JULY 2017 - TOPICS

Short News The 13th Hellenic Astronomical Conference ESA's 2017 Networking / Partnering Initiative Student and Postdoctoral Research Opportunities Abroad Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece About this Newsletter

1. Short News

The Society would like to congratulate Ordinary Member Leonidas Moustakas for his appointment as the Deputy Project Scientist of NASA's flagship WFIRST mission. Dr. Moustakas, already Manager of the Astrophysics and Space Sciences Section at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, also serves as a Member of the Science and Technology Definition Team of NASA's flagship LUVOIR mission study, in advance of the U.S. 2020 Decadal. The Society extends its best wishes to Dr. Moustakas for productivity and success in his future endeavors. The Society would like to congratulate Junior Member Evangelos Paouris for having successfully defended his PhD Thesis at the University of Athens, under the supervision of Prof. H. Mavromichalaki. The Society extends its best wishes to the graduate for a prolific career and success in his pursuits.

2. The 13th Hellenic Astronomical Conference

The 13th Conference of Hel.A.S. was successfully concluded in Heraklion, Crete, on July 2 - 6. The meeting was very well attended, with a total of 164 registered participants affiliated at institutions spanning over an impressive 20 countries, besides Greece. Numerous students at various postgraduate levels, as well as young researchers, also registered and attended. The Conference kicked off on July 2, with a public outreach talk delivered by the LOC Chair, Prof. N. Kylafis of the University of Crete, a Founding Ordinary Member of the Society. The meeting followed the familiar format of four Sessions, namely Heliophysics and the Solar System, Extragalactic Astronomy and Astrophysics, Cosmology and Relativistic Astrophysics and Stars, Planets and the Interstellar Medium. Each session featured one well-established Plenary Speaker and a small number of invited speakers. There was consensus that the quality of oral and poster presentations was exceptional, reinforcing the assessment of an ever-increasing, both national and international, proliferation and impact of the Hellenic astronomy and astrophysics community. The Conference also hosted the 35th General Assembly of the Society, that took place on Tuesday, July 4. The detailed minutes of the Assembly will appear in the Society's website. A number of pertinent issues were discussed, along with the Society's finances and its official magazine, Hipparchos. It was concluded that the Society is financially robust, while Hipparchos will continue to be produced and distributed to all Members. Moreover, Member list additions and alterations were approved by the Assembly. It was presented that the Society now amounts 266 Members, an increase of 3% over last year's 34th General Assembly, in line with similar increases in previous Assemblies.  In view of the overall success, the Society wishes to express its deepest appreciation to everyone involved, from students who contributed on a voluntary base, to the Local and Scientific Organizing Committees, to all the attendees who implemented the Scientific Program. It also extends its gratitude to the sponsors of the Conference, namely the Region of Crete, the National Observatory of Athens and the Academy of Athens. More information about the meeting can be found in the Conference's website.

3. ESA's 2017 Networking / Partnering Initiative

The European Space Agency (ESA) has announced this year's Networking and Partnering Initiative (NPI) that aims to support Universities and Research Institutes of ESA member-states on advanced technologies with potential space applications, hence fostering an increased interaction between the Agency and European educational, research, and industrial entities. Via NPI, ESA can fund or co-fund PhD and PostDoc projects for up to three years with a co-funding up to 50%. This year there will be up to three (3) positions, in collaboration with ESA's ESAC Center for Space Science. The application process is simple, with very short proposals (up to two pages). The deadline for applications is 9 am CEST (10 am Greek time) on July 28. More information about this opportunity can be found here.

4. Student and Postdoctoral Research Opportunities Abroad

Starting from this Newsletter, the Society has decided to change the mode of providing study and research opportunities. Rather than posting individual announcements, it will hereafter offer, as a permanent Newsletter item, standard and established links continuously refreshed with posts, aiming to provide an unbiased, comprehensive source of information to potential PhD students and PostDocs in astronomy and astrophysics. The list below may be refreshed or updated with new established lists: AAS Pre-Doctoral / Graduate positions here. AAS PostDoctoral Positions and Fellowships here. EAS Job Directory (choose "PhD positions" or "Academic jobs" accordingly) here. EAS School Directory here. IAU Careers in Astronomy here. CERN opportunities for students here. CERN opportunities for graduates here. Any Member of the Society who wishes to contribute another credible link with opportunities, or individual opportunities that will, however, shown in a single-liner format as above, is encouraged to contact the Secretary of the Society.

5. Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece

International Conference on Kappa Distributions and Statistical Mechanics,  Corfu, July 10-14, 2017 Ninth Aegean Summer School on Einstein's Theory and its Modifications,  Apollonia, Sifnos, September 18-23, 2017 The Olympian Symposium 2018: gas and stars from milli- to mega- parsecs,  Paralia Katerini, Mount Olympus, May 28 - June 1, 2018

6. 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 August 1, 2017.  Please send your announcements (e.g., appointments / departures, job openings, research opportunities, awards, conferences in Greece) or comments before July 25, 2017. 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. at secretary@helas.gr.