NOVEMBER 2016 - TOPICS

Short News The Academy of Athens Appoints Chryssa Kouveliotou as a Corresponding Member Establishment of HFRI and First Call for PhD Students Support Historical Documents of Modern Greek Astronomy Hel.A.S. Travel Grants Assistant Professorship at the Department of Physics of the University of Patras Call for ESA's L3 Mission Concepts Nominations for Editor-in-Chief of EPL IAU PhD Prize to Recognize Excellence in Astrophysics PhD Positions at the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amsterdam ESA Student Internships ESO Studentship Programme Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece About this Newsletter

1. Short News

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki will host a one-day session on Greece-ESA relations entitled "Science and exploration and related technologies: ESA activities and opportunities for Greek scientists and researchers". The session will feature speakers from ESA and Greece and will start at 09:00 on Friday, November 4, at the University's Center for Dissemination of Research Results (KEDEA), Amphitheater I. The event will conclude at about 14:00. A free registration for potential attendees is required. More information and a tentative event agenda can be found here.

2. The Academy of Athens Appoints Chryssa Kouveliotou as a Corresponding Member

The Society is proud to announce that one of its Founding Members, Prof. Chryssa Kouveliotou of the George Washington University, USA, was recently elected and declared a Corresponding Member of the Academy of Athens. Prof. Kouveliotou features an astonishing record of hundreds of refereed papers and tens of thousands of citations, mainly in the area of high-energy astrophysics. Accepting this honor, Prof. Kouveliotou delivered on October 25, 2016, a talk entitled "The Ephemeral High-Energy Universe" at the Main Building of the Academy of Athens. More information about the reception and ceremony can be found here.

3. Establishment of HFRI and First Call for PhD Student Support

The Society is extremely pleased to announce the establishment of the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (HFRI) in a law passed by the Hellenic Parliament on October 18, 2016. The HFRI's core task will be to fund basic and fundamental research emphasizing on young researchers, i.e., postdocs and graduate students. The HFRI has managed to secure a 180 MEUR loan by the European Investment Bank that will be complemented by a 60 MEUR grant from the national Public Investments Fund, aiming to fund its activities for the period 2016 - 2019. The HFRI is currently in the process of forming its governing bodies. The announcement and a press release of the HFRI establishment can be found here, while a quote on HFRI by the European Investment bank is available here. Shortly after its establishment, the HFRI issued its first Call for Scholarships for prospective PhD Students. Proposals must be submitted by 17:00 on November 30, 2016. More information about the Call and its terms and conditions can be found here.

4. Historical Documents of Modern Greek Astronomy

We would like to inform Society's members about a few updates in the section of "Historical Documents of Modern Greek Astronomy" we maintain on the web server of Hel.A.S., and more specifically at http://helas.gr/documents.php. Firstly, we obtained and made available the full manuscript of all 12 PhD dissertations performed by greek astronomers up until 1960. Prof. Kokkidis is the first graduate of a Greek University who obtained an Astronomy Ph.D. (Humbold University of Berlin, 1862). His thesis was written in Latin! We also include the dissertations of Prof. Plakidis and all his doctoral students, including Prof. G. Contopoulos, who supervised an impressive number of 42 greek PhD students, as well as Prof. Xanthakis and his first doctoral student, Prof. Mavridis. These scientists influenced substantially the development of astronomy and astrophysics in Greece in the decades that followed. Secondly, we would like to draw the attention of our members to the recently discovered first annual report on the activities of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) during the year 1891-92. The report was prepared by Prof. Eginitis, one year after the Observatory became a state funded institution. It briefly, though vividly, describes the dire state of NOA at the time, along with the first steps taken by Prof. Eginitis to revive it.

5. Hel.A.S. Travel Grant

The Society provides financial support to graduate-student (i.e. junior) members of the Society in attending international scientific conferences and workshops that are deemed paramount for the completion of their PhD Thesis. Starting November 2014, a call for applications is issued twice a year, namely in early November for meetings occurring during the first half of each year (January - June) and in early May for meetings occurring during the year's second half (July - December). The deadline for submitting the application is December 15 and June 20 of each year. Following a Society's Council decision dated  July 20, 2016, the Society may exceptionally (i.e., contingent to funding availability) consider travel grant applications submitted by young PhD holders meeting the following criteria: (a) the grant application is submitted within twelve (12) months from the applicant's successful PhD defense. (b) the applicant does not possess an active postdoc position at the time of the application submission. The application form is available here.

6. Assistant Professorship at the Department of Physics of the University of Patras It came to our attention that the Government's Official Gazette (FEK) Issue Γ' 912/27-09-2016 issued a Call for an Assistant Professor position at the Department of Physics of the University of Patras in the general area of "Theoretical and Computational Astrophysics".  For more information, interested candidates should consult the particular FEK issue and / or contact the Secretariat of the Physics Department at secrphysics@upatras.gr (phone nο. 2610-996061, 2610-996072, 2610-96073).   7. Call for ESA's L3 Mission Concepts

A Call for Missions issued by ESA's Director of Science solicits proposals from the European scientific community for the competitive selection of mission concepts as candidates for the implementation of the Agency's third large mission (L3) of the Cosmic Vision Roadmap Plan. The envisioned launch of L3 is in 2034. The deadline for submission of Letters of Intent to ESA is at 12:00 CET on 15 November, 2016. More information about this Call can be found here.

8. Nominations for Editor-in-Chief of EPL

Nominations are now open for the Editor-in-Chief of Europhysics Letters (EPL), a leading global letters journal owned and published by a consortium of 17 national physical societies in Europe. The Editor-in-Chief (EiC) needs to be a recognized authority and leading researcher in a field of physics, and have a broad knowledge and interest in physics and its frontiers. The EiC will need to demonstrate strong commitment and leadership to further develop EPL as a top-ranking journal. Experience with the editorial process for a physics journal is also desirable. The EiC is central to enhancing EPL’s position as a leading global physics letters journal. The term of office of EPL Editor-in-Chief is three and a half years beginning in July 2017. A job description is available here. Nominations must include a CV, publication list, and a brief covering letter describing the qualifications and the interest of the individual in the position of EPL Editor-in-Chief. Nominations should be sent to the EPL Editorial Office no later than 15 January 2017 (editorial.office@epletters.net). Further information can be obtained from the Editorial Office in Mulhouse.

9. IAU PhD Prize to Recognize Excellence in Astrophysics

The IAU is pleased to announce a new prize, called the IAU PhD Prize, to recognize outstanding scientific achievement in astrophysics around the world. Each IAU Division will, once a year, have the opportunity to award its own prize to the candidate it feels has carried out the most remarkable work in the previous year. The deadline for all applications is 15 December every year. For more information, please see here.

10. PhD Positions at the Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy, University of Amstedam

The Anton Pannekoek Institute for Astronomy (API) at the University of Amsterdam invites applications for multiple PhD positions in astronomy and astrophysics. The positions are open to candidates from any country. The institute provides a stimulating, international environment in a city where English is a common language. Of our current 42 PhD students, over 70% are foreign, and over 40% are female. PhD students execute a vigorous research program, under the supervision of one or more faculty members.  Positions will be available in a number of fields of research where the institute is active, including exoplanets, compact objects, stellar astrophysics and radio transients. The successful candidates must have a MSc degree (or equivalent) by the PhD starting date, which will typically be in Autumn 2017, but this is negotiable.  Applications need to be submitted on or before November 24, 2016.  By early January we will invite promising candidates for a presentation and interviews to be held on February 9 and 10, 2017. Instructions for applicants are available here.

11. ESA Student Internships

ESA offers students a wide range of student internship options. Applicants should preferably be in their last or penultimate year of a Master's degree. Many students take the opportunity of a student internship at ESA to prepare their thesis. In general, technical opportunities are available at ESTEC, ESOC, ESAC, ECSAT, ESRIN, EAC and Redu. There are also a limited number of non-technical opportunities. If you are interested in a student internship, please visit this web page.

12. ESO Studentship Programme

The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere awards several studentship positions each year in both Germany and Chile. The goal of the ESO studentship program is to connect Ph.D. students and their advisors throughout the ESO community with the activities and people at one of the world's foremost observatories, and offers an invaluable training opportunity for the next generation of Astronomers and users of ESO facilities. These positions are open to students enrolled in a university Ph.D. programme, preferentially but not necessarily in an ESO member state. The studentship selection takes place twice in two rounds per year, in May and November. The closing date for this application round is 15 November 2016. More details are available here.

13. Upcoming Astronomy Meetings in Greece

Polarised Emission from Astrophysical Jets Ierapetra, Crete, June 12-16, 2017 13th Hellenic Astronomical Conference Heraklion, Crete, July 2-6, 2017

14. 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 December 1st, 2016. Please send your announcements (e.g., appointments/departures, job openings, research opportunities, awards, conferences in Greece) or comments before November 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. at secretary@helas.gr.