UK Solar Physics Newsletter Lyndsay Fletcher & Duncan Mackay, Editors February 15th 2009 o News, Views and Gossip o UK Solar Physics Conference - April 20-April 23 2009, registration and abstract submission now open. o Congratulations to David Jess of QUB o Note from the AGP chair. o Update of Astronomy Guidelines. o 2009 Hale and Karen Harvey Prize winners. o Two Solar Physicists Receive 2008 PECASE Honors o ASR special issue on Space Weather Monitoring, Modelling and Forecasting o CALL FOR RAS SPECIALIST DISCUSSION MEETINGS SUGGESTIONS (2009-2010) o Meetings, Conferences and Workshops o Joint UKSP/MIST Session: Particle acceleration and transport in the heliosphere and beyond. o UKSP/MIST CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: The unusual (?) solar minimum of 2007-2008 o The Dynamic Solar Corona, A symposium after the 2009 July 22 Total Solar Eclipse, July 23-26, 2009, Suzhou, China o EAS JENAM/RAS NAM/MIST/UKSP Joint Session: "Heliospheric and Astrospheric Structure and Planetary Interactions" o First announcement : 25th NSO Workshop -- August 31 - September 4, Sunspot, New Mexico o Final reminder for early registration: STEREO-3/SOHO-22 Workshop. o AOGS2009 Session ST08: New Views of the Sun: From "Hinode" to Future. o Short Course in Solar Physics: University of Arizona and National Solar Observatory o Employment Opportunities o Research Associate at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory/UCL o Tenure-track position in solar and plasma astrophysics o Six-Month DOT Observership 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: Lyndsay Fletcher UK Solar Physics Conference - April 20-April 23 2009. University of Hertfordshire. Registration and abstract submission now open. Abstract deadline March 9. http://www.jenam2009.eu/ This year UK Solar Physics has an international dimension as well as very strong links with cognate fields of science. We are meeting at University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, April 20 -23 as part of "European Week of Astronomy and Space Science", which also incorporates RAS NAM, EAS JENAM and UK MIST. UKSP covers all aspects of the Sun, both theoretical and observational, from interior to atmosphere. We expect many new results from space missions such as Stereo, Hinode, RHESSI and SoHO as well as theory and modelling developments which underpin our understanding of processes in the Sun. There will be an emphasis on looking at the Sun in a wider context. Thus, some underlying themes are: the Sun as a star; the Sun as the centre of the solar system, which affects the Earth in many ways; the Sun as a plasma laboratory. The meeting will help us develop interactions with the space physics and astronomy communities in the UK - and in Europe, as JENAM is a European event. There will be plenaries covering topics across astronomy, and ESA overviews. We will have several joint sessions with MIST, and there will be an extensive programme of parallel sessions alongside the UKSP programme. Some solar physicists may find some of these of interest, while we should attract some astronomers to attend our sessions. The conference includes several themed sessions which have been proposed by the community, as well as some which have been specifically designed to link with MIST and the astronomy community. However, talks from all areas of Solar Physics are very welcome and you are all invited to submit abstracts. Talks by students and postdocs are particularly warmly encouraged. Monday April 20 11:00-12:30 UKSP: free session 14:00-15:30 MIST/UKSP: MHD Seismology 16:00-17:30 MIST/UKSP: Magnetic Reconnection Tuesday April 21st 11-12:30 MIST/UKSP: Particle Acceleration 14:00-15:30 UKSP: Solar and stellar interiors MIST: Particle Acceleration 16:00-17:30 UKSP: The Sun as a star/Stars as the Sun Wednesday April 22nd 11-12:30 UKSP/MIST: The unusual (?) solar minimum 14:00-15:30 UKSP/MIST: The unusual (?) solar minimum 16:00-17:30 UKSP/MIST: Solar/STP Missions Forum Thursday April 23rd 11-12:30 UKSP: Dynamics of Solar Magnetic Fields MIST: Heliospheric Structure UKSP SOC (Philippa Browning - chair, Manchester; Lyndsay Fletcher, Glasgow; Stefaan Poedts, Leuven; Steve Tobias, Leeds; Giulio del Zanna, Cambridge) ************************************ From: Editors Congratulations to David Jess of QUB on being awarded a STFC Postdoctoral Fellowship. Well done David. ************************************ From: "Illsley, M (Melanie)" Please find below a note from the AGP Chair, Professor Mike Cruise Dear Colleagues, This is a report to the astronomy community on the work of the STFC Astronomy Grants Panel for the 2008 grants round. The AGP received 109 standard grant applications and 22 Rolling Grant Applications and tried to process these in time for announcements to be made by the end of 2008. The starting point of the process- the grants deadline in June- was not brought earlier in the year as previously hoped because the funding cuts in 2007 had caused significant delays to the announcement of the 2007 outcomes and therefore would not have allowed sufficient time for applicants to react before an April deadline. The funding available was essentially the same as for 2007, in broad terms enough to fund about 80 PDRA posts. This level of resource still creates severe pressure on the community with much very good science remaining unfunded. As in 2007 proposals were marked against ten criteria the most important of which by far were: "scientific excellence" and "international competitiveness". Only proposals of the very highest quality were recommended for funding, in particular, it was only proposals at the highest levels of international competitiveness that were successful in the current environment. Each proposal was reviewed, as before, by several ( usually 4-6) referees in the same sub-discipline and these inputs were assessed by panel members with closely relevant backgrounds and then discussed, together with the applicants responses, by the appropriate panel. No substantial changes were made to the operating procedures that were put in place in 2007 but two improvements were incorporated. First of all, guidance for Travel, Computing, Secretarial Support and FEC requests were published on the STFC website. Resources for these activities always need to be fully justified in the text of any application but at least the guidelines provide some sense of what the panel considers reasonable. Well argued cases for exceptions to these are always possible. The second change concerned the operation of the assessment of referees' inputs on the Rolling Grants. In order to obtain the most informed view of the proposed research each relevant specialist panel discussed the referee's reports on each of the Rolling Grants in their discipline. This process provided valuable advice to the Rolling Grant panel when making recommendations. Each proposal was separately reviewed and carefully considered but some common patterns emerged amongst unsuccessful proposals. In brief the most important of these were: For Standard Grants: a) Failure to fully explain what the PDRA would actually do in the three years requested, b) Failure to provide a realistic assessment of international competition in the relevant field, c) Failure to indicate the science context and why the research was timely ( or even necessary), d) Low PDRA productivity. For Rolling Grants a) Applications that proposed huge expansions in PDRA support based on a very modest increase in the academic staff that would supervise them, b) Proposals for a wide range of research programmes which essentially left the panel to choose what they liked from the menu, rather than being driven by the PI's science strategy, c) Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators who were only prepared to offer a small fraction of their time ( less than 10%) to conducting/managing the research, d) Failure to fully explain what the PDRA would actually do in the time requested, e) Low PDRA productivity. Having listed some of the elements that were commonly reflected in unsuccessful proposals it should be stated that many of the applications were extremely well prepared and offered the panel very exciting and competitive science goals in which a UK lead was highly likely. In addition to reviewing each proposal on its merits the panels took a strategic view in discussing three areas: Exoplanet research, support for Herschel and Planck and Millimetre Technology. It was not felt that any correction to the funding decisions was necessary in any of these cases. During the course of the panel meetings the AGP heard the public announcement from STFC of the extra grant funding. Possible methods of delivery of this resource were discussed by AGP both by e-mail and by debate in open session. These ranged from increases in FEC to extra PDRA's for the current grants round and included the possibility of new, thematic calls for innovative proposals. The AGP chair received several informed suggestions directly from the community and these were included in the debate. In the end the AGP was overwhelmingly in support of extra direct support for more PDRA's in the grants rounds and passed this advice to the Chief Executive. Other strategic issues were discussed in plenary sessions of the AGP such as whether all the referees should be from outside the UK or whether referees should be ineligible if they were likely to have proposals in the current grants round. The results of these discussions confirmed the current practice as being both ethically reasonable and practical given the size of the community. There can be no doubt that the current level of funding is causing problems for the size of community we have in place and much fine science is going unfunded. Of particular concern is the plight of newly appointed researchers who, quite naturally, find it difficult to compete at the very highest levels of international achievement so soon in their careers. If the current levels of funding persist then the development path necessary to replace the generation of senior researchers now approaching retirement will be under stress and the UK's place in world astronomy will seriously decline in the next decade, despite strong funding for facilities. ************************************* From: "Illsley, M (Melanie)" The Astronomy guidelines have now been updated and can be found at http://www.stfc.ac.uk/SciProg/Ast/AstDocs/Astrogrants.aspx The main purpose of the updates are to provide additional information for Applicants rather than changes to requirements for submission. However for those intending to submit standard grant applications it is worth noting that there is now a maximum page limit of 12 sides. Applicants are strongly advised to read and follow the guidelines appropriately. Any queries should be directed to Kim.Burchell@stfc.ac.uk ************************************* From : J Todd Hoeksema Neil Sheeley - 2009 Hale Prize Winner I am delighted to announce the 2009 recipient of the George Ellery Hale Prize. The Solar Physics Division of the American Astronomical Society awards its most prestigious honor to a scientist for outstanding contributions to the field of solar astronomy. This year's Hale Prize goes to Neil R. Sheeley, Jr., who is cited for his continuing outstanding contributions to our understanding of the solar magnetic field, coronal holes, and coronal mass ejections. His wide-ranging observational and theoretical work has laid the foundation for much current research in solar and heliospheric physics, and continues to have important applications in space weather prediction. Kudos from all of your colleagues in the Solar Physics Division! We look forward to hearing your Hale Prize lecture at the AAS and SPD meetings in June. 2009 Karen Harvey Prize Winner - Laurent Gizon With the Karen Harvey Prize the SPD recognizes a significant contribution to the study of the Sun early in a person's professional career. The 2009 Karen Harvey Prize is awarded to Laurent Gizon for his significant contributions and leadership in the development of local helioseismology techniques for the study of the Sun's internal dynamics. Congratulations, Laurent! We look forward to your talk at the SPD meeting in June. Thanks to the SPD Prize Committee: A. Van Ballegooijen, G. Chapman, H. Gilbert, S. Keil, and P. Scherrer. http://spd.aas.org/navbar_prizes.html ************************************* From : J Todd Hoeksema Two Solar Physicists Receive 2008 PECASE Honors Charles Kankelborg and Merav Opher went to the White House on December 19, 2008 to receive Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The PECASE program recognizes outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of knowledge. This Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the United States Government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. Congratulations Charles and Merav! See the news releases: CK and MO. ************************************* From : Peggy Ann Shea ASR special issue on Space Weather Monitoring, Modelling and Forecasting Announcement of an Advances in Space Research (ASR) Special Issue on "Recent Advances in Space Weather Monitoring, Modelling, and Forecasting". Papers are invited to contribute manuscripts for a special topical issue of Advances in Space Research (ASR) entitled "Recent Advances in Space Weather Monitoring, Modelling, and Forecasting". This topical issue is not a conference proceedings but is open to all scientists who may have an appropriate scientific paper related to the title of the issue. Manuscripts on both scientific research results and programmatic issues are appropriate for this special publication. Attendees of the Fifth European Space Weather Week held in Brussels from 17 to 21 November 2008 are especially encouraged to submit their papers. Papers must be submitted electronically to ees.elsevier.com/asr. To ensure that all manuscripts are correctly identified for inclusion into the special issue, authors must select "S.I.: Space Weather Advances" when they reach the "Article Type" step in the submission process. Submitted papers must be written in English and should include full affiliation addresses for all authors. Only full-length papers will be considered for publication, subject to peer review by two reviewers. There are no page limits although the length of the paper should be appropriate for the material being presented. While the deadline for submissions is 1 April 2009, papers will be published electronically as soon as they are accepted. The printed issue will be assembled within a reasonable time with late papers being printed in regular issues of ASR. Contributors to this issue will have an opportunity to purchase individual issues at 40 Euro per issue. All articles will be typeset at no cost to the author; there is a nominal charge for printing color figures although there is no charge for color figures on the electronic version. Dr. Anna Belehaki (belehaki@space.noa.gr) is the Managing Guest Editor for this special issue. She will be assisted by Drs. Alexi Glover, Mike Hapgood and Ronald Van der Linden. Questions can be directed to Dr. Belehaki or to the Editor-in-Chief of ASR, Peggy Ann Shea (sssrc@msn.com). We ask authors who plan on submitting papers to provide Dr. Belehaki with the following information as soon as possible: Name of corresponding author Approximate Title Expected submission date The general format for submission of papers is on the ASR Elsevier web site; format questions can be directed to Peggy Ann Shea. ***************************************** From: Lyndsay Fletcher CALL FOR RAS SPECIALIST DISCUSSION MEETINGS SUGGESTIONS (2009-2010) The RAS invites suggestions from Fellows of the RAS who wish to propose (and therefore organise) Specialist Discussion meetings for the academic year beginning October 2009. For information, detailed guidance for meeting proposers may be found at: _http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=236_ and for meeting organisers: _http://www.ras.org.uk/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=235_ Proposals for Astronomy SD meetings should be sent to Prof Martin Barstow (mab@star.le.ac.uk), and proposals for Geophysics (including Planetary Science and Solar-Terrestrial Physics) should be sent to Dr Ian Crawford (i.crawford@ucl.ac.uk). The deadline for the receipt of proposals 1 April 2009. ********************************************************************* * * * Conferences, Workshops, Meetings * * * ********************************************************************* From: Eduard Kontar Joint UKSP/MIST Session: Particle acceleration and transport in the heliosphere and beyond Tuesday April 21st 11:00 -12:30 and 14:00-15:30. Early registration deadline: Monday March 9th, 2009 Abstracts should be submitted to either "UKSP or MIST Planner" http://www.jenam2009.eu Energetic particles are universally observed at the variety of astronomical scales: from extragalactic jets through solar activity down to Earth's ionosphere. The myriad of spacecrafts orbiting the Earth and travelling in the interplanetary space provide us with unprecedented quality observations of the Sun, heliosphere in a broad range of energies with the angular resolution never available before: from gamma rays, through X-rays, UV, optical, radio and can detect particles directly in interplanetary space. Although the spatial and temporal scales are different, the questions how energetic particles acceleration are evenly vital for solar, magnetospheric, and ionospheric communities. The session aims: 1) To bring together the experts, postdocs, and PhD students working on the acceleration and propagation of energetic particles from various disciplines 2) To stimulate constructive discussion between, solar, heliospheric, magnetospheric, and ionospheric communities 3) To exchange the ideas and knowledge in rather complementary areas of research Session organisers: UKSP: E. Kontar (U. of Glasgow) and V. Zharkova (U. of Bradford) MIST: D. Burgess (Queen Mary, U. of London) and S. Chapman (U. of Warwick) ********************************************* From: "Forsyth, Robert J" CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: The unusual (?) solar minimum of 2007-2008 We wish to bring to your attention and invite abstract submissions for this joint UKSP/MIST session being held as part of the NAM/JENAM meeting, 20-23 April 2009, at the University of Hertfordshire... THE UNUSUAL (?) SOLAR MINIMUM OF 2007-2008 Wednesday 22 April 2009 Conveners: Bob Forsyth, Imperial College London, and Sarah Matthews, Mullard Space Science Laboratory Ongoing observations of both solar and heliospheric phenomena are revealing that the current solar minimum at the end of solar cycle 23 is remarkably different from any other during the past 40 years. This period corresponds approximately to the era of modern space and ground-based observational techniques and it is more difficult to tell whether similar minima are common on longer timescales of solar activity. The present polar photospheric magnetic field strength is almost half of the typical value from recent cycles, polar coronal holes are smaller and show evidence of a lower temperature, the strength of the heliospheric magnetic field at 1 AU is about a third lower than previous minima, and the dynamic pressure of the solar wind is of the order of 20% lower than the previous cycle at all latitudes, the weakest it has been during the era of in-situ spacecraft measurements. This session aims to attract observational studies of both the solar and heliospheric aspects of this unusual minimum and papers attempting to interpret and explain what is happening. Can we tell if this solar minimum is indicative of a longer term change in solar activity or simply an outlier on the broad spectrum of solar activity variations? Full details of the meeting can be found on the website http://www.jenam2009.eu/. Follow the link from this page for registration and abstract submission which must be done at the same time. When submitting to UKSP or MIST sessions you should select either "(a) MIST planner" or "(b) UKSP planner" under the Session heading. The deadline for registration and abstract submission is 9 March 2009. Best wishes, Bob Forsyth and Sarah Matthews (r.forsyth@imperial.ac.uk; sam@mssl.ucl.ac.uk) ********************************************* From: "PengFei, CHEN" , The Dynamic Solar Corona, A symposium after the 2009 July 22 Total Solar Eclipse, July 23-26, 2009, Suzhou, China In the past decade, a number of solar spacecraft, including SOHO, TRACE, RHESSI, Hinode, and STEREO, were launched to observe the corona in white-light, EUV and X-rays, which brought out many important observations and theories. A number of ground instruments have also been developed in recent years. Although our knowledge on the physics of the corona has been greatly advanced, many key problems remain unanswered, and in general, the corona is generally still mysterious to us. The corona is visible to our eyes only during total eclipses. On 2009 July 22, a total solare eclipse will be visible, with a maximum duration of more than 6 minutes, is the longest one over a century. So, a topical meeting on solar physics near one of the observational sites is very appropriate. The 3-day meeting offers an opportunity for solar physicists to exchange new results, discuss hot topics, and propose future observations and research. This meeting has also an educational impact on the society for its relation with the rare solar eclipse phenomenon, especially since China has the longest history of solar eclipse observations. Moreover, the year 2009 has been named as the International Year of Astronomy. This meeting just after the total solar eclipse is thus an important part of the activities associated with the global celebration of astronomy and its contributions to society and culture. The meeting is supported partly by IAU and partly by other organizations in China. The conference site, Suzhou, a city near Shanghai, is famous for its garden architecture and Chinese traditional culture. Main topics include: 1. Solar Eclipse Observations and Public Outreach 2. Coronal magnetic field 3. Coronal structure and dynamics 4. Flares and CMEs: observations and modeling Web site for the meeting: http://solar.nju.edu.cn Deadline for online registration: May 1, 2009 P. F. Chen on behalf of the LOC ********************************************** From: Mario Mark Bisi EAS JENAM/RAS NAM/MIST/UKSP Joint Session: "Heliospheric and Astrospheric Structure and Planetary Interactions"; 20-23 April 2009, University of Hertfordshire (de Havilland Campus, Hatfield) England, United Kingdom. The aim of the session is to bring together the communities studying solar wind structure and solar wind/planetary interaction in the solar system and those working on astrosphere/exoplanet coupling. Results from new heliospheric missions (particularly STEREO) and improvements in ground-based observations are providing an entirely new view of the development of heliospheric structure, while Venus Express and Messenger are yielding detailed information on solar wind/planetary coupling in the inner regions of the heliosphere. The physical processes controlling the development of heliospheric structure solar wind-planetary interaction, as well as many of the phenomena observed in the solar system will also be found in the development of structure in astrospheres and the interaction of those structures with exoplanets. The aim of this session is to bring together the communities studying solar-wind structure and planetary interaction, and the exoplanets community, using the new results for the solar system to help understand stellar wind and planetary coupling in other systems. At the same time, the diversity of exoplanetary systems will encourage new ways of thinking about how these processes operate in different environments and how this casts light on heliospheric/planetary interaction in our own solar system. All researchers who are interested in the Sun-heliosphere-planetary connection are invited to contribute to this session, and we would especially like to receive inputs from those working on astrosphere/exoplanetary analogues of heliospheric/planetary coupling. This is the first session of this type at such a meeting and we hope to have additional sessions at future meetings based on the success of this initial session. For additional information or if you have any questions, please contact Andy Breen at Aberystwyth (azb@aber.ac.uk). Organizing Committee: Dr. Andrew R. Breen (Institute of Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Aberystwyth University; azb@aber.ac.uk), Dr. Mario M. Bisi (Center for Astrophysics and Space Sciences, University of California, San Diego; mmbisi@ucsd.edu) and Prof. Helmut Lammer (Space Research Institute, Austrian Academy of Sciences; helmut.lammer@oeaw.ac.at). Programme: One 1.5-hour block consisting of an invited joint-review talk (IR 24+6 minutes) and four other invited/contributed talks (IT 15+4 minutes/CT 10+3 minutes). A poster session is also anticipated. The web site www.jenam2009.eu] should be updated very soon with the relevant details. ********************************************** From : Alexandra Tritschler First announcement : 25th NSO Workshop -- August 31 - September 4, Sunspot, New Mexico Chromospheric Dynamics and Structure: From Old Wisdom to New Insights August 31 - September 4, 2009 Sacramento Peak Observatory, Sunspot, NM, USA The 25th NSO Workshop will be held this fall at Sunspot, NM, USA and will focus on recent developments in our understanding the dynamics and structure of the solar chromosphere. Increased spatial, spectral, and temporal resolution have revealed many new surprises from the chromosphere and we also continue to learn of its complicated role as the intermediary between the photosphere and corona. Topics to be addressed include: * The Quiet Chromosphere * The Chromosphere of Active Regions * Chromospheric Magnetic Fields: Observation and Interpretation * Filaments and Prominences * The Chromosphere-Corona Connection There will be both invited reviews and contributed talks in each session, but ample time will be set aside for discussion. Space will also be available for poster presentations. Due to the limited space at the Sunspot meeting facilities, attendance will be limited to 70 participants. A welcome reception will be held on the evening of Monday, August 31st, and the meeting will run through Friday, September 4th. Further information can be found at the meeting web page: http://www.nso.edu/general/workshops/2009/ or contact the organizers at: ws25@nso.edu ************************************* From : Richard Harrison Final reminder for early registration: STEREO-3/SOHO-22 Workshop The deadline for early registration has been moved to February 27 for the STEREO-3/SOHO-22 Workshop, which is being hosted in the UK this year. The meeting is entitled "Three Eyes on the Sun: Multi-spacecraft studies of the corona and impacts on the heliosphere" and is being held on April 27 - May 1, 2009, at the Royal Bath Hotel, Bournemouth, England. Full details can be found at http://www.sstd.rl.ac.uk/Stereo-Soho/. ************************************* From : Kanya Kusano AOGS2009 Session ST08: New Views of the Sun: From "Hinode" to Future Hinode, one of the latest solar observational satellite launched on September 2006, has been successfully operated for the last two and half years and made many new discoveries for the solar dynamics. In particular, the highly resolved observations with the three telescopes aboard Hinode (SOT, XRT, and EIS) have greatly advanced our understanding of the solar magnetohydrodynamic activities in multiple layers from photosphere to the corona. This session will provide a forum to summarize the recent progress in solar study, and to discuss the future plans of new solar observations beyond Hinode's era. The session consists of several invited review talks on different issues as well as contributed papers on any topics relating to solar dynamics. Also the modeling and theoretical studies on the sun are highly welcome. Please join us in this session and enjoy Singapore's tropical weather! Abstract deadline: March 15, 2009 Meeting page: http://www.asiaoceania.org/aogs2009/index.asp Meeting schedule: Aug. 11 to 15, 2009 Meeting Location: SUNTEC, Singapore Convener: Kanya Kusano (JAMSTEC) Co-conveners: KyungSuk Cho (KASI) Jonathan W. Cirtain (MSFC/NASA) Kazunari Shibata (Kyoto University) Toshifumi Shimizu (ISAS/JAXA) Jingxiu Wang (NAOC) ************************************* From: John Leibacher University of Arizona and National Solar Observatory We are offering an intensive one-week "short" course on solar physics aimed at graduate and advanced undergraduate students. The purpose is to provide a basic introduction to solar physics for students who do not have an opportunity to take such a course at their home institution, or who have an interest in the physics of the Sun and may possibly want to pursue a career in solar physics, space physics, or related field. Topics to be covered include solar radiative transfer, helioseismology, solar interior, solar MHD, chromospheric and photospheric magnetic fields, corona and solar wind and high-energy charged particles. There will be tours of NSO's facilities, opportunities to observe the Sun, and other activities. Confirmed speakers include: K.S. Balasubramaniam, AFRL Joe Giacalone, University of Arizona Frank Hill, National Solar Observatory Randy Jokipii, University of Arizona Eugene Parker, University of Chicago Tami Rogers, University of Arizona Han Uitenbroek, National Solar Observatory Additional information and application material can be accessed at the summer school's website: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/SummerSchool09. The deadline to receive all applications is May 1st. We anticipate to be able cover the costs for travel (airfare within the continental United States, plus local transportation), meals, and lodging for most students. Requests for travel grants can made on the application form. Please submit such requests as soon as possible because the funds available for travel support are limited. Please direct all inquiries to: Prof. Joe Giacalone Department of Planetary Sciences University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 85721 Ph: 520-626-8365 Fax: 520-626-8250 Email: giacalon@lpl.arizona.edu Support for this school is provided by a grant from NSF *********************************************************************** * * * Positions Vacant * * * *********************************************************************** From: Libby Research Associate at the Mullard Space Science Laboratory/UCL University College London's Mullard Space Science Laboratory (MSSL) is seeking a postdoctoral Research Associate to work on calibration and data preparation activities. MSSL is the UK's largest university based space science research institution and is involved in many leading space research missions (http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/[www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk]). The post is concerned with the task of archiving high quality calibrated data from the PEACE electron spectrometer instruments on the four ESA Cluster magnetospheric research spacecraft, as part of the European Space Agency Cluster Active Archive (CAA) project. The successful candidate will join a team responsible for all aspects of PEACE operations. The candidate will contribute to in-flight calibration of the 8 Cluster PEACE sensors and to the preparation and validation of PEACE data for the CAA (electron moments, 2D and 3D velocity distributions data). Other activities in support of the CAA may include developing and supporting display software, and provision of documentation. The calibration role will include the application of established methods, but is also concerned with the development of improved techniques to cope with sensor aging, and with adapting and improving the tools with a view to future challenges presented by in-flight calibration of instruments on the proposed 12 spacecraft Cross-Scale mission (an ESA Cosmic Visions mission candidate). Applicants will have a PhD in physics (ideally space plasma physics), mathematics, statistics or a related field. A familiarity with any of the following would be an advantage: Linux, Perl, C/C++, IDL, as would experience in the analysis of large datasets. The appointment will start as soon as possible and is funded in the first instance until November 2010. Salary will be on UCL salary Grade 7 ranging from £28,839 per annum - £35,469 per annum depending on experience. Further information and the further particulars for the appointment including a job description and person specification can be obtained from Dr Andrew Fazakerley (anf@mssl.ucl.ac.uk) or via the website http://www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk/jobs[www.mssl.ucl.ac.uk] Applications, including a CV, publications list, names and addresses of three referees and a brief description of experience and aspirations, should be sent to Mrs E.A. Daghorn (ead@mssl.ucl.ac.uk), Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking RH5 6NT, U.K. Please also provide details requested at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/hr/docs/download_forms/recruitment_selection_I.doc (Information Sheet and Equal Opportunities Information). UCL Taking Action for Equality. The closing date for applications is Friday, 20th February 2009. To send a message to the list, email mist@jiscmail.ac.uk or visit http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?P1&L=mist MIST Web page is http://www.mist.ac.uk/ ******************************************** From : Takashi Sekii Tenure-track position in solar and plasma astrophysics The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan invites applications for a tenure-track junior faculty position in solar and plasma astrophysics at the Hinode Science Center. The initial appointment is for 5 years, by the end of which the appointee will be eligible to be considered for tenure. Applicants should have a Ph.D. or equivalent research experience in a relevant discipline. The National Astronomical Observatory of Japan (NAOJ) is the national center of astrophysical sciences in Japan, covering a very wide area of astrophysics from optical and infrared astronomy, radio astronomy, solar and plasma astrophysics to theoretical astrophysics. The Hinode Science Center, located in NAOJ main campus in Mitaka, a Tokyo suburb, operates Hinode satellite in cooperation with ISAS/JAXA and runs research programs including solar magnetism, coronal physics, chromospheric dynamics and helioseismology. The Hinode Science Center is also taking the leading role in defining and designing SOLAR-C, the next Japanese solar mission now being discussed in the international community. The successful applicant is expected to conduct their own research based on or motivated primarily by Hinode data and take part in scientific operation of Hinode satellite. Equal consideration will be given to applicants with observational or theoretical backgrounds. We also expect the successful applicant to be an active participant in the SOLAR-C project. Applicants should send curriculum vitae, a list of publications (list refereed and non-refereed papers separately), a summary of the past research activities, a research plan, copies of relevant papers, and letters of reference to: Dr. Shoken Miyama Director General National Astronomical Observatory of Japan Osawa-2-21-1, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 JAPAN Application materials should be received by 15 May 2009. Please contact Saku Tsuneta (saku.tsuneta@nao.ac.jp) for further inquiries. ************************************* From : Rob Rutten Six-Month DOT Observership The solar physics group at Utrecht University which runs the Dutch Open Telescope (DOT) on La Palma has a six-month opening starting this spring (April-June, negotiable) for a DOT observer, located on La Palma, to be in charge of daily telescope operation and speckle reconstruction processing and otherwise do DOT-related research. It is funded by an EC grant to the Utrecht-Stockholm-Oslo Collaboration in Solar Physics and it requires a degree entitling to PhD study (e.g. graduate in the US, Masters in Europe) obtained within the last four years - but no PhD yet. Dutch and Spanish nationalities are excluded. The post may suit as temporary lookout for a recent graduate or as bridge-over close to a PhD. More information at the DOT website http://dot.astro.uu.nl/ _______________________________________________ uksp mailing list uksp@physics.gla.ac.uk http://www.physics.gla.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/uksp