Dear Colleagues,
the IAU is soliciting Letters of Intent to propose IAU Symposia and Focus Meetings in 2018. The LoIs are due 15th September, with the full proposal expected on December 15th. LoIs are required prior to submitting a full proposal, and serve the purpose of giving the Steering Committee of Division E (Sun and Heliosphere) and all Division members the opportunity to provide feedback and to minimize proposal overlap.
Since 2018 is also the year of the XXXth General Assembly, 6 of the 9 IAU Symposia selected will be scheduled as GA Symposia as part of the scientific program of the GA, and held at the GA venue, Vienna, Austria, from 20-31 August 2018. In addition, in 2018 up to 15 Focus Meetings will be selected to be held at the XXX GA in Vienna. A GA Symposium normally lasts 3.5 days. A focus meeting is 1 to 2 days during the GA. The 3 IAU Symposia not associated with that GA should not be scheduled within 3 months before or after the dates of that GA.
A LoI for IAUS gives a brief description of the intended symposium proposal and includes: (a) the title of the intended IAU Meeting (no longer than 10 words, or 70 characters including spaces); (b) the prospective Coordinating Division; (c) the full name(s) of the proposed SOC chairperson(s); (d) a short list of topics to be addressed at the Meeting (up to 10 topics); (e) the venue and the preferred dates for the Symposium; (f) the full names and addresses of the proposed Editors (the first listed in the web form will be considered as the Contact Editor who must be an IAU member). Preference is usually given to Symposia that will be of interest to, and attract the support of other branches of astronomy represented by the IAU, and Divisions representing these areas can be contacted requesting their endorsement.
Normally, the initiative to propose an IAU GA Focus Meeting originates from a group of scientists aiming at promoting cross-disciplinarity, while keeping a well-defined “focus” on a given topic. In collaboration with colleagues worldwide, they should prepare a draft scientific program and nominations for the members of a candidate SOC
The electronic form for submission is the same for both Symposia and Focus Meetings (http://www.iau.org/science/meetings/proposals/lop/).
For more details please refer to the description in the IAU rules: http://www.iau.org/science/meetings/rules/#31
best wishes
Lyndsay… continue to the full article