JANUARY 2018 - TOPICS

Short News Upcoming Hel.A.S. Elections Hipparchos 2018 Issue: Call for Contributions Parliamentary Approval of the Draft Law for the Hellenic Space Organization Student and Postdoctoral Research Opportunities Abroad Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece About this Newsletter

1. Short News

The Society would like to extend to all Members its best wishes for a Happy, Healthy, and Productive New Year. The Society is proud to represent the professional astronomy and astrophysics community is Greece and beyond and, with the help and support of its Members, will continue to do so for years to come. The Society would like to congratulate Ordinary Member Antonis Georgakakis for his recent promotion to a Senior Researcher position at the Institute of Astronomy, Astrophysics, Space Applications and Remote Sensing (IAASARS) of the National Observatory of Athens. Dr. Georgakakis is active in areas of extragalactic astrophysics, AGNs, X-ray emission in the Universe and black-hole physics, among others. The Society extends its best wishes to Dr. Georgakakis for further successes and productivity in his career.

2. Upcoming Hel.A.S. Elections

The Governing Council of Hel.A.S. will convene in January to arrange the date for the next (36th) General Assembly (GA) of the Society, that should take place around the end of June, 2018. The forthcoming GA will see the election of a new Governing Council for the term 2018 - 2020. All Society Members will receive the official announcement of the elections by the end of January 2018.   According to Article 29 of the Hel.A.S. Constitution, all Ordinary Members of the Society who have no outstanding membership fees may nominate themselves or other Ordinary Members for the Council. The nominations have to be returned to the Secretary of the Society by February 28th 2018. The call for nominations as well as the necessary forms will become available online at the "News & Events" section of the Society's web site. More information on the General Assembly and the elections will become available in following Newsletters.

3. Hipparchos 2018 Issue: Call for Contributions

The Editorial Board of Hipparchos wishes to invite Hel.A.S. members to submit articles or announcements that could be included in the forthcoming issue of Hipparchos. This year's issue will be distributed by the time of the 36th General Assembly of the Society. Interesting parties should directly contact the Editor of Hipparchos, Dr. Panagiotis Patsis, here.

4. Parliamentary Approval of the Draft Law for the Hellenic Space Organization

The draft law entitled "Licensing of Space Activities - Entry in the National Registry for Space Objects - Establishment of the Hellenic Space Agency and Related Regulations", that was submitted on November 30, 2017, for Parliamentary approval, was finally approved by the Hellenic Parliament on December 20, 2017. The Hellenic Space Agency (Ελληνικός Διαστημικός Οργανισμός [ΕΛΔΟ], in Greek) will aim to regulate scientific, technical, commercial and entrepreneurial activities with a relevance to space exploitation that feature participation by Greek entities at any level. The definition and staffing of the Agency's governing bodies, as foreseen by the draft law, will apparently be implemented during the first half of 2018. While the approved law is not yet in final form, pending typographic and syntax corrections, it can be accessed in its entirety at the website of the Hellenic Parliament, here.

5. Student and Postdoctoral Research Opportunities Abroad

The list below may be refreshed or updated with further 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. Careers and research fellowship opportunities at ESA here. Careers at NASA here. ESO Recruitment Portal here. CERN opportunities for students here. CERN opportunities for graduates here. Graduate programs at Chilean Universities 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.

6. Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece

The Olympian Symposium 2018: gas and stars from milli- to mega- parsecs,  Paralia Katerini, Mount Olympus, May 28 - June 1, 2018

7. 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 February 1, 2018.  Please send your announcements (e.g., appointments / departures, job openings, research opportunities, awards, conferences in Greece) or comments before January 25, 2018. 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.