JANUARY 2015 - TOPICS

Short News Membership Fees -- Reminder Best PhD Prize 2015 The Leiden/ESA Astrophysics Program for Summer students (LEAPS) The 2015 Space Astronomy Summer Program at STScI Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece About this Newsletter

1. Short News

The Council of the Hel.A.S. would like to wish to all members of our Society and their families Merry Christmas, and a Happy, Healthy, and Productive New Year. We would like to congratulate Dr. Angelos Vourlidas, a member of our society, who recently moved from the Naval Research Laboratory to become Head of the Solar/Space Physics Group of the Applied Physics Laboratory at Johns Hopkins University.

2. Membership Fees -- Reminder

We remind our members to take care of any outstanding membership fees (up to and including the year 2014). The payments can be made also through the Piraeus Bank e-banking system. Should you need additional information (e.g. your financial status, methods of payment, etc.) please contact either the Secretary (K. Tsiganis) or the Treasurer of our Society (M. Xilouris).

3. Best PhD Prize 2015

We remind our members that the deadline for applications for the 2015 Best PhD Prize is approaching (January 31st, 2015). We encourage our members to send their recommendations/nominations to the GC by that date. The award recipient will give an oral presentation on her/his thesis at the 12th Conference of Hel.A.S. (Thessaloniki, 28/6-2/7, 2015). More information can be found at: http://www.helas.gr/best_phd_thesis_prize2015.php

4. The Leiden/ESA Astrophysics Program for Summer students (LEAPS)

Leiden Observatory and the European Space Agency invite applications for the Leiden/ESA Astrophysics Program for Summer Students (LEAPS). LEAPS is a highly competitive program for students with a keen interest in astronomy, astrophysics, solar physics, and planetary sciences to perform a 10-12 week summer research project in collaboration with a research scientist from Leiden Observatory or ESA. The program is open to all students not currently studying for a Ph.D., but who are enthusiastic about pursuing research in the space sciences. Students at the senior-undergraduate or masters level, in particular, are encouraged to apply. Projects will begin approximately 1st June 2015 and end by mid to late August 2015. In 2014 the program had 22 successful candidates. We expect to make a similar number of appointments this year, depending on interest and the number of available projects which are suited to the applicants' research interest and skills. More information can be found at: http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/summerstudents/ The deadline for applications is 6th February 2015. A link to the LEAPS 2015 poster can be found here: http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/summerstudents/LEAPS2015-poster.pdf

5. The 2015 Space Astronomy Summer Program at STScI

The Space Astronomy Summer Program runs from mid-June to mid-August, and is designed for upper division undergraduates with a strong interest in space astronomy. Students work individually with STScI researchers and staff on research projects that might include data reduction and interpretation, software development, scientific writing, preparing data for public releases. The program affords students the opportunity to attend lectures on a variety of exciting topics related to space astronomy, the Hubble, and James Webb Space Telescopes. The program is open to students from the US and other countries. The deadline for applications is January 31st, 2015. For more information visit: http://www.stsci.edu/institute/smo/students/current

6. Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece

The following meetings are scheduled to take place in Greece during 2015-2016: 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 Thessaloniki Workshop on Binary Neutron Star Mergers Thessaloniki, 27-29 May, 2015 Supernova Remnants: An Odyssey in Space after Stellar Death Chania, Crete, Greece, 6-11 June, 2016

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 1st, 2015. Please send your announcements (e.g. appointments/departures, job openings, research opportunities, awards, conferences in Greece) or comments before January 28, 2015. 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.