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EAS News
Your aspirations and concerns about 'Astronomy made in Europe'
A word from the President
I hope the arrival of the twelfth e-Newsletter finds you in good health and coping well with the challenges of teaching and researching in Covid-safe ways. Your Society is growing and we now number almost 4000 members. Do remind your colleagues that all they have to do to become a member is to accept the invitation from one of the 27 Affiliated Societies when it comes, or signal your interest to your Affiliated Society. The Council meets with the representatives of the Affiliated Societies twice year so that we can stay in touch with your aspirations and concerns about 'Astronomy made in Europe'. ▸ Read more
Prominent among your concerns has been the impact that the rapid deployment of
a few thousands (and soon to be tens of thousands) of satellites in low
earth orbit will have on observational astronomy. The focus of the efforts of our Working Group on Satellite Constellations (chaired by Robert Massey and Sara Lucatello), working with the IAU and national astronomical societies, has been to get international endorsement for the paper prepared by an international team of experts on the occasion of the Dark and Quiet Skies for Science and Society workshop organised by the IAU and UNOOSA. This paper is to be presented to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Use of Outer Space (COPUOS) calling for international regulation to mitigate the effects of satellite constellations. A number of national delegations have been approached but if you think your national representatives would be able to help please contact Robert (rmassey @ ras.ac.uk) or Sara (sara.lucatello @ inaf.it).
EAS News
EAS 2021 Virtual in Leiden, 28 June - 2 July 2021
List of Symposia and Sessions available online
Preparations for the virtual EAS Annual Meeting 2021, organised from 28 June to 2 July 2021, are ongoing at full speed. The organisers have set up an exciting programme with 16 Symposia, 36 Special Sessions and 5 Lunch Sessions, and 8 Plenary Talks. The EAS Prize winners will receive their prize and present their work, and also the 2020 AIP Tate Medal and the Astronomy & Astrophysics Awards 2021 will be awarded during the conference. ▸ Read more A record number of over 2200 abstracts have been received this year, and the session SOCs have the evaluation process. The EAS Council warmly encourages everyone to register to the meeting, and points out that EAS members profit from a lower registration fee. All details of the programme and the registration procedure can be checked online at the EAS 2021 website. EAS News
EAS 2022 in Valencia, 27 June - 1 July 2022
Call for proposals for Symposia and Sessions in summer
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced EAS Council to reconsider the organisation of the EAS Annual Meetings. The EAS 2022 Annual Meeting will be hosted in Valencia from 27 June to 1 July 2022. The current pandemic situation makes it daunting to make predictions on what the world would like next year, but EAS Council sincerely hopes that we will be able to return to a physical or hybrid format in 2022. The call for proposals for Symposia and Sessions will be launched this summer. EAS News
EAS 2023 and 2024: selection of the host ongoing
Several Letters of Intent received
With over 1200 participants every year, the EAS Annual Meeting is the largest astronomy conference in Europe. The meeting is organised at a different location every year, providing European astronomers the opportunity to get acquainted with and engage with the different astronomical societies and cultures on the continent. Last year, EAS Council announced the opportunity to bid to host the EAS Annual Meeting in 2023 or 2024. Four Letters of Intent to host the EAS Annual Meeting were received and will be evaluated by the EAS Council. EAS News
Awardees of the 2021 EAS Prizes announced
MERAC Prizes, Jocelyn Bell Burnell Inspiration Medal, Tycho Brahe Medal, Lodewijk Woltjer Lecture
Each year the European Astronomical Society awards a number of prizes to astronomers who have made a remarkable contribution. The six awardees of the 2021 EAS Prizes have been announced in March 2021 via an EAS press release. They will all receive their prize and give a plenary lecture at the EAS 2021 virtual meeting in Leiden. ▸ Read more
The MERAC Prizes for the Best Early Career Researcher are awarded in
Theoretical Astrophysics
to Dr Antoine Strugarek (CEA Saclay) for ground-breaking contributions in stellar
astrophysics, including dynamo theory, predictions of solar flares and pioneering work on star-exoplanet interactions.
Observational Astrophysics
to Dr Cosimo Inserra (Cardiff University) for the investigation of the extremes of stellar explosions, providing a pioneering contribution to their understanding and their role in astronomy and astrophysics.
New Technologies (Computational)
to Prof. Judit Szulágyi (ETH Zürich) for her fundamental contribution to the study of
circumplanetary disks in planet formation, and the origin of the moons of giant planets.
EAS News
The EAS Working Group on Sustainability
Statement of objectives
In Autumn 2020, the EAS established a Sustainability Working Group in accordance with its commitment to a sustainable development of European astronomy. As shown by Nature Astronomy's Climate Issue in 2020, to which members of this WG contributed, (European) astronomical research is carbon intensive. As a community, we must work together to find solutions to reduce our carbon footprint and avert climate catastrophe. ▸ Read more The EAS Sustainability Working Group comprises ten professional astronomers from seven European countries, who hold monthly meetings. The group is co-chaired by Hannah Dalgleish (University of Oxford, UK) and Leonard Burtscher (Leiden University, The Netherlands) and tackles the following high-priority objectives:
EAS News
The EAS Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion
Statement of objectives
The EAS Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion (DIWG) was established in 2019 with the main objective of raising awareness on various issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion in astronomy. These issues include race, sex, gender identity, disability, socio-economic background, nationality, ethnicity, neurodiversity, religion, and any intersections between them. EAS and its affiliated societies intend to develop a process to leverage diversity and achieve inclusion that maximizes the potential of all astronomers. ▸ Read more The DIWG currently has 12 members. EAS members who are interested in serving in the DIWG for the next term (starting in July 2021) are invited to contact eas @ unige.ch. The DIWG main tasks are:
EAS News
A&A: a new EAS Organisational Member
An international journal, run by astronomers for astronomers
Astronomy & Astrophysics (A&A) is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering theoretical, observational, and instrumental astronomy and astrophysics. Publishing over 2000 articles per year, it is one of the most important academic journals in its field. The journal editorial office is located at Observatoire de Paris, France. ▸ Read more
In April 1968, astronomers from five European countries met with the goal of creating a journal substituting their many national and local astronomical journals and bulletins. In December the same year an agreement was signed with ESO, in which ESO would provide administrative and legal services that would allow A&A to establish contracts with a publisher and other services necessary for running the journal. The first issue of A&A was published in January 1969. You are invited to watch the very nice documentary on the history of A&A on the journal's YouTube channel available in a full 1h version and in a short 12 min version.
A&A also organises a Scientific Writing for Young Astronomers school (SWYA) aimed at postgraduate students and young researchers. The purpose of these schools is to teach young authors how to express their scientific results through adequate and efficient science writing. Up to now, 5 of these schools have been organised: in Belgium (2008 and 2009), Hungary (2014), Chile (2016) and China (2020). The next one will be in Portugal in 2022.
EAS News
L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Award to Françoise Combes
EAS Nominating Committee Chair honoured for her outstanding contribution to astrophysics
On the International Day for Women and Girls in Science, celebrated on 11 February 2021, UNESCO and the L'Oréal Foundation honoured five women researchers in the fields of astrophysics, mathematics, chemistry and informatics as part of the 23rd International L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. This year, Professor Françoise Combes, chair of the EAS Nominating Committee, was among the five awardees. ▸ Read more She is universally recognised for her outstanding contribution to astrophysics which ranges from the discovery of molecules in interstellar space to supercomputer simulations of galaxy formation. Her work has been crucial to our understanding of the birth and evolution of stars and galaxies, including the role played by supermassive black holes in galactic centers. EAS News
EAS' partner Kuoni Congress honoured for organisation of EAS 2020
Americas-European 2020 Virtual Event of the Year
Organising a virtual meeting for more than 1700 participants is a serious challenge. Last year, Kuoni Congress, EAS' partner for the Annual Meetings, has made a serious investment in order to make EAS 2020 the success it was. A significant part of that investment was the enrolment of the OnAIR platform that gave participants the possibility to navigate through the conference. Centium, the company that runs the OnAIR platform, has announced its annual Virtual Event awards, and Kuoni Congress has been awarded the Americas-European 2020 Virtual Event of the Year for the EAS 2020 Annual Meeting. EAS thanks our partner Kuoni Congress for its commitment to run successful EAS annual meetings. Contributed News
Astronet Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap
Call for input and feedback by the European astronomical community
Astronet is a consortium of European funding agencies, established for the purpose of providing advice on long-term planning and development of European astronomy. Setup in 2005, its members include most of the major European astronomy nations, with associated links to the European Space Agency, the European Southern Observatory, the Square Kilometre Array, and the European Astronomical Society, among others. The purpose of the Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap is to deliver a coordinated vision covering the entire breadth of astronomical research, from the origin and early development of the Universe to our own solar system. ▸ Read more
The first European Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap for Astronomy was created by Astronet, using EU funds, in 2008/09, and updated in 2014/15. Astronet is now developing a new Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap, in a single document with an outlook for the next 20 years. A delivery date to European funding agencies of mid-2021 is anticipated.
After some delays due to the global pandemic, the first drafts of the chapters for the document are now available from the panels asked to draft them, for the astronomical community to view and comment on. For the Science Vision and Infrastructure Roadmap to be truly representative it is essential we take account of the views of as much of the European astronomy and space science community as possible. All input is really valued by the panels and Astronet. Please leave any comments, feedback or questions on the Astronet site by 1 May. It is intended that a virtual "town Hall" style event will be held in late Spring 2021, where an update on the project and responses to the feedback will be provided.
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