Astronomical Citizenship

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Astronomical Citizenship
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The European Astronomical Society
Styliani Kafka IU Spring 2002
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Outline

• Introduction
• EAS Council
• Members of the society
• Affiliated Societies
• Individual Memberships
• Observing facilities
• Newsletter
• Activities
• Meetings
• Young People Outreach Program
• Future

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WHY?

• Europe is not uniform
• Western Europe
• Eastern Europe
• Astronomy is not an attractive profession
• Low salaries no funding
• Limited opportunities
• Individual Astronomical societies can not help
  any more

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The European Astronomical Society

• Founded under the Swiss Civil Code in 1990
• Purpose to contribute to and promote the
• advancement of astronomy in Europe, by all
  suitable means
• Constitution defining the general rules,
  complemented
• by bylaws specifying various detailed procedures

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The EAS Council

• Manages, directs, and controls the affairs and
  property of the Society within the limits of the
  bylaws.
• Consists of the five officers of the Society and
  of five other members.
• Secretariat responsible for the administrative
  and financial matters of the Society

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Members

• Affiliated Societies
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• Societies of professional astronomers in
  Europe, with aims closely related to the aims of
  the European Astronomical Society
• Privileges
• Special membership fees for their members
• Publication privileges to papers presented at
  meetings
• May sent representatives to council meetings
• May nominate candidates for election to council

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Current Members

• Armenian Astronomical Society
• Croatian Astronomical Society
• Czech Astronomical Society
• Dutch Astronomical Society
• Euroasian Astronomical Society
• Estonian Astronomical Society
• Hellenic Astronomical Society
• French Astronomical Society
• Astronomische Gesellschaft
• Italian Astronomical Society
• Latvian Astronomical Society

• Lithuanian Astronomical Society
• Polish Astronomical Society
• Portuguese Astronomical Society
• Romanian Astronomical Society
• Royal Astronomical Society (UK)
• Society of Astronomers of Serbia
• Slovak Astronomical Society
• Spanish Astronomical Society
• Swiss Society of Astrophysics and Astronomy
• Ukrainian Astronomical Society

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• Individual Memberships
•  
• Ordinary, Junior, Associate and Honorary
  Members.
• Reduced fees for meetings
• Newsletter
• Special prices for books
• Included in the Membership Directory
• Application form

http//www.iap.fr/eas/secr.html
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Newsletter

• Published twice a year
• Free for the Members/Affiliated Societies
• Contents
• Info on recent developments in Astronomy
• Announcements of upcoming Events
• Meeting reports
• Presentation of Affiliated Societies
• Opinions - letters
• Announcements of opportunity

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Observing Facilities http//www.iap.fr/eas/fa
cilities.html

• Optical and IR observatories
• Isaac Newton Group (ING) of telescopes, LaPalma
• Canada France Hawaii telescope, Hawaii
• Calar Alto observatory,Spain
• Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG), LaPalma
• United Kingdom IR telescope (UKIRT), Hawaii
• Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT), LaPalma
• Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP), France
• Asiago Observatory,Italy
• Observatoire du Pic du Midi, France
• Carlos Sanchez telescope, Tenerife
• Russian 6m (SAO)
• European Southern Observatory
• Anglo Australian Observatory (AAO)

• Radioastronomy observatories
• IRAM 30m telescope, Pico Veleta, Spain
• IRAM interferometer, Plateau de Bures, France
• Westerborck Observatory,Holland
• Nancay radioastronomy station, France
• James Clerk Maxwell (JCMT) telescope, Hawaii
• Jodrell Bank Observatory, UK
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• Solar telescopes
• Themis telescope, Tenerife
• German solar telescopes, Tenerife
• Swedish Solar telescope, LaPalma
•  
• Atmospheric studies
• Eiscat
•  

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Activities

• Meetings
• Joint European and National Astronomical Meeting
• Invited review talks
• Special sessions
• Poster sessions
• Cultural events

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The EAS Publication Series
Vol. 1, 2001 Active Galactic Nuclei in their
Cosmic environment JENAM 1999, Toulouse,
France, Sept. 1999 Editors B. Rocca-Volmerange
and H. Sol
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Jenam 2002 "The Unsolved Universe Challenges
for the Future Porto (Portugal), September
3 - 8, 2002 First announcement
http//www.sp-astronomia.pt/jenam2002/
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• Young People Outreach Program
• We must show that Astronomy has a FUTURE!
• 1)Young People Forum
• Part I 15-19 Dec. 1997
• Part II 12-16 Jan. 1998
• Main purpose to discuss concerns of young
  astronomers on various issues
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• Participants ?panel of senior astronomers from
  all over the world
• ?graduate students, post-docs

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• Issues addressed
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• How do young astronomers see mobility within
  Europe both at the postgraduate training level
  and at the postdoctoral level?
• How do they see the existing observational
  facilities in Europe, their accessibility, etc?
• Is there interest in business meetings of the
  Astronomical Community? How much time one can
  spare on such matters under the pressure of the
  modern competitive atmosphere?

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  Goal   To prepare a Proposal for creating a
LARGE EUROPEAN BASE of information (jobs, grants,
telescope time proposals, projects, all useful
links) for young astronomers.      
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2) Schools NEON (Network of
European Observatories in the North) Euro
Summer/Winter School   Participating
observatories   Asiago Observatory
(Italy) Calar Alto Observatory (Germany-Spain)
Haute-Provence Observatory (France)   Purpose
opportunity to gain practical observational
experience at the telescope, in observatories
with state of the art instrumentation.
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EuroWinter School 2002 "Observing with the Very
Large Telescope Interferometer" 3-8 February
2002 LES HOUCHES (Chamonix), France
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EuroWinter School 2002 - schedule
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•  
• 3)THESIS Opportunities in Europe
•   European Association for Research in Astronomy
• Fellowships shared between the five EARA
  institutes  
• Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge
• Sterrewacht Leiden (Leiden University)
• Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
• Max Planck Institut fur Astrophysik in Garching
• Instituto de Astrofisica de Canarias.

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• 4) Job opportunities
• http//www.iap.fr/eas/jobs.html
• European opportunities (2002)
• One (or more) post-doctoral position on "Solar
  and Heliospheric plasmas - Institute of
  Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo
• One postdoctoral position in extragalactic IR
  astronomy at Institut d'Astrophysique Spatiale
  (IAS) in Orsay (cosmological surveys with SIRTF)
• One post-doctoral position in Zurich at the
  Institut of Theoretical Physics (Gravitational
  microlensing, or Clusters of Galaxies (Dark
  matter, SZ, ...) )
• Jobs at the European Southern Observatory
• Employment opportunities in the United Kingdom
• etc.

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2000 10 year anniversary

• Time for reflection!
• Astronomy has its own voice in Europe!
• Communication / exchange of scientific personnel
• European programs (TEMPUS, ERASMUS/SOCRATES)
  big projects on their way (VLT, VLTI, ALMA,OWL)
• Virtual Observatory
• Job Centers, Reduced Student Fees,
  Scientific/Social Events, Education and Public
  Outreach Programs
• The EAS at 10 a Promising Youngster

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Future
EAS needs to ? Become a motive force for
Astronomy in Europe ? Get support from the EU
? Recruit Astronomers ? Expand
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For more information  EAS web
page   http//www.iap.fr/eas/