Hel.A.S. Newsletter 100 - June 2006


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                        HELLENIC ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
                            ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER
             NUMBER 100                                June 2006

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   E-mail: elaset@astro.auth.gr      WWW:  http://www.astro.auth.gr/elaset
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   TOPICS:


   0. Electronic Newsletter #100
   1. Short News
   2. Members in New Positions
   3. Announcement of HelAS invited talk
   4. Agenda of 22nd General Assembly of Hel.A.S.
   5. ESA Cosmic Vision Program
   6. EARA-EST fellowships
   7. Upcoming Astronomy meetings in Greece
   8. About this Newsletter


  0. ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER #100
  -----------------------------

    After 7 years of uninterrupted monthly e-mails and half a dozen
  extra issues, the Electronic Newsletter of Hel.A.S. reached today
  the three digit mark. The editors would like to thank all members
  of the Society for their continuous support. We look forward to
  receiving your feedback for news and improvements.


  1. SHORT NEWS
  -------------

    We would like to congratulate Prof. P. Niarchos (Univ. of Athens)
  for being elected as a member of the Organizing Committee of IAU
  Commission 42 (Close Binaries) for the next 3 years.

 2. MEMBERS IN NEW POSITIONS
  ---------------------------

     Dr. Vassilis Arhontis was recently appointed a research associate
  at the School of Mathematics and Statistics, the Mathematical
  Institute, North Haugh, St.Andrews, Fife KY16 9SS, Scotland, continuing
  his work on magnetic flux emergence, 3D magnetic reconnection, jets and
  plasmoids.


  3. ANNOUNCEMENT OF HelAS INVITED TALK
  -------------------------------------

    On Tuesday June 20th, 2006 at 12 o'clock, prior to the General
  Assembly of Hel.A.S., Prof. Giannis Papamastorakis (Univ. of Crete)
  will present the Hel.A.S. invited talk at the conference Hall of the
  Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and Mechanics of the University
  of Athens, located in Panepistimiopolis (Zografos) on

    "Skinakas Observatory : opening a new window in the heavens"

  You are invited to attend.


  4. AGENDA OF THE 22nd GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF HEL.A.S.
  --------------------------------------------------

    As most of us are already aware, the next General Assembly of the
  Hellenic Astronomical Society will take place on Tuesday, June 20th
  2006 at 9:30 am at the University of Athens. If the majority of the
  members does not show up, the General Assembly will convene at 13.30
  pm regardless of the number of the members who will show up.

    The main topic of the agenda is the election of the Governing
  Council of Hel.A.S. for 2006-2008. The details of the agenda items
  are available at:

        http://www.astro.auth.gr/elaset/events/elections_2006a.pdf

    By now all members must have received the ballots of the upcoming
  election along with instructions. If you have not yet received the
  ballots please check the online directory of Hel.A.S. to confirm
  that the address listed there is your correct address. Note that
  according to articles 33 and 34 of the Constitution of the Society
  in order for a member to be able to vote he/she should not have any
  outstanding membership fees.


  5. ESA COSMIC VISION PROGRAM
  ----------------------------

    During the 121st Solar System Working Group meeting, the ESA
  Executive presented their plans for the implementation of the Cosmic
  Vision program. The call for mission proposals is imminent and for
  those who are interested in pursuing active participation, it is
  high time to contact collaborators and join consortia that will
  probably submit mission proposals.

    The important steps / dates are as follows:

   - Call for mission proposals will be issued in 6 June 06
   - Letters of intent due 21 June 06.
   - Briefing to proposers will take place in ESTEC 3 July 06.
   - Mission proposals due 13 October 06 (ESA expects 50-100 proposals)

     The Working Groups will through evaluations select 3-4
   Small-to-Medium and 2-3 Large missions for phase-A study by Jan
   2007. This corresponds to approx. 2 missions per Working Group
   (Solar System, Astrophysics, Fundamental Physics).

     At the end of phase-A studies, presentations to the Working
   Groups for prioritization will take place. 1 Fast Track and 3
   Nominal Track missions will be selected for industrial assessment
   in October 2007.

     Based on the Working Groups' recommendations, the SPC will
   approve 1 Fast Track mission for the definition phase in November
   2007.

      Mission Definition Phase will take place Jan 2008 - Dec. 2008
   Working group /SSAC evaluation and selection in Dec 2008 - Jan 2009
   Confirmation of one mission by SPC for ITT release Feb 2009 Mission
   will enter Implementation Phase in Jan 2010 Mission launch in Mid
   2015

  6. EARA-EST FELLOWSHIPS
  -----------------------

    The European Association for Research in Astronomy (EARA) has been
  designated by the EU as a joint Marie Curie Training Site, offering
  fellowships for doctoral students working in theoretical or
  observational astronomy. About 10-15 fellowships are offered for
  2006-2007 and will be shared between the five EARA institutes:

     - Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge,
     - Leiden Observatory of Leiden University,
     - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris,
     - Max Planck Institut fuer Astrophysik in Garching,
     - Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.

  Selected candidates will spend 3 to 12 months at one of the EARA
  institutes where they will continue their Ph.D research work under
  the supervision of local staff members.

  Applications for EARA-EST fellowships should be sent before July, 7
  2006 to Dr. Robert Mochkovitch (mochko@iap.fr), co-ordinator of the
  Training Site. For more information see the program webpage at:

            http://www2.iap.fr/eara/mcurie.html



  7. UPCOMING ASTRONOMY MEETINGS IN GREECE
  ----------------------------------------

  The following meetings will take place in Greece. Please check the
  corresponding web page or contact the organizers by e-mail for more
  information.

                           *************************

                  "Galaxy Evolution with Spitzer and Herschel"
                   Agios Nikolaos, Crete, 28 May-2 June 2006

                       More information can be found at:
                        http://galev06.physics.uoc.gr

                           *************************

                           "Solar Orbiter Workshop II"
                Acropolis Divani Hotel, Athens, 16 - 20 October 2006
                       More information can be found at:
                    http://conferences.phys.uoa.gr/solo2006/

                           *************************


   8. ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER
   ------------------------

    This Newsletter was edited by Vassilis Charmandaris and Kanaris
   Tsinganos. It was forwarded to the 250, out of the 268, members of
   Hel.A.S. who have e-mail access.

    The next edition of the Newsletter will be mailed around July 1st
   2006. Please send your announcements (e.g. appointments/departures,
   job openings, research opportunities, awards, conferences in
   Greece) or comments before June 25, 2006. All correspondence
   concerning the Newsletter should be addressed to:

                        tsingan@phys.uoa.gr

    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 let us know.

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                     HELLENIC ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY
                         ELECTRONIC  NEWSLETTER

                      June 14, 2006 (Extra issue)

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  E-mail: elaset@astro.auth.gr      WWW: http://www.astro.auth.gr/elaset
 ------------------------------------------------------------------------

  Due to the prolonged "sit-in" (katalhpsh) by the University students
 demonstrating against the pending new law of the Ministry of
 Education, the Council of HelAS decided to postpone the General
 Assembly and elections of our Society which were scheduled for next
 Tuesday, June 20 2006, at the Section of Astrophysics, Astronomy and
 Mechanics of the University of Athens.

  The ballots already sent by several members by post have not reached
 the Secretary of HelAS, since the post-office cannot deliver the mail
 due to the student sit-in for several weeks by now. Also, the
 building where the G.A. was planned to take place is not known if it
 will be accessible next week.

  The new date of the General Assembly and elections will be announced
 in time via a newsletter issue as soon as the situation is getting
 better. We regret for any inconvenience caused to our members by this
 decision, but this has been beyond our control and willingness.

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