JULY 2016 - TOPICS

Short News Hel.A.S. Elections The 34th Hel.A.S. General Assembly  PRODEX Day - Athens 2016  IAU Symposium 332: Astrochemistry VII  International Symposium on Astronomy and Astrobiology Education Two post-doctoral positions in Space and Earth Sciences Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece About this Newsletter

1. Short News

We would like to congratulate Dr. George Chintzoglou, who recently completed his PhD Thesis at the University of George Mason, Fairfax, VA, USA and moved to a post-doctoral position at the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysical Laboratory (LMSAL) in Palo Alto, CA, USA. Dr. Chintzoglou worked under the supervision of Prof. Jie Zhang (George Mason U.) on topics of solar magnetism and solar eruptions, using both observations and modeling tools. We would like to inform our members that the latest issue of Hipparchos (Vol. 2, Issue 13, June 2016) has been published and can be downloaded from the Society's website. Hard copies were distributed to Hel.A.S. members during the 34th General Assembly (June 2016).

2. Hel.A.S. Elections

In the elections that followed the 34th General Assembly, the members of Hel.A.S. voted for the President of the Society, as well as for the new Council and Auditors for the 2016-2018 term. Of the 247 ordinary and junior members, a total of 71 eligible ballots were collected, including 33 postal votes. The results of the elections were: Candidate for President of Hel.A.S.: Apostolos Mastichiadis [66 votes] Candidates for the Governing Council (6 elected): Manolis Georgoulis [40 votes] Manolis Xilouris [38 votes] Vasiliki Pavlidou [30 votes] Nikos Stergioulas [30 votes] Panos Patsis [29 votes] Pablo Reig [11 votes] Candidates for Auditors (3 elected): Spiros Patsourakos [46 votes] Kosmas Gazeas [40 votes] George Voyatzis [27 votes] This time, Hel.A.S. members largely complied with Society's rules on postal voting: of the 71 ballots, only three (3) were found invalid, while there were two (2) blank votes for the President Election. Based on these results and according to the Constitution of Hel.A.S., Prof. A. Mastichiadis will be the President of the Society for the 2016 - 2018 term. Drs. M. Georgoulis, P. Patsis, V. Pavlidou, P. Reig, N. Stergioulas and M. Xilouris will be the members of the Society's Council for the term, while Drs. K. Gazeas, S. Patsourakos and G. Voyatzis will act as Auditors.

3. The 34th General Assembly of Hel.A.S.

The 34th General Assembly of Hel.A.S. took place on June 17, 2016, at the Society's headquarters, the Laboratory of Astronomy of the Physics Department of the University of Athens. The outgoing President, Prof. L. Vlahos, summarized the activities of Hel.A.S. during the term 2014 - 2016, while the Treasurer, M. Xilouris, presented a detailed account of the Society's finances. The Secretary, K. Tsiganis, introduced to the GA ten (10) new membership applications, of which five were submitted for an ordinary membership and five (5) for a junior membership. Applications for ordinary membership were received by Drs.: Philippos Koliopanos (PhD U. Munich; proposed by Ordinary Members A. Bonanos and A. Mastichiadis) Konstantinos Kolokythas (PhD U. Birmingham; proposed by Ordinary Members N. Gizani and K. Tsiganis) George Leloudas (PhD Niels Bohr Institute; proposed by Ordinary Members V. Charmandaris and G. Magdis) Michael Nowak (PhD Stanford U.; proposed by Ordinary Members J. Papadakis and D. Emmanoulopoulos) Ming Yang (PhD Beijing U.; proposed by Ordinary Members P. Gavras and A. Bonanos) Applications for junior membership were received by Alexandros Filothodoros (grad student Zielona-Gora U.; proposed by A. Manousakis and J. H. Seiradakis) Michael Kourniotis (grad student U. Athens; proposed by Ordinary Members M. Xilouris and A. Bonanos)  Ektoras Pouliasis (grad student U. Athens; proposed by Ordinary Members I. Georgantopoulos and A. Bonanos)  Despoina Skoulidou (grad student U. Thessalonki; proposed by Ordinary Members K. Tsiganis and H. Varvoglis) Emmanouil Zapartas (grad student U. Amsterdam; proposed by Ordinary Members A. Fragos and A. Bonanos) The GA unanimously approved the above applications. In addition, the Secretary introduced to the GA the applications of nine (9) Junior Members to be upgraded to Ordinary Members following the successful completion of their PhD Thesis. Applications were received by Drs. Maria Andriopoulou, Chrysoula Avdellidou, Nikolay Britavskiy, George Chintzoglou, Evgenia Koumpia, Ioannis Miserlis, Athanasios Papageorgiou, Petros Syntelis, and Chloe Vamvatira-Nakou. Finally, the application of one (1) Supporting Member, Mrs. Zoi-Tzogia Spetsieri, to be upgraded to Junior Member was presented to the GA. The GA unanimously approved the above changes of membership status.

4. PRODEX Day - Athens 2016

In the framework of supporting the uninterrupted membership of Greece to the PRODEX Optional Programme of the European Space Agency (ESA), the Greek General Secretariat of Research and Technology cordially invites the national scientific community (universities, research centers / institutes) to attend the Athens 2016 PRODEX Day, organized at the Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 127 Vassilisis Sofias Ave., between 09:00 and 15:00 on July 13, 2016. The main target of the PRODEX Programme is funding world-class scientific instrumentation. The event hence provides an opportunity for both scientists and technology professionals to be jointly informed, interact, and collaborate. It also presents an opportunity for Greek hardware companies with an interest in space technology to be exposed to an advanced scientific and technological know-how and to collaborate with each other and members of the other communities present. For more information, visit the Announcement section of the GSRT.

5. IAU Symposium 332: Astrochemistry VII

The 7th International Astronomical Union Symposium on Astrochemistry, IAUS332: Astrochemistry VII - Through the Cosmos from Galaxies to Planets, will be held in Puerto Varas, Chile, on March 20 - 24, 2017. The meeting is part of a series that has followed the development of astrochemistry as a discipline, from its roots to the surprising discovery of the molecules ammonia, carbon monoxide, water and formaldehyde in the interstellar medium. Molecules are now essential tools for understanding star formation and the evolution of interstellar medium, from nearby star formation regions to the earliest times in the evolution of the Universe. The meeting is the seventh in a series to discuss far-infrared and submillimeter emission of the interstellar medium from the Milky Way and other galaxies. For more information, visit http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/IAUS332.

6. International Symposium on Astronomy and Astrobiology Education

The International Symposium on Astronomy and Astrobiology Education: theory, methods, impacts and future directions, will be held in Utrecht, Netherlands, on July 3 - 8, 2017. The Symposium is co-sponsored by the IAU and the European Astrobiology Campus. It is the first meeting designed to bring education research in astronomy, in general, and astrobiology, in particular, to the professional scientific community. Both fields of astronomy education and astrobiology will be strengthened through cross-teaching collaborations. The Symposium is particularly oriented toward expanding awareness of the results of the cognitive and learning sciences, as well as providing a forum for active scholars in the above fields. For more detailed information, visit http://ise2a.uu.nl/.

7. Two open post-doctoral positions in Space and Earth sciences

The International Space Science Institute (ISSI) in Bern, Switzerland, invites applications for two post-doctoral positions for a two-year period starting in October 2016 or by agreement. All applications must be received by ISSI no later than July 31st, 2016. Detailed information about this call for applications can be found at http://www.issibern.ch/spotlight/PostDoc16Call.pdf.

8. Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece

The following meetings are scheduled to take place in Greece during 2016: European Week of Astronomy and Space Science Athens, 4-8 July, 2016 2nd Hel.A.S. Summer School Athens, 11-15 July, 2016 17th NEB conference on “Recent Developments in Gravity” Mykonos, September 19-22, 2016 The ISM-SPP Olympian School of Astrophysics  Paralia Katerinis, October 3-7, 2016

9. 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 1st, 2016. Please send your announcements (e.g. appointments/departures, job openings, research opportunities, awards, conferences in Greece) or comments before July 26, 2016. 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.