UK Solar Physics Newsletter Lyndsay Fletcher & Duncan Mackay, Editors 16th April 2008 o News, Views and Gossip o Thanks to the organisers of UKSP at NAM. o RAS Council Elections 2008 - reminder. o The Report of NASA's Living with a Star/Solar Probe Plus Mission's Science and Technology Definition Team (STDT) is now available. o Survey of STFC facilities - reminder. o Prime Minister response to the petition. o Research Council changes to assessment of research proposals. o Opportunities for building international links from the British Council o New RHESSI science nugget o Meetings, Conferences and Workshops o REGISTRATION DEADLINE NEAR: International Workshop on "Solar Variability, Earth's Climate and the Space Environment" o Community Models Workshop - June 22, 2008, and pre-workshop discussion May 1, 2008. o Second Announcement - GONG 2008/SOHO XXI. o SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT - Heliophysics, Eclipses and Space Missions Workshop. o IAU 257 Deadline Reminder! o UK MHD 2008 Meeting, Salford, Thursday June 5 - Friday June 6, 2008 o RHESSI Workshop, Potsdam, Germany, September 2-6, 2008 o Employment Opportunities o Two post-doctoral positions on SOLAR MAGNETISM AND SPECTROPOLARIMETRY at the IAC o Postdoctoral position at the New Jersey Institute of Technology o PhD Student Position in MHD Astrophysics o POSITION AS PH.D. FELLOWSHIP IN ASTROPHYSICS (SOLAR PHYSICS) Dear Colleague, Here are a few items which have come to our attention since the last Newsletter. You can find this newsletter also at the UKSP website: http://www.uksolphys.org Lyndsay (lyndsay@astro.gla.ac.uk) Duncan (duncan@mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk) ********************************************************************* * * * News, Views and Gossip * * * ********************************************************************* >From : Editors Thanks to the organisers of UKSP at NAM. We would like to thank Mihalis Mathioudakis and colleagues at QUB for all their hard work in organising this years UKSP at NAM which the delegates found most enjoyable and productive. Thanks for a good job Mihalis. Editors ************************************ >From : Editors RAS Council Elections 2008 The 2008 RAS Council elections will take place on the 9th May. All fellows of the RAS are strongly encouraged to vote (either by post or electronically) so that the UKSP community continues to have a strong representation on council. ************************************ From: madhulika guhathakurta The Report of NASA's Living with a Star/Solar Probe Plus Mission's Science and Technology Definition Team (STDT) is now available In fall of 2007 Solar Probe STDT were asked by NASA to provide a delta report to carry out the compelling science of the original Solar Probe mission under a reduced budget and solar powered. The team carried out this task in a very short period of time with the delivery of a new report which clearly describes the key science goals of this mission and presents a compelling case for it. The pre-publication version of the final report of the Solar Probe Plus Mission's STDT (Science & Technology Definition Team) capturing the key science goals and the new mission concept is now available at: http://solarprobe.gsfc.nasa.gov/SolarProbePlus_pre.pdf ************************************ From: Lyndsay Fletcher Survey of STFC facilities - reminder This to remind you about the web survey of STFC missions and facilities, the deadline for completion of which is *April 18*. http://www.star.le.ac.uk/survey/ *************************************************** From: Lyndsay Fletcher The response to the petition that many people signed asking the Prime Minister to "reverse the decision to cut vital UK contributions to Particle Physics and Astronomy" can be seen here http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/Page15216.asp Petition information - http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Physics-Funding/ *************************************************** From: Sarah-Jane Pritchard The Research Councils, as part of wider initiatives to reduce the amount of effort expended by the research sector on the preparation and assessment of research proposals and final reports, have decided to scale back their final reporting requirements. In line with this, STFC has decided to remove, from 15th April, the requirement for a narrative scientific report attachment to accompany the final report form required for most standard Research Grants. It will still be necessary to complete the final report form within three months of the end of a grant, but, with no narrative report, final reports will cease to be peer reviewed. However, we recognise that some final report narrative attachments may currently be in preparation so will continue to accept them; and any that are, optionally, completed and submitted before 1 May will be sent for peer review and graded in the normal way. After 1 May we will not send final reports for peer review. The Collaborative Research Grant Final Report attachment, needed for final reports on grants awarded under PIPSS schemes, will continue to be required. There is no impact on grants, such as rolling grants, for which final reports are not currently required. Refer to the Research Grants Handbook for details. In the longer term, the Councils are working together on developing a process for collecting information on the outputs, such as publications, generated by grant-supported research. *************************************************** From: Melanie Illsley Opportunities for building international links from the British Council The British Council is announcing a call for proposals in 2008 under its initiative to assist researchers in making international connections. Our Researcher Exchange Programme (RXP) is an initiative aimed at supporting new links between postdoctoral researchers in the UK and in other countries. RXP provides individual researchers with awards covering travel and subsistence costs, and some consumables costs, needed to develop new scientific collaborations and contacts through exchange visits of between two week and three months. The purpose of RXP is to help develop new research links between higher education institutions and research laboratories in the UK and other countries. It aims to encourage mobility and internationalism among postdoctoral researchers for the exchange of information, ideas and knowledge, and for long-term relationship building. The Awards The awards are open to postdoctoral researchers at the beginning of their research careers. The research link can be in any area of research, including science, engineering, technology, social sciences and humanities. The applicant must have: a doctoral qualification and currently hold a research position within an institution, or be within 12 months of obtaining a doctoral qualification and can provide evidence that they are taking up a research position once they have completed their PhD no more than five years full tenure in a university or research institute. no more than ten years overall active researcher experience The duration of the exchange visit will be between two week and three months, and may be for single or multiple visits between December 2008 and December 2009. The maximum award that can be applied for is 5,000 Please note that more than one researcher from the same sending or receiving institution can apply for an award, but each must submit an individual application. How to Apply Please see the RXP web site: www.britishcouncil.org/science-rxp for full details and a downloadable application form. The deadline for applications is 2 July 2008 For more information on RXP and the exchange awards please contact science@britishcouncil.org *************************************************** From: Steven Christe This is to announce a new RHESSI science nugget, "A STEREO/RHESSI Flare at Solar Minimum" by Hugh Hudson and Sam Krucker A joint RHESSI/STEREO observation of the March 25th 2008 flare sends waves through the atmosphere. It can be found on http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/~tohban/nuggets/ We publish these at roughly two-week intervals. Steven Christe Hugh Hudson christe@ssl.berkeley.edu ********************************************************************* * * * Conferences, Workshops, Meetings * * * ********************************************************************* From: Dibyendu Nandi REGISTRATION DEADLINE NEAR: International Workshop on "Solar Variability, Earth's Climate and the Space Environment" International Workshop on "Solar Variability, Earth's Climate and the Space Environment", Bozeman, Montana, June 1-6, 2008. Registration deadline: April 11th, 2008. Meeting website: http://solar.physics.montana.edu/SVECSE2008/. Note that we have extended the deadline (until April 11th, 2008) and are continuing to accept financial support applications from US participants only. Our limited funding for International participants is already significantly over-subscribed. ********************************************* From: Terry Onsager Community Models Workshop - June 22, 2008, and pre-workshop discussion May 1, 2008 On Sunday June 22, 2008, we will hold a workshop on community modeling at the Zermatt Resort in Midway, Utah. This date is the Sunday following the CEDAR meeting (June 16-21) and preceding the joint GEM/SHINE meeting (June 23-27), all of which will be held at the Zermatt Resort. The purpose of this workshop is to explore the needs for community models, the roles that community models can play in our solar-terrestrial research, and what it will take to make community models a significant part of space research and applications. Comments and suggestions prior to the workshop are welcome, and can be directed to any member of the organizing committee: Joe Huba, Tim Fuller-Rowell, Jon Linker, Terry Onsager, Aaron Ridley, Christopher Russell, and Michael Wiltberger. In addition, a brief session will be held during Space Weather Workshop ( April 2- May 2) to begin the discussion on community models and to prepare for the June 22 workshop. This will occur on Thursday (May 1) at 5:00- 6:30 pm following the modeling sessions. ********************************************* >From : Frank Hill Second Announcement - GONG 2008/SOHO XXI Solar-stellar dynamos as revealed by helio- and asteroseismology August 11-15, 2008 - HAO, Boulder, Colorado Web site: http://gongsoho08.ucar.edu/ This meeting will cover all areas of helio- and asteroseismology, with emphasis on what these research topics have taught us about the dynamo generation of solar and stellar magnetic fields. Some example topics are deep meridional flows and their relation to dynamo models; surface magnetic effects on seismic inferences; latest asteroseismic results from space; recent numerical simulations of convection and magnetic fields; and helio-, asteroseismic and other data-assimilation in solar models, etc. Registration is now open, with a deadline of June 10, 2008 for registration and abstract submission. The housing deadline is July 10, 2008. The registration fee is $165, plus $70 for the banquet. The proceedings will be published in the ASP conference series. The preliminary program, registration form, etc. can be found at the web site at http://gongsoho08.ucar.edu/ Come join us in the Rocky Mountains to meet your scientific colleagues and discuss the latest progress in understanding the interior of the sun and other stars! Mausumi Dikpati Frank Hill ********************************************* From: Luc Dame SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT - Heliophysics, Eclipses and Space Missions Workshop SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT After Eclipse International Coronal Workshop 2008 Heliophysics, Eclipses and Space Missions Gorno-Altaysk, August 4-6 2008 Introduction: The workshop will be hosted by the University of Gorno-Altaysk (Manjerock resort), in the Altai Republic of Russia. It is 3 days after the total solar eclipse of August 1st, best observed in the Russian Altai, a few weeks from CORONAS/PHOTON launch and almost 2 years since HINODE and STEREO first light : a convenient time to evaluate our coronal understanding from eclipses and Space missions and what we expect and should develop for a promising future. Topics Addressed (6 sessions): - Eclipses and space missions complementarities - Magnetic fields' role in the chromosphere and corona, and modeling - The high resolution and dynamical corona (CME, jets, plasmoids...) - Waves and heating in the chromosphere and corona - The high-energy corona (flares) and the solar wind - New instrumentation and Space Missions for the study of the corona Important Dates: * First Announcement (French-Russian limited): February 2008. * Second Announcement (this announcement): March 31, 2008. * Abstract Submission: March 31 - April 25, 2008. * Authors informed of the acceptance of their abstract: May 2, 2008. * Deadline for registration (for room/hotel blocking): May 30, 2008. Registration: Registration fees to the workshop are free to the exception of the (optional) conference diner and excursions. Proceedings are considered (could be the sum up of presentations simply). Accommodation and Venue: The workshop will be organized in the Manjerock resort, just a few km away from Gorno-Altaysk, at a special price. Other convenient and reasonably priced accommodations are expected at Gorno-Altaysk (University Students' Residences and nearby hotel), with easy access to the resort. Direct transportation will be organized from Barnaul Airport on August 1st (Eclipse) and August 3, for the participants venue. Visa: A letter of invitation will be provided to the confirmed participants in order to obtain the entrance visa to Russia (required). Social Program: Many activities have been planned, starting with the Eclipse (Biysk, the 1st), excursion to Teletskoye lake (before workshop: 2nd and 3rd), Conference Diner, Altai mountains traditions, towards Mongolia (probably Wednesday afternoon, free in programme), Rafting on the Katoun river (after workshop: the 7th), etc. For more information on the Heliophysics, Eclipses and Space Missions Workshop, please access the meeting web site: http://solarnet.obspm.fr/HelioPhysicsWorkshop/ or contact the Co-Chairmen (Luc Damé: luc.dame@obspm.fr or Sergey Kuzin : kuzin@sci.lebedev.ru). ********************************************** From: Nat Gopalswamy IAU 257 Deadline Reminder! International Astronomical Union (IAU) Symposium 257 on ''Universal Heliophysical Processes'' University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece September 15-19, 2008. This is to remind the following deadlines. Please note: Those who need financial support should apply online (iau257.uoi.gr) by April 1, 2008. See details below. * Early registration and abstract submission deadline (for those requesting financial support): April 1, 2008 * Registration and abstract submission deadline (for those not requesting financial support): June 30, 2008 * Hotel reservation deadline: July 15, 2008 * IAU Symposium 257: September 15-19, 2008 * Submission of final manuscripts : October 20, 2008 Topics: Solar sources of heliospheric variability; Origin, evolution and dissipation of magnetic structures; Plasma processes: flows, obstacles, circulation; Energetic particles in the heliosphere; Planetary Atmospheres, Ionospheres, and Magnetospheres; Heliophysical boundaries and interfaces including shock waves; Reconnection processes; Turbulence in heliospace; Physical processes in stellar systems. Invited Speakers: H. M. Antia, N. Arge, J. Beer, A. Belov, E. W. Cliver, N. Crosby, S. Dasso, C. R. DeVore, S. Freira, L. Fisk, J. Forbes, R. Forsyth, M. Galand, J. T. Gosling, R. A. Harrison, B. Heber, M. Jardin, F. Malara, D. Melrose, A. Nindos, A. Nishida, K.Petrovay, J. D. Richardson, B. Schmieder, S. Spangler, H. Svensmark, I. Usoskin, R. Vainio, L. Vlahos, S. Yashiro, V. V. Zaitsev, G. Zank, + others to be confirmed. *************************************************** From: David Tsiklauri Re: UK MHD 2008 Meeting, Salford, Thursday June 5 - Friday June 6, 2008. The Meeting website, at http://space.cse.salford.ac.uk/ukmhd2008/ is *now open* for Registration. Registration will remain open until end of business, Friday May 16. I would like to encourage groups to coordinate talk requests amongst themselves (e.g. decided by a current group leader or equivalent). If one senior member from each group emails me a ranked wish list of up to 4-5 talks, I will try to accommodate it. *Every participant should still register independently*. Note that there is also provision for poster presentations, in addition to the talks. David Tsiklauri *************************************************** From: Gordon Emslie Colleagues: I am pleased to announce that Gottfried Mann and his colleagues at the Astronomical Institute in Potsdam, Germany, have agreed to host a RHESSI workshop early this fall. The workshop will be held from September 2 ^S 6, 2008, and is timed to be juxtaposed with the European Solar Physics meeting in Freiburg, which starts on September 8. Please mark your calendars, planning to arrive in Potsdam on Tuesday, September 2 and leaving either late afternoon on the 6th or the morning of the 7th. Those of you who have attended the previous series of RHESSI workshops will notice a distinct change to the structure. The previous seven workshops have been organized into five main groups (see http://www.gradcollege.okstate.edu/rhessi_workshops/outline.htm ), dealing with multi-faceted aspects of RHESSI data and its interpretation (sometimes in conjunction with other observations), and the results of this workshop series are currently being assembled into a series of articles for Space Science Reviews (see http://sprg.ssl.berkeley.edu/RHESSI/rhessiws_book/ ). With this task almost complete, it was decided to focus the next workshop on a series of contemporary themes currently being pursued at a number of institutions, namely: 1. Conversion of RHESSI Data into ^\Scientifically Useful^] forms (e.g., photon spectra, electron images,&.) 2. Flares through Microflares - a Critique of the ^\Standard Models^] 3. Coronal X-ray and Gamma-ray Sources, and their relation to CMEs and SEPs 4. Electron and Ion Acceleration ^S Observations and Theory For each of these themes, we plan on having a keynote speaker on the first full day (September 3), followed by two days of ^\workshop-type^] activity, split into the four themes above. A website for the meeting is under development. Keynote speakers and group leaders will be confirmed shortly, and participants will be asked to associate mainly with one of the four groups above. Please share this message with others who may be interested, and stay tuned for information updates! Gordon Emslie RHESSI Workshop Convenor *********************************************************************** * * * Positions Vacant * * * *********************************************************************** From: Javier Trujillo Bueno Two post-doctoral positions on SOLAR MAGNETISM AND SPECTROPOLARIMETRY at the IAC The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Tenerife, Spain) invites applications for TWO postdoctoral positions to work within the framework of the project "Solar Magnetism and High-Precision Spectropolarimetry" (AYA2007-63881), financed by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science. Our group covers theory, numerical simulations, observation, high-spatial-resolution techniques and instrument building. We are developing and applying a variety of plasma diagnostic tools for investigating the magnetism of the extended solar atmosphere (photosphere, chromosphere and corona). We are carrying out and analyzing spectropolarimetric and high-spatial-resolution observations of the solar atmosphere. We are also very interested on radiative MHD simulations and on the numerical modeling of the spectral line polarization caused by the joint action of the Hanle and Zeeman effects. We are looking for young researchers with a strong background in any of the fields mentioned above. The deadline for receiving applications is April 30, 2008. For more information see: http://www.iac.es/folleto/research/postdocs/indice_ingles.html. ******************************************** From: Jeongwoo Lee Postdoctoral position at the New Jersey Institute of Technology A postdoctoral research position is currently available in space plasma physics within the Center for Solar-Terrestrial Research (CSTR) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). A recent PhD with demonstrated skills in data analysis and physical modeling of processes in the radiation belts is preferred. Experience with data from CRRES, SAMPEX, GOES, and/or ACE spacecraft is desirable. The annual salary is expected to range from approximately $35,000 - $42,000, depending on the qualifications of the candidate. Interested applicants should submit an electronic CV with names of three informed potential referees and cover letter to Dr. Jeongwoo Lee (LEEJ@NJIT.EDU, 973-596-2462). Application review will begin immediately and will continue until the position is filled. NJIT is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. *************************************************** From: Guenther Ruediger PhD Student Position in MHD Astrophysics: The Astrophysical Institute Potsdam (AIP) invites applications for a PhD student position in cosmical magnetohydrodynamics. The successful candidate will work in the MHD group on projects related to magnetic instabilities in rotating compact stars. Applicants should have a university degree in astrophysics or physics. The position is for three years. Enhanced interests in the numerical solution of partial differential equations and high performance computing are necessary for a successful application. The AIP is located in the beautiful Potsdam/Babelsberg area, at the southwestern border to Berlin. About 80 scientists work on a variety of astrophysical topics. The AIP coordinates the German AstroGrid and features excellent computer facilities. Potsdam further hosts the Albert-Einstein Institut for Gravitational Physics, the Astronomy department of Potsdam University, part of the Alfred-Wegener Institute, the Potsdam Institut fuer Klimafolgenforschung and the GeoForschungsZentrum. The AIP has convenient public transport connections to both central Potsdam and Berlin. Both cities offer a rich cultural environment. Applications are invited to arrive before 10 May 2008, although later applications may be considered if no suitable candidates have been found. The preferred starting date is 1 June, 2008. Please send your application with a CV and relevant certificates, preferably by email, to Prof. Guenther Ruediger Astrophysikalisches Institut Potsdam An der Sternwarte 16 14482 Potsdam, Germany gruediger@aip.de *************************************************** From: Boris Gudiksen POSITION AS PH.D. FELLOWSHIP IN ASTROPHYSICS (SOLAR PHYSICS) is available at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics of the University of Oslo. The fellowship is available for four years from 1 Sept 2008 (earlier start may be possible). The position is at the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics in the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. The faculty of the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics presently consists of 10 permanent professors/associate professors. The Institute employs about 9 postdoctoral research fellows and has about 10 Ph.D. students. The research activity of the Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics is concentrated around solar physics, cosmology, and celestial mechanics. The successful applicant is expected to carry out theoretical and possibly observational research on problems related to Solar and Stellar Coronae. Therefore programming experience and possible experience with MHD codes will be given weight. The main topic of the project is research into the influence of the magnetic field on the structures in the solar and/or stellar atmospheres. It involves numerical simulations with a newly developed massively parallel computer code and the comparison of results gained from the code with observations from the world leading Swedish 1m Solar Telescope and observations from satellites. See more at : http://www.admin.uio.no/opa/ledige-stillinger/2008/vit/PhDfellowshipAstroph ysics-2008-4439.html