NOVEMBER 2014 - TOPICS

Short News The 12th Conference of Hel.A.S Hel.A.S. on Twitter Best PhD Prize 2015 Travel Grant Application (Junior Members) The 1st Summer School of Hel.A.S. The 7th OPTICON NEON Observing School Hipparchos 2015 Issue IMPRS - LAST Call for PhD Applications PhD Positions at Leiden Observatory IAU Individual Membership Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece About this Newsletter

1. SHORT NEWS

It is with great regret that we inform our members of the recent passing of our esteemed colleague George Banos, Professor Emeritus at the Department of Physics, University of Ioannina, Greece. George Banos was born in Athens on the 10th of June, 1932. He received the B.Sc. in Physics from the University of Athens and his Ph.D. from the same University under the supervision of Prof. Kotsakis. He worked as Assistant and Chief Assistant at the Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the National Observatory of Athens from 1959 until 1974, when he became Professor at the Department of Physics at the University of Ioannina. George Banos also served as Rector of the University of Ioannina. His scientific interests were the area of Solar Physics. His PhD students included Petros Rovithis, Helen Dara, and Theodosis Zachariadis. The GC wishes to extend its deepest regrets to his loved ones, on behalf of all members of Hel.A.S. We would like to congratulate Dr. Kalliopi Dasyra who moved recently to the Department of Physics at the University of Athens, after being awarded a Marie Curie Intra-European Fellowship. The GC wishes Dr. Dasyra every success in her new position.

2. The 12th Conference of Hel.A.S

As announced in a previous Newsletter, the 12th Conference of Hel.A.S. will take place in Thessaloniki (June 28 - July 2, 2015). As usual in the last meetings, a Public Event is being scheduled for Sunday 28/6, while the official program of the meeting will start on Monday, 29/6. The new Research Dissemination Center (KEDEA Bld.) of AUTh will serve as venue. More information on the venue, organizing committees, sessions, convenors and important dates (abstract submission, registration, etc.) can be found on the meeting's web-site, which has just been posted at: http://www.helas.gr/conf/2015. Please check the web site regularly for updates.

3. Hel.A.S. on Twitter

As of a few weeks ago, the GC of Hel.A.S. has opened a Twitter account! After several discussions, the GC decided that this was (at least, for now) the easiest way providing an efficient form of communication between the GC and all our members, especially with regards to important information (e.g. new jobs or calls for proposals) that have very pressing deadlines and need to be shared promptly. We encourage all our members to "follow" Hel.A.S. on Twitter (account: @elaset_tweets)!

4. Best PhD Prize 2015

The Governing Council of Hel.A.S. established in October 2011 the “Best PhD thesis Prize” of the Hellenic Astronomical Society. The Prize is aimed at young scientists working in the fields of Astronomy and Astrophysics. The GC believes that the Prize promotes and increases the visibility of the research done by the Junior members of our Society and is thus happy to announce the 2015 competetion. The prize for 2015 is restricted to Junior members of Hel.A.S, who have successfully defended their thesis in a University either in Greece or abroad between August 1, 2013 and April 30, 2015 (expected date). The Thesis should be written on a topic in Astronomy or Astrophysics. The Prize is accompanied by an award in the form of financial support for the participation of the Prize recipient in an international conference to present the results from his/her thesis. The award recipient is also expected to give an oral presentation on their thesis at the 12th Conference of Hel.A.S. (Thessaloniki, 28/6-2/7 2015). More informtion can be found at: http://www.helas.gr/best_phd_thesis_prize2015.php

5. Travel Grant Application (Junior Members)

Following a recent decision of the GC, we are pleased to announce a new initiative to financially support graduate students who are Junior Members of the Society in attending international scientific conferences and workshops that are deemed paramount for the completion of their PhD Thesis, according to the rules described in a previous Newsletter. Starting November 2014, a call for applications will be issued twice a year, namely in early November, for meetings occurring during the first half of each year (January - June), and early May, for meetings occurring during the year's second half (July - December). The deadlines for submitting applications will December 15 and June 15 of each year, respectively. The application form can be found under "Announcements" at: http://www.helas.gr/events.php

6. The 1st Summer School of Hel.A.S

The 1st Summer School of Hel.A.S. was organized in Athens from September 1–5, 2014, in collaboration with the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) and the Research Center for Astronomy and Applied Mathematics (RCAAM) of the Academy of Athens, as the first step of a recent HEL.A.S. initiative to offer cutting-edge information, knowledge, and scientific training to the Society’s youngest members. The School’s theme was "Physical Processes and Data Analysis in Heliophysics" and was attended by 23 graduate students and young postdocs. In addition to the tutorial lectures offered by leading experts in the field, several practical, hands-on exercises, were also provided by tutors to the attending students. The School received generous financial support from the National Observatory of Athens and the Academy of Athens, which allowed waiving the registration fee for all participants and covering part of the local expenses for the tutors. In addition, INFOREST Research O.C. provided temporary, fully functional Interactive Data Language (IDL) licenses that covered the needs of the practical exercises accomplished during the School. The complete web site of the School, including tutorials, exercises, photos and a more detailed description (lecturers and themes, SOC, attendees' evaluation) can be found at http://www.helas.gr/school/2014

7. The 2015 OPTICON NEON Observing school

The purpose of the school is to provide opportunity to gain practical observational experience at the telescope, in observatories with state of the art instrumentation. To this effect, the school proposes tutorial observations in small groups of 4 or 5 students, under the guidance of an experienced observer, centered around a small research project and going through all steps of a standard observing program. Some introductory and complementary lectures will be given by experts in the field. The school is open principally to students working on a PhD thesis in Astronomy or Post-docs in the field, and which are nationals of a Member State or an Associated State of the European Union (but see specific conditions for each school). The working langage is english. Up to twenty participants will be selected by the organising committee. All the local costs will be covered by Opticon. A contribution to travel costs can also be considered, on a case-by-case basis. Potential candidates will need to register before Dec.8, 2014. For more information please visit: http://www.iap.fr/opticon/neon_schools/2015/index.html

8. Hipparchos 2015 Issue

As previously announced, the next Issue of Hipparchos will be published in spring 2015 and we plan to distribute hard copies during the 12th Conference of our Society, in Thessaloniki. The Editorial Committee wishes to extend an invitation to all our members, who conduct research that is currently being funded by National or International programmes and wish to advertise their work, to submit a short article (half a page plus one figure) describing their research. Those interested should contact the Editor, Dr. Manolis Georgoullis.

9. IMPRS - LAST Call for PhD Applications

The International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) for Astronomy and Astrophysics at the Universities of Bonn and Cologne has issued its LAST Call for Applications (PhD in Astronomy), with a deadline on November 15, 2014. The official poster of the school can be downloaded at http://www.mpifr-bonn.mpg.de/3089455/poster_20141.pdf. For more details please visit: http://www.mpifr.de/imprs

10. PhD Positions at Leiden Observatory

Leiden Observatory has issued a Call for PhD Applications which aims at covering 10 PhD positions, in all research areas in which the Observatory is active. Please note that the application deadline is December 1st, 2014 (starting dates negotiable). For more details and for downloading relevant material please visit: http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/phd

11. IAU Individual Membership

We remind our members that the Membership Application campaign of IAU has already started in the US, and will start very soon for other countries. Normally, the applications for individual membership must be organized by the National Members for each country or, by delegation, by the relevant National Committee for Astronomy (NCA). Please contact the NCA if you have questions - each country having different rules for selecting applicants for IAU individual membership, they are the only ones competent to answer you. The instructions to National Members and NCAs will be sent out shortly. The closing date for individual membership applications via National Members or NCAs is *1 December* (not applicable to the US).

12. UPCOMING ASTRONOMY MEETINGS IN GREECE

The 12th Hellenic Astronomical Conference Thessaloniki, 28 June - 2 July, 2015 The Olympian Symposium 2015: Cosmology and the Epoch of Reionization 18-22 May, 2015 Gas, Dust, and Star-Formation in Galaxies from the Local to Far Universe Chania, Greece, 25-29 May, 2015 Supernova Remnants: An Odyssey in Space after Stellar Death Chania, Crete, Greece, 6-11 June, 2016

13. ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER

This Newsletter was sent to all members of Hel.A.S. who have e-mail access. The next edition of the Newsletter will be mailed around December 1st, 2014. Please send your announcements (e.g. appointments/departures, job openings, research opportunities, awards, conferences in Greece) or comments before November 28, 2014. If you do not wish to receive future issues of this Newsletter or the e-mail address to which it was sent is not your preferred one, please inform the Secretary of Hel.A.S.