- Organizer of second arab advanced school for astrophysics 16-21/10/2022
- Co- organizer MEARIM VI 13-16/2/2023
- Co-organizer Middle- east and Africa School on Large Galaxy surveys for Cosmology 18-23/2/2023
- Organizer of third arab advanced school for astrophysics 15-22/9/2023
- Organizer (LOC/SOC) of Fourth arab advanced school for astrophysics 18-24/10/2024
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Motivation:

I hope to create a cooperation between all members of A2 through more and more workshops. Collect more members to the commotion A2 throughout the new projects and cooperation between the geophysics scientist and celestial mechanics scientists which work in the field of rotation of the Earth.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Tobias

Middle Name: Jan

Last Name: Nilsson

Email: jan-tobias.nilsson@lm.se

Secondary Email: tbsnilsson@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Sweden

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I have been doing research within the field of geodesy for more than 20 years. My focus has been on VLBI and estimation of EOP. I would like to contribute with my knowledge and experience to the work of the Commission.

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First Name: Harald

Last Name: Schuh

Email: harald.schuh@gfz-potsdam.de

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

President of Commission 19 (C19) "Rotation of the Earth" (2009-2012)
Member of Organizing Committee C19, now A2 (2009-2015)
Member of Organizing Committee Div 1 (2009-2012)
Chair of IVS (International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry) (2007-2013)

Motivation:

After having retired as Direktor of GFZ I have more time working in science again, and Earh rotation is one of my main interests. Earth rotation is a field treated and investigated by both, IAG and IAU, and these synergies should be further developed.

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First Name: Mian

Last Name: ZHANG

Email: mzhang@shao.ac.cn

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am interested in the rotation of the Earth, and it's my honor to work with so many talents. With the development of the technology, there will be more discoveries in the Earth's rotations. I am enthusiastic to join and serve this community to witness these advances.

Commission A3 Fundamental Standards

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Agnès

Last Name: Fienga

Email: agnes.fienga@oca.eu

Secondary Email: agnes.fienga@geoazur.unice.fr

Gender: Female

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of IAU division 1, commission 4 and commission 52 (WG «Numerical Standard
for astronomy NSFA », WG « Precession and the Ecliptic »), former secretary of the commission X2.

Motivation:

I'm interesting in working on a better coordination between official institutions for the definition of standards, especially with the recent development of lunar and other planet exploration

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Andrew

Middle Name: James

Last Name: Kopf

Email: ajkopf@gmail.com

Secondary Email: andrew.j.kopf.civ@us.navy.mil

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

IAU member since 2022
Member of Divisions A and F
Member of Commissions A3, F2, and cross-division A-F

Motivation:

Since joining the IAU two years ago, I have been looking for opportunities to increase my involvement in the union.

My work at the US Naval Observatory aligns perfectly with the roles and responsibilities of Commission A3. As the lead scientist for production of the Nautical Almanac Office’s annual series of almanacs, I am heavily invested in both the recognition of existing standards and the newly developing areas where international agreement will be critical. USNO and the NAO have long held a position of leadership in this area on the global stage.

One such area is the cislunar region. Given the upcoming surge of international activity in this realm, a significant number of standards and reference systems will require new or updated definitions in the near future. A few of these have already been proposed and will look to move forward at this year’s general assembly. As an active participant in cislunar work at USNO, I am a natural fit to help address these developments in the coming years.

Thank you for your consideration, and I hope to be able to bring my talents and drive to the organizing committee of Commission A3.

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First Name: Frédéric

Last Name: Meynadier

Email: Frederic.Meynadier@bipm.org

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I joined the IAU this year and so far have participated to online meetings within the Time Metrology Standards Working group.

Motivation:

As a member of the BIPM Time Department I have experience in animating and participating to working groups within the context of an international organization. I think it is a good occasion to enhance communication between the BIPM and IAU. Moreover I am already taking part to some of the subjects that will concern the activities of this commission in the following years (such as : lunar reference systems, changes to UTC, redefinition of the Second), adding incentive and interest for me to participate to its animation.
My previous background in astrophysics makes me interested also in the work around standards outside of the "time and frequency" domain.
In my previous assignments I have also been a user of the SOFA software library, and was quite admirative of the work done there. I would therefore be happy to contribute indirectly to its coordination and promotion, among other.

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First Name: Nicolas

Last Name: Rambaux

Email: Nicolas.Rambaux@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

My work notably focuses on the study of the rotation of celestial bodies in the solar system, with a particular interest for the Moon. Rotation is one of the physical quantities that play a central role in the definition of several standards (reference system/frame, precession-nutation models, physical ephemerides). Therefore, I would like to participate to this IAU commission with the aim of discussing, developing and communicating fundamental standards that would be useful to astronomy and also to other communities such as geodesy, Earth science and cartography, in order to encourage comparisons and the establishment of common references.

Inter-Division A-F Commission Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Elbaz

Middle Name: I.

Last Name: Abouelmagd

Email: eabouelmagd@gmail.com

Secondary Email: elbaz.abouelmagd@nriag.sci.eg

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Egypt

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member and secretary of National Committee of Astronomy and Space Sciences – Academy of Scientific Research & Technology (Dec 12, 2018 - Dec 16, 2021)– Egypt

Motivation:

• Raising awareness of the importance of studying fundamental astronomy, in particularly dynamical astronomy and celestial mechanics.
• Working to expand the scientific base for the study of dynamical astronomy and celestial mechanics.
• Working to disseminate the skills (logic thinking, software, methods, etc.) required to study dynamical astronomy
• Working on the diversity of thinking as a result of linking and communicating between different minds from different countries and scientific institutions.
• Working to create a new generation of young scientists who must have full awareness of the study of dynamical astronomy, celestial mechanics. and build bridges of communication and knowledge between senior scientists and young people to preserve and develop the acquired astronomy science.
• To closely know the scientific community in the field of dynamical astronomy and celestial mechanics. and obtain realistic opportunities for cooperation.
• Participation in formulating and developing work in this research direction.
• Exchanging experiences between the scientific community of dynamical astronomy and celestial mechanics.
• To enrich our knowledge of dynamical astronomy, celestial mechanics and establish scientific material to facilitate the research and study process

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First Name: Catalin

Middle Name: B.

Last Name: Gales

Email: cgales@uaic.ro

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Romania

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

IAU member since 2020
Member of Divisions A and F
Member of Commission Celestial Mechanics and Dynamical Astronomy
Member of the Romanian National Committee for Astronomy (CNRA)
Co-Organizer of the IAU Symposium 364: Multi-scale (time and mass) Dynamics of Space Objects, October 18-22/ 2021

Motivation:

I am interested in working with the community to help at promoting its activities.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Giulio

Last Name: Baù

Email: giulio.bau@unipi.it

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have bee a member of the IAU since a few months. Therefore, I don't have much experience.

Motivation:

I'd like to give my concrete contribution to this commission. Thanks.

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First Name: Christoph

Middle Name: H.

Last Name: Lhotka

Email: christoph.lhotka@univie.ac.at

Secondary Email: lhotka@mat.uniroma2.it

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

Full time scientist in the field of celestial mechanics, associate editor of the journal Celestial Mechnaics & Dynamical Astronomy with special interest to represent and evolve the community in celestial mechanics.

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First Name: Hadia

Middle Name: Hassan

Last Name: Selim

Email: hadia_s@nriag.sci.eg

Secondary Email: hassanselim@yahoo.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Egypt

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

- Member committee of scientific news in NRIAG
- Member committee to receive complaints, NRIAG
- Member board of Kottamia observatory, NRIAG
- Member committee of the new Egyptian Observatory 2016 up to now.
- Formulate and president of scientific society of astronomy and space,Egypt,. #SSASEgypt , 2015 up to now
- Vice President of Committee for Academic Upgrades Professors and Assistances 9/2/2017 UP 15/8/2020
- President of committee for academic upgrades professors and assistances 16/8/2020 up 12/2022
- Member of committee for academic upgrades professors and assistances 12/2022 up to now.
- Members of National Committee for Astronomy in Egypt 19/2014 UP TO NOW
- Local and scientific Organizer of the fourth arab school of astrophysics 10/ 2019 , Kottamia,Helwan, Egypt.
- Local Organizer of the virtual workshops” astronomical site selction for Egyptian Large Optical Telescope”, 9-10/6/2020.
- Co-Organizer of virtual Fifth ArAS School of Astrophysics , October 16-23/ 2020
- Organizer of first arab advanced school for astrophysics 16-21/10/2021
- Member Scientific organizer of the sixth ArAb school of astrophysics in katar 5-12/1/2022
- Organizer of second arab advanced school for astrophysics 16-21/10/2022
- Co- organizer MEARIM VI 13-16/2/2023
- Co-organizer Middle- east and Africa School on Large Galaxy surveys for Cosmology 18-23/2/2023
- Organizer of third arab advanced school for astrophysics 15-22/9/2023
- Organizer(LOC/SOC) of Fourth arab advanced school for astrophysics 18-24/10/2024
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Motivation:

I hope to generate an active work group with a create a workshops and more conferences which satisfies a new research field an more cooperations between astronomical scientists

Commission B1 Computational Astrophysics

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Jonathan

Last Name: Mackey

Email: jmackey@cp.dias.ie

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Ireland

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

* Member of IAU Commissions B1, G2, H2
* I am a current member of the Organising Committee of IAU Commission B1 since 2021
* Organising Committee for the CB1 virtual meetings, Challenges and Innovations in Computational Astrophysics (ChaICA) 4 and 5 (https://dias.ie/chaiac4, https://dias.ie/chaica5).
* SOC member for Focus Meeting 7 at the upcoming IAU General Assembly in Cape Town (https://idia.ac.za/bdh2024/)
* Proposer and co-chair of the SOC and LOC for IAU Symposium 361: Massive Stars near and Far (virtual component May 2021, in-person May 2022), sponsored by Comission G2.
* Participated in IAU GA 2022 (Busan, South Korea), with invited overview talk at IAU S370: Winds of stars and exoplanets.

Motivation:

I work in computational astrophysics, mainly computational fluid dynamics and radiative transfer, also comparison of simulations with observations. I am the main developer of the astrophysical fluid-dynamics code PION (https://pion.ie) and use a number of other codes as part of my research (e.g. FLASH, PLUTO, TORUS). Through my involvement in radio and TeV gamma-ray astronomy I can see the increasing importance of computation, algorithms, and supercomputing in observational astronomy, especially in the comparison of models with data through machine learning techniques. These emerging trends dramatically broaden the scientific scope of Commission B1, and it is an exciting time to be working in our field. I have greatly enjoyed being part of Commission B1 for the past 3 years, especially organising the ChaICA series of meetings which give a chance for young researchers from all over the world to present their work to a wide audience. As Commission Vice President I would work to increase our engagement with the CB1 membership through meetings, seminars and workshops. While online meetings have their drawbacks, they are great for connecting diverse people across the world. Ensuring reproducibility and FAIR access to research data is increasingly important, and I see a role for CB1 to offer practical help to researchers in achieving these goals.

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First Name: Rainer

Last Name: Spurzem

Email: spurzem@ari.uni-heidelberg.de

Secondary Email: spurzem@nao.cas.cn

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I have been member of executive committee of Commission 37 (Star Clusters) from 2000-2003, and vice-president 2003-2006. Due to some personal issues I stepped down before becoming president of that commission in 2006. I have been attending with active participation IAU GA's in Sydney, Prague, Beijing, Vienna. Unfortunately I cannot take part this year in Cape Town. I have been organizer (SOC and LOC co-chair) of IAU Symposium 312 "Star Clusters and Black Holes in Galaxies across Cosmic Time" in Beijing, August 2014.

Motivation:

My scientific interest is focused on dynamics of star clusters, galactic nuclei, and their black holes and compact objects, using direct N-body simulations on parallel GPU accelerated supercomputers in Europe and China. My affiliation is both University of Heidelberg, Germany and the National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing. Usually I spend part of the year in Beijing. Next generation supercomputers on Exaflop/s scale are important for our community, we are currently testing the new European Lumi supercomputer in Finland and new Chinese GPU hardware. Through my Silk Road project I am committed to support international cooperations - remote zoom cooperation has become and will remain a very important tool, but mutual personal visits, to foster cultural exchange along with international scientific collaboration are important. The Silk Road is not exclusive, I have been participating also in China-Australia and BRICS conferences and projects.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Jasjeet

Middle Name: Singh

Last Name: Bagla

Email: jasjeet@iisermohali.ac.in

Secondary Email: jsbagla@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I was a member of the IAU National Committee from India during 2008-2015.

I have been a member of the inclusive outreach working group for some time.

Motivation:

Computational methods have been one of the key tools in my research, including development of new methods. Computational astrophysics has grown in India in the last two decades with the improved availability of HPC platforms. There is considerable scope for enhanced interaction betwen the Indian and the international community that can benefit everyone. I hope to be able to play a role in this through hackatons, workshops and meetings organized by the commission.

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First Name: Jungyeon

Last Name: CHO

Email: jcho@cnu.ac.kr

Secondary Email: cho.astro@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Korea, Rep of

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Current Korean NCA president

Motivation:

I have worked on computational astrophysics since mid 1990s. Therefore I am well aware of its importance. As computational power increases and computational technique advances, computational astrophysics becomes more and more important. I think the role of IAU Commission B1 becomes essential in this rapidly developing years. I would like to contribute to the community as an OC member. Thanks.

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First Name: Catherine

Last Name: Lovekin

Email: clovekin@mta.ca

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Canada

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am very interested in the work this committee does, and I think there's a lot of potential in bringing together researchers across different areas of research.

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First Name: Surajit

Last Name: Paul

Email: surajit.paul@manipal.edu

Secondary Email: paulsurajit1@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am Dr Surajit Paul, an Associate Professor at Manipal Centre for Natural Sciences (MCNS), MAHE, Manipal, India. MCNS is a Centre of Excellence under MAHE (a leading private University in the country) with a major focus on multi-band Astronomy research. I am leading research activities in computational astrophysics and radio astronomy at this centre.

I have almost 20 years of experience in Astrophysics research, teaching and administration, and augmented quality research in the University system. Regularly reviewed manuscripts for top astrophysics journals and contributed to research facility-building efforts at national and international levels (e.g., National Supercomputing Mission in India, Square Kilometer Array India consortium as well as SKA organisation). Having graduated from the University of Würzburg, Germany and the experience from continued international research collaborations, I gained a wider international perspective of Astrophysics research. This long and vast experience motivated me and made me suitable to take up the challenging task of a Commission organising member of Computational Astrophysics under IAU. In the era of data-driven and numerical astrophysics, I find the activity of this commission very important and I am confident of adding significant value to the purpose of this commission. Being from a rising economy, I would act well as the ambassador of all of South Asia in this international forum.

Plz see: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4046-6959

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First Name: Steven

Last Name: Rieder

Email: steven+iau@rieder.nl

Secondary Email: steven.rieder@kuleuven.be

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Belgium

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

After being a committee member for a number of years and having attended its (online) symposia, I would now be happy to contribute as OC member.
As coordinator of and developer for the AMUSE project (https://www.amusecode.org/), the development and homogenization of numerical software are of particular interest to me, but I am also highly interested in making computational tools more available and accessible.

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First Name: Bhargav

Last Name: Vaidya

Email: bvaidya@iiti.ac.in

Secondary Email: vaidyab85@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

1. Member of the Scientific Organising Committee in the Focus Meeting 7 (New Horizons at the interface between Computational Astrophysics and Big Data) to be conducted as part of the GA 2024 in Cape Town South Africa.

2. Leading the Hackathon on MHD Modelling with PLUTO code as part of the FM7 (IAU GA 2024) outreach and training initiative to encourage and engage with the student community and professionals who are exploring the field of Computational Astrophysics.

3. Contributed speaker in the IAUS 342: Perseus in Sicily: from black hole to cluster outskirts held at Noto, Italy
(2018).

Motivation:

The Indian Astronomy Community has recently experienced an increase in the establishment of Computational Astrophysics groups in numerous national institutions via the appointment of relevant professionals who have received training abroad. This advancement must be supplemented with proper knowledge transfer and exposure of this community to global achievements in the field of computational astrophysics particularly in this era of exa-scale computing and AI/ML-aided simulations.
One of the motivations for serving as an OC member in Commission B1 is to connect this community with recent advances in this field, as well as to bring together experts from India and around the world to share their experience of developing Computational Astrophysics groups with nations where this field is still in its early stages.
This can be accomplished by conducting hackathons at these locations and launching a novel outreach initiative titled "Code with Computational Astrophysicist." Additionally, as an OC member, I intend to use the IAU platform to connect professionals and exchange best practices for the benefit of the worldwide community in creating state-of-the-art simulations and data analysis toolkits, particularly at a time when Astronomy is becoming a global community-led science.

Commission B2 Data and Documentation

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Andreas

Middle Name: J.

Last Name: Wicenec

Email: andreas.wicenec@icrar.org

Secondary Email: awicenec@gmail.org

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Australia

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of the FITS Working Group since the year 2000.

Motivation:

During my whole career I had a very specific focus on data, data management, meta-data extraction and curation. That started already during my involvement in the HIPPARCOS/TYCHO project and continued during my time at ESO as an archive scientist. I was deeply involved in the IVOA from the very start and then took over the Data Intensive Astronomy department of the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research working on data processing and data management aspects for the SKA and the SKA precursors. I am really passionate about the importance and value of data preservation and astronomical archives. Astronomy would not be where it is today without a wealth of preserved and curated historical data. Maintaining and further developing that tradition is even more important for massive volumes of digital data, since that requires technology to even just read it. I am also passionate about providing open access to astronomical data to everybody by providing adequate tools and techniques to make the data FAIR. Thus I would like to offer my expertise to contribute to the global decision making process in this crucial field.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Jennifer

Middle Name: Lynn

Last Name: Bartlett

Email: jennifer.bartlett@cfa.harvard.edu

Secondary Email: jennifer@bartlettastro.com

Gender: Not defined

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member of Commission B2 Data and Documentation since 2015
Member of Commission B2 WG Preservation and Digitization of Photographic Plates since 2023
Member of Commission A1 Astrometry since 2015; Organizing Committee member 2018-2024
Member of Commission C3 History of Astronomy since 2015
Past Member of Commission 8 Astrometry (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 4 Ephemerides (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 55 Communicating Astronomy with the Public (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 55 WG New Ways of CAP (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 19 Rotation of the Earth (until 2015)
Elected to membership in 2012

Motivation:

Understanding, processing, and collecting of observations at all wavelengths is essential to astronomy. The petabytes and more of digital data generated by modern surveys are changing how we interact with observations and are requiring new ways of processing, managing, archiving, and sharing them. In the meantime, historic observations that can provide complimentary early epochs to ongoing research need to be available in discoverable and accessible formats. The accelerating move towards open science and the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Re-usable) principles are also re-shaping how we describe and disseminate data. Having worked with photographic plates, hand-written measures, and CCD images, I value the role that each can play in understanding how astronomical sources move and change through time. The American Astronomical Society’s Working Group on the Preservation of Astronomical Heritage, of which I have been a member since 2012, is raising awareness of the value of legacy observations and their metadata; of course, active use is the best case for preservation. In the next 3 years, I will work with commission members to develop and support the systems necessary to exploit fully the scientific observations we collect: past, present, and future.

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First Name: Cécile

Last Name: Loup

Email: cecile.loup@astro.unistra.fr

Gender: Female

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Commission B2 : Organizing Committee member since 2021
Commission B2 : Chair of the Working Group on Designations & Nomenclature (WGD&N) since 2021

Motivation:

Since 2007 i am in charge of the scientific content of the CDS (https://cds.unistra.fr/) SIMBAD database (http://simbad.cds.unistra.fr/simbad/). As such i am deeply involved in nomenclature, data published in the scientific literature and very large surveys, as well as FAIR principles. The co-chair of the WGD&N is Marion Schmidt from the NASA Extragalactic Database (NED, https://ned.ipac.caltech.edu/). The role of the WGD&N is to clarify existing astronomical nomenclature and to help the astronomical community to avoid potential problems when designating their sources. Very large surveys like Chandra, Fermi, Gaia, JCMT, Pan-STARRS, Planck, SDSS, WISE, XMM, and more recently 4MOST and WEAVE, submitted their acronyms to our Working Group. At the era of big data, it becomes more and more crucial that authors do follow good practices for data publication, in order to follow FAIR principles and ease the process to ingest the data in large databases involved in the VO. A reference article involving datacenter like NED and the CDS has been published (see 2022ApJS..260....5C ). To spread these good practices among the astronomical community could be one of the objective of the Commission B2.

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First Name: Andreas

Middle Name: J.

Last Name: Wicenec

Email: andreas.wicenec@icrar.org

Secondary Email: awicenec@gmail.org

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Australia

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member of the IAU FITS Working Group since the year 2000.

Motivation:

Commission B3 Astroinformatics and Astrostatistics

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Tsutomu

Middle Name: T.

Last Name: TAKEUCHI

Email: tsutomu.takeuchi.ttt@gmail.com

Secondary Email: takeuchi.tsutomu.g8@f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Japan

Position: Commission Vice-President

Motivation:

I have been working on the astrostatistics and astroinformatics through my physical interest, formation and evolution of galaxies and observational cosmology. I an now serving as one of the board members of the IAU-IAA astroinfo-astrostat seminars.

https://sites.google.com/view/iau-iaaseminar-new/home

I am also working at the Institute of Statistical Mathematics in Tokyo, Japan. I would activate the interdisciplinary fields between astrophysics and statistics/informatics and data science more.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Abhirup

Last Name: Datta

Email: abhirup.datta@iiti.ac.in

Secondary Email: datta.abhirup@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am a radio astronomer by profession. I observe with the VLA and uGMRT and will be using the SKA in the future. The area of my research is observational 21-cm cosmology and galaxy clusters. With the advent of new radio telescopes, the data volume is increasing heavily. The ability to do science with new telescopes depends significantly on astronomers ability to deal with large volumes of data. At this stage, preparing a community that is well versed in dealing with large data sets and using the novel techniques of AI and machine learning to deal with large datasets is critical. We have a few open source data analysis software for radio astronomy. It is needed to understand how effectively we can incorporate the use of ML in the radio astronomical data analysis. Organizing several workshops and events to address this need is highly time critical. This should spread across the community and result in effective human resource development. This is my motivation in nominating myself for this position.

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First Name: Deng

Last Name: Shiyu

Email: dengsy@cho.ac.cn

Secondary Email: dengsy@cho.ac.cn

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

He is mainly engaged in the new technology and application of spectral detection of space targets and the spectral observation of dispersed interstellar zones, and the processing and analysis of spectral data using big data algorithms. In China, a variety of spectral terminal devices are innovatively proposed to carry out spectral detection of the same space target, and the measured spectral data of space targets are deeply studied based on the spectral data analysis algorithm. For the first time in the field of dust physics, a 1-meter aperture telescope and a low-resolution spectrometer were used to detect and obtain diffuse interstellar spectral data for a long time and obtain diffuse interstellar band spectral data, and LAMOST, SDSS, and GAIA spectral data were used for verification.

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First Name: Tsutomu

Middle Name: T.

Last Name: TAKEUCHI

Email: tsutomu.takeuchi.ttt@gmail.com

Secondary Email: takeuchi.tsutomu.g8@f.mail.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Japan

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am working as one of the seminar board members of the IAA-IAU Astroinfo-Astrostat Seminar Series

https://sites.google.com/view/iau-iaaseminar-new/home

I am studying as a statistics- and informatics-inclined astrophysicist at Nagoya University, as well as a data scientist in the Institute of Statistical Mathematics in Japan. I have been published not a small number of scientific articles, including the estimation method of the galaxy luminosity function (truncated data analysis), construction of a bivariate luminosity function (copula function), topological data analysis, manifold learning, deep learning, variational autoencoder, high-dimensional statistical analysis of high-dimensional low-sample size data etc. I am willing to contribute to the commission B3 based on my experience.

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First Name: Yanxia

Last Name: ZHANG

Email: zyx@bao.ac.cn

Secondary Email: zyx@lamost.org

Gender: Female

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission B3 Astroinformatics and Astrostatistics (2018-2021)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission B3 Astroinformatics and Astrostatistics (2015-2018)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission 5 WG Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics (2012-2015)
Past Member of Commission 5 Documentation & Astronomical Data (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 29 Stellar Spectra (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 44 Space & High Energy Astrophysics (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 45 Stellar Classification (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 5 WG Astrostatistics and Astroinformatics (2012-2015)
Past Member of Division IV Stars (until 2012)
Past Member of Division XI Space & High Energy Astrophysics (until 2012)
Past Member of Division XII Union-Wide Activities (until 2012)

Motivation:

As a dedicated astronomer committed to advancing the frontiers of astronomical research and fostering collaboration within the global astronomical community, I believe that contributing to an IAU commission presents a unique opportunity to leverage collective expertise, drive impactful initiatives, and address pressing challenges facing our field. Serving within an IAU commission would enable me to actively contribute to the advancement of astronomical knowledge and the promotion of astronomical research worldwide. By participating in an IAU commission, I aim to connect with fellow astronomers from diverse backgrounds, share insights, and collaborate on projects of mutual interest to promote scientific exchange and cooperation. As a commission member, I aspire to contribute constructively to discussions, provide informed perspectives, and contribute to the formulation of policies that advance the goals of the IAU and benefit the global astronomical community.

Commission B4 Radio Astronomy

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Paula

Last Name: Benaglia

Email: paula@iar-conicet.gov.ar

Secondary Email: pben.radio@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Argentina

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

- Since 2021, member of Commissions Organizing Committee B4 (Radio Astronomy), acting as Secretary

Motivation:

There's a growing number of radio astronomy instruments - planned, under construction, recently inaugurated - whose design was driven by the quest to deepen fundamental knowledge, but also to test engineering beyond current limits. And there are ambitious initiatives to connect VLBI niches and the whole world, to be propelled.

Observatories benefit greatly from blind users to experts in both observing, and in how the instrument works.

Dissemination of radio astronomy at all levels is key to reaping full advantages while facilitating new developments.

I'd like to play a strong role from CB4 in visualizing these goals and bridging radio astronomy with research in other fields; as a mediator, to spread the excitement of doing radio astronomy especially to early career researchers, and to help develop in still-developing regions, like South America.

A multi-origin, multi-background committee can reach out to idem groups and include underrepresented minorities. I believe the vision of someone coming from outside the astronomical mega-centers, with some experience in management, much experience in observing with major instruments, advising students, teaching, can make a valuable contribution as a necessary complement to the IAU's enormous efforts to do its part in building a better, more equitable, and sustainable world.

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First Name: Di

Last Name: LI

Email: dili@nao.cas.cn

Secondary Email: ithaca.li@outlook.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Taught in the workshop sponsored by OAD

Motivation:

All my radio astronomy started at Arecibo. I can still remember the unforgettable first impression of its grandeur, its aspiration, and its openness. A true emblem of “One world one sky”. Like many of my colleagues, it was sad to bid farewell to Arecibo, when I saw a friend’s post –“it’s gone”— on facebook in December 2020. Largely motivated by Arecibo, we built the FAST telescope with nearly three decades of efforts from several generations of astronomers. The region around FAST used to be among the least developed. Now it is buzzling with activities. The Yang family used to live in the Dawodang depression site, now hosting FAST. Two of the Yang family member are being employed by the project. As the FAST chief scientist, I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to try to extend Arecibo's legacy.
It has been a bliss to work with driven, capable colleagues, both junior and senior. I’d like to have the same fortune to work for commission B4. Particularly, I would try to support development of novel technologies and concepts and foster their potential for major breakthroughs.
Now with SKA and several other major projects on the horizon, radio astronomy remains on the forefront of physical sciences as well as international collaboration and development. I aspire to help commission B4 stay a leading force in radio astronomy.

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First Name: Zsolt

Last Name: Paragi

Email: zsolt.paragi@gmail.com

Secondary Email: paragi@jive.eu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Netherlands

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I have been a member in IAU since 2009, but I already participated my first IAU General Assembly in 2000 in Manchester. Until 2012, I was a member of Division VIII Galaxies & the Universe, Division X Radio Astronomy, Division XI Space & High Energy Astrophysics, and Division XII Union-Wide Activities. Till 2015, I was member of Commission 6 Astronomical Telegrams, Commission 40 Radio Astronomy, Commission 44 Space & High Energy Astrophysics and Commission 47 Cosmology. Currently, I am a member of Division B Facilities, Technologies and Data Science, Division D High Energy Phenomena and Fundamental Physics, Division J Galaxies and Cosmology, as well as Commission B4 Radio Astronomy.
Since 2023, I Chair the Commission B4 WG Global VLBI Alliance.

Motivation:

Through my professional carried I worked in the field of very long baseline interferometry (VLBI). As for my science, I study compact objects of all mass ranges, and transient events of all types, both Galactic and extragalacic. At the Joint Institute for VLBI ERIC (JIVE) I support to the European VLBI Network (EVN) and users of the EVN. I initiated and coordinated the initial technical developments at JIVE that led to the accurate localisations of fast radio bursts (FRB), worked on the developments and promoted the use of of e-VLBI and VLBI with the SKA, and coordinated the first EVN observing campaigns to electromagnetic counterparts of gravitational wave events. Within the IAU I would like to further work on unifying our radio community and promote the use of radio telescopes (and especially VLBI) in the multi-messenger era. My roles in international committees and my strong connection to other communities are important to reach this goal.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Abhirup

Last Name: Datta

Email: abhirup.datta@iiti.ac.in

Secondary Email: datta.abhirup@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have attended a few IAUS conferences. I have not worked for any offices at IAU before.

Motivation:

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First Name: Preshanth

Last Name: Jagannathan

Email: pjaganna@nrao.edu

Secondary Email: preshanthj@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am a staff member at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and working in the algorithms research and development group towards coming up computational and algorithmic techniques for the next generation of radio interferometers. I think the IAU is an ideal way to engage with and influence the coming generational shift in radio astronomy with the advent of new instruments such as the SKA and ngVLA. I am a broad generalist when it comes to using radio telescopes and have experience working from metre to mm waves. I have always admired the role of the IAU as the pre-eminent international astronomical body and would like to give back to the community through service in the organization.

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First Name: Bhal Chandra

Last Name: Joshi

Email: bcj@ncra.tifr.res.in

Secondary Email: bhalchandrajos@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am a practising radio astronomer with contributions in developing and commissioning radio astronomy instrumentation and pulsar astrophysics. I was involved in setting up the Giant Meterwave Radio Telescope from the early days of its construction and commissioning and led the servo systems group in design, testing, commissioning and upgrade of the telescope control system for more than a decade till my superannuation in 2022. I also commissioned coherent dedispersion receivers at the Ooty Radio Telescope and the GMRT which could also be used for VLBI. I have significant contribution in pulsar surveys, single pulse studies of radio pulsars, multi-band concurrent observations of pulsars and precision pulsar timing. I was involved in space-VLBI with radio astron mission and was a member of RadioAstron International Science Council. I initiated the Indian pulsar timing experiment (InPTA) and led this collaboration for a decade. I also was a chair of International Pulsar Timing Array consortium (IPTA) in 2022 and have contributed significantly in the recent announcement of evidence for nanoHertz gravitational waves. Currently, I am serving as co-chair of the SKA pulsar science working group. I currently hold a chair professor position and am a member of Gravitational Wave International Commiittee (GWIC).

I continue to be active in pulsar research after my superannuation. I would like to use my experience to help this commission facilitate new radio facilities coming online and suggests symergies with other astronomy facilities for a multi-band and multi-messenger perspective, which is becoming ever important with sensitive new facilities like JWST and SKA coming on line and more such facilities planned across messengers in future. I can help in formulating policies and coordinating efforts. I can help the commission in planning events for communications across facilities and institutions.

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First Name: Ruta

Middle Name: Prabhakar

Last Name: Kale

Email: ruta@ncra.tifr.res.in

Secondary Email: ruta.kale@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Attended the IAU General Assembly 2022, Busan Krorea.
I was a member of the SOC of the Focus Meeting 6 at the IAU GA 2022.

Motivation:

I am a radio astronomer working in India at the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics that built and operates the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT). Apart from GMRT I have used the major radio telescopes across the world such as the VLA, WSRT, ATCA and more recently LOFAR and the MeerKAT.
I have led the organisation of training programmes in radio astronomy in India and have taught radio astronomy at graduate school level. I am an elected member of the Executive council of the Astronomical Society of India and am associate of the Indian Academy of Sciences.
I have experience of working with engineers and scientists and find that IAU commissions are among the best platforms to bring about dialogue in the community with a vision for the future of radio astronomy. I would like to actively use this platform to promote radio astronomy.

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First Name: Zsolt

Last Name: Paragi

Email: zsolt.paragi@gmail.com

Secondary Email: paragi@jive.eu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Netherlands

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Motivation:

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First Name: Surajit

Last Name: Paul

Email: surajit.paul@manipal.edu

Secondary Email: paulsurajit1@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am Dr Surajit Paul, an Associate Professor at Manipal Centre for Natural Sciences (MCNS), MAHE, Manipal, India. MCNS is a Centre of Excellence under MAHE (a leading private University in the country) with a major focus on multi-band Astronomy research. I am leading research activities in radio astronomy and computational astrophysics at this centre.

I have almost 20 years of experience in Astrophysics research, teaching and administration, and augmented quality research in the University system. Regularly reviewed manuscripts for top astrophysics journals, and telescope proposals and contributed to research facility-building efforts at national and international levels (e.g., National Supercomputing Mission in India, Square Kilometer Array India consortium as well as SKA organisation). Having graduated from the University of Würzburg, Germany and the experience from continued international research collaborations, I gained a wider international perspective of Astrophysics research. This long and vast experience, especially in Radio Astronomy, motivated me and made me suitable to take up the challenging task of a Commission organising member of Radio Astronomy under IAU.

With the commissioning of ultra-sensitive radio telescope arrays in recent times and the future plan of building SKA, the radio astronomy community found exponential growth. At this juncture, the Commission of Radio Astronomy has an important role to play and I am sure of adding significant value to the purpose and future goal of this commission. Being from a region with rising economies, I would act well as the ambassador of all of South Asia in this international forum.

Thank you!

My CV: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4046-6959

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First Name: Mamta

Last Name: Pommier

Email: mamtapommier@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Chair of IAU Executive Committee WG Women in Astronomy
Member of Executive Committee WG Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion
Member of Executive Committee WG Global Coordination of Ground and Space Astrophysics
Steering Committee Member of Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage
Member of Division A Fundamental Astronomy
Member of Division B Facilities, Technologies, and Data Science
Member of Commission B4 Radio Astronomy
Member of Commission B4 WG Global VLBI Alliance
Member of Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage
Member of Division J Galaxies and Cosmology
Member of Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public
Member of Commission J3 Galaxies at the Epoch of Reionisation
Member of Cross-Division D-J Commission Supermassive Black Holes, Feedback, and Galaxy Evolution

Motivation:

I wish to submit my candidacy for the position on the Commission B4 organizing committee to advance global radio astronomy collaboration. Under this position, I wish to work with the organizing committee members to foster international partnerships, integrate radio astronomy with informatics, and facilitate data sharing. Additionally, with my background in low-frequency radio astronomy with the SKA and pathfinders, earlier experience with the IAU as the Chair of Women in Astronomy WG and the Steering Committee Member of Division C Education, Outreach, and Heritage, I plan to encourage discussions, support young astronomers, and enhance outreach initiatives in the field of radio astronomy.

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First Name: Solohery

Middle Name: M.

Last Name: Randriamampandry

Email: soloherymampionona@gmail.com

Secondary Email: solohery@saao.ac.za

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Madagascar

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

Greetings, I would like to contribute to the commission's activities for the further development of radio astronomy and global multi-wavelength astronomy. Thank you.

Commission B5 Laboratory Astrophysics

Candidate for: Commission President

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First Name: Osama

Middle Name: M.A.

Last Name: Shalabiea

Email: shalabiea@sci.cu.edu.eg

Secondary Email: shalabiea@yahoo.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Egypt

Position: Commission President

Detailed experience:

Active member of the IAU since 1997. I took the part for supporting ISYA when it is organized at Cairo- Egypt.
I have been member of the SOC for number of the IAU symposiums,
Last activities I took part last year of IAUs was Kavli-IAU Symposium No. 383 (IAU S383)
Astrochemistry VIII: From the First Galaxies to the Formation of Habitable Worlds
Traverse City, USA, July 10th-14th 2023.. participating with research entitled " Molecular Formation in Low-Metallicity Hot Core). in collaboration with Prof. Hideko Nomura from NAOJ. Along with international cooperation I also service as a member of the National Committee of Space Science and Astronomy as it plays pivotal role for the International cooperation and organizing the activities with all the research centers, associations and Universities on both the national and regional levels in addition to international organization which on top of these organization the IAU.

Motivation:

Our motivation comes in light of the rapid growth of advanced research in the fields Astrophysics and Astrochemistry in the Middle East and North Africa region, in addition to global sporting events, which has led to increased demand from our young generations and international cooperation , and in order to provide better service to them and maintain their competitiveness on the global stage.in Astronomy and Astrophysics especially the Lab of Astrophysics that brought the simulation of the Astronomical environmental physical and chemical parameters to advance our knowledge of the universeز
Therefore, we look forward to building strong cooperation to support the vital role of the Astrophysics Laboratory (B5) and everything related through exchanging experiences and organizing more activities, workshops and events at all levels with the help of the national and International organizations, and encouraging sponsors locally and internationally to take part of to achieve our goals.

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First Name: Randall

Middle Name: K.

Last Name: Smith

Email: rsmith@cfa.harvard.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission President

Motivation:

I have been active in laboratory astrophysics science and issues, particularly the need for complete and accurate databases, for over 25 years. I was one of the creators of the atomic database AtomDB, a worldwide standard for modeling UV/X-ray plasmas, and have served as Chair of the American Astronomical Society's Laboratory Astrophysics Division. My goal with this position would be to continue to push for recognition of the key role laboratory astrophysics plays in maximizing the utility of new facilities. In particular, precision astronomy may require incorporation of uncertainties both from the astronomical data as well as the underlying spectroscopic data, an area that crosses both laboratory astrophysics, observations, and statistical methods. To this end, I would work with other IAU divisions and commission to encourage inclusion of laboratory astrophysics talks in a range of workshops and conferences to broaden awareness amongst the wider community, not merely within labs themselves.

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Osama

Middle Name: M.A.

Last Name: Shalabiea

Email: shalabiea@sci.cu.edu.eg

Secondary Email: shalabiea@yahoo.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Egypt

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Motivation:

View IAU profile

First Name: Randall

Middle Name: K.

Last Name: Smith

Email: rsmith@cfa.harvard.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Vice-President

Motivation:

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Michael

Last Name: Hahn

Email: mhahn@astro.columbia.edu

Secondary Email: mh2451@columbia.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I would be glad to serve as a member of the Organizing Committee for the Laboratory Astrophysics Commission B5 and work to promote our field. Laboratory astrophysics provides a foundation for the interpretation of astrophysical data as well as presenting its own unique challenges. As a member of the committee I hope to help facilitate communication with users of laboratory data in order to allow them to readily incorporate our results and for us to learn about Astronomy's data needs. At the same time, we should highlight the interesting problems encountered in laboratory studies in order to grow our field.

My work in laboratory astrophysics has been in the areas of atomic and plasma physics that are mainly motivated by solar physics data needs. These include measurements of ionization and recombination cross sections that were performed using an ion storage ring and more recent work using an electron beam ion trap that focuses on line identification and the calibration of spectroscopic density diagnostics. My experimental plasma physics work has focused on properties of Alfven waves in inhomogeneous plasmas relevant to the solar corona. In addition to these laboratory studies, I work on observational solar physics using spectroscopy to investigate the coronal heating problem. I have previously served on the committee of the Laboratory Astrophysics Division of the American Astronomical Society.

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First Name: Randall

Middle Name: K.

Last Name: Smith

Email: rsmith@cfa.harvard.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

Commission B6 Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Ernst

Last Name: Paunzen

Email: epaunzen@physics.muni.cz

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Czech Republic

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Secretary of Inter-Division G-H-J Commission Stellar Clusters throughout Cosmic Space and Time
Organizing Committee Member of Inter-Division G-H-J Commission Stellar Clusters throughout Cosmic Space and Time

Motivation:

The last three decades saw a massive increase in photometric and spectroscopic data and their quality. The available ground and space-based data call for new approaches using interdisciplinary knowledge from Mathematics, Statistics, and Informatics. I want to focus on bringing researchers in these fields together and making progress using observations and models. Furthermore, I would like to motivate more young scientists to participate in this research field and intensify Public Outreach, such as preparing available public lectures. I have worked with photometric and spectroscopic data for about 30 years and have much experience organising activities within the IAU.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Ernst

Last Name: Paunzen

Email: epaunzen@physics.muni.cz

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Czech Republic

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Motivation:

Inter-Division B-C Commission Protection of Existing and Potential Observatory Sites

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Olivier

Middle Name: R

Last Name: Hainaut

Email: ohainaut@eso.org

Secondary Email: ohainaut@eso.org

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

While I have been a long term member of various commission, I do not have experience as organizing committee officer at IAU. I however have relevant experience leading numerous groups, teams, review panels, conference organizing committees in other contexts.

Motivation:

Heaving lead the La Silla and Paranal science operation teams for years, I am a specialist of observatory operations, with extensive hands-on experience on leading observatories. In that context, I have been involved in the characterization of the night sky (in the visible/near IR) for potential sites (via site testing) and functioning observatories, and of the impact of human activity (city lights, mining activity) and natural processes (volcanic eruption, zodiacal light...) on the sky quality.
More recently, I have been deeply involved in quantifying the impact of satellite constellations on astronomical observations.
Overall, I believe that my experience would be useful to lead and guide our commission.

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First Name: Gianluca

Last Name: Masi

Email: gianluca@bellatrixobservatory.org

Secondary Email: gianluca.masi@virtualtelescope.eu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I joined IAU as a member in May 2023. Before that, in 2019 I have been appointed by IAU as a Dark Skies Ambassador for Italy. I’ve been cooperating with IAU programs/projects since IYA2009; in particular I offered a substantial support making a section of the 100 Hours of Astronomy initiative a reality, the pioneering 100 Hours of Remote Astronomy: using for the first time in history online, robotic telescopes, we could share with people worldwide to thrill of real-time astronomy, with people using real telescopes from home, live. My Virtual Telescope Project was essential in that.
I’ve been working almost every day over the last 25 years to educate the Italian community to the importance of pure skies and their preservation from light pollution, to make possible both astronomical research and enjoyment of the starry night; ,I’m regularly featured on the Italian national media and I’m considered reference on that topic, as well as other astronomical topics.

Motivation:

I would really love to serve in this Commission, hopefully adding my experience to the one of the others members. This topic really needs a teamwork, as this Commission is doing.
I’ve been working for more than 25 years now on light pollution, regularly bringing this topic on the Italian national media, interacting with many different Institutions at every level. I personally contributed to mitigate many dozens of severe cases of light pollution in Italy, even very complex ones and right now I’m intensively working to keep safe the darkest sky, small area surviving on the Italian peninsula at feasible altitudes, now risking to be lost. I strongly believe we need pure skies both for research needs and future generations. For this, I always work to engage communities, making my best to have them understanding the importance of such a starry sky.

I can say, in short, the goals of this Commission have been my goals for most of my life and I would be honored to serve as VP, doing the best I can to support the aim and goals of the Commission itself.

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First Name: Salvador

Middle Name: J

Last Name: Ribas

Email: sjribas@parcastronomic.cat

Secondary Email: sjribas@fqa.ub.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

- IAU Dark Skies Ambassador Platinum (IAU100 action)
- WG Member of “Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society” action linked to IAU and UNOOSA.
- IAU Junior Member (2018-2022) and Active Member (2022-currently)
- Member of Commission B7, Commission C1 and Commission C2 (2018-currently)
- Past Member of Executive Committee WG Junior Members (2019-2022)

Motivation:

Based on my experience I think I can contribute more actively to this Commission serving in this position. I have more than 20 years of experience in research, policy and education related to light pollution, dark sky studies and observatory sites. I did my PhD on Astrophysics on the study of Light Pollution in protected and urban sites, being one of the first PhD on LP topic in Spain. Currently I am the manager of Parc Astronòmic del Montsec, an outreach and educational centre that develops research on night sky quality and site testing. I participated in the legal procedures linked to Catalonian regional law. Around research projects I have experience in European Union and National funded projects linked to night sky (eg LoNNe, Pyrenees La Nuit) and in many cases coordinating WG or WP. I was the chair of the candidacy of Montsec to become Starlight Reserve and I am the IAU Dark Sky Ambassador Platinum representative of Montsec. Recently I have been involved in WG of Dark and Quite Skies action linked to IAU. Finally, I have more than 20 years of experience in science communication and outreach, so I can add these skills to our Commission

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First Name: Ramotholo

Middle Name: R.

Last Name: Sefako

Email: rrs@saao.ac.za

Secondary Email: rsefako@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: South Africa

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

• Member and Organizing Committee Member of Inter-Division B-C Commission Protection of Existing and Potential Observatory Sites
• Member of Executive Committee WG Dark and Quiet Sky Protection
• Member of Inter-Division B-C Commission WG Site Protection
• Past Member of Membership Committee
• Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission 50 Protection of Existing & Potential Observatory Sites

Motivation:

I served in Protection of Existing and Potential Observatory Sites committees for over ten years, starting with the Organizing Committee Membership of Commission 50 in 2012. I have also been involved at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) in efforts to ensure that SAAO remains one of the darkest observatory sites in the world. I was part of a team that worked with the Department of Science and Innovation to draft Optical Astronomy Protection Regulations for the protection of the SAAO observing site against light and dust pollution. I am involved in monitoring the night sky at the SAAO in an effort to ensure that the astronomy protection regulations are complied with. I have experience both within the IAU and working with legal entities in South Africa to ensure that dark skies at the observatories are protected.

I would like to continue serving the community and help protect our dark and quiet skies over existing and potential observatory sites. With my experience, and working with the other committee members, I believe we can achieve the minimum goal of at least ensuring that the existing observatory sites remain as dark (for optical), and radio quiet (for radio) observatories.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: John

Middle Name: C.

Last Name: Barentine

Email: john.barentine@gmail.com

Secondary Email: john@darkskyconsulting.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have been a member of the IAU CPS since its establishment in 2022 and co-lead its Community Engagement Hub.

Motivation:

My interest in the subject that is the remit of Inter-Division B-C is both personal and professional, and it aligns well with my experience. I would like to move from merely being a member of this Commission to taking a more active role in supporting its activities. I believe that my expertise and energy would benefit the Organizing Committee and support the Commission's mission and vision.

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First Name: Gyula

Middle Name: I. G.

Last Name: Józsa

Email: gjozsa@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de

Secondary Email: gjozsa@mpifr.de

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

- Organisation of FM 5 at IAUGA 2024
- Participation in CPS
- Development of position paper
- Participation in activities and relevant publications

Motivation:

As spectrum manager at MPIfR and collaborator in the Committee on Radio Astronomy Frequencies I am fundamentally active in astronomy protection. One of our tasks is to tie our activities to the astronomical community, to keep ourselves and other users of the electromagnetic spectrum informed about the developments in astronomy, an vice versa inform the astronomical community about possible threats to astronomy, and take protective actions. IAU C.B7 is the place to do that. B-C 7 can expect a commitment to the goals of the committee.

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First Name: Gianluca

Last Name: Masi

Email: gianluca@bellatrixobservatory.org

Secondary Email: gianluca.masi@virtualtelescope.eu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Motivation:

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First Name: Solohery

Middle Name: M.

Last Name: Randriamampandry

Email: soloherymampionona@gmail.com

Secondary Email: solohery@saao.ac.za

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Madagascar

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

Greetings, I want to join the commission to participate in its activities and contribute to its development. Best regards.

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First Name: Salvador

Middle Name: J

Last Name: Ribas

Email: sjribas@parcastronomic.cat

Secondary Email: sjribas@fqa.ub.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

- Past Member of Executive Committee WG Junior Members (2019-2022)
- IAU Dark Sky Platinum Ambassador (IAU 100th anniversary action)
- Member of "Dark and Quite Skies" WG (Initiative linked to IAU)

Motivation:

My background on the topic of protecting observatoriesand astronomical related sites started more than 20 years ago as undergraduate researcher on the topic. I have seen the evolution of the problem of Light Pollution and the evolution of techniques, regulations and strategies from different points of view. My PhD was on Light Pollution applied to protected areas and this was one of the first PhD done in the field around the world. Since 2008 I am the manager of an Astronomical Park, so I am extremely involved in all perspective of night sky protection (measurements, modelling, policies and strategies, legislation and outreach and communication of this topic). I have been involved in working groups of EU funded projects and also in working groups of “Dark and Quite Skies” initiative linked to IAU. With my background and expertise I think I can contribute strongly on this Commission being member of the OC during next years.

Commission C1 Astronomy Education and Development

Candidate for: Commission President

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First Name: Aniket

Middle Name: Prakash

Last Name: Sule

Email: aniket.sule@gmail.com

Secondary Email: anikets@hbcse.tifr.res.in

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission President

Detailed experience:

Co-Chair, IAU EC Working Group on Pro-Am relations (2022-2024)
Deputy Manager, IAU OAE Center India (2022 - present)

Motivation:

I work in the area of astronomy education both at my parent institute and also in my capacity as the president of International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. Through OAE center India, we have initiated multiple astronomy education research projects which we would like to also introduce to other countries with similar educational environments. I believe I can help kick-start such collaborations between astronomy education researchers in different countries.

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Eleni

Middle Name: Thomai

Last Name: Chatzichristou

Email: elthchatz@gmail.com

Secondary Email: eleni.chatzichristou@ec.europa.eu

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Belgium

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Steering Committee Member of Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage
Member of Division D High Energy Phenomena and Fundamental Physics
Member of Division H Interstellar Matter and Local Universe
Member of Division J Galaxies and Cosmology
Member of Commission C1 Astronomy Education and Development
Member of Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public
Member of Cross-Division D-J Commission Supermassive Black Holes, Feedback and Galaxy Evolution
Member of Commission C2 WG CAP Conferences and SOC member of CAP Conferences 2022-2024
Member of OAD Review Panels

Motivation:

I am very happy to present my candidacy for the role of Vice President of Commission C1.

I have over 25 years of experience as a professional astronomer coupled with deep involvement and dedication to education, science communication and public outreach. Throughout my career, which expanded in many institutions around the world, I have navigated various roles encompassing researcher, educator, expert evaluator, science and outreach project coordinator, prolific communicator, and research policy adviser.

I have a long involvement with various IAU Divisions/Commissions throughout my career. My active involvement with IAU Division C and Commissions C1 and C2, in particular, coupled with my participation to the CAP WG and OAD initiatives, exemplify my commitment to advancing astronomy education, communication and outreach globally.

I firmly believe that my diverse skill set makes me a fitting candidate for the position of VP of Commission C1. It is of outmost importance to foster scientific literacy by engaging diverse communities and to democratize access to knowledge, thus catalyzing social development and fostering a more scientifically literate and inclusive society.

Thank you for considering my candidacy and I eagerly anticipate the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the Commission C1 mission.

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First Name: Alain

Last Name: Doressoundiram

Email: alain.doressoundiram@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

senior astronomer at Paris Observatory
member of the IAU since 2009
So specific commitment but attending almost all the GA

Motivation:

I am a planetary scientist and lecturer at the university, and I propose to contribute to this Commission with my experience on that field. I'm very much involved in and excited by formal and informal education activities.
As a couple exemples of my experience, I have been for about 20 years responsible of a very successful program at Paris Observatory : mentorship between astronomers and classrooms. https://ufe.obspm.fr/formations/formation-des-professeurs/parrainages/. I am the head of one master and was also responsible for the doctorate at Paris Observatory during the last 5 years.
I have led many teacher’s training programs at Paris Observatory and french schools abroad. I am author of several popularization books on astronomy, jury member of science prizes, and member of the French national committee of Earth Science Olympiads. Asteroid 7456 Doressoundiram has been named in my honor. French academic medal for achievements in teaching activities.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Wen Ping

Last Name: CHEN

Email: wchen@astro.ncu.edu.tw

Secondary Email: wenpchen@ms21.hinet.net

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Taipei

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission 25 Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry (2012-2015)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission 25 Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry (2000-2003)
Chairing the organization of IAU Colloquium 183 "Small Telescope Astronomy on Global Scales"
Lecturing "The International School for Young Astronomers"

Motivation:

More than research, mainly on observational diagnosis of young stars and star clusters, I am also active in education, from elementary to high schools, to college and graduate levels, domestically and internationally. I particularly enjoy working with scholars and educators with diversified scientific, social, and cultural backgrounds. With the new post, I hope to contribute further.

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First Name: Alain

Last Name: Doressoundiram

Email: alain.doressoundiram@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

senior astronomer at Paris Observatory
member of the IAU since 2009
So specific commitment but attending almost all the GA

Motivation:

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First Name: Gauri

Last Name: Sharma

Email: gsharma@uwc.ac.za

Secondary Email: 7.gaurisharma@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: South Africa

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I am a yourn early-career researcher.

Motivation:

I will do this Job out of my interest because I would like to bring Astronomy to my home town. I am an Inidan, and India is a developing country and women are lacking equality and right of education. Therefore, India needs mentors and qualified researchers, who can encourage society and support the young minds. I want to be one of those mediators, who educates and brings balance in the society.

I am also a Marie Curie Fellow, I would like to use this title to inspire youth that-" they can do it, and I am one of them".

Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Vinicius

Last Name: de Abreu Oliveira

Email: prof.vinic@gmail.com

Secondary Email: viniciusoliveira@unipampa.edu.br

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Brazil

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

- C2 Commission Organizing Member (for one mandate)
- C2 Commission Secretary (last three years)
- Deputy Coordinator of the Portuguese Language Office of Astronomy for Development (PLOAD), a region from IAU/OAD
- Member of the last three CAP Conference Working Groups
- Member of the Scientific Organizing Committee for CAP 2024

Motivation:

My career has always been split between research and communication. I believe these two areas should always be together because they complement each other. As a professor, I always bring up science news during my classes and debate them with my students. Outreach projects are also a passion of mine, where science communication is crucial in attracting new people to this fantastic world of science.
Regarding my contribution to the IAU, I have worked as a secretary in this commission for the past three years. During this time, I have gained a better understanding of how the IAU Commission operates and its importance, and I have had the opportunity to meet amazing people. I believe that serving as the Vice-President of the C2 Commission will allow me to be more effective and proactive in helping the C2 Commission grow in astronomy's academic and communication aspects.

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First Name: Alain

Last Name: Doressoundiram

Email: alain.doressoundiram@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

senior astronomer at Paris Observatory
member of the IAU since 2009
So specific commitment but attending almost all the GA

Motivation:

I am a planetary scientist and lecturer at the university, and I propose to contribute to this Commission with my experience on that field. I'm very much involved in and excited by public outreach activities: Exoplanets and Solar System related topics generate a great interest to the public, in particular thanks to space missions that allow us to show amazing images of other worlds that can be easily explained, and this Commission can propagate this motivation to communicate with the public who is always so grateful that we share our knowledge and dreams.
As a couple exemples of my outreach experience, I have been for about 20 years responsible of a very successful program at Paris Observatory : mentorship between astronomers and classrooms. https://ufe.obspm.fr/formations/formation-des-professeurs/parrainages/. I have led many outreach programs during astronomical events like eclipse, Mercury transit, and French national event « la fête de la science ». I am author of several popularization books on astronomy, jury member of science prizes, and member of the French national committee of Earth Science Olympiads.
Asteroid 7456 Doressoundiram has been named in my honor. French academic medal for achievements in teaching activities.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Ali

Middle Name: Abdul Sattar Jaber

Last Name: AL-EDHARI

Email: aaledhari@gmail.com

Secondary Email: aaledhari@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Iraq

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

In my previous roles as the International Astronomical Union National Outreach Coordinator (NOC-Iraq) and the National Astronomy Education Coordinator (NAEC- Team Chair), I spearheaded initiatives to engage diverse communities in astronomy. Through strategic planning and collaboration, I facilitated numerous outreach events, workshops, and educational programs, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of astronomy nationwide. Additionally, I contributed to the development of standards and best practices for public communication in astronomy, aligning with the objectives of Commission C2. My experience equips me to serve effectively as a Commission Organizing Committee Member, advancing the profession of astronomy communication on an international scale.

Motivation:

As a passionate advocate for democratizing access to astronomy, I am motivated to contribute to Commission C2 as a member of the Organizing Committee. My candidacy is driven by a deep-seated commitment to breaking down barriers to understanding the cosmos, particularly in regions facing adversity and resource constraints. I have demonstrated this commitment through tangible actions, such as spearheading the Astronomical Infographic Project aimed at simplifying complex astronomical concepts for Arabic speakers. By harnessing the power of visuals and clear language, this initiative has made astronomy more accessible to individuals who may face linguistic or educational barriers.

Moreover, I have actively translated pivotal resources, including International Astronomical Union publications like "Big Ideas in Astronomy," the "Light Pollution Brochure," and "Glossary Terms," ensuring that vital astronomical knowledge transcends language barriers. My overarching goal is to empower individuals from all walks of life, regardless of their circumstances, to engage with the wonders of the universe. In regions plagued by conflict or limited resources, access to scientific information can be transformative, offering hope, inspiration, and a sense of wonder amidst adversity. Through my candidacy, I am dedicated to amplifying the reach and impact of Commission C2's initiatives, advancing our collective mission of communicating astronomy with the public and fostering a more inclusive and informed global community.

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First Name: Marieke

Last Name: Baan

Email: h.m.baan@uva.nl

Secondary Email: hmbaan@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Netherlands

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I served a first term on the C2 Organizing Committee and would like to apply for a second term.

Motivation:

I would like to deploy my expertise in media management, public and press communication for a second term as a member of IAU C2 Organizing Committee. Supporting professionals and professionalizing astro communications is very important. International collaborations, sharing best practices and acting as an advocate for science communication in the astronomy field drive me.

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First Name: Donald

Middle Name: A.

Last Name: Lubowich

Email: donald.lubowich@hofstra.edu

Secondary Email: dlubowic@optonline.net

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member: Division B Facilities, Technologies and Data Science, Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage, Division G Stars and Stellar Physics, Division H Interstellar Matter and Local Universe, Commission C1 Astronomy Education and Development;, Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public, Commission H2 Astrochemistry, Executive Committee WG Astronomy for Equity and Inclusion. Past Member: Executive Committee WG Public Naming of Planets and Planetary Satellite; Commission C1 WG Network for Astronomy School Education (NASE) (2020-2021, Commission 5 Documentation & Astronomical Data (until 2015), Commission 29 Stellar Spectra (until 2015), Commission 40 Radio Astronomy (until 2015), Commission 55 Communicating Astronomy with the Public (2014-2015), Commission 5 WG Designations (until 2015), Commission 55 WG New Ways of CAP (2014-2015), Division IV Stars (until 2012), Division X Radio Astronomy (until 2012)

Motivation:

Goal: Expand astronomy to the public in different and unique ways. Background: Reached 100,000 people with my Astronomy Festival on the National Mall, Washington, DC (30,000 people since 2010 when co-sponsored by the White House) and Music and Astronomy Under the Star (MAUS, 70,000 people since 2009, sponsored by NASA and the Sierra Club). AFNM is the largest annual outreach event in the (US 4000- 8000 people/yr) with participation by 30 science/educational organizations (NASA,NSF, NRAO, NOAA, APS, AUI, ASP, NSFs Noirlab, USNO, NRL, STScI). MAUS brought astronomy to 85% free classical, folk, pop/rock, opera, Caribbean, or county-western concerts (500 – 5000 people). Yo-Yo-Ma, the Chicago and Boston Symphony Orchestras, the McCoy Tyner Quartet, Ravi Coltrane, Esperanza Spalding, the Stanley Clarke Band, Phish, Blood Sweat and Tears, Deep Purple, Patti Smith, Tony Orlando, and Ronan Tynan performed at some concerts. MAUS was successful in reaching underserved groups and attracted large enthusiastic crowds. Many young children participated in this family learning experience - often times the first experience they had looking through a telescope. MAUS educated the public about light pollution and dark sky preservation. I have done edible demonstrations for visually impaired and brought astronomy to sick kids and their families.

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First Name: Niruj

Middle Name: Mohan

Last Name: Ramanujam

Email: niruj.mohan@iiap.res.in

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I am a member of the SOC of the current and previous IAU Communicating Astronomy to the Public (CAP) conference. In my previous position as chairperson of the Outreach Committee of the African Astronomical Society, I interacted closely with the IAU OAO NOCs of all the African countries which had one, as well with the African IAU Regional OADs.

Motivation:

I have been actively involved in public outreach for more than 10 years now, starting with when I was working as a radio astronomer. I was a member and at one point, the chairperson of the Public Outreach and Education Committee (POEC) of the Astronomical Society of India (ASI) and played a substantial role in formulating its strategies and programs. When I was employed at SARAO, South Africa, I was the chairperson of the Outreach Committee of the African Astronomical Society (AfAS) and continue to be a member. Currently, I am the Head of the Science Communication, Public Outreach, and Education (SCOPE) Section at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, where I supervise a team of outreach and education personnel and lead a number of regional and national level programs.

I have experience with working with a varied set of stakeholders both in India and across Africa, and have considerable experience with facilitating large scale outreach programs in multi cultural contexts. Being a part of Commission C2 will enable me to contribute to its work globally and hence I am very much interested in being an member of the Organising Committee.

Commission C3 History of Astronomy

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Michela

Last Name: Malpangotto

Email: michela.malpangotto@ens.fr

Gender: Female

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I have no had administrative tasks in IAU since now, but I have ever follow the IAU activities and I will be glad to put my experience at the benefit of commission C3

Motivation:

I am Michela Malpangotto, historian of science working on the history of astronomy and mathematics in the Renaissance. My research has casted new light on the beginnings of the scientific revolution.
Full professor in Paris (Director of research at CNRS), member since 2015 of the International Academy of the History of Science and of the International Astronomical Union.
I hold administrative tasks in different national and international institutions with a commitment to history of astronomy. In particular, I am vice-president of the International Academy for the History of Science Coulncil, assessor of the ouncil of the Division for the history of science and techniques (DHST), member of the councl of Paris sciences et lettres University, among other.
Since 2007 I am Editor in chief of the International Archive of the History of Science, one of the leading Journal in our domain, publishing in 6 languages about all periods and fields. This put me in contact with a worldwide network of colleagues. I am also member of different Journal councils in history of science.
I will be glad to put my skills at the service of the C3 commission of IAU.

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First Name: Costantino

Last Name: Sigismondi

Email: sigismondi@icra.it

Secondary Email: prof.sigismondi@icra.it

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

IAU Working Group on Solar Eclipses--of Divisions C and E-- in particular with the purpose of solar diameter's variations accurate measurement, started in Rome at Collegio Romano Observatory in 1860s, continued in the Capitol Observatory and in Greenwich from 1877 to 1937, and flourished in France, Brasil, Yale, US Naval Obs in the last 50 years, in other words "History of Astronomy for Modern Astrometry".

Participation in some IAU Symposia along the years (Eclipses and Stellar Evolution).

Participation to Communicating Astronomy with the Public meetings.

Motivation:

The various interpretations of the sky in all past cultures, especially the ones of the southern hemisphere, have usually been deleted by the dominant ones, while the toponymy of new celestial objects, steered by IAU, helps to maintain some knowledge of them. My formation and activity, in Rome, is also grounded on classical culture so to avoid forgetting its heritage, not yet completely understood.
My VP-C3 candidacy, stimulated by prominent colleagues, wants to serve the international astronomy community with a unique experience in using historical instruments. The capability to make people aware of the historical and astronomical topics involved has also its importance. The way to do physics and astronomy in the globalized World of XXI century still has something in common with the past society and civilizations: it can help the general public to get closer to the giants, on which shoulders we all stand.
Also being able to register how contemporary science is becoming history, through epochal milestones worldwide celebrated by the media, is part of our duties, and my daily experience with the International Center for Relativistic Astrophysics since 33 years has put some of these "items" right under my eyes.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Jennifer

Middle Name: Lynn

Last Name: Bartlett

Email: jennifer.bartlett@cfa.harvard.edu

Secondary Email: jennifer@bartlettastro.com

Gender: Not defined

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member of Commission C3 History of Astronomy since 2015
Member of Commission B2 Data and Documentation since 2015
Member of Commission B2 WG Preservation and Digitization of Photographic Plates since 2023
Member of Commission A1 Astrometry since 2015, Organizing Committee member 2018-2024
Past Member of Commission 55 Communicating Astronomy with the Public (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 55 WG New Ways of CAP (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 4 Ephemerides (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 8 Astrometry (until 2015)
Past Member of Commission 19 Rotation of the Earth (until 2015)
Elected to membership in 2012

Motivation:

Astronomy is a human endeavor; it cannot be disassociated from the culture in which its practitioners operate. Indeed, culture and science are twin bodies, orbiting and influencing each other. Through recognizing historical effects, we become aware of these other influences that shape the questions we pose and the theories we propose. Understanding historic trends and cultural expectations can also enable us to improve our current intellectual environment and produce a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive scientific community. The 2024 IAU meeting in Africa is itself a historic one. Capitalizing on these opportunities to communicate the value of historical studies and the lessons we can learn is challenging but rewarding. Looking forward, the Commission should encourage new research and collaborations. Accomplishing our goals will require not only commitment from current members, but also the recruitment and involvement of new members. Under my leadership, the American Astronomical Society’s Working Group on the Preservation of Astronomical Heritage has become more proactive and now addresses both a greater number and a broader range of issues. In the next three years, I will work with you to make ours a vibrant one, promoting our fascinating history and its relevance to ALL astronomers.

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First Name: Marie-Lise

Last Name: Dubernet

Email: marie-lise.dubernet@obspm.fr

Gender: Female

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have been an OC member of IAU Commission B5 (Laboratory Astrophysics), then the Commission Vice President from 2021 to 2024, and the chair of the inter-commission B2-B5 working group "Laboratory Astrophysics Data Compilation, Validation and Standardization: from the Laboratory to FAIR Usage in the Astronomical Community" from 2021 to 2024 (https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/working_groups/335/).
I organized and co-organized two sessions for Commission B5 at the XXXI GA in Busan 2022, and coordinated three proceedings for the B5 commission. Activities of the WG were presented in the IAU February 2024 Catalyst Bulletin. More information (reports, presentations, etc.) can be found on the B5 commission Zenodo partition at https://zenodo.org/communities/cb5-labastro.
I am leaving both the B5 commission and the working group in 2024 as I have stopped research in molecular physics.

Motivation:

I have recently joined the team ''History of Astronomical Sciences" from Paris Observatory, whose research interests and activities are described at https://www.observatoiredeparis.psl.eu/-recherches-en-histoire-.html?lang=en.
Personally, I am scientifically interested in the dissemination of knowledge and techniques across space and time, with a focus on Far East astronomy. Currently, I am catching up with the history and philosophy of science, acquiring knowledge and publications on the history of astronomy in Western countries, China, and Korea (16th-19th centuries), and acquiring basic reading skills in the languages necessary to address primary and secondary sources.
My motivation as OC member is to be part of the IAU History of Astronomy community, and to assist the President and Vice-President of the C3 commission in the C3 activities.

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First Name: Amanta-Aliki (Alicia)

Last Name: Maravelia

Email: nut_ntrt@otenet.gr

Secondary Email: hieg-aker.org@otenet.gr

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Greece

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

- New Member (since 2023).
- Presented a lecture for the WG of Junior IAU Members last year on ancient Egyptian Astronomy.
- Very willing to help and assist the scientific and administrative work of the IAU.

Motivation:

Dear Colleagues:
Being the Director of the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology and having been involved with the History of Astronomy and the study of ancient Egyptian Astronomy, as well as being the Coordinator of our Research Project DCSAEAT (= Digitization and Complete Study of the Ancient Egyptian Astronomical Texts), an international endeavour with participants from several countries that is performed mainly by the Institute and the Writing & Scripts Centre of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, I would be very eager and honoured to participate as an OC Member for Commission C3, where I feel very proud to belong. I would be very happy to assist, as best as I can, the significant work of our Committee and get more involved, offering my help, experience and knowledge. Thank you very much and please accept all my best wishes,
Alicia Maravelia
[PhD in Astronomy, University of Athens, GR || PhD in Egyptology, Université de Limoges, FR]

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First Name: Costantino

Last Name: Sigismondi

Email: sigismondi@icra.it

Secondary Email: prof.sigismondi@icra.it

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Participation to some IAU workshops related to solar eclipses and history of astronomy, being my main subject of interest the history of solar astrometry and to the Communicating Astronomy with the Public (CAP) meetings.

Motivation:

There are wonderful ongoing projects in History of Astronomy worldwide, e.g. Ptolemaeus Arabus et Latinus (PAL) and dismal news like the sudden closure of the John Wolbach Library in Cambridge, MA, or the abandonment of the Collegio Romano Observatory.
The International Astronomical Community should endorse initiatives of preservation of intellectual, as well as instrumental and documental goods related to the history of astronomy. The patrimony is both physical and immaterial, and it should be defended and divulgated. With IAU we can make these goals more effective.
I am member of the International Organization ICRANet, International Center of Relativistic Astrophysics Network, with experience in organizing international meetings, coordinating research groups and divulgation events for young students and general public. Since 1999 I observe regularly at the meridian line of St. Maria degli Angeli in Rome (1702) and I created GERBERTVS and BALMER academic journals to make these studies available and freely accessible. Living among the historical heritage, and using these instruments in front of the general public has been my mission and passion, which can be strengthened through the IAU C3 service.

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First Name: Aniket

Middle Name: Prakash

Last Name: Sule

Email: aniket.sule@gmail.com

Secondary Email: anikets@hbcse.tifr.res.in

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Co-Chair, IAU Executive Committee Working Group on Professional-Amateur Relations (2022-present)
Deputy Manager, IAU OAE Center India

Motivation:

Documenting evidence based history of Astronomy in Indian subcontinent has become more important in the current post-truth climate than ever before. India also had cultural ties with other civilizations in Europe, Africa, West and Central Asia as well as the South-East Asia. Similarly colonial period Although a lot of work on local Sanskrit based astronomy has already happened, there is further scope to explore these cross-cultural ties and as a part of C3 organizing committee, I hope to initiate work for concrete progress along these axes.

Commission C4 World Heritage and Astronomy

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Giangiacomo

Last Name: Gandolfi

Email: giangiacomo.gandolfi@inaf.it

Secondary Email: giangiacomo.gandolfi@gmail.com

Gender: Male+

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Vice-President

Motivation:

The commitment to the preservation and promotion of the astronomical world heritage has characterised my professional experience in Italy since 1999, when I started to work at INAF and then at the Planetarium of Rome. I am currently responsible for the Astronomical and Copernican Museum of the INAF-Observatory of Rome and its Antique Library, and I am an active researcher in the field of cultural astronomy, affiliated to Società Italiana di Archeoastronomia (SIA), Società Italiana di Storia della Fisica e dell'Astronomia (SISFA) and Societé Europèenne de l'Astronomie dans la Culture (SEAC). All my efforts are aimed at fostering a general awareness of the incredible scientific treasures of the European heritage, which are inextricably linked to works of art, architecture, music, literature and all forms of tangible and intangible cultural heritage. My intention is to extend such an endeavour to the intercontinental scenario.
As far as my projects for C4 activities are concerned, I intend to devote much of my time to encouraging States Parties to draw up national lists of astronomical heritage, providing information and tools for the identification and evaluation of potential candidate sites, while continuing to strengthen the role of our Commission and its collaboration with UNESCO.

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First Name: Areg

Middle Name: M.

Last Name: Mickaelian

Email: aregmick@yahoo.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Armenia

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Membership of IAU, Divisions, Commissions, WGs: 1997 – IAU member (Commission 29 Stellar Spectra); 2000-2015 – A number of other IAU Commissions and WG; Member of Divisions B, C, G and J; Commissions B2, B3, C4, D-G-H-J Commission, C1-C2-C3-C4 WG, B2 WG, Division B WG Virtual Observatory

IAU-related positions: 2000-2024 – Armenian representative in IAU Membership, Finance and Resolutions committees, President of NCA in Armenia, 2009-2010 – Armenian Chair of the UNESCO-IAU IYA and Beyond-IYA, 2015-present – Director of IAU SWCA ROAD, 2018-present – Organizing Committee Member of IAU C4 World Heritage and Astronomy, 2018-present – EC Member WG Global Coordination of Ground and Space Astrophysics

Organization of IAU meetings/schools: 1998-2023: IAU S194, C184, ISYA-32, S304, S365, Regional Astron. Workshops (RAW), Regional Astron. Summer Schools (RASS)

Participation in IAU meetings: IAU GA XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI (all GAs during 2000-2022), IAU Symposia ## 137, 165, 194, 204, 205, 216, 235, 238, 267, 284, 285, 290, 292, 295, 304, 319, 325, 330, 348, 349, 367, 368, 369, 371, 365, 386 (1989-2023), IAU Colloquium # 184 (2001), IAU General Assemblies many JD, SS, FM and Division Meetings, OAD Session (2000-2022), CAP Conferences, ISYA32 (as Lecturer), IAU OAD/ROADs Workshops, MEARIMs

Motivation:

I have been heavily involved in many activities and would like to continue and contribute.
 Astronomical Heritage: Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory (BAO) as IAU Outstanding Astronomical Heritage (OAH, 2021), organization of meetings, publications
 Archaeoastronomy & Astronomy in Culture (AAC): Creation of ArAS webpage on Armenian Archaeoastronomy, organization of meetings, publications
 Astronomy Educational: ArAS webpage on Astronomy Education in Armenia, 18 various projects related to Astronomical Education (Byurakan International Summer Schools (BISS), Regional Astronomical Summer Schools (RASS), Byurakan Science Camps (BSC), ArAS School Lectures, GTTP, NASE courses for teachers, Astronomical Olympiads, etc.), work with IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE)
 Public Outreach: organization of many public events, work with IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach (OAO)
 Astronomy for Development: Director of IAU South West and Central Asian (SWCA) ROAD, organization of many meetings and events

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Amanta-Aliki (Alicia)

Last Name: Maravelia

Email: nut_ntrt@otenet.gr

Secondary Email: hieg-aker.org@otenet.gr

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Greece

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

- As a new Member (2023), I belong to 4 Committees and I presented a lecture for the WG of Junior IAU Members last year.
- I am very willing to help the scientific and administrative work of the IAU.

Motivation:

Dear Colleagues:
Being the Director of the Hellenic Institute of Egyptology and having been involved with the study of ancient Egyptian Astronomy, as well as being the Coordinator of our Research Project DCSAEAT (= Digitization and Complete Study of the Ancient Egyptian Astronomical Texts), an international endeavour with participants from several countries that is performed mainly by the Institute and the Writing & Scripts Centre of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, I would be very eager and honoured to participate as an OC Member for Commission C4, where I feel very proud to belong. I would be happy to assist, as best as I can, the significant work of our Committee and get more involved, offering my help, experience and knowledge. Thank you very much and please accept all my best wishes,
Alicia Maravelia
[PhD in Astronomy, University of Athens, GR || PhD in Egyptology, Université de Limoges, FR]

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First Name: Marc

Last Name: Türler

Email: marc.turler@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Switzerland

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

Background: After a PhD in 2000 in high-energy astrophysics specialised in the multi-wavelength emission of jets in quasars, I contributed to the ground segment and the science of the INTEGRAL and Planck missions of ESA, and was awarded the Gruber Cosmology Prize 2018 as member of the Planck Team. I was acting as Executive Secretary of the European Astronomical Society (EAS) from 2011 to 2017 and organised its annual EWASS 2014 conference in Geneva. I left academia in 2017 for a position at the Swiss National Science Fondation (SNSF) followed by my current position at the Swiss Academy of Sciences as head of both the Platform Mathematics, Astronomy and Physics (MAP) and the Science Division.
Motivation: Over the last decade, I developed interest in cultural astronomy and attended the SEAC 2018 conference in Graz, where I presented and then published an original work on the calendrical interpretation of spirals in Irish megalithic art. I also presented related work at EWASS 2019 and TAG 2021 and I am writing a new article. I am a member of the Commission C4 and would be glad to contribute and serve for the preservation and valorisation of our astronomical heritage.

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First Name: Michael

Middle Name: John

Last Name: West

Email: mwest@lowell.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Past Chair of Commission 55 WG New Ways of Communicating Astronomy with the Public
Past Secretary of Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public
Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public

Motivation:

“The universe is made of stories, not of atoms,” said the poet Muriel Rukeyser. The night sky has always been a shared tapestry of humanity’s myths, discoveries, and wonders. This is where science and culture meet, each interpreting the world through stories, whether we call them theories, novels, paintings, or prayers.

As an astronomer, I have been fortunate to live and work on four continents. This has deepened my commitment to celebrating and preserving our shared astronomical heritage. A few examples:

* At the ‘Imiloa Astronomy Center of Hawaii, I led the creation of exhibits that blend Hawaiian culture and astronomy into an engaging tale of human exploration.

* In Gambia, I taught the nation's first university-level astronomy course.

* As a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Finland, I researched the role of culture in science communication.

* I am the main content writer for Lowell Observatory's new Astronomy Discovery Center. My contributions include crafting the center’s unique 'Diverse Universe Wall,' which profiles 70 astronomers from different cultures around the world, showcasing the great diversity of those who study the cosmos.

I am eager to contribute as an Organizing Committee Member for Commission C4 on World Heritage and Astronomy.

Commission D1 Gravitational Wave Astrophysics

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Daniel

Last Name: Holz

Email: blackhole@uchicago.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Vice-President

Motivation:

As we all know, the last few years have seen the birth of gravitational-wave astrophysics. It has been a thrilling time to be part of this brand-new field. However, the best is yet to come! Our data sets are growing and improving, and this is especially exciting with the addition of pulsar timing results, and in the not-too-distant future, space-based observations. The existence of IAU Commission D1 is an explicit demonstration that GWs are now officially a part of astronomy. However, there is still plenty of work to do to bridge the gap between the GW community and more traditional astronomical communities. This is especially urgent, as GW observations increasingly connect to astrophysical issues such as black hole formation mechanisms, first generation star formation, EM counterparts to GW sources, precision measurements of H0 and the expansion history, black hole seeds, stellar evolution, tests of general relativity, metallicity, host galaxy properties, and many other key astronomical topics. The IAU Commission D1 is the natural home to build ties across all of astronomy, all over the world, and I would hope to contribute to these efforts.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Iair

Last Name: Arcavi

Email: arcavi@tauex.tau.ac.il

Secondary Email: arcavi@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Israel

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have been an IAU member since 2018, and specifically a member of Commission D1.

Motivation:

I am a faculty member at Tel Aviv University, studying transients and deeply involved in electromagnetic followup of gravitational-wave events. I took part in the discovery of the GW170817 kilonova, initiated the development of the Gravitational Wave Treasure Map (a tool for coordinating followup of gravitational-wave alerts and sharing of observations), and am currently chairing the SOC for the 2024 Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Workshop (having organized other gravitational-wave astronomy workshops in the past). I strongly believe that coordination, collaboration and open communication between the gravitational-wave and astronomical communities, and between competing groups within the astronomical community, are critical for taking full advantage of multi-messenger discoveries.

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First Name: Pia

Last Name: Astone

Email: pia.astone@roma1.infn.it

Secondary Email: pia.astone@uniroma1.it

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

-I joined IAU in the year 2018.
- Since then, I am member of the Commission D1 for gravitational waves (GW) astrophysics, that perfectly fits my research area interests, focused on GW data analysis, with expertise in the search for Continuous or very long-transient GWs (CWs) emission.
- I have not had any active role in IAU until now, but I have always followed and appreciated IAU activities.

Motivation:

I am Head of Research of INFN, at the Physics Department of the Rome University Sapienza, where I am the chair of the Virgo Rome group and do research and teaching/tutoring activities for students at different levels.
The detection of CW signals, like those expected from known pulsars or from the unknown numerous Neutron Stars in our Galaxy, is a goal for the LIGO/Virgo/KAGRA collaboration and one of my dreams.
I have been working in the GW field for many years and I have been LIGO-Virgo co-coordinator for CWs searches in the period 2010-2012; LIGO-Virgo data analysis co-coordinator and Virgo computing coordinator in the period 2012-2014, when we were preparing the science for the advanced detector era, towards the first direct detection of GWs in September 2015.
After so many years in the GW community and having seen the birth of GW astrophysics, I am convinced that the participation to this commission is a wonderful opportunity to help the integration of GWs and more classical astrophysics.
I am thus happy of standing for this election and would be delighted of being elected as an Organizing Committee Member, guided by the President, and working with the colleagues in the committee.

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First Name: Anuradha

Last Name: Gupta

Email: agupta1@olemiss.edu

Secondary Email: anuradha1bhu@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I became an individual member of IAU in 2023, so I have relatively short experience with IAU. However, since I have become a member I have closely followed all the news and activities from IAU and have even sent an email to Nanda Rea this month to advertise a workshop that I am co-organizing.

Motivation:

I would like to get involved in the activities within Commission D1 more closely and this will naturally come if I am part of the committee. The current committee members come from diverse backgrounds and nations and I think I can keep up this diversity. I am willing to take the responsibility of making Commission D1 more visible to the outside community and establish a synergy between big collaborations such as the LIGO-Virgo-KAGRA collaboration and the LISA consortium of which I am already an active member.

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First Name: Valeriya

Last Name: Korol

Email: korol.valeria@gmail.com

Secondary Email: korol@mpa-garching.mpg.de

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I specialise in modelling electromagnetic and gravitational wave observations of ultra-short period Galactic binaries, completing my PhD at Leiden University in 2019. Since then, my work has centred on the LISA mission. Driven by a passion for advancing LISA, I am motivated to expand my work beyond the LISA community, seeking to foster wider collaborations and impact across the field. My efforts include co-founding and co-chairing the LISA Early-Career-Scientists working group, leading the "theory of compact binaries" within the multi-messenger work package, and co-chairing the Astrophysics working group. These roles underscore my commitment to elevating the voices of early-career scientists and advancing the LISA mission's scientific objectives. I have also organised key scientific meetings including the LISA Symposium and the Gravitational Wave Physics and Astronomy Workshop, showcasing my leadership and collaborative abilities. If elected, my goals are to facilitate communication and collaboration across gravitational wave astrophysics fields, support the next generation of scientists, and expand outreach to make our field accessible and exciting to a broader audience. My experience and vision align with the commission's objectives, promising a proactive and inclusive approach to advancing gravitational wave astrophysics.

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First Name: Elena

Middle Name: Maria

Last Name: Rossi

Email: emr@strw.leidenuniv.nl

Secondary Email: issor.em@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Netherlands

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

This commission is well within my area of specialisation--gravitational wave astrophysics-- which is also my passion, and I am eager to actively contribute to its event organisation.

Commission E1 Solar Radiation and Structure

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Kristof

Last Name: Petrovay

Email: K.Petrovay@astro.elte.hu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Hungary

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I have been serving as an Organizing Committe member in the same commission in the past period.

Motivation:

Having served as an Organizing Committee member in IAU Commission E1 "Solar Radiation" and Structure" in the last period, I feel that I can further usefully contribute to invigorating the commission's activities.
Vitam et sanguinem!

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Debi Prasad

Last Name: Choudhary

Email: debiprasad.choudhary@csun.edu

Secondary Email: dchoudhary60@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I organized the IAU Symposium 273 on "Physics of Sun and Star Spots" in Los Angeles.

Motivation:

Currently, I am serving as chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy and Associate Director of San Fernando Observatory of California State University Northridge. The San Fernando Observatory is actively engaged in solar irradiance research for past more then 3 solar cycles. I have played an important role in this research in past 20 years. I have been working in the field of observational Solar Astronomy for more than past 30 years. I have used Dunn Solar Telescope, German VTT and Gregor telescope to obtain spectropolarimetric data for my research. I have served in the User Committee of National Solar Observatory of USA for about 15 years. I also organized the IAU Symposium 273 on "Physics of Sun and Star Spots" in Los Angeles. My Motivation for the candidacy is to foster more activity for solar-stellar research by bringing together astronomers from both fields. Also, I would like to engage US solar astronomers in international collaboration.

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First Name: Michal

Last Name: Švanda

Email: svanda@sirrah.troja.mff.cuni.cz

Secondary Email: svanda@asu.cas.cz

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Czech Republic

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

* Organizing Committee Member of Commission E1 Solar Radiation and Structure (current)
* National Astronomy Education Coordinator for the Czech Republic (current)
* Secretary of the National Committee for Astronomy in Czech Republic (current)

Motivation:

Since 2018, I have been a member of the organizing committee for Commission E1 and would like to serve my second term. My main professional interest in solar physics concerns solar oscillations and helioseismology, as well as the origins and evolution of solar activity and Sun-Earth relations. Last but not least, I am a university teacher and popularize astronomy for the public. I realize the importance of a coordinating body, such as the E1 Commission, for the community, and hence, I am applying for membership in the organizing committee.

Commission E2 Solar Activity

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Georgios

Last Name: Chintzoglou

Email: gchintzo@lmsal.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am a senior research scientist and instrument scientist with the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (LMATC) in Palo Alto, California, USA. I am developing the next generation of space-borne experiments to study our magnetically active star.
My research work centers on the physics of solar magnetism, solar active region evolution and activity, magnetic flux emergence and decay, and initiation of solar flares and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) from a theoretical and experimental perspective. I develop computational time-evolving models of emerging and explosive solar active regions and compare them with the observations from current space-borne missions and ground-based observatories to better understand the physics that drives inclement Space Weather.
From 2021 to 2023, I served as a committee member of the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Physics Division, taking initiatives (organizing graduate student and postdoc recruitment events as well as career events) to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. My goal was to inspire the next generation of leaders in solar astrophysics and space weather.
Considering my strengths, qualifications and previous experience, I’m excited to work with the IAU Commission E2 and serve our international professional association and our community making E2 a positive role model within the greater astronomical community.

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First Name: David

Last Name: MacTaggart

Email: david.mactaggart@glasgow.ac.uk

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United Kingdom

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am passionate about research in solar physics and space weather and I wish to contribute to the promotion and development of these areas. I have many years of experience in solar physics research and in academic administration (through various committee memberships in my university and being on the project management board of DiRAC) and believe that I could make a positive contribution to Commission E2. Thank you for your consideration.

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First Name: Clementina

Last Name: Sasso

Email: clementina.sasso@inaf.it

Secondary Email: godawa@hotmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I'm a member of the Organizing Committee of the Executive Committee WG Professional-Amateur Relations in Astronomy

Motivation:

Dear, I would like to express my interest in joining the organizing committee of this Commission. I am motivated to contribute to its activities within its international context.
My research activities are mainly in the field of Solar Physics, dealing in particular with the external atmosphere of the Sun: the chromosphere, the transition zone, the filaments, and the corona, to have an overall picture of the mechanisms of behavior of the plasma and its interactions with the magnetic field. To carry out these studies I make use of observations both from the ground and from space.
I think it is very important to have a platform like the IAU Commissions to foster collaboration and interdisciplinary exchange within the scientific community. Additionally, I am engaged in many outreach and educational activities as I believe that promoting public awareness and education about solar activity directly from a scientist is a mission we should all accomplish.
Thank you.

Commission E3 Solar Impact Throughout the Heliosphere

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Peter

Middle Name: Thomas

Last Name: Gallagher

Email: peter.gallagher@dias.ie

Secondary Email: petertgallagher@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Ireland

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I am a Active Member of the IAU (NCA Adherence: Ireland) and am an Organizing Committee Member of Commission E3 Solar Impact Throughout the Heliosphere and a Member of a number of Divisions and Commissions involved in areas such as solar physics, solar activity, radio astronomy, facilities and education, outreach and heritage.

I am also a Member of the Science Organizing Committee of IAU Symposium 390 "A Multi-Point View of the Sun: Advances in Solar Observations and in Space Weather Understanding" which will be held in Cape Town, South Africa on August 6-8, 2024 (https://sites.google.com/unifi.it/iaus-390/home-page).

Motivation:

I am a member of the international solar and space weather community and believe that international organisations such as the IAU and indeed Commission E3 provide a valuable and much-needed opportunity for scientists from across the world to share ideas and collaborate at IAU meetings and symposia.

I have been working on a wide range of research ranging from solar flares, coronal mass ejections, coronal holes, flare forecasting and geomagnetic storms to stellar flares and radio transients. Much of this work has been through my involvement in international space missions such as SOHO, RHESSI, STEREO, SDO and Solar Orbiter, and also through my work as a Council Member of the Low Frequency Array European Research Infrastructure Consortium (LOFAR ERIC). To date, I have organised many conferences and workshops on these areas and am a huge believer in the value of education and public engagement.

In order to continue to contribute to and support the development of the international solar and space weather communities and to support members of Commission E3 Solar Impact Through the Heliosphere, I would be delighted to serve as Commission Vice-President.

Inter-Division E-F-G Commission Impact of Magnetic Activity on Solar and Stellar Environments

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Emre

Last Name: Isik

Email: isik@mps.mpg.de

Secondary Email: e.ishik@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

- Member of the Organising Committee, Working Group (2012-2021) "Impact of Magnetic Activity on Solar and Stellar Environments"
- Member of the Organising Committee, Inter-Division E-F-G Commission (2021-present) "Impact of Magnetic Activity on Solar and Stellar Environments"

Motivation:

The inter-division commission E4 aims to establish synergies between stellar magnetism, (exo)planetary astronomy, and our closest laboratory, the Sun, hence among Divisions E,F, and G. This is highly needed and timely, because we want to understand the solar-stellar connection, how stellar dynamos scale with respect to the solar dynamo, star-planet interactions and asterospheres, how to reliably disentangle exoplanetary (bio)signatures from stellar signals contaminated by magnetic activity, and so on.

In my own work, I feel myself as 'in between' different sub-fields of astrophysics and also between theory and observation: solar physics, large-scale magnetism in stellar interiors and photospheres, and since recently also astrobiological modelling of ocean worlds in our solar system. I would like to take the critical responsibility of vice presidency, to act as a catalyser of cross-divisional interactions, leading also to enrich the commission with new members with diverse backgrounds. In addition, I aim to optimise the coordination between the steering of the commission and the organising committee, to help foster new collaborations and organise meetings in the future. In this way, I believe I can help bringing people around productive discussions.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Shin

Last Name: TORIUMI

Email: toriumi.shin@jaxa.jp

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Japan

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

Motivated by curiosity in solar and stellar magnetism, I have been working on theoretical and observational studies, such as the numerical modeling of flare-productive active regions and the study of universal atmospheric heating mechanisms of the Sun and Sun-like stars. These studies have strong implications not only for the stellar evolution but also for the formation of (exo)planetary atmospheres and habitability, which naturally means that a broad collaboration between researchers of solar/stellar physics and planetary science is essential to achieve the goal. I am also one of the core members of JAXA’s next-generation solar-observing satellite, SOLAR-C, and am developing the satellite under international collaboration. The science objectives of this mission are to reveal the heating of solar atmospheres and genesis of solar flares. The Inter-division E-F-G Commission aims to elucidate the impact of central stars on (exo)planetary systems through inter-disciplinary collaborations. In other words, this Commission best matches my scientific interests. By becoming an Organizing Committee Member, I will contribute to strengthening broad collaboration and research in this field.

Commission F1 Meteors, Meteorites and Interplanetary Dust

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Gulchehra

Middle Name: I.

Last Name: Kokhirova

Email: Kokhirova2004@mail.ru

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Tajikistan

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of the Commission F1 Organizing Committee, member of the WG on meteor showers nomenclature rules, President of the IAU National Committee for Astronomy

Motivation:

Taking into account my existing experience in scientific work that corresponds to the topics of the Commission F1, as well as experience in working with the IAU, I want to bring benefit and contribution to the coordination of the activities of colleagues in this area

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First Name: Juraj

Last Name: Toth

Email: Juraj.Toth@fmph.uniba.sk

Secondary Email: toth@fmph.uniba.sk

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Slovakia

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Current Organizing Committee Member of Commission F1 Meteors, Meteorites and Interplanetary Dust (2021-2024)
Current Member of Division F Planetary Systems and Astrobiology
Current Member of Commission F1 Meteors, Meteorites and Interplanetary Dust
Current Member of Commission F4 Asteroids, Comets & Transneptunian Objects

Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission F1 Meteors, Meteorites and Interplanetary Dust (2018-2021)
Past Member of Commission 22 Meteors, Meteorites & Interplanetary Dust (until 2015)
Past Member of Division III Planetary Systems Sciences (until 2012)

Member of the National Committee for Astronomy in Slovakia
Year joined the IAU - 2009

Motivation:

I would like to support and assist the president, Organizing Committee and whole community of IAU Commission F1 by my experience in meteor science, teaching at Comenius University in Bratislava and organization work done in previous years. Also, I would like to actively search for young scientists to become F1commision members and motivate them to work for the community by doing good science at their own institutions, freely cooperate with other colleagues around the globe, share their ideas, ongoing projects and results on meteoroid related conferences. I would like to support amateur-professional collaboration as a current vice-president of International Meteor Organization. The mutual inspirations and coordination among amateur and professionals were very essential in the past for development of our knowledge. I hope this will continue in nowadays. Our area of the research is one of the most and easiest accessible for the public. Naturally, basic rules and open collaboration needs to be addressed and respected from both sides. I hope I can a little bit contribute to above mentioned ideas by my candidacy.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Peter

Middle Name: Gordon

Last Name: Brown

Email: pbrown@uwo.ca

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Canada

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Past Vice-Chair of Commission 22 WG Meteor Shower Nomenclature (2012-2015)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission 22 Meteors, Meteorites & Interplanetary Dust (2006-2009)
Past Member of Commission F1 WG Meteor Shower Nomenclature (MSN-WG) (2016-2018)
Past Member of Commission 22 Meteors, Meteorites & Interplanetary Dust (until 2015)
Past Member of Division III Planetary Systems Sciences (until 2012)

Motivation:

I have ongoing research interests in the meteor and meteorite field. I hope to continue to encourage interdisciplinary work in these areas through the IAU, in particular through conferences.

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First Name: Akos

Last Name: Kereszturi

Email: kereszturiakos@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Hungary

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Experiecne not yet under IAU, as organizer have led meetings, conferences, research collaboration mainly in Europe. For list of publications see: https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/public-libraries/3ta5fZi2Q-WMOJDA-VhOyA

My field of specifialization covers planetary science, Solar Sysem missions, meteors and meteorites, laboratory work, field activities (at planetary analogues), astrobiology aspects and their education plus outreach.

Motivation:

Feel the need to support the community in this way also. i would be ready to dedicate regularly certai amount of time to IAU related activites, roughly some hours in a week in general, but also arranged heterogeneouly if needed with dedicating half-full days rarely before impotant events.

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First Name: Aswin

Last Name: Sekhar

Email: aswinsek@gmail.com

Secondary Email: aswin.sekhar@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have presented talks at multiple IAU General Assembles in the past. Have participated in IAU voting process for important decisions related to our community. Have closely interacted with people in the leadership roles of multiple IAU Divisions and Commissions in the past.

Motivation:

I am the first professional meteor scientist from India. I have been active in propagating meteor science in my own country and abroad by spreading awareness about both the aesthetics as well as the risk posed by dense meteoroid stream structures. I will be able to bring new perspectives regarding science outreach, policy making and involving the underprivileged and rural communities in astronomy and make the global initiatives inclusive of more minority and diversity since I belong to that background myself. I look forward to working with the top IAU leadership people to enhance more cooperation and collaboration in astronomical sciences on a global scale in the developing world. Thank you for considering my candidacy. Clear skies!

Commission F2 Exoplanets and the Solar system

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Szilárd

Last Name: Csizmadia

Email: szilard.csizmadia@dlr.de

Secondary Email: zeta1@freemail.hu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I would like to help the work of the F2 commission, making its activity more visible in the community and to represent the exoplanet community. I also would like to contribute a future IAU Symposium on Exoplanets which seems to be timely as we will have the new results of James Webb Space Telescope and future space missions PLATO, ARIEL in and around the next cycle. I also think that the involvement of young PhD students as well as amateur astronomers into the exoplanet research is also important and their backyard telescopes as well as their work as citizen scientists can be valuable for the professional astronomers – I would like to search the tools how IAU can support these activities.

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First Name: Alain

Last Name: Doressoundiram

Email: alain.doressoundiram@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

senior astronomer at Paris Observatory
member of the IAU since 2009
So specific commitment but attending almost all the GA

Motivation:

am a planetary scientist and lecturer at the university, and I propose to contribute to this Commission with my experience on that field. I'm very much involved in and excited by public outreach activities: Exoplanets and Solar System related topics generate a great interest to the public, in particular thanks to space missions that allow us to show amazing images of other worlds that can be easily explained, and this Commission can propagate this motivation to communicate with the public who is always so grateful that we share our knowledge and dreams.

Commission F3 Astrobiology

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Patricio

Middle Name: Michel

Last Name: Rojo

Email: pato@das.uchile.cl

Secondary Email: duckrojo@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Chile

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

* Member of the OC for the commission for 6 years.
* Chair of the local organization to the successful Astrobioblogy2017 research meeting of the commission in Coyhaique, Chile.
* National representative to the IAU for the two terms I served as president of the Chilean Astronomical Society.
* Member of the National Outreach Committee that coordinates national activities with IAU's Office for Astronomy Outreach.

Motivation:

Research related to the origin of life has experienced accelerated progress in the last few decades, fueled by ever-increasing technological investment and promising exciting results just around the corner. In this light, it would be beneficial to strive for an even more active positioning of this commission.

The strong multidisciplinary nature of astrobiological research makes facilitation of cross-discipline communication one of the key roles for this commission. Thus far, the main activity has been the organization of successful conferences that have brought together top researchers from all relevant disciplines. In addition to maintaining this important task in good coordination with our sister professional society, ISSOL, I believe that the commission can also become an important source of information for interested researchers and students. At the very least, our webpage should serve as a repository of curated links to relevant institutions and programs. With enough help from the community, it could even become an important resource for society at large on a topic that garners such widespread interest.

Finally, I aim to maintain good coordination of this commission with other planetary sciences commissions, as well as those focused on education and outreach.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Caterina

Last Name: Boccato

Email: caterina.boccato@inaf.it

Secondary Email: caterina.boccato@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

From 2021 - National Outreach Coordinator - NOC IAU https://sites.google.com/oao.iau.org/iauoaonews/national-pages/Italy

From 2021 - Organizing Committee Elected Member of Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public

From 2020 Member of IAU OAE Center Italy - https://edu.inaf.it/oae_italia/chi-siamo/

2019 - IAU 100 celebrations national committee

National Coordinator of NameExoWorlds Projects/campaigns in 2022 and 2019

Member of Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage
Member of Division F Planetary Systems and Astrobiology
Member of Commission C1 Astronomy Education and Development
Member of Commission C2 Communicating Astronomy with the Public
Member of Commission F3 Astrobiology
Past affiliation within the IAU
Past Member of Commission C2 WG Outreach Professionalization & Accreditation (2016-2018)

Motivation:

I am running because I believe I can make a contribution with my experience in public engagement in a field, that of Astrobiology, which has been my chosen field since the time of my thesis in Astrophysics.
Moreover, within the European Astrobiology Institute, I have held the role of leader in the Work Package related to Public Outreach and Communication, this role has given me the awareness of how powerful astrobiology can be as a lever for spreading scientific culture worldwide.

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First Name: Wolf

Middle Name: Dietrich

Last Name: Geppert

Email: wgeppert@fysik.su.se

Secondary Email: wdgeppert@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Sweden

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

- Organizing Committee Member of Commission H2 Astrochemistry
- Member of Commission B5 Laboratory Astrophysics
- Member of Commission F3 Astrobiology
- Member of Inter-Commission C1-F2-F3-H2 WG Education and Training in Astrobiology

Motivation:

During my scientific career as a molecular astrophysicist specialised on ionic processes in space and planetary atmospheres I have launched several major initiatives in Astrobiology. I am founding faculty member of the Stockholm University Astrobiology Institute, in which I also serve as a Director since 2011. Since its launch, I am Chair of the European Astrobiology Institute (www.europeanastrobiology.eu), a consortium of 6 leading national research organisations and around 20 European research and higher education institutions. I also coordinated an Erasmus+ Strategic partnership in devoted to astrobiology and served as the Vice-Chair of an EU-COST Action in the field. Both the latter initiatives have been highlighted as “success stories” by the European Commission.

In those capacities I have been organised a multitude of meetings in the field of Astrobiology, e.g. the Biennia European Astrobiology Conference (BEACON) in May 2023 with 250 attendees. An issue especially close to my heart is the interdisciplinary training of early career astrobiologists, which is reflected in the large number of summer schools I organised in the area. All those training events got excellent reviews from participants. Thus, I feel in the position to offer my services to the IAU Commission F3 on Astrobiology.

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First Name: Jacob

Last Name: Haqq-Misra

Email: jacob@bmsis.org

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Scientific Organizing Committee for the Kavli-IAU Symposium (IAUS 387): “(Toward) Discovery of Life Beyond Earth and its Impact” in Durham, UK, 15-19 April, 2024

Motivation:

I seek to contribute my interdisciplinary expertise as a member of the F3 Organizing Committee to enable the IAU to more broadly engage with astrobiology researchers worldwide and foster cross-commission collaborative efforts. I am the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the US-based nonprofit research organization, Blue Marble Space, which has a mission to “cultivate scientific innovation and entrepreneurship by engaging with lifelong learners.” My scientific expertise is in three separate areas of astrobiology. The first is the topic of understanding planetary habitability through the use of computational climate models. I am also one of a small handful of researchers actively pushing the frontier of techonsignature research in a way that aligns with NASA and ESA mission objectives. Finally, I am one of the few emerging leaders in the nascent field of space settlement, having recently published a scholarly book with a university press that examines governance in space. As a member of the F3 Organizing Committee, I would prioritize activities that strive toward maintaining a broad portfolio of approaches toward astrobiology research and attempt to discern the optimal ways for communicating astrobiology discoveries.

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First Name: Gustavo

Middle Name: F.

Last Name: Porto de Mello

Email: gustavo@ov.ufrj.br

Secondary Email: gfpmello@hotmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Brazil

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

IAU member since 1996
Current member of Commission G3 (Stellar Evolution)
Current member of Commission F2 (Exoplanets and the Solar System)
Current member of Commission F3 (Astrobiology).

Motivation:

Throughout all my career as a stellar astrophysicist and professor of Astronomy I have been deeply interested in Astrobiology (in fact this interest goes back to my teen years) and have struggled to contribute to this nascent field in Brazil since my very first activities as a professional back in the late 1980s. I have dedicated the last 10 years of my professional career almost exclusively to strengthen the field of Astrobiology in Brazil, including activities in outreach, teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and bringing together researchers from all scientific fields involved, in workshops, conferences and schools. These efforts culminated with the founding of the Brazilian Astrobiological Society (SBAstrobio) in 2017. I was a former Secretary of Education for the SBAstrobio (2017-2021 tenure) and am its current President (2022-2023 and 2024-2025 tenures). As a Commission member I shall strive to articulate local efforts with the global IAU overview on Astrobiology to the best of my abilities, seeking to increase public awareness on this subject, improving the visibility of Astrobiology in the Brazilian science community, and stimulating early career scientists to get involved in the field.

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First Name: Amri

Middle Name: S

Last Name: Wandel

Email: amri@huji.ac.il

Secondary Email: amriwandel@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Israel

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member since 2012
Participated in several GA and IAUS

Motivation:

As an experienced educator and researcher in astrobiology, I plan to help with existing projects and initiate new ones, in particular, related to outreach and education. I have created the first astrobiology course in an Israeli university, "Astrophysics and Life in the Universe", which I have been teaching for 25 years to over 4000 students. My main research for over 10 years has been exoplanet habitability and astrobiology. Since 2017 president of the Israel Astrobiology Association (ILASOL) and co-organizer of its annual meetings. Co-founder of the Minerva Center of the Planetary Emergence of Life (2023). My textbook "Astrobiology for Non-Scientists" is coming out in 2024 with Springer.

Commission F4 Asteroids, Comets & Transneptunian Objects

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Alain

Last Name: Doressoundiram

Email: alain.doressoundiram@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

senior astronomer at Paris Observatory
member of the IAU since 2009
So specific commitment but attending almost all the GA

Motivation:

I propose to contribute to this Commission with my expertise on small bodies, especially TNOs. Then, I'm very much involved in and excited by public outreach activities: asteroids, comets, Solar System related topics generate a great interest to the public, in particular thanks to space missions that allow us to show amazing images of other small bodies that can be easily explained, and this Commission can propagate this motivation to communicate with the public who is always so grateful that we share our knowledge and dreams.

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First Name: Sonia

Last Name: Fornasier

Email: sonia.fornasier@obspm.fr

Gender: Female

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of Division B Facilities, Technologies and Data Science
Member of Division F Planetary Systems and Astrobiology
Member of Commission F2 Exoplanets and the Solar system
Member of Commission F3 Astrobiology
Member of Commission F4 Asteroids, Comets & Transneptunian Objects
Past Member of Commission F1 Meteors, Meteorites and Interplanetary Dust (2015-2021)
Past Member of Commission 15 Physical Study of Comets & Minor Planets (until 2015)
Past Member of Division III Planetary Systems Sciences (until 2012)

Motivation:

We are living in a golden age of small bodies exploration, thanks to the amazing results of recent space missions (Dawn, Rosetta, New Horizon, Osiris-Rex, Hayabusa2, Dart), which have studied different types of small bodies and also collected and returned to Earth samples of primordial asteroids. In addition, large telescopic data sets have become available, and the unprecedented capabilities of the JWST are opening new frontiers in astrophysics and the study of small bodies.
In this fruitful context, my motivation for running for Vice-President of the F4 Commissions is to foster multidisciplinary collaborations between researchers involved in different minor body studies. The combination of ground-based and space-based observations with different techniques, data analysis/processing, laboratory measurements on different materials and extraterrestrial samples, and dynamical modelling is essential to make progress in understanding the different minor body populations, their interrelationships and evolution. I am also motivated to defend our community whose results are crucial for understanding the formation and evolution of our solar system and of other exoplanetary systems, as well as the conditions for the emergence of life.

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First Name: Agnieszka

Last Name: Kryszczynska

Email: agn@amu.edu.pl

Secondary Email: agnkry@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Poland

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of Division F Planetary Systems and Astrobiology
Member of Commission F4 Asteroids, Comets & Transneptunian Objects
Past affiliation(s) within the IAU
Past Member of Commission 15 Physical Study of Comets & Minor Planets (until 2015)
Past Member of Division III Planetary Systems Sciences (until 2012)

Motivation:

My motivation to run for Vice-President of the F4 Commission seems quite natural. In summer 2026, together with Dagmara Oszkiewicz and our team, we will organize the Asteroids Comets Meteors 2026 conference in Poznań, Poland. It will be an opportunity to unite researchers working in this field and promote our research to a wider audience. I also have experience in organizing sessions at EPSC and many other conferences. For two terms (2013-2017) I served as the President of the Polish Astronomical Society. So I have experience working for the astronomical community.

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First Name: Flora

Last Name: Paganelli

Email: paganelliflora@gmail.com

Secondary Email: paganelliflora@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Dr. Paganelli is a very active Member of the IAU Inter-Division A-F WG Cartographic Coordinates & Rotational Elements (WGCCRE) [2018-present] and joined as Organizing Committee Member the IAU Commission F4 on Asteroids, Comets & Transneptunian Objects in 2021. She is also a Member of Division A Fundamental Astronomy, Division B Facilities, Technologies and Data Science, Division F Planetary Systems and Astrobiology. She is actively involved in the Planetary and Astronomy Science community through service in Research & Analysis (R&A) and Research & Development (R&D) of NASA and NSF programs.

Motivation:

I would like to express interest for the position of VP in the IAU Commission F4 on Asteroids, Comets & Transneptunian Objects to increase my experience in support of the commission through a role with higher responsibility. I've been an active member for the past 3 years and with my position at SETI, allowing flexibility in research topics and activities, I believe I can positively contribute to the VP role in the IAU Commission F4 to promote cross-disciplinary work/activities such as the integration of observational, space missions, experimental, and theoretical approaches to study and foster small bodies new science discoveries and dissemination to a larger audiences.
Thank you for your consideration.
Best regards,
Flora Paganelli

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Alain

Last Name: Doressoundiram

Email: alain.doressoundiram@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

senior astronomer at Paris Observatory
member of the IAU since 2009
So specific commitment but attending almost all the GA

Motivation:

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First Name: Oleksandra

Last Name: Ivanova

Email: oivanova@ta3.sk

Secondary Email: sandra@mao.kiev.ua

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Ukraine

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

As a specialist in comet physics and active small bodies, I will be glad to join the Commission Organizing Committee. My background in this area positions me well to contribute effectively to the commission's goals. My experience in cometary physics and active small bodies can be used to enrich the committee's discussions and initiatives.

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First Name: Alessandra

Last Name: Migliorini

Email: alessandra.migliorini@inaf.it

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I'm a planetary scientist, with experience in vis-nir spectroscopy, using ground-based telescopes, space-based instruments and laboratory facilities.
I have experience in observing small bodies of the solar system using international facilities, including TNG, ESO and SUBARU telescopes.
I’m an expert in planetary atmospheres of solar system planets (Venus, Jupiter, Neptune), and I’ve recently started contributing to the extrasolar planets investigation, with the aim of applying my experience to the extrasolar research.
I’m involved in space missions to solar system planets and objects, including Hera, Juice, Juno.
I propose myself for this position because I would like to be engaged in the community and help with my expertise to organize the activities related to this commission.
I would also be interested in inspiring the new generation to feel part of the planetary and exoplanetary community.

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First Name: Fernando

Middle Name: Virgilio

Last Name: Roig

Email: froig@on.br

Secondary Email: fvroig@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Brazil

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member of the Organizing Committee of Commission A4 (2009-2015)
Member of the Steering Committee of Division A (2015-2020).

Motivation:

I am a full researcher at the National Observatory of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. My main interests are the origin and dynamics of minor bodies in the solar system, and the physical properties of asteroids. My work covers a wide range of subjects, like origin of basaltic asteroids outside the Vesta family, Jupiter Trojan families, cratering history of Ceres and Vesta, primordial evolution of the asteroid belt, effects of planetary migration on minor bodies populations, among others.
I believe that I can positively contribute to the objectives of Commission F4, not only in view of the wide scope of my research, but also because of the expertise I gained during my service in Commission A4 and in Division A. I expect to have a proactive participation, proposing and, eventually, organizing discussion forums, workshops and symposia on the fields of interest of the Commission, as well as contributing to the elaboration of the triennial reports.

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First Name: Aswin

Last Name: Sekhar

Email: aswinsek@gmail.com

Secondary Email: aswin.sekhar@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Have attended and presented talks at multiple IAU General Assemblies in the past. Winner of multiple IAU grants. Been closely interacting with IAU top leadership regarding various aspects of science outreach in the developing world. Joined IAU in 2015 as a full member and have been active ever since in organising meetings, workshops, seminars and so on in multiple parts of the world.

Motivation:

I am the first professional meteor scientist from India. I have been active in propagating astronomy of small solar system bodies in my own country and abroad by spreading awareness about both the aesthetics as well as the risk posed by small solar system bodies. I will be able to bring new perspectives regarding science outreach, science policy making and involving the rural communities in astronomy and make the global initiatives inclusive of more minority and diversity since I belong to that background myself. I look forward to working with the top IAU leadership people to enhance more cooperation and collaboration in solar system small bodies on a global scale in the developing world. Thank you for considering my candidacy. Clear skies!

Commission G1 Binary and Multiple Star Systems

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Swetlana

Last Name: Hubrig

Email: shubrig@aip.de

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I am a member in the G1, G2, and G5 commissions, and served as co-chair in 2018 for the focus meeting FM4 (Magnetic fields along the star-formation sequence) and in 2022 for FM9 (Stellar Synthetic Spectra To Study Stellar Populations In The Gaia Era).

Motivation:

My research is closely related to the main topics of commission G1 as I am working on magnetic fields in massive stars, which are usually members of binary and multiple systems. My main motivation as a member of the organizing committee is to play a more active role in supporting and promoting research related to stellar systems, including scientific discussions and the organization of meetings.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Tomasz

Last Name: Bulik

Email: tb@astrouw.edu.pl

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Poland

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Poilsh National IAU Commitee President

Motivation:

I have worked on various aspects of binary evolution. I would like to help the research community .

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First Name: Hongwei

Last Name: GE

Email: gehw@ynao.ac.cn

Secondary Email: hongwei.ge@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Serve as an Executive Committee of IAU Junior members from Aug 2021 to now.

Motivation:

I am willing to devote my time and energy to serving this G1 Commission of IAU. I will serve on the Committee of IAU and work closely with other Commission G1 Organizing Committee members. I will organize several international conferences or workshops on binary star evolution in the next few years. I have at least three years' experience of visiting abroad to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Cambridge. I will continuously communicate and know many new senior and junior astronomers worldwide.

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First Name: Dana

Middle Name: A.

Last Name: Kovaleva

Email: dana@inasan.ru

Secondary Email: dkovaleva@mail.ru

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Russian Federation

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Science Secretary of the National Committee of Russian astronomers (2018-present)
Former assistant of President of past Commission 5: Astronomical Data Olga Dluzhnevskaya (2000-2003)

Motivation:

As a researcher, I am interested in binary and multiple stars, especially as an ensemble, and in pertaining datasets. As one of the developers of the Binary and multiple stars DataBase BDB, bdb.inasan.ru, I would like to be involved in discussions of nomenclatures and other matters relevant to lifecycle of astronomical data for binaries and multiples. In particular, I am interested at present in use of Gaia results for binaries and multiples - including Gaia Non-Single Stars catalogues as well as catalogues of co-moving wide pairs and multiples based on Gaia data. As a member of community, I feel it important to keep up activities joining astronomers interested in various aspects of binary and multiple star domain, and would like to become more active part of it.

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First Name: Jaroslav

Last Name: Merc

Email: jaroslav.merc@mff.cuni.cz

Secondary Email: jaroslav.merc@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Czech Republic

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

As an early-career researcher who is passionate about the astrophysics of binary and multiple stellar systems, I am motivated to contribute to the IAU Commission G1 mission. I firmly believe that taking on active roles within such organizations not only enriches my professional development but also lays the groundwork for future leadership in our field. The involvement of early-career researchers in committees offers a platform to introduce fresh perspectives and innovative concepts, driving progress and promoting inclusivity within the astronomical community.

In the recent past, I served as an executive committee member of the Slovak Astronomical Society. I have had the opportunity to contribute to the Society's mission of advancing and promoting astronomy in Slovakia. As part of my work with the Society, I have been responsible for the website presentation of the Society and I have also co-organized several conferences focused on various aspects of astronomy, including research, education, and outreach.

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First Name: Somaya

Middle Name: Mohamed

Last Name: Saad

Email: saadmhsaad@gmail.com

Secondary Email: somaya.saad@nriag.sci.eg

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Egypt

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member since 2003
Member of the Egypt National Committee since 2005
Vice-President of the Egypt National committee 2015-1018
President of the Egypt National Committee 2018-2021
One of the LOC of ISYA 40th -2018in Egypt
NOC of Egypt
NAEC of Egypt
Director of OAE-Egypt

Motivation:

The motivation comes to run for division G membership
- Due to my interest in working in this specialty since the beginning of my scientific career and working on the kottamia 2-meter astronomical telescope with photometric observations.
-I also seek the international cooperation
- I am also keen to exchange experiences, which will reflect positive impact on transferring knowledge to a future generation at the institute and the department in which I work.

Commission G2 Massive Stars

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Sylvia

Last Name: Ekstrom Garcia Nombela

Email: sylvia.ekstrom@unige.ch

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Switzerland

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Actual member and secretary of the IAU-G2 Commission OC

Motivation:

Being already in the OC, I have appreciated its dynamical and fruitful atmosphere of work. During the last mandate, we have launched several initiatives that I really wish to see mature. I think it natural for me to become even more involved in this OC, to serve our community and keep it an active one.

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First Name: Miriam

Last Name: Garcia

Email: mgg@cab.inta-csic.es

Secondary Email: mirigg@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Service at the IAU-G2 commission on massive stars for the past 3 years.

Motivation:

I would like to continue my service at the IAU-G2 commission which, in the last term, aimed at engaging G2 members at large in multifaceted activities and is always committed to improving gender and geographical balance. If elected Vice President in this new term, I will support the president's efforts to keep progressing in this direction and seeing the initiatives we recently started take root. I will also work to raise our community's awareness of next-generation instruments planned for the medium- and long-term future, stimulating the required preparations needed to ensure their optimal exploitation, and promoting the active participation of massive star experts in the science teams to shape the final specifications.

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First Name: Peter

Middle Name: W.A.

Last Name: Roming

Email: pete.roming@swri.org

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Lead Co-Chair – Science Organizing Committee, The Death of Massive Stars: Supernovae and Gamma-Ray Bursts, IAU Symposium 279, Nikko, Japan (2009-2012)
Member – Editorial Board for IAU Symposium Proceedings Series (2011)

Motivation:

Massive stars are keystone objects in astrophysics. Understanding their birth, life, and death is essential to understanding their broad impact on astronomy and physics (e.g., interstellar medium, galactic evolution, reionization, black hole, and neutron star physics). With the advent of new and forthcoming ground- and space-based facilities and instruments that span the infrared to the high-energy regimes, we live exciting times when linking massive stars to the broader picture will be ever more critical. For decades, international collaboration has been a cornerstone component to opening our understanding of massive stars. I have spent much of my career in international collaborations either studying the death of massive stars or designing/building ground- and space-based instruments/missions for their observation and study. I am running for this position because I think I can contribute to this good forum for building international collaborations and interest in massive star research, to involve younger researchers, and to reach and educate the public.

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First Name: Sergio

Last Name: Simon-Diaz

Email: ssimon@iac.es

Secondary Email: sergio.simon.diaz@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I've been IAU-G2 organizing committee member since October 2021. I was the promoter of the IAU-G2 online conference series, and I've been in charge of the logistics of the monthly seminars since April 2023. I was LOC of the big IAU massive star symposium IAUS212 (held in Lanzarote, Spain, in 2002) and I'm presently SOC of the next one (to be held in Baja California, Mexico, in 2025).

Motivation:

After acting as member of IAU-G2 organizing committee for the last 3 years I have gladly found that the discussions and actions performed by this committee certainly have a positive impact in the general development of activities of the massive star community at a world-wide level. Hence, I would like to continue being part of the commission, this time (if the community agrees with that possibility) following the natural path of being nominated as vice-president.
As in my original nomination, I want to keep ensuring good visibility of the early-career researchers of our community world-wide. In addition, for this next 3 years, I want to strongly support the idea of our colleague Jo Puls of establishing a series of online courses about different aspects of massive stars, helping the recently established committee to initiate and consolidate this important action. I think it is very important to ensure an efficient, reliable and complete transfer of knowledge to the new generations of students about different aspects such as the basic physics governing massive stars, or those observational and computational techniques we use to make progress in the field.
Last, but not least, I want to help the IAU-G2 commission, through her/his President, (1) to ensure the proper visibility of all the interesting activities and scientific results promoted by this important astronomical community, and (2) to support any research/educational/technical activity proposed by members of the massive star community.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Michael

Last Name: Abdul-Masih

Email: michael.abdulmasih@gmail.com

Secondary Email: michael.abdul-masih@iac.es

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am currently a La Caixa Junior Leader Fellow based at the Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias in Spain and my research focuses on deformed massive stars (i.e. rapid rotators, semi-detached and contact binaries) and stellar/binary evolution. My expertise lie in observational techniques and stellar and photometric modelling of massive stars, however my scientific interests span all of massive star science. I hope to bring my experiences, expertise, and motivation to the IAU G2 commission committee to help ensure the continuing success of our field.

I have contributed to the wider astronomical community in several ways in the past through providing open source codes, supporting observations at the Paranal Observatory, improving instrument reduction pipelines, mentoring early career researchers, organizing colloquium series, etc., however, now I would like to focus my efforts more towards the massive star community. As a committee member, my focus would be on knowledge transfer, both to ensure that new members can quickly get up to speed, and that we as a community can optimally benefit from the wide range of expertise that our members have. I have many ideas that will help push this community forward and I look forward to bringing them to the table.

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First Name: Dominic

Last Name: Bowman

Email: dominic.bowman@newcastle.ac.uk

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United Kingdom

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

- Since November 2022: Organizing Committee Member of Division G WG Active B Stars. Contributed to the re-development of the WG website, triennial report, revamped seminar series and monthly newsletter.
- Active member of Commissions G2 Massive Stars, G3 Stellar Evolution and G4 Pulsating Stars.
- Related society experience as founding member and secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society's Early-Career Network (ECN) between 2020-2023, which provided EDI-focussed mentoring and advocacy of early-career RAS fellows.

Motivation:

I am a highly motivated astronomer who places Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) at the centre of all my research, teaching and outreach activities. After my PhD in the UK, I spent several years as a postdoctoral researcher at KU Leuven, Belgium. Since September 2023 I am a faculty member of Newcastle University. I believe my experience in organising EDI-focussed activities throughout my career would allow me to positively champion under-represented groups within Commission G2 Massive Stars. In my astrophysics research, I am interested in various aspects of physics for massive stars, including the rotation and mixing processes involved in stellar evolution, but also binarity, and magnetism. My ongoing ERC/UKRI SYMPHONY research project based at Newcastle University (https://research.ncl.ac.uk/symphony/) aims to mitigate current uncertainties in stellar evolution theory of massive stars, and in particular blue supergiants, using asteroseismology, spectroscopy, and evolution modelling. Massive star asteroseismology has recently undergone a paradigm shift thanks to the NASA TESS mission and the excellent potential of exploiting the diverse variability mechanisms found in massive stars. With my committee membership, I would build on the excellent synergy of asteroseismology with other research techniques within the membership.

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First Name: Andre-Nicolas

Last Name: Chene

Email: andre-nicolas.chene@noirlab.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am thrilled to express my keen interest in serving as a Commission Organizing Committee member for the G2 sub-division. With a profound passion for unraveling the mysteries of massive stars and their evolution, I am dedicated to advancing our knowledge of Wolf-Rayet fundamental parameters, particularly through the study of their dense and fast winds. Additionally, I am committed to enhancing our understanding of massive stars' evolution through the study of young open stellar clusters. With a wealth of experience in conference organization, various review panels, and large committee membership, garnered over my eleven years at the public 8m international Gemini Observatory and the NSF's NOIRLab, I bring invaluable expertise in observational astronomy and collaborative research to the table.

My vision for the Commission centers on promoting interdisciplinary collaborations, leveraging emerging technologies, and advocating for diversity and equity within our community. Furthermore, I eagerly anticipate the opportunities presented by upcoming observatories such as the Rubin and the Roman observatories, and I am actively engaged in paving the way for the next generation of extremely large telescopes.

As a Commission Organizing Committee member, I am committed to utilizing my expertise and leadership to support the goals of the International Astronomical Union and facilitate groundbreaking discoveries in the study of massive stars.

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First Name: Alexandre

Last Name: David-Uraz

Email: alexandre.daviduraz@howard.edu

Secondary Email: a.daviduraz@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Organizing Committee Member of Division G WG Active B Stars

Motivation:

The world is changing, and so must we. The future of astronomy is bright, with large, game-changing, state-of-the-art facilities coming online in the next decade. That said, competition for access to these resources will be stiff, and efficient coordination will be required to fully take advantage of them. For optimal progress to be achieved, I envision the massive star community leveraging observing resources on a range of scales, from smaller, dedicated-access telescopes for novel time-domain investigations, to the aforementioned next-generation instruments. As OC member, I would aim to facilitate community building, both among massive star researchers, as well as with our colleagues from other fields who can benefit from similar techniques and observations. Finally, to truly reach this goal, we need broad grassroots involvement within our field, and must ensure that we are welcoming to all who wish to participate, encouraging and listening to members from all backgrounds and career stages. We must especially empower early-career researchers to help shape the future of our field, as they will ultimately be the ones seeing some of these initiatives through.

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First Name: Zsolt

Last Name: Keszthelyi

Email: zsolt.keszthelyi@nao.ac.jp

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Japan

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am an enthusiastic member of our community, having served in various capacities such as conference organizer and co-organizer, SOC and jury panel member, and session chair. These experiences have not only deepened my understanding of our field but have also highlighted the critical role of collaboration and knowledge exchange in advancing research. I am dedicated to continuing these efforts. As an Organizing Committee member of the G2 Commission, I aim to foster greater interconnectivity among our members, facilitating the exchange of scientific ideas and sharing of the newest results in the field of massive star research.

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First Name: Takashi

Last Name: Moriya

Email: takashi.moriya@nao.ac.jp

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Japan

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

My main research interests are supernovae from massive stars such as core-collapse supernovae and pair-instability supernovae. I have been trying to understand the final stages of massive star evolution through supernovae from both theoretical and observational perspectives. As a member of the IAU G2 organizing committee, I would like to further strengthen the connection between massive star and supernova communities. With the new-generation facilities such as Euclid, Rubin, Roman, and others, we are anticipating many supernova and transient discoveries from the local to the primordial Universe in the coming decade. We expect to have rich information on the final fates of massive stars in broad redshift ranges that should be interpreted in the context of massive star evolution across the cosmic history. Therefore, the tight communication between the two communities will be far more important in the coming decade. I hope to help making such opportunities as a member of the IAU G2 organization committee.

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First Name: Veronique

Last Name: Petit

Email: vpetit@udel.edu

Secondary Email: veronique.petit.1@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Delaware and a member of the Bartol Research Institute. My area of research is the magnetism of massive stars, with interests in magnetic field characterization through spectropolarimetry, and the impact of the fields on stellar evolution. My main motivation to serve on the G2 committee is to contribute to its efforts to diversify our community and engage young researchers.

My research bridges multiple massive star communities, and also multiple observing frameworks (optical, UV, Xrays, time-domain and spectroscopy). I am very engaged in Physics Education: I have been leading efforts to modernize my department’s physics curriculum and teaching methods and I have taught physics and astronomy at all levels from high-school/university dual enrollment to advance graduate classes. I am committed to research ethics and research inclusion in my mentoring and active in advocacy, incorporating equity into the multiple SOCs, review panels, academic program reviews, and search committees I have served on or chaired.

Our G2 commission has made significant strides toward inclusivity with efforts to increase visibility of junior research, for example through the seminar series. The breadth of my experience, in massive stars research and in advancing research equity, will allow me to support and elevate these efforts ensuring our community continues to achieve excellence while growing more inclusive and diverse.

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First Name: Andreas

Middle Name: A. C.

Last Name: Sander

Email: ansander@astro.physik.uni-potsdam.de

Secondary Email: andreas.sander@uni-heidelberg.de

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

- Attended and gave talks at three IAU GAs (2012, 2018, 2022, 2024 oncoming)
- Active participation in six IAU symposia
- IAU Junior Member since 2018
- Full IAU Member since 2021

Motivation:

Massive stars have been fascinating to me since I started my journey into astrophysics. However, what truly drew me into massive star research was the open-minded and collaborative spirit within the community. As I embarked on leading my own junior research group, I found myself in the role of inspiring the next generation - an exciting responsibility that I embrace wholeheartedly.

In my experience, there is great interest in and demand for massive star research results from the wider astrophysical community. Yet, there is a notable gap in understanding the intricate processes and facilities required to conduct our research.

Massive stars connect many frontiers of modern astrophysics and the stars we study impact how we view our Universe. Despite their numerous interrelations, massive stars are at the same time very special. Their study requires dedicated knowledge, observations, and analysis methods, with many concepts being specific to our field. Representing some of them with my own research on stellar atmospheres and winds, my aim as an OC member will be to promote massive star research and become an ambassador for our field-specific methods and approaches.

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First Name: Aida

Last Name: Wofford

Email: awofford@astro.unam.mx

Secondary Email: ahwofford@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Mexico

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Affiliation(s) within the IAU
* Steering Committee Member of Division J Galaxies and Cosmology (2018-present)
* Member of Inter-Division D-G-H-J Commission Galaxy Spectral Energy Distributions
* Member of Division G Stars and Stellar Physics
* Member of Commission G2 Massive Stars
* Member of Division H Interstellar Matter and Local Universe
Past affiliation(s) within the IAU
* Past Member of Commission 28 Galaxies (until 2015)
* Past Member of Commission 37 Star Clusters & Associations (2009-2015)
* Past Member of Division VIII Galaxies & the Universe (until 2012)

Motivation:

As an active member of the steering committee of Division J (2018-present), I understand the importance of serving in the IAU. I am familiar with some of the work done by the G2 commission and wish to contribute with my experience. I am interested in the areas of: i) massive stars (characterizing their feedback to better understand their formation and evolution), ii) unresolved massive-star populations (overcoming uncertainties in their spectro-photometrically derived properties), and iii) nearby star-forming galaxies (learning from their massive star populations and ISM). My recent experience in these fields includes:
* point of contact of the "population synthesis and ionizing fluxes" working group (WG) for the massive-star VLT/XSHOOTER spectroscopic survey,
* co-leader of the SED modeling WG for the PHANGS (Physics at High Angular resolution in Nearby GalaxieS) HST/JWST collaboration,
* co-PI of a Sloan Digital Sky Survey V / Local Volume Mapper project targeting H II regions ionized by individual massive stars in the LMC / SMC
* PI or Co-I or various UV spectroscopy proposals targeting massive-star populations in nearby galaxies with HST
Thank you.

Commission G3 Stellar Evolution

Candidate for: Commission President

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First Name: Xuefei

Last Name: CHEN

Email: cxf@ynao.ac.cn

Gender: Female

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission President

Detailed experience:

a member and the Secretary of IAU G3

Motivation:

I was elected as a member and the Secretary of the organizing committee of G3 (stellar evolution) in 2021. I am applying for the position of president of G3 and want to contribute more to the community in the next three years.

I am the director of the Yunnan Observatories of the Chinese Academy of Science and the PI of the Binary Project of the Chinese Space Station Telescope. The Yunnan Observatories have more than 200 astrophysicists, and one-third work in various aspects of stellar physics. I got my Ph.D. degree in 2005 and worked in stellar astrophysics since then.

I was awarded “China Top Ten Young Women Scientists” in 2014 (for all subjects), and I am the first female astrophysicist with such a title. I received an invitation to write an autobiography, which eventually has been featured in the book titled The Sky Is for Everyone: Women Astronomers in Their Own Word in 2022. At the same time, I was selected to be supported by The National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars after a rigorous evaluation process. My academic achievements are as follows. I presented some fundamental relations for stellar evolutions and devised the formation models for blue stragglers, EL CVn-type binaries, double white dwarfs etc., some of which are referred to as canonical models.

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First Name: Moshe

Last Name: Gai

Email: moshe.gai@uconn.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission President

Detailed experience:

New member of the IAU

Motivation:

The IAU lacks representation from nuclear astrophysicists. I recently joined the IAU to promote nuclear astrophysics within the field of Laboratory Astrophysics of the IAU.

I concentrated on measurements of the cross section of of fusion reaction during stellar evolution. In particular, in my laboratory at the University of Connecticut, I developed a new detector, an optical readout time projection chamber detector (O-TPC), operating with CO2 gas, and exposed to gamma-beams at Duke University. This new method allows us to measure fusion reactions, such as the fusion of carbon plus an alpha-particle, to form oxygen, in the 12C(a,g) reaction, by measuring the photodissociation of oxygen to carbon plus an alpha-particle, in the 16O(g,a) reaction. The 12C(a,g) reaction determines the C/O ratio at the end of stellar helium burning, which in turns governs the final burning stage of Type II Supernova (Black Hole or Neutron Star) as well as Type Ia SN. We aim to solve a four decade problem that was dubbed by Willie Fowler in his Nobel speech as a "problem of paramount importance in nuclear astrophysics".

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Moshe

Last Name: Gai

Email: moshe.gai@uconn.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

New member of the IAU

Motivation:

The IAU lacks representation from nuclear astrophysicists. I recently joined the IAU to promote nuclear astrophysics within the field of Laboratory Astrophysics of the IAU.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Sydney

Middle Name: A.

Last Name: Barnes

Email: sbarnes@aip.de

Secondary Email: drsydneybarnes@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Commission B6 Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry, OC member

Motivation:

Over the past decades, significant progress has been made in understanding the rotational, activity, and magnetic evolution of cool stars. This work could also be relevant to deriving ages for such stars, a matter of particular interest to the fields of exoplanets and galactic archaeology, in addition to the cool stars community. Significant interactions with the asteroseismic community are also developing. I would hope to bring the voices of these various communities to the table of the larger stellar evolution community.

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First Name: Brian

Middle Name: C.

Last Name: Chaboyer

Email: Brian.Chaboyer@Dartmouth.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I am an active researcher with a number of international collaborations. I believe that the IAU can facilitate international cooperation and collaboration in astronomy, particularly among early career astronomers and would like to assist in this role.

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First Name: Moshe

Last Name: Gai

Email: moshe.gai@uconn.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

New member of the IAU

Motivation:

The IAU lacks representation from nuclear astrophysicists. I recently joined the IAU to promote nuclear astrophysics within the field of Laboratory Astrophysics of the IAU.

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First Name: Hongwei

Last Name: GE

Email: gehw@ynao.ac.cn

Secondary Email: hongwei.ge@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Served as an executive committee member of the junior member of IAU from Aug 2021.

Motivation:

Although I am a new IAU member changing from the Junior member EC of the IAU, I will be very happy and willing to contribute to the G3 commission of IAU. I have three years of visiting experience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Cambridge. I am working on stellar evolution and binary evolution fields. If I can get this opportunity, I will communicate friendly with the IAU committee and other G3 committee members. I will organize the international conference/meeting/working shop on Stellar Evolution, and keep in touch with the senior and junior astronomers. I am now a professor at Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and I have plenty of time and energy to devote myself to serving the Commission G3.

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First Name: Aruna

Last Name: Goswami

Email: aruna@iiap.res.in

Secondary Email: aruna.iiap@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member of SOC, IAU Symposium 395: Stellar populations in the Milky Way and beyond
Paraty, Brazil, 17-22 November 2024
https://iaus395.iag.usp.br/

Motivation:

Stellar Evolution, includes among its major themes Nucleosynthesis and Abundance Determination; these and related topics, such as, stellar models and input physics, convection, mixing and mass loss mechanisms, are important for cosmo chemistry, stellar archaeology and stellar evolution in a broad perspective, including Interstellar Medium, Halo and planetary abundance. My motivation for joining would be to conceptualize and catalyze professional meetings on the broad theme of stellar dynamics and chemical evolution. In spite of persistent efforts, old and new challenges in cosmic abundance remain, for instance, Li abundance, production sites, mechanisms and metallicity dependence of i-process nucleosynthesis and its implications for Galactic chemical evolution. There had been several important findings in both theory and observations on these and related topics in the last few years, and thus, this would provide an excellent opportunity for researchers from the field and related fields of research to come together and exchange ideas. This aligns well with the commission’s overall goal and my research experience and expertise, and I am willing to contribute to the operations of the commission including review of applications for sponsorship of professional meetings associated with the research topics of the commission.

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First Name: Gautier

Last Name: Mathys

Email: gmathys@eso.org

Secondary Email: gautier1957@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Chile

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Past President of Commission 29 Stellar Spectra (2000-2003)
Past Vice-President of Commission 29 Stellar Spectra (1997-2000)
Past Chair of Division G WG Ap & Related Stars (2009-2021)
Organising Committee Member of Commission G5 Stellar and Planetary Atmospheres (2018–2024)
Past Organising Committee Member of Commission 29 Stellar Spectra (2003-2006)
Past Organising Committee Member of Division IV Stars (2000-2003)
Past Organising Committee Member of Commission 29 Stellar Spectra (1994-1997)

Motivation:

Having throughout my career benefited from the encouragement and advice of more senior colleagues, I feel that, in turn, I owe it to our community to share my experience, by promoting, stimulating and guiding scientific developments in my fields of expertise, the magnetism and the rotation of stars with radiative envelopes and their relevance for their pulsation. Serving on the Organising Committee of Commission G3 would put me in a privileged position to do so and to foster progress in areas of Stellar Evolution that, for a long time, have only received limited attention. My presence on the Committee could also potentially contribute to achieving geographical diversity in its composition.

Commission G4 Pulsating Stars

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Paul

Middle Name: A.

Last Name: Bradley

Email: pbradley@lanl.gov

Secondary Email: ppbradpp@aol.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I admit my IAU experience is limited, and consists mostly of serving on Local Organizing Committees for several stellar pulsation meetings.

Motivation:

I have been a member of IAU since 1994 and have worked on asteroseismology of white dwarf stars for my Ph.D. and branched out to delta Scuti and gamma Doradus stars. While my main career work has not been in astronomy, I have continued my work on variable stars the whole time and have reaped the benefits of the revolution brought by Kepler, TESS, and Gaia data firsthand. As a founding member of the Whole Earth Telescope, I have also seen and participated in the true global nature of pulsating star research. I have reached a point in my career where I can devote more time to research in pulsating stars and would be honored to work with you to advance the field via this commission. I have held leadership positions at Los Alamos National Lab and in the community, so I feel confident I can help lead this commission.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Paul

Middle Name: G.

Last Name: Beck

Email: paul.beck@gmx.at

Secondary Email: paul.beck@iac.es

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I am a National Astronomy Education Coordinator (NAEC) for Austria within the IAU Office of Astronomy for Education (OAE).

Motivation:

As an astrophysicist specializing in asteroseismology and stellar physics, I nominate myself as a member of Commission G4. My expertise lies in exploring the stellar structure and evolution of single and binary solar-like stars from the main sequence through the red-giant phase using asteroseismic techniques. I utilize data from space telescopes such as Kepler, TESS, Gaia, and, in the future, PLATO, along with ground-based spectroscopy from networks like SONG.

My passion for fostering collaboration and facilitating information exchange makes me well-suited to support the committee's initiatives. I am committed to promoting cross-discipline and cross-divisional research, advancing the commission's objectives by leveraging innovative methodologies to understand stellar structure and evolution through stellar pulsations.

I am dedicated to making meaningful contributions to the vibrant field of asteroseismology and its broader implications in astrophysics. By actively participating in the committee's endeavors, I aim to contribute to the development and future of asteroseismology and variable star research.

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First Name: Anupam

Last Name: Bhardwaj

Email: anupam.bhardwaj@iucaa.in

Secondary Email: anupam.bhardwajj@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Organising committee member of IAU Executive Committee Junior Members Working Group Meeting (ECWG 3) since 2021. As part of ECWG3, organised Scientific/grant writing, Outreach, Mental Health sessions for Early Career Researchers at IAU GA 2022 in Busan, Korea.
Member of Division G and commissions on pulsating stars and stellar evolution (since 2019)
Member of Division C Education, Outreach and Heritage
Member of Division G Stars and Stellar Physics
Member of Division H Interstellar Matter and Local Universe and Commission H1 The Local Universe

Motivation:

As a member of IAU Executive Committee Junior Member Working Group, I was able to contribute to a number of activities for young researcher like organising discourse series talks on careers in astronomy and also outside academia, mental health, grant proposal writing etc. This experience has helped me grow as a researcher and realise the importance of taking leadership roles in service activities. Having joined a tenured job in India recently, it is the right time for me to take the lead in conceptualising and organising professional meetings on pulsating star research by being involved as an organising committee member. I have been involved in several IAU related meetings and symposiums, and have also been invited as a speaker in IAUS 376 focussed on pulsating star research. I was also awarded the prestigious Gruber Foundation Fellowship by the IAU in 2020. The main focus of my candidacy for pulsating stars commission would be to revive the iconic Los Alamos Stellar pulsation meetings, the last (22nd) edition of which was held in 2016. I would contribute to operations, networking, outreach, and all other activities of the commission and provide new perspectives, ideas for providing equal opportunities for all researchers.

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First Name: Tiago

Middle Name: L.

Last Name: Campante

Email: tiago.campante@astro.up.pt

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Portugal

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

1. Invited Review Talk titled ‘Synergy between asteroseismology and exoplanet science: an outlook’; Mini-Symposium “Stars and Stellar Physics - The Asteroseismic Revolution”, IAU General Assembly XXX, Division G Meeting, Vienna, Austria, Aug 24 and 27 2018.

2. Contributed Talk titled ‘Spin-orbit alignment of exoplanet systems: how can asteroseismology help us?’; IAU General Assembly XXIX, Focus Meeting 1, Honolulu, USA, Aug 12-14 2015.

3. Contributed Talk titled ‘Spin-orbit alignment of exoplanet systems: analysis of an ensemble of asteroseismic observations’; IAU General Assembly XXIX, Focus Meeting 17, Honolulu, USA, Aug 12-14 2015.

4. Scientific Reviewer for the Portuguese Language Group of the IAU Astronomy Translation Network (8 reviewed resources).

5. Recipient of an IAU Travel Grant (IAU GA, Honolulu, 2015).

6. Recipient of an IAU Travel Grant (IAU GA, Vienna, 2018).

Motivation:

Serving on the Organizing Committee of Commission G4 presents an opportunity to engage with fellow experts, facilitate impactful initiatives, and shape the direction of our collective efforts. In particular:

— My research experience and scholarship in the fields of stellar astrophysics (with a focus on asteroseismology), exoplanetary science, and Galactic astronomy are extensive. This can be leveraged to support the Commission’s goal of fostering cross-divisional and cross-commission information exchange.

— I have ample experience serving as a member of the SOC (including four times as chair) of international conferences and advanced schools. For instance, I am chairing, in 2024, the largest conference in the field of asteroseismology (part of the TASC/KASC annual conference series). This again can be put to use in supporting the Commission’s goal of promoting biennial IAU Symposia, to which one should perhaps add advanced schools targeting young researchers (i.e., PhD and early career researchers).

— I have scientific coordination roles within the PLATO (ESA) and Ariel (ESA) mission consortia, while also actively contributing to a number of other consortia (e.g., TASC and SONG). This will be central to the Commission’s strategy to foster dialogue between scientific consortia, in particular between ground-based surveys and space missions.

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First Name: Susmita

Last Name: Das

Email: susmitadas130@gmail.com

Secondary Email: susmita.das@csfk.org

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Hungary

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

1. Local Organizing Committee (LOC) member for IAU Symposium 376 “At the cross-roads of astrophysics and cosmology: Period–luminosity relations in the 2020s” held in Budapest, Hungary, 17-21 April 2023

2. Chief organizer for the International Spring School program, IAU Symposium 376, “Modern methods of cosmic distance determination” held in Budapest, Hungary, 12-15 April 2023

3. Co-supervisor of the research project titled “A multi-wavelength theoretical study of BLAPs (blue large amplitude pulsators) using MESA” for IAU–International Visegrad Fund Mobility Awards 2023

4. Contributed talk at IAU Symposium 376 “At the cross-roads of astrophysics and cosmology: Period–luminosity relations in the 2020s” held in Budapest, Hungary, 17-21 April 2023

5. Speaker at the International Spring School program, IAU Symposium 376, “Modern methods of cosmic distance determination” held in Budapest, Hungary, 12-15 April 2023

Motivation:

I would like to be a Commission Organizing Committee Member for Commission G4 Pulsating Stars because my research involves working with classical pulsators in an attempt to constrain stellar evolution and pulsation models.

I believe being part of the committee helps exchange ideas among the committee members, thereby providing me with better opportunities to network and build dynamic relations with the leading researchers in the field. I have earlier been an LOC member for the IAUS 376 and am currently a member of the Gender Equality Plan task force at Konkoly Observatory, Budapest. Both these roles have helped me learn a lot about organisation and leadership skills from the experts. In addition to spending my time in scientific research, I genuinely like connecting with people and thoroughly enjoy being involved in activities such as organizing conferences. I believe it not only helps me with my personal and professional development but also helps me gain more insight and prepares me to take up more leadership roles that would help me lead scientific projects better in the future. I am confident of executing the duties expected of me as a committee member and pride myself in often bringing in fresh perspectives.

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First Name: Kelly

Middle Name: Marie

Last Name: Hambleton (Prsa)

Email: kelly.hambleton@villanova.edu

Secondary Email: kelly.prsa@villanova.edu

Gender: Female

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have attended three IAU General Assemblies where I have chaired some sessions in the Division G Meetings. I have also presented papers at two of the three IAU General Assemblies (most recently on the Transiting and Variable Stars Science Collaboration Road Map).

Motivation:

As the only female professor in the astrophysics department at Villanova University, I have come to realize how important it is to position myself as a role model for female students. I currently do this through direct mentorship but feel that taking on a more prominent position at an international level will allow me to achieve this goal on a larger scale.

In addition, I have extensive experience organizing workshops, meetings and conferences. Examples include my role as the sole organizer for five (soon to be six) PHOEBE (PHysics Of Eclipsing BinariEs) Workshops; I am a Co-chair for a symposium on pulsating stars in binary systems in the upcoming EAS Meeting; and am on the SOC for the Kopal Meeting on binary stars in September. Given my experience, I feel that I can provide significant contributions as a member of an IAU Organizing Committee.

Finally, I am applying to join the Organizing Committee of Commission G4 because I would like to form strong connections with the pulsating star community. As demonstrated by my conference and workshop involvement, I am highly active in the binary star community. However, my primary field of research, is "pulsating stars in binary systems", which extends to a wide variety of pulsating stars (e.g., red giant solar-like oscillators, delta Scuti/gamma Dor pulsators and objects undergoing tidally excited oscillations). By playing an active role in Commission G4, I hope to become more involved with the pulsating star community.

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First Name: Ilaria

Last Name: Musella

Email: ilaria.musella@inaf.it

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

My research focuses on the study of stellar populations in the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. Specifically, I investigate the use of variable stars (in particular, RR Lyrae and Cepheids) as population tracers and distance indicators. I approach these topics from both an observational and theoretical perspective, analyzing the results of observations and comparing them with evolutionary and pulsational models.This comparison provides valuable insights to unveil the formation and evolution history of galaxies and to improve the calibration of the extragalactic distance scale for understanding the well-known Hubble tension problem.

I'm involved GAIA Coordination Unit 7: participation to 1 work-package on specific object variability and I'm Data Right Holder Rubin-LSST as Principal Investigator and member of Rubin-LSST TVS and SMWLV Science collaborations.

In addition, I have held various institutional roles in the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) and in particular I have been president of the National Scientific Committee "Stars and Stellar Populations" for 4 years.

For this reason, I'm very interested in being member and give my contribution to this Commission Organizing Committee.

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First Name: Atsuko

Last Name: NITTA

Email: anitta@gemini.edu

Secondary Email: atsuko.nittakleinman@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I was part of the local organization committee for the IAU symposium 357 "White Dwarfs as probes of fundamental physics and tracers of planetary, stellar & galactic evolution" held in 2019, Hilo, Hawaii.

I was part of the member in "IAU - WP Management of Diversity and Inclusion in Large International Collaborations", lead by Simona Mei, which conducted a survey on bullying as well as assembling a code of conduct document at conferences/workplace.

Motivation:

I see that there is possibility that I can be of service as well as I could learn from serving on a committee in IAU. I have been serving as the Head of Science Operations at Gemini North for 7 years. I have experienced large organization restructuring and serving under my 3rd director of the observatory since I became a manager. The skills learned in this role could be useful in helping the IAU's commission work. Being in a remote location where timezone, travel time, travel expenses is a challenge, it is not always easy to connect to astronomers elsewhere. I expect I can learn via interactions with astronomers in other part of the world in trying to achieve a common goal. Hawaii is where the opposition to the existence of ground based observatories is very large for complex historical reasons. I would like to learn lessons that might have encountered similar situations and perhaps offer what we are doing in hopes of giving back to the community. I hope we could mutually benefit from the experience.

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First Name: Valerie

Last Name: Van Grootel

Email: valerie.vangrootel@uliege.be

Secondary Email: valerie.vangrootel@ulg.ac.be

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Belgium

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I'm a specialist of pulsations in evolved compact stars, white dwarfs and hot subdwarfs in particular, since many years (PhD thesis in 2008). I've a good experience in services to the community, both at international and university levels (various selection committees for prizes, grants and positions; vice-president at ULiege of the STAR research unit, of about 120 people). I'm willing now to serve in a similar way the pulsating stars community.

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First Name: Tao

Last Name: WU

Email: wutao@ynao.ac.cn

Secondary Email: ggwutao@126.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

None

Motivation:

I'm Tao WU, working in Yunnan Observatories, Chinese Academy of Sciences . I have been working in the field of astroseismology for about ten years (2014-the present, 2018 promote Associate Researcher). In the past, I joined the relevant sub-groups of KASOC and TASOC, and actively participated in cooperation and exchange. Currently, I am involved in promoting the ET project, which is a project aimed at finding a second Earth. Of course, it will also provide us with high-quality asteroseismic data. I am applying to join the committee hoping to strengthen cooperation and exchange with international peers via this platform. Promote the development of astroseismology in China and Asia, and enhance exchanges with other regions.

Commission G5 Stellar and Planetary Atmospheres

Candidate for: Commission President

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First Name: Simon

Last Name: Jeffery

Email: simon.jeffery@armagh.ac.uk

Secondary Email: dr.simon.jeffery@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United Kingdom

Position: Commission President

Detailed experience:

Vice President of Commission G5 Stellar and Planetary Atmospheres
Member of Division G Stars and Stellar Physics
Member of Commissions G3 Stellar Evolution, G4 Pulsating Stars and G5 Stellar and Planetary Atmospheres
Past President of Commission G4 Pulsating Stars (2015-2018)
Past Vice-President of Commission 27 Variable Stars (2012-2015)
Past Advisor of Commission G4 Pulsating Stars (2018-2021)
Past Steering Committee Member of Division G Stars and Stellar Physics (2015-2018)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission G4 Pulsating Stars (2015-2018)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission 27 Variable Stars (2009-2012)

Motivation:

Analyses of stellar and planetary atmospheres have helped explain the Universe for more than a century, from bio-markers in exoplanets to neo-natal galaxies in the early Universe. Our toolkit is diverse; methods must be fast and robust for massive multi-object surveys, sophisticated and incisive for extreme and novel environments. These are exciting times.

I have modelled and analysed stellar spectra through four decades, from ultraviolet to infrared. For ten years I supported a UK project for the Analysis of Astronomical Spectra, implementing atmosphere codes on supercomputers, organising workshops, building a website and publishing a Newsletter. My current interests include exotic, inhomogeneous and pulsating stellar atmospheres. I maintain the Armagh stellar atmosphere software library, and I lead a spectroscopic survey of helium-rich hot subdwarfs.

I see the role of the G5 Organizing Committee being to encourage communication, participation, collaboration, equality and diversity amongst the Commission membership. I am enthusiastic about the Commission on-line lecture series and would like to encourage more Commission visibility through our website.

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Daniela

Last Name: Korcakova

Email: kor@sirrah.troja.mff.cuni.cz

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Czech Republic

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

a member of the organizing committee of the commission G5 Stellar and Planetary Atmospheres since 2018

Motivation:

I have been a member of the G5 organizing committee for the last two terms. Together with Carlos Allende and Katia Cunha, I organize on-line talks once in two months:
http://iactalks.iac.es/talks/serie/28
Beeing involved with this task, I see problems that affect this community. For example, even if the boundary between stellar and planetary atmospheres is increasingly overlapping, both in theory and in observation, the gap between stellar and planetary physicists is growing. I think that our commission is an excellent platform to connect researchers in these different fields and in different regions.

My feeling is that we do not use all the possibilities that this platform offers. For example, a wikipedia for our field is missing. Still not all the necessary data for our codes are easily available. It would be beneficial to share our experiences with new codes, the number of which is growing rapidly, especially in the field of planetary atmospheres.

Students also need more support. As the field of planetary atmospheres is relatively new, the research centres are rare and most of the students have no access to lectures.

I am asking for the position of vice-president of the G5 IAU commission to work on these issues.

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First Name: Mudumba

Last Name: Parthasarathy

Email: partha@iiap.res.in

Secondary Email: m-partha@hotmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I have been a member of IAU commission 29 (Stellar Spectra) since 1985. I was on the organizing committee of IAU commission 29 (Stellar Spectra) during the years 2000 to 2012. During that time I was on the scientific organizing committee of some of the IAU Symposiums and also presented invited review talks on post-AGB stars in some of the IAU Symposiums. Took part in preparing the IAU Commission 29 reports and in recommending some of the IAU Symposiums and Joint Discussions and colloquiums during the IAU GAs that were held during 2000 to 2012. Now I am a member of the organizing committee of IAU Commission G5 (Stellar and Planetary Atmospheres).

Motivation:

To take part and to strengthen the scientific and organizational activities of IAU Commission G5. To enhance the international collaboration and cooperation on the research areas that are of interest to IAU Commission G5 members. To organize IAU Symposiums and Scientific meetings on current topics that are of interest to IAU G5 commission members. To work closely with the IAU Divisions and IAU Commissions that are of interest to G5 members.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Swetlana

Last Name: Hubrig

Email: shubrig@aip.de

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I am a member in the G1, G2, and G5 comissions, and served as co-chair in 2018 for the focus meeting FM4 (Magnetic fields along the star-formation sequence) and in 2022 for FM9 (Stellar Synthetic Spectra To Study Stellar Populations In The Gaia Era).

Motivation:

My research is closely related to the main topics of commission G5: I am carrying out spectroscopic and magnetic studies of massive and intermediate-mass stars. My main motivation as a member of the organizing committee is to play a more active role in supporting and promoting research related to stellar atmospheres, in particular those with peculiar element abundances, including scientific discussions and the organization of meetings.

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First Name: Carl

Middle Name: Andrew

Last Name: Schmidt

Email: schmidtc@bu.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

In order to become more familiar with the IAU and help connect it with organizations and resources more familiar to me.

Commission H1 The Local Universe

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Giovanni

Last Name: Carraro

Email: giovanni.carraro@unipd.it

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of the International Astronomical Union (1996-present)
2009-2012: Commission 37 Vice President and member of Division V organizing committee
2012-2015: Commission 37 President and member of Division H steering committee
2014-2015: Co-proposer for IAU “Commission Stars Clusters through Space and Time”

Motivation:

I served IAU in various way several years ago in my early career. I would like now to bring my experience and seniority into the commission H1 activities. I have been working on Local Universe science for 30 years, and have been serving for more than 10 year as AAS journal editor in the Local Universe Corridor. I think I can provide help, support, and experience in all the business activities handled by the commission.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Laura

Last Name: Magrini

Email: laura.magrini@inaf.it

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Experience only as meeting participant, and organiser of a few meetings within the general assembly

Motivation:

I am interested in the study of resolved stellar populations in our Galaxy and in galaxies in the Local Universe, to be used as a benchmark for the study of galaxy formation and evolution in general.

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First Name: Hai-Feng

Last Name: Wang

Email: hfwang@bao.ac.cn

Secondary Email: haifeng.wang.astro@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

I got my Ph.D in 2018 from National Astronomical Observatories of Chinese Academy of Sciences and focus on the Milky Way and Local Universe Seismology, Dynamics, Archaeology, InterStellar Matter, Disk systems & Dark matter nature with the data, modelling and simulations.

I am writing to express my sincere interest in the position of Local Universe organising community. I noticed that there is no Chinese OC member in the list so it will be my honour to devote myself to contribute my skills and experiences towards advancing these objectives and driving positive change within the organization and the broader community.

I am fully committed to fulfilling the responsibilities of this role with diligence, integrity, and enthusiasm. I am confident that my combination of passion, expertise, and dedication make me a valuable asset to the team.

Thank you for considering my application.

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First Name: Gang

Last Name: ZHAO

Email: gzhao@nao.cas.cn

Secondary Email: gzhao@bao.ac.cn

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

1)1994-1997: Member of Organizing Committee Member of Commission 29 Stellar Spectra
2)2009-2012: Chair of Executive Committee WG IAU General Assemblies
3)2012- 2015: Member of IAU Special Nominating Committee; Member of the organizing committee Division F Commission 53 Extrasolar Planets
4)Aug 20-31st, 2012: Co-chairs of both the National Organizing Committee and Local Organizing Committee of the 28th General Assembly of IAU
5)May 20-24th ,2013: Co-chair of the Scientific Organizing Committee of IAUS 298
6)2015 to 2021: Co-proposer and Organizing Committee Member of Commission H1 the Local Universe
7)2021 to 2024: Organizing Committee Member of Executive Committee WG Global Coordination of Ground and Space Astrophysics

Motivation:

Commission H1 focuses on studies of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies. I have extensive experience with IAU and have also been the co-proposer and OC Member of Commission H1. As one of the scientific leaders in the field of Galactic research in China, I have made systematic and original achievements in major scientific issues such as searching for the first generation of supermassive stars and extremely metal-poor stars in the universe, reproducing the history of galaxy merger and formation, and uncovering the origin and evolution of lithium. I’ve used a large spectral sample of metal-poor dwarfs, and initiated the study of the early chemical evolution of the Milky Way with statistical significance; the classical formula for calculating the collision of neutral hydrogen atoms has been rewritten and widely used in stellar spectral analysis; a new idea of multi-dimensional exploration is proposed to discover the merging remains of different periods of the galaxy in kinematic and chemical space. I’d like to contribute and share my research experience and resources in the flied of the Milky Way and nearby galaxies as OC member of C.H1, in the hope of the long-lasting development of Galactic studies.

Commission H2 Astrochemistry

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Asuncion

Last Name: Fuente

Email: afuente@cab.inta-csic.es

Secondary Email: asuncionfuentejuan@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I am member since 1993 but I have never been participated as Organizing Commitee member.

Motivation:

I have been working in astrochemistry and star formation since 1993. During this time, I have acquired large experience in astrochemistry research. In addition, I have been leading several groups which include people from different related fields (observational astronomers, chemical modelers, experimentalists, theoretical chemists, computational astronomers). In this point of my career, I consider that I have the experience and availability to help in the Organizing Committee, and I would like to join.

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First Name: Brett

Middle Name: A

Last Name: McGuire

Email: brettmc@mit.edu

Secondary Email: bmcguir3@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Invited Speaker @ 2023 Kavli-IAU Astrochemistry Symposium
Invited Speaker @ 2021 IAU Astrochemical Frontiers
Contributed Speaker @ IAU Symposium 332: Astrochemistry VII – Through the Cosmos from Galaxies to Planets
Contributed Speaker @ IAU Symposium 280: The Molecular Universe (My first international conference!!)

Motivation:

With each passing year, and each new advance in astronomical observation, astrochemistry becomes increasingly more fundamental to unlocking the full potential of these datasets, their interpretation, and their impact on our understanding of how our Universe evolves through the process of star and planet formation. Once trivial deviations from astrophysical models chalked up to "chemistry" can no longer be swept under the rug, and indeed this chemistry carries vital information about the underlying physical processes driving interstellar evolution. As a result, astrochemistry as a field now touches nearly every aspect of astronomy; building direct and meaningful relationships between the astrochemical and astrophysical communities is crucial to the advancement of both. I have also seen first hand the power of advocating for astrochemistry as a key science driver in future facilities in enacting real change, with astrochemistry now setting the bleeding edge of design requirements for future facilities such as the ngVLA. All this motivates me to help foster the growth of astrochemistry community itself, our relationships with our colleagues and collaborators, and our involvement in and advocacy for next-generation facilities.

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First Name: Hideko

Last Name: Nomura

Email: hideko.nomura@nao.ac.jp

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Japan

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member of Division H Interstellar Matter and Local Universe
Member of Commission H2 Astrochemistry

Motivation:

Astrochemistry is a relatively new and interdisciplinary field that involves, for example, observations and modelling of the evolution of molecules in various astronomical objects, as well as experiments and theories of fundamental chemical processes. It covers studies of basic chemistry in extreme environments in the ISM, while it is a useful tool for understanding astrophysical phenomena through observations. In particular, I have focused on studies of the physics and chemistry of star- and planet-forming regions, and their evolution into objects in our Solar System and exoplanetary systems, using modelling and observations of various kinds of molecules. In the era of ALMA and JWST, the field of astrochemistry is developing rapidly. I would like to contribute to its further development through research, education, expanding interdisciplinary collaborations, and activities in the IAU Commission H2.

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First Name: Anthony

Middle Name: J

Last Name: Remijan

Email: aremijan@nrao.edu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United States

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Currently, I have only contributed by giving talks, posters and other presentations at General IAU meetings or Topical Conferences.

Motivation:

I am very excited to submit my candidacy for a position within IAU Commission H - Astrochemistry. I believe that my work has led to significant advancements in understanding the chemistry of diverse astronomical environments, from star-forming regions to cometary coma. Also, with a focus on the formation of complex molecules in space and their role in prebiotic chemistry, I have contributed to shaping our comprehension of the cosmic origins of life. With over two decades of dedicated research and leadership in the field, I am committed to advancing our understanding of the chemical processes present in various astronomical environments and to use new and innovative techniques to broaden our understanding on how molecules form and what is the limit to this molecular complexity in space. I believe that my experience in leadership and management within astrochemistry and within NRAO and ALMA over the past 15 years can contribute meaningfully to the goals of Commission H. I am also a very strong believer in the power of collaboration to drive scientific progress - and most importantly in the efforts to expand diversity, equity and inclusion into the field. If elected, I am dedicated to actively contributing to the initiatives and activities of Commission H in whatever capacity I am needed and being a strong advocate for policies that support the advancement of astrochemistry worldwide.

Inter-Division G-H Commission Planetary Nebulae

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: David

Last Name: Jones

Email: david.jones@iac.es

Secondary Email: davidjones.pne@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

2018-present: Member of Organising Committee for Inter-Division G-H Commission Planetary Nebulae
2023: SOC member IAUS 384 "Planetary Nebulae: a Universal Toolbox in the Era of Precision Astrophysics" (Krakow, Poland)
2016: Invited speaker at IAUS 323 "Planetary nebulae: Multi-wavelength probes of Stellar and Galactic Evolution" (Beijing, China)
2015: Invited lecturer at "Awareness 2015 – An ESO/OPTICON/IAU summer school on modern instruments, their science case, and practical data reduction" (Brno, Czech Republic)

Motivation:

The IAU's PN commission is one of only a handful which spans two different divisions ("Stars and Stellar Physics" and "Interstellar Matter and Local Universe") demonstrating the wide impact our research can and does have. Nonetheless, the PN commission remains one of the IAU's smallest and, perhaps more worryingly, has proportionally one of the fewest numbers of junior members. If elected, I would push to exploit our recently awarded inter-division status to further collaborative efforts with other related commissions (e.g.; Binary stars, Stellar evolution, Local Universe, Astrochemistry), for instance through the organisation of joint meetings/symposia. I would also encourage more of our junior colleagues to join the IAU and the PN commission, such that the commission can better represent them. More widely, I think that our commission has an important obligation to support early career researchers in an ever more competitive job market, be that through the IAU's thesis prizes, financial support for attending symposia, ensuring a good career-stage balance when selecting invited speakers for symposia (something I myself benefitted from earlier in my career), or other initiatives.

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First Name: Ryszard

Last Name: Szczerba

Email: szczerba@ncac.torun.pl

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Poland

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

None

Motivation:

Throughout my career as an astronomer, I have been deeply involved in the investigation of planetary nebulae and proto-planetary nebulae. My passion for this topic has led me to organize several international conferences, two of which were specifically dedicated to planetary nebulae: 1: Planetary Nebulae as astronomical tools, Gdansk/Poland, 2005 (https://www.ncac.torun.pl/~pngdansk/), and 2: IAUS 384: Planetary Nebulae: a Universal Toolbox in the Era of Precision Astrophysics, Krakow/Poland, 2023. These conferences provided valuable platforms for researchers and experts to exchange insights and discoveries in the field of planetary nebulae.
I believe my experience and dedication make me well-suited for the role of Vice President. I am eager to contribute my knowledge, expertise, and network to further the goals and initiatives of the Commission.

Thank you for considering my application. I am available for any additional information or discussions at your convenience.

Warm regards,

Ryszard Szczerba

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Jorge

Last Name: García-Rojas

Email: jogarcia@iac.es

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

The Inter-Division G-H Commission on Planetary Nebulae is an active commission comprising experts in both the areas of stars and stellar physics (Division H) and the physics of interstellar matter and the local universe (Division G). This composition reflects the significance of synergies between the two divisions. I am particularly sensitive to this issue, as my recent research work has demonstrated the importance of establishing synergies between different fields to understand the chemical evolution of the Universe.

In my opinion, the primary challenge facing this commission is to facilitate a seamless progression of research career development of young researchers in the field. If elected, I will actively engage in initiatives aimed at achieving this goal. This includes providing funding for the attendance of early-career researchers at relevant IAU-sponsored meetings, advocating for invited talks for emerging talents in the field, and actively promoting the participation of early-career researchers in some of the PN commission’s activities.

I also believe that an equally crucial responsibility is ensuring the effective dissemination of the commission members' key scientific findings. I will work towards the adequate promotion of these results to enhance their visibility and impact.

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First Name: Miguel

Last Name: Santander-Garcia

Email: m.santander@oan.es

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

As a candidate for the IAU's PNe commission, I bring to the forefront a multi-wavelength expertise poised to bridge the existing gap between studies of the ionized and molecular phases of PNe. My extensive background in optical, infrared, and mm-range astronomy uniquely positions me to integrate diverse observational techniques and theoretical frameworks. If elected, I will foster collaborations and symposia aimed at creating opportunities for researchers to share insights, methodologies, and data across wavelength ranges, ultimately advancing our comprehension of PNe by achieving a holistic understanding of the last stages of the lives of low- and intermediate-mass stars. In addition to fostering collaboration across expertise and wavelengths, I believe it's imperative to nurture PNe research with fresh ideas from our youngest colleagues. As such, I will encourage early-career researchers to join the commission, ensuring their voices are heard and their contributions valued. My intention is to create an environment that promotes the necessary conditions for young, talented researchers to increase the visibility of their work within the community. This includes promoting their participation in the community and advocating for funding opportunities and initiatives that can help propel their careers towards stability.

Inter-Division G-H-J Commission Stellar Clusters

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Randa

Middle Name: S.

Last Name: Asa'd

Email: raasad@aus.edu

Gender: Female

Country of Work: United Arab Emirates

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

• Proposed the idea and obtained the IAU-AOD grant for organizing the First Arab Winter School for Astronomy with my colleagues at ArAS (2015-2016).
• Organized three IAU_100 events at the American University of Sharjah by hosting international researchers in the field of astronomy from renowned institutes like STScI and EPFL (Spring 2019).
• Member of the organizing committee of IAU Astronomy Education Workshop (October 2019)
• Member of the UAE National Committee for the IAU NameExoWorlds Contest (September – November 2019)
• H4 (Star Clusters) Commission Organizing Committee Member (2021 - present)
• UAE National Astronomy Education Coordinator (2022 - present)
• Lecturer snd SOC member for the IAU-HOW workshop on Optical Astronomy, in Sharjah, UAE (will take place in December 2024)

Motivation:

One of the initiatives that I proposed and started working on as a group in the Commission Organizing Committee is setting the foundations of a yearly online summer/winter school that will present state-of-the-art topics in the field of stellar clusters. All lectures will be archived and made available as a permanent resource. The school will have two parts: a foundational one to introduce the topic and a hands-on application where participants get to learn to use real data to reproduce results related to the topic of the school.
I am excited to continue working on this initiative as well as other new initiatives and to get the opportunity to represent the Arab region in our commission in order to establish new specialized joint programs and collaborations (i.e: IAU-HOW workshop ... etc)

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First Name: Angela

Last Name: Bragaglia

Email: angela.bragaglia@inaf.it

Secondary Email: abragaglia2@gmail.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I am presently part of the Commission Stellar Clusters as committee member.
I have organised two IAU Symposia, one in 2015 at the GA, one in 2019 in Bologna.

Motivation:

My interest in stellar clusters goes back to the mid-80's, when I begun studying globular clusters, which were then though as the perfect example of simple stellar populations. I have seen this concept change, starting from the spectroscopic evidence of multiple populations - to which I contributed my penny-worth of work - and continuing with the precise HST (and now also JWST) and ground-based photometry, with new hopes coming from J-plus and J-PAS. Open clusters are today one of the hot topics in Galactic astronomy, also thanks to the revolution brought by the Gaia mission and the asteroseismic missions. I have been studying open clusters using photometry and high-resolution spectroscopy. I participated to the organisation of the Gaia-ESO survey, which contributed homogeneous and large dataset on them. I am actively participating to the WEAVE Open clusters survey in a leading role. I am co-PI of the Community Survey "Stellar clusters in 4MOST", where all kind of stellar clusters, from the youngest to the oldest, will be targeted. I believe that stellar clusters in general hold a fundamental role for astrophysics. Many participants to the H4 Commission have ben instrumental in the progress of the field both on the observational and theoretical side, and I would like this to proceed further; Commission H4 can help in that.

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First Name: Ignacio

Last Name: Negueruela

Email: ignacio.negueruela@ua.es

Secondary Email: ignacio.negueruela@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Inter-Division Commission "Stellar Clusters throughout cosmic space and time" Organising Committee 2021 to now

Motivation:

I honestly believe that we are living the most promising epoch in the study of open clusters. With the advent of Gaia, a wealth of opportunities has emerged to harness the capabilities of star clusters as essential laboratories for stellar research. Traditional methodologies, such as isochrone fitting or abundance determination, are no longer ends in themselves, but rather steps towards addressing pivotal issues in various areas of astronomy, from star formation to binary evolution.

I am eager to look into these possibilities and gain firsthand insights from the people involved in this venture. Throughout my career, I have always been driven by scientific curiosity, and this has led me to tackle many different problems, from parameter determination for eclipsing binaries, to exploring modes of star formation and the evolution of intermediate mass stars into the AGB phase. I am confident that my expertise positions me as a facilitator for collaboration within our vibrant community. I look forward to contributing to the collective pursuit of knowledge and fostering collaboration within our growing community.

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First Name: Priya

Middle Name: (Hasan)

Last Name: Shah

Email: priya.hasan@gmail.com

Secondary Email: priyashasan@yahoo.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Organising Committee member of H1
Co-Chair of Women in Astronomy WG

Motivation:

Have been working since almost 25 years in star clusters. Would love to work with the group and explore new initiatives. If not Vice President please consider as Organising Committee member

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Sydney

Middle Name: A.

Last Name: Barnes

Email: sbarnes@aip.de

Secondary Email: drsydneybarnes@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Organizing Committee member B6 (Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry) 2021-2024.
Ordinary Member of various other IAU Commissions, including Stellar Evolution.

Motivation:

Although my earliest cluster work was with globular clusters (under the tutelage of Bob Zinn), the majority of my subsequent work has been in open clusters, and especially concerned with the rotation and activity of cool stars therein, and the evolution of these properties with stellar age. Open clusters serve as good calibrators for emerging work on stllar activity in particular, but also for other "non-classical" aspects of stellar physics. Such work is intimately related to, and dependent on other astronomical areas such as astrometry, spectroscopy, and photometry, and benefits from interactions with such fields as asteroseismology and galactic archaeology. I would seek to bring these various voices to the discussion to enable relevant advancement of the study of Stellar Clusters.

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First Name: Roberto

Middle Name: Angelo

Last Name: Capuzzo Dolcetta

Email: roberto.capuzzodolcetta@uniroma1.it

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I am a member of IAU since 1982, memeber of several commissions. I had not official charges in the IAU organization so far.

Motivation:

I am a senior scientists and I have also a deep experience of teaching and in science popularization.
I wrote more than 250 papers in international journals and 3 books (2 published by Springer Nature and another by an Italian big publisher (Mondadori)). I have been scientifically working for 40 years in the field of star clusters with an approach mainly theoretical and numerical, as expert of stellar dynamics and computational methods. I have experience in various editorial committees as scientific organizations.
I am strongly convinced that my long term experience as well good based reputation in the field would be useful to serve as member of the Commission Organizing Committee. I would work hardly in the attempt to further develop these fields of astrophysical interests.
This is my web page https://sites.google.com/a/uniroma1.it/robertocapuzzodolcetta-eng

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First Name: Wen Ping

Last Name: CHEN

Email: wchen@astro.ncu.edu.tw

Secondary Email: wenpchen@ms21.hinet.net

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Taipei

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission 25 Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry (2012-2015)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Commission 25 Astronomical Photometry and Polarimetry (2000-2003)
Lecturer at the ISYA
Organizer of IAU Colloquium 183 on small telescopes

Motivation:

I am interested in observational diagnosis of the star formation processes, mainly on the "star" side ("pediatrics"), but sometimes also on the "cloud" side ("obstetrics"). As stars are formed in groups, I have been working on star clusters (from emergence out of clouds to disintegration), triggered star formation by massive members, and young stellar versus substellar members. Additional exposure to a variety of projects from partnership in international collaborations, setting up telescopes, to cosmic variability study, indulges me the pleasure to make wide acquaintance with scientists and students. My motivation of the post is to widen it even more, so as to promote the scientific, social, and cultural interactions.

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First Name: Flavia

Last Name: Dell'Agli

Email: flavia.dellagli@inaf.it

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have attended several IAU conferences. I participated to the 2015 general assembly in Honolulu, and to the 2016 and 2023 Symposia on Planetary nebulae in Beijing and in Krakow as invited speaker. I proposed a Focus Meeting on evolved stars for the oncoming General Assembly in South Africa, but unfortunately it was not accepted.
As astronomer of the INAF-Observatory of Rome, I will be deeply involved in the local organization of the 2027 General Assembly host in Rome.

Motivation:

My research has been focused on stellar evolution and stellar population studies from both theoretical and observational perspectives. I have investigated the evolution of low-mass stars, from the main sequence to the planetary nebula phase, with a particular focus on their impact on the environment in which they formed. I have investigated different properties of star clusters (e.g. multiple populations, extended turn off) in our Galaxy and in the Magellanic Clouds. These studies have built a solid groundwork and widen my knowledge in the field of star clusters.
During my career I have accumulated several experiences within the IAU events and organized many other conferences (both in the LOC and SOC). I have been part of many observational committees and I serve as referee for different astrophysical journals. This put me in a favorable position to have the appropriate and positive critical thinking needed to be part of the committee.
With gratitude for the enriching experiences I had thanks to the IAU community, I am compelled to contribute back by offering my expertise and capabilities. I firmly believe that my accrued knowledge and skills stand poised to serve the stellar cluster committee effectively, fostering advancements and insights within our community.

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First Name: Laura

Last Name: Magrini

Email: laura.magrini@inaf.it

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Experience only as meeting participant, and organiser of a few meetings within the general assembly

Motivation:

I am interested in actively contributing to the development of science related to the study of star clusters, both from a purely stellar formation and evolution point of view, and especially for their use as tracers of galaxy evolution.

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First Name: Priya

Middle Name: (Hasan)

Last Name: Shah

Email: priya.hasan@gmail.com

Secondary Email: priyashasan@yahoo.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Organising Committee Member H1
Co-Chair Women in Astronomy WG

Motivation:

Have been working in the area of Stellar Clusters for more than 20 years. Would love to interact and work with people with similar interests

Inter-Division D-G-H-J Commission Galaxy Spectral Energy Distributions

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Médéric

Last Name: Boquien

Email: mederic.boquien@oca.eu

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of the organizing committee of the J1 commission since 2018

Motivation:

I am excited to express my candidacy for the position of vice-president of the J1 commission. Having been involved in the commission over the past years, I have had the privilege to witness the remarkable evolution of SED modeling firsthand. Our field has burgeoned into a dynamic ecosystem, empowering research endeavors previously unimaginable. However, the advent of groundbreaking observatories like JWST and Euclid, coupled with next-generation surveys such as LSST, presents us with novel and intricate challenges in SED modeling, from exploring uncharted territories to handling massive catalogs teeming with billions of galaxies. As vice-president, I aspire to foster and facilitate key initiatives to assess and address these challenges, from the expansion of models from the X-rays to the radio and the ever more important development of machine learning techniques. Bringing the community together, especially incorporating perspectives from early-career researchers who are the future of our field, is essential to successfully reach this goal. With your support, I am confident that together, we can embark on a journey of exploration, collaboration, and discovery that enriches our understanding of the universe and inspires future generations. Thank you for considering my candidacy.

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First Name: Ignacio

Middle Name: P.

Last Name: Ferreras

Email: iferreras@iac.es

Secondary Email: i.ferreras@ucl.ac.uk

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Spain

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

IAU Commission J1 Secretary (since June 2021)

Motivation:

My research has mostly focused on the analysis of the spectral energy distributions of galaxies. Developing and testing models (at all levels: stellar populations, diffuse gas, dust, AGN, etc), along their comparison with observational data, and incorporation into full hydro/cosmological simulations represents a fundamental keystone in extragalactic astrophysics. As secretary I have helped increase the visibility of commission J1 through a new series of online talks (YouTube: @IAUCommissionJ1). As Vice-President I would continue with the activity of strengthening the role of commission J1, shaping it as a useful channel of communication among the IAU members interested in the many facets of this exciting research field.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Areg

Middle Name: M.

Last Name: Mickaelian

Email: aregmick@yahoo.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Armenia

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Organization of IAU meetings/schools: 1998-2023: IAU S194, C184, ISYA-32, S304, S365, Regional Astron. Workshops (RAW), Regional Astron. Summer Schools (RASS)

Motivation:

Active Galaxies, particularly Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) are the main subject of my research. In addition, I am interested in many other aspects of galaxies in general and their relation to Active Galaxies. I have published more than 100 papers on this subject. My research is somewhat multiwavelength given that I work with X-ray, UV, optical, IR and radio data. I have revealed many new IR galaxies (called Byurakan-IR Galaxies, BIG), identified thousands of X-ray sources (Byurakan-Hamburg-ROSAT Catalogue (BHRC) objects), revealed thousands of radio variable sources from NVSS and FIRST, introduced a new fine classification of Active Galaxies for their activity types.

I am interested in many IAU activities, including organization of scientific meetings and schools for young astronomers, establishing collaborations between countries and institutions, etc.

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First Name: Aaron

Middle Name: S.G.

Last Name: Robotham

Email: aaron.robotham@uwa.edu.au

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Australia

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have been an IAU member for many years, and been invited to speak at a number of division and commission meetings (most recently J1). I have previously applied to join the organising committee of Commission J1, and I am highly motivated to work with this group.

Motivation:

I am an Associate Professor at the University of Western Australia (ICRAR), where I have been based for the last 12 years.

I have been working with multi-wavelength data via the Galaxy And Mass Assembly project since 2008. This is the largest survey that covers UV (via GALEX) to FIR (via Herschel) data, with some 300 sq degrees of deep photometric data covering 21 bands. This data motivated me to develop ProSpect (Robotham et al 2020), a novel spectral energy distribution code that works both generatively (for producing model outputs for semi-analytic models) and for fitting (as applied to the GAMA and DEVILS surveys. We have used ProSpect to make insights into the cosmic star formation history (inferred from the local Universe with GAMA), and make better measurements of metallicity histories over the last 8 Gyrs. In recent work I have extended ProSpect into AGN SED modelling and radio regimes.

Being involved in Commission J1 will give me new opportunities to collaborate with SED experts, and I hope I can invest some of my experience and expertise into this community also.

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First Name: Andreas

Last Name: Zezas

Email: azezas@physics.uoc.gr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Greece

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

The current landscape of multi-wavelength observations gives us a unique opportunity for understanding the broad-band SEDs of galaxies and deriving self-consistent estimates of astrophysical properties such as star-formation history, ISM parameters, AGN activity. My background on the connection between stellar populations and X-ray emission in galaxies, combined with my experience on studies of galaxies (and AGN) from the radio to the X-ray band (often using results from SED analysis tools) gives me a representative picture of the current state of the art, the current limitations in the field, and the needs of the broader community. Through my involvement in the IAU J1 Commission I intent to work towards bringing together the community in the directions of: (a) benchmarking SED fitting tools; (b) improving the robustness of the derived physical parameters; (c) developing faster tools employing advances in statistics and machine learning; and (d) improving the inclusion of the radio and X-ray parts of the spectrum in the SED analysis. This way our community will make the next leaps in the analysis of SEDs and will take full advantage of the explosion in multi-band extragalactic data from the forthcoming sensitive large-area surveys.

Inter-Division B-H-J Commission Intergalactic Medium

Candidate for: Commission President

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First Name: A.

Last Name: Meiksin

Email: meiksin@ed.ac.uk

Secondary Email: aam@roe.ac.uk

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United Kingdom

Position: Commission President

Detailed experience:

I have been a member of the IAU for over thirty years. I previously served as President of IAU Commission J2 from 2015-2018, and represented the commission at the IAU AGM in 2018.

Motivation:

The IGM commission has served to provide a focus of IGM activity to the international IGM research community, and has served to advise research bodies of current and planned directions of IGM research. I am committed to maintaining these roles of the Commission, while also seeking to raise interest among young researchers in the field to join the Commission and participate in its activities as they become future leaders of the field.

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Stefano

Last Name: Cristiani

Email: stefano.cristiani@inaf.it

Gender: Decline to answer

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Member of IAU since 1988

Motivation:

The establishment of the IGM Commission has effectively consolidated the collaborative efforts of the international IGM research community, serving as a central hub for the coordination and direction of activities related to the study of properties of intergalactic gas and its interactions with galaxies and Active Galactic Nuclei. Furthermore, it has played a key role in advising various research organizations on promising trends and potential trajectories in IGM research. My commitment is to preserve the fundamental functions performed by the Commission thus far, while seeking to further cultivate enthusiasm among emerging researchers, in particular in less favored countries and communities, to engage with the Commission's initiatives. Encouraging the involvement of young scholars in the Commission's activities is of paramount importance, as it not only fosters their professional development but also trains future innovators ready to advance the field of IGM.
CV available at http://wwwuser.oats.inaf.it/cristiani/CVshort.pdf

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Annalisa

Last Name: De Cia

Email: adecia@eso.org

Secondary Email: mail@annalisadecia.com

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

None

Motivation:

My research focuses on the interstellar medium and circumgalactic medium of nearby and distant galaxies, in particular their chemical properties, mostly from absorption-line spectroscopy. I know that gas inside, around, and in between galaxies is fundamental for their formation and evolution. I would like to join the J2 commission as a member to support the studies of ISM/CGM/IGM within the astronomical community, as well as their communication.

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First Name: Yi

Last Name: MAO

Email: ymao@tsinghua.edu.cn

Secondary Email: ymao78@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: China, Nanjing

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

Serve the community of IGM and beyond.

Commission J3 Galaxies at the Epoch of Reionisation

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Valentina

Last Name: D'Odorico

Email: valentina.dodorico@inaf.it

Secondary Email: valentina.dodorico@sns.it

Gender: Female

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Mamber of the Organizing Committee of commission J3
Past President of Inter-Division B-H-J Commission Intergalactic Medium (2018-2021)
Past Steering Committee Member of Division J Galaxies and Cosmology (2018-2021)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Inter-Division B-H-J Commission Intergalactic Medium (2018-2021)
Past Organizing Committee Member of Inter-Division B-H-J Commission Intergalactic Medium (2015-2018)
Past Member of Commission 47 Cosmology (until 2015)
Past Member of Division VIII Galaxies & the Universe (until 2012)

Motivation:

In the last 10 years I have focussed my research on the Reionization epoch, studied mainly through quasar absorption spectra. I was one of the proposers of the creation of this commission and I am part of its organizing committee.
I would like now to commit more for the development of the activities of the Commission, with a particular attention to their dissemination and to the acquisition of new IAU members among the scientists working on this subject.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Christopher

Middle Name: J.

Last Name: Conselice

Email: conselice@manchester.ac.uk

Gender: Male

Country of Work: United Kingdom

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have been a member of the IAU for over 20 years, and in that time I have participated in meeting organisation as part of various SOCs and have attended several IAUs to present my work. I have not been a part of any organisational work for the IAU to date.

Motivation:

I am seeking the role as one of the IAU Commission members for Galaxies at the Epoch of Reionization, aiming to assist the IAU in coordinating efforts within the world community for aiding research and outreach that will come out of modern and future facilities, including: JWST, Euclid, TMT, and SKA. Drawing on my extensive experience in both theoretical and observational aspects of the study of the first galaxies and reionization, I am well-positioned to contribute effectively. This includes significant organisation experience in research collaborations as well as within various conferences.

I have successfully organised activities related to the first galaxies and reionization including within JWST and Euclid and my background reflects a proven ability to coordinate efforts, such as those the IAU carries out. I am confident in my capacity to foster activities within the IAU, enhancing the synergy in research, collaboration, and outreach. My varied organisational roles underscore my capability to make substantial contributions to the commission's progress.

In summary, I am dedicated to advancing the study of galaxies at the epoch of reionization within the IAU, and believe I could make a significant contribution to Commission J3's goals in this area.

Cross-Division D-J Commission Supermassive Black Holes, Feedback and Galaxy Evolution

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Gabriel

Middle Name: W.

Last Name: Pratt

Email: gabriel.pratt@cea.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

Past OC member of this Cross-Division (2018-2021).

Motivation:

I am an observational astronomer with extensive experience in the X-ray, SZ, and optical domains. My field of expertise, galaxy clusters, is multi-wavelength in nature and is central to the question of SMBH feedback and its effects on structure formation on cosmological scales; this has been one of the main themes of my research over the last few years, involving extensive use of XMM-Newton, Chandra, and Planck. I am currently involved in a number of ongoing and future observatories, including Euclid, Athena, and SKA. I would like to contribute to discussions aimed at promoting and coordinating efforts in multi-wavelength observations and simulations within the field. I believe that organizing meetings and symposia under the umbrella of organizations like the IAU can facilitate fruitful discussions and help to coordinate the multi-wavelength observational and simulation effort needed to advance the field over the coming years.

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First Name: Paolo

Last Name: Tozzi

Email: paolo.tozzi@inaf.it

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Italy

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

I was member of the X1 – Cross-Division D-J Commission Supermassive Black Holes, Feedback and Galaxy Evolution,
in the last term.

Motivation:

The complex field of SMBH/ICM/IGM interactions would greatly benefit from multidisciplinary approaches. My main movation is to promote innovative strategies to model the impact of SMBH on the host galaxy and on the large scale structure around them. My recent scientific activity highlighted the need to combine multiwavelength data with a wide range of expertise in physics and mathematics to reach a comprehensive view of the evolution of galaxies and galaxy systems, from the medium density environments at very high redshifts (z>3) to the local, well-evolved structures. This can be achieved by promoting the organization of cross talk discussions, multi-wavelength but strongly-focused workshops, and encouraging the participation of scientists from vastly different cultural, social and personal background.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Dharam

Middle Name: Vir

Last Name: Lal

Email: dharam@ncra.tifr.res.in

Gender: Male

Country of Work: India

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

I have served as an LOC for the IAU meetings and I am an IAU member.

Motivation:

I am looking forward to serving as the committee member; since I am new to this field, I would like to learn from senior friends and colleagues who are already contributing to this commission. I bring in my new expertise and ideas in the field of extra-galactic radio astronomy to this cross-division commission.

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First Name: Vincenzo

Last Name: Mainieri

Email: vmainier@eso.org

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Germany

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Member of Division B Facilities, Technologies and Data Science
Member of Division D High Energy Phenomena and Fundamental Physics
Member of Division J Galaxies and Cosmology
Member of Commission J3 Galaxies at the Epoch of Reionisation
Member of Cross-Division D-J Commission Supermassive Black Holes, Feedback and Galaxy Evolution
Member of Executive Committee WG Global Coordination of Ground and Space Astrophysics

Motivation:

The study of how AGN evolve through cosmic time and their role in galaxy evolution has been at the core of my research in the past 20 years. I am an observational astronomer, accustomed to work on a wide range of wavelengths, but I do constantly interact with theoretical colleagues.

I would like to serve in this commission to foster collaboration between these fields and help in promoting this research field between our younger colleagues.

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First Name: Solohery

Middle Name: M.

Last Name: Randriamampandry

Email: soloherymampionona@gmail.com

Secondary Email: solohery@saao.ac.za

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Madagascar

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Motivation:

Greetings, I want to join the commission to participate in its activities and contribute to its development. Best regards.

Cross-Division A-F Commission Solar System Ephemerides

Candidate for: Commission Vice-President

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First Name: Dmitry

Last Name: Pavlov

Email: dapavlov@etu.ru

Secondary Email: dmitry.pavlov@gmail.com

Gender: Male

Country of Work: Russian Federation

Position: Commission Vice-President

Detailed experience:

- IAU member since 2018.
- OC member of the X2 – Cross-Division A-F Commission Solar System Ephemerides.
- In December 2022, organized an application for a Focus Meeting on "Future Lunar Laser Ranging and Selenodesy" at the IAU GA 2024. (However the application was not approved by the IAU EC afterwards).
- Attended IAU Symposium 364 (online)
- Attended IAU regional meeting APRIM 2023 (in person)

Motivation:

I have been involved in building lunar and planetary ephemerides since 2011. This is a truly international activity as it requires hard work and cooperation and understanding between people of different backgrounds and from different countries and institutions. Modern ephemerides are built on 50+ years of observational data produced by different teams from America, Europe, and Asia, and on intricate mathematical models linking general relativity, space geodesy, and geo- and selenodynamics. Ephemerides are released once in several years by independent teams from the US, Russia, France, and recently China. IAU resources may facilitate the cooperation between teams, sharing ideas, and laying out priorities for future research related to solar system dynamics. The most interesting topics (from my point of view) in the area are lunar laser ranging, Gaia, spacecraft ranging, general relativity and cosmology studies, and links between solar science and planetary dynamics. Being in the position, I will try and endorse best ideas and best people for the sake of science of solar system ephemerides, and promote international collaboration.

Candidate for: Commission Organizing Committee member

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First Name: Daniel

Last Name: Hestroffer

Email: Daniel.Hestroffer@imcce.fr

Secondary Email: daniel.hestroffer@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Senior astronomer at Paris observatory and Institute for Celestial Mechanics and Computation of Ephemerides, and IAU member since 2010, I have some IAU experience:
- as member of Division A and Division F, interested in the dynamical and physical properties of celestial objects, mostly Solar System objects.
- as Secretary of past commission on Physical properties of asteroids and comets, for two terms,
- by participating to the Commission on Ephemerides, and the commission for Relativity in Fundamental Astronomy
- as member of the functional Working Group on Cartographic coordinates and rotation elements WGCCRE.
- I have served as DVP and President for the Division A Fundamental astronomy - Astronomie fondamentale.

Motivation:

If elected I will contribute to the activities of the this important cross-division commission. It is one the pillars making the link between Division A & F, and covering many aspects connected to other commissions and working groups of the IAU. Current and upcoming space exploration missions, and surveys from space or from ground, will bring new challenges in terms of big-data, metrology, models, dissemination tools, science fort he society, etc., for which the commission can play and important role. As member of the Gaia DPAC consortium,having served and working in an ephemeris center, I particularly appreciate the synergy between division A & F objectives. I hope to be able to serve the Commission, strengthen the links with related Working Groups and Commissions as well as other international organisations, and bringing new advances to the IAU through Fundamental astronomy, Planetary systems, and Solar System ephemerides.

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First Name: Aswin

Last Name: Sekhar

Email: aswinsek@gmail.com

Secondary Email: aswin.sekhar@obspm.fr

Gender: Male

Country of Work: France

Position: Commission Organizing Committee member

Detailed experience:

Have presented talks at multiple IAU general assemblies in the past. Have won IAU grants in the past. Have interacted with top leadership of IAU regarding science policy making in the developing world. Joined IAU in 2015 as a full member and has been active ever since (part of Executive Committee as well as member of multiple commissions) and been creating awareness about the activities and initiatives of IAU in the rural parts of developing world.

Motivation:

I am the first professional meteor scientist from India. I have been active in propagating astronomy of small solar system bodies and orbital dynamics in my own country and abroad by spreading awareness about both the aesthetics as well as the risk posed by small solar system bodies. I will be able to bring new perspectives regarding science outreach, science policy making and involving the rural communities in astronomy and make the global initiatives inclusive of more minority and diversity since I belong to that background myself. I look forward to working with the top IAU leadership people to enhance more cooperation and collaboration in solar system small bodies and ephemerides on a global scale in the developing world. Thank you for considering my candidacy. Clear skies!