IAU Symposium 342 - FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT

Perseus in Sicily: from black hole to cluster outskirts

https://www.ira.inaf.it/iaus342
https://www.facebook.com/PerseusinSicily/
https://twitter.com/iaus342

[please distribute - apologies for cross-postings]


Dear colleagues,

we are happy to announce the opening of the registration for IAU Symposium
#342 “Perseus in Sicily: from black hole to cluster outskirts”.

The meeting will take place in Noto (Sicily, Italy), starting on Sunday,
May 13, with a welcome reception, with scientific sessions from Monday 14,
till Friday 18, and a possibility for social activities on Saturday, May
19.


IMPORTANT DATES

– 14 January:
Application for IAU travel grants
End of reduced fee registration
– 28 February:
Notification of grant allocations
Close of abstract submission
– 15 March:
End of regular registration fee
– 25 March:
Notification of abstract selection
Preliminary program
– 13 May
Welcome cocktail
– 14-18 May
Symposium


REGISTRATION FEE

There is a registration fee of 280 EUR until the regular registration
deadline of March 15.  The fee is reduced to 210 EUR for early
registrations (until January 14) and it becomes 350 EUR for late
registrations (after March 15).  The registration fee includes a welcome
cocktail on May 13, all lunches and coffee breaks, the social dinner,
transportation from/to Catania International airport on the day before the
start and the one after the end of the symposium, and an electronic copy
of the proceedings.


INVITED SPEAKERS

Felix Aharonian
Kazunori Akiyama
Michiel Brentjens
Eugene Churazov
Francoise Combes
Denise Gabuzda
Karl Gebhardt
Gabriele Giovannini
Federica Govoni
Matteo Guainazzi
Julie Hlavacek-Larrondo
Melanie Johnston-Hollitt
Ruta Kale
Elina Lindfors*
Anna Lia Longinotti
Monika Moscibrodzka*
Monica Orienti
Chris Reynolds*
Jeremy Sanders
Debora Sijacki
Aurora Simionescu
Taka Tamura
Alexander Tchekhovskoy
Irina Zhuravleva*

* to be confirmed


IAU TRAVEL GRANTS

A generous grant from the IAU will enable us offer a number of travel
grants to persons from disadvantaged regions or circumstances, as per IAU
guidelines.  Everyone except invited speakers can apply, as long as they
provide a contribution (following IAU rules).  Please see
https://www.ira.inaf.it/iaus342/?page_id=171 for further details.


TRAVEL, VENUE, AND ACCOMMODATION

The nearest airport is Catania International Airport, with good
connections to hubs such as Amsterdam, Munich, Rome. From Catania to Noto,
it is about an hour drive on highway, and we will provide shuttle
transportation free of cost for all participants on the day before and the
one after the symposium.

The symposium will take place in Grand Hotel Sofia just outside historic
downtown Noto. We expect that about 60 participants could be also lodged
at Grand Hotel Sofia.  For other participants, we have arranged
accommodation either downtown Noto in smaller hotels and b&b’s, or in the
nearby village of Noto Marina (5km distance, just on the sea coast;
shuttle to/from conference venue available). Please see our accommodation
page for details on the reservation process.  Note that the week of the
symposium is considered high season in Noto because of the “Infiorata”
(see below), so even if that will not impact accommodation costs (we
secured good rates), we expect that it will be very hard to find a last
minute accommodation: make sure to plan your travel and book your room
early!


THE “INFIORATA” AND OTHER SOCIAL ACTIVITIES

Each year, the third Sunday in May (the weekend following our symposium),
a cascade of thousands of flowers, expertly arranged on the road, making
the vision of baroque city full of scents and colours: this event is one
of the best on the island of Sicily. This event attracts a large crowd,
which means that depending on your taste you may want to extend your visit
for a couple of days to enjoy the atmosphere of the celebration, or that
you should plan to have your bags ready to leave just after the concluding
remarks on Friday if you want to avoid the confusion.

In any case, it will be a special week during our meeting and we will make
sure that you all will have the possibility to enjoy the many historical,
cultural, natural, and scientific attractions that Sicily has to offer.
Please keep an eye on our next announcements and on our web page for the
social activity information.

We look forward to meeting you all in Noto!

Marcello, Christine, Elisabete, Hiroshi - on behalf of the SOC