Decide which competition and zone you fit into best, whether an STFC sponsored one or another, and then fill in the relevant application form. The closing date for applications is Friday 3 February.
To be eligible you will need to:
• be available for a few hours each day between 12 – 23 March
• work on or with an STFC site, facility or on STFC funded research, in an STFC spin-out or similar. If in doubt, ask us!
• have decided which zone is most appropriate for yourself
• have permission from your line manager
By agreeing to take part you will:
• receive training prior to event
• develop communication skills
• get the chance to share your research with students
• have the chance to win £500 prize money to go towards a communication project of your choice
For more information about what it’s like to take part watch this 3 minute video of STFC scientist Ceri Brenner (winner of the Quantum Zone, June 2011) describing why you should take part http://imascientist.org.uk/scientists/stfc.

In the upcoming March event STFC are sponsoring one zone in each competition. If you feel another zone in either of the competitions is more suitable for yourself you can also apply. The two STFC zones are broadly themed so anyone who can find even a loose connection to their research. The two zones are:

• Electromagnetic Zone in IAS (Application page available at http://imascientist.org.uk/stfc-scientist-registration) – This zone will contain researchers using and exploring the entire electromagnetic spectrum with work ranging from long radio waves through to the shortest gamma rays. The broad theme gives many STFC researchers the opportunity to share their amazing scientific discoveries; from the stunning pictures of the Universe using the whole of the spectrum, to important medical advances from using short frequencies in synchrotrons. Recently, a more unusual part of the spectrum, Terahertz radiation, has been used to design equipment that makes it possible to scan for explosives through people’s clothes.

• Measurement Zone in IEng (Application page available at http://imanengineer.org.uk/stfc-engineer-application) – The scope for this zone is HUGE! Measurement is vital to STFCs research so engineers working on virtually any topic can take part. Collecting measurements is not always easy when you’re dealing with sub atomic particles or measuring rain drops. To add to this, in science it’s not always possible to directly measure what you want. For some things, like how big space is, indirect measurements have to be taken and for even more elusive things like dark matter and gravitational waves, measurements first have to be taken to pin point where the next experiment should concentrate their search. As well as looking at the measurements taken, engineers face the difficult tasks of designing, operating and running the sensitive instruments and facilities that make all these measurements possible.

Contact Chrissie Jones at Chrissie.jones@stfc.ac.uk or on 01793 442092 for further information

The diary has been updated on the STFC home page with new dates for January, February and March 2012. To view the diary, please go to http://www.stfc.ac.uk/

Melanie

Gold Medal (G): Professor John Brown

Chapman Medal: Professor Andrew Fazarkerley

Fowler Award (G): Dr Matthew Owens

Harold Jeffreys Lecturer: Professor Bill Chaplin

Honorary Fellowships: Professor Robert Lin (University of California at Berkeley)

For more information see http://tinyurl.com/6odqd4e.

Vacancies have arisen, or will be arising, due to the normal rotation of membership on:
• Science Board – 4 vacancies;
• The STFC Advisory Panels – see below for various vacancies;
• The Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP)– 8 vacancies;
• The Nuclear Physics Grants Panel (NPGP)– 4 to 5 vacancies;
• The Particle Physics Grants Panel (PPGP) – 1 vacancy for Theory and 4 vacancies for Experiment;
• The Industry Partnership Scheme Panel (IPS) – 1 academic vacancy and 1 industrial vacancy;
• Advisory Panel for Science in Society (APSiS) – 1 vacancy for a particle physicist;
• The Education, Training and Careers Committee (ETCC) – 4 vacancies.
• The CERN Fellowship Panel – 1 vacancy;

The closing date for these posts is Monday 27th February 2012.

Brief descriptions of the panels and committees can be found below on the STFC website.

For further information about the Committees and how to apply please read the full call for nominations on the website.

For information, detailed guidance for meeting organisers may be found at:
http://www.ras.org.uk/events-and-meetings/1747-general-information-about-meetings
Proposals for Astronomy SD meetings should be sent to Professor Martin
Barstow mab@le.ac.uk), and proposals for
Geophysics (including Planetary Science and Solar-Terrestrial Physics)
should be sent to Dr Lyndsay Fletcher (Lyndsay.Fletcher@glasgow.ac.uk).

The deadline for the receipt of proposals is 1 April 2012.

www.suntrek.org/blog

Alan Burgess during his retirement celebrations, held in Cambridge, July 2001, with his grandson and the book he received as a present.

Dear colleagues,

Sadly, Alan Burgess has passed away (please see message from Helen Mason below). If anyone wants more information about the funeral (13 Jan) or would like to contact the family, please contact Helen Mason (H.E.Mason@damtp.cam.ac.uk).

Ineke

It is with great sadness that I inform you of the sudden death of Alan Burgess. He died unexpectedly, in his sleep, at home, having spent Boxing Day with his family.

Alan Burgess was a superb physicist and an excellent teacher. He carried out some fundamental calculations on di-electronic recombination while a post-doc at UCL, in Prof Mike Seaton’s group. These calculations related directly to our knowledge and understanding of the high temperature of the solar corona. He was well known by many in the solar physics community, particularly during the 1980′s when we had the ‘QUACS’ meetings.

Until his retirement, Alan was head of the Atomic and Astro-physics group at DAMTP, University of Cambridge. He was an inspiration and mentor to many research students, who are now leaders in their research fields. He was also held in great affection and respect by those colleagues who knew him and worked with him.

Our thoughts are with his family at this time of deep sadness.

Helen Mason
DAMTP

• Jane McKenzie, Oversight Committee Secretary, will be leaving STFC at the end of the year. We will be advertising for a replacement as soon as possible; in the meantime, any correspondence that would usually go to Jane regarding the Oversight Committees should be sent to Dave Godfrey (dave.godfrey@stfc.ac.uk).

• Katharine Schofield, Programme Manager for Nuclear Physics and Particle Astrophysics, will be moving to a new role within STFC from the start of February. Again, we will be seeking a replacement for Katharine. From 1 February, please direct any correspondence regarding grants maintenance to Jane Bennett (jane.bennett@stfc.ac.uk), and any correspondence regarding programme issues to Tony Medland (tony.medland@stfc.ac.uk).

We will let you know as soon as the new arrangements for both of these posts are confirmed.

STFC Public Engagement Fellowships 2012
For researchers with good communication skills who have demonstrated a track record in public engagement with research or communication work. Applications are invited from STFC funded researchers and users of STFC facilities. Fellowship holders would have a proportion of their time bought out to enable them to concentrate on new or additional activities which would have significant national or regional impact.

The Closing date for applications is 1st March 2012 at 16:00

Further details can be found on the STFC website or by contacting Neville.Hollingworth@stfc.ac.uk

There is no need to download an app, just point your mobile/cell phone browser to www.SolarMonitor.org and it doesn’t matter if you are on an Android or an iPhone. Users can try it out for themselves by going to www.solarmonitor.org or m.solarmonitor.org.

There’s a demo of the app available for viewing at

http://youtu.be/jhkLEJHUXdc

www.SolarMonitor.org

To aid in our planning, we solicit statements of interest from potential Guest Editors of Topical Issues by 15 January 2012.

John Leibacher, Takashi Sakurai, Lidia van Driel-Gesztelyi

This note is to advise that the 2012 Astronomy guidelines for Applicants have now been published and can be found at http://www.stfc.ac.uk/Our+Research/12214.aspx

There have been a few revisions, for example the duration of grant request and some minor changes to page limits etc . I would therefore strongly advise all potential applicants to read through the guidelines in detail.

May I take this opportunity to remind everyone that it would be extremely helpful to inform me if you are considering submitting to the 2012 closing date.

Should you have any questions then please email me directly at kim.burchell@stfc.ac.uk

Vacancies have arisen due to normal rotation of membership. The appointments will be from the 1 April 2012 and will normally be for a period of up to three years, although appointments will be reviewed after the first year to ensure the composition of the panel is appropriate and to allow for unforeseen circumstances..

Nominations are sought from members of the UK research community. In particular we would welcome nominations from those with a strong background in the following areas astronomy observation, theory, solar, planetary studies and relevant instrumentation, technology and data management.

STFC will seek the best members possible for its advisory bodies but also seeks to ensure that membership reflects the diversity within the relevant research communities.

If you wish to nominate yourself or a colleague…

Nominations should be a maximum of 1 page in length and should set out the nominee’s area(s) of science expertise and current activity, career track record and committee/policy experience. Please ensure that the nominee is aware of and agrees to nomination.

Please send your nomination(s) to kim.burchell@stfc.ac.uk by 3rd January 2012 at the latest

For information the current panel membership (valid until 31.3.12) can be found at
http://www.stfc.ac.uk/About%20STFC/153.aspx

Well done David !

http://www.stfc.ac.uk/roadmap/

The STFC Science Roadmap sets out the current STFC science programme, together with future opportunities for investment, and shows how they address a range of science challenges.

It sets out the current projects which we support in the particle physics, nuclear physics and astronomy programme, together with future opportunities for investment, and shows how they address each of four big questions and 19 specific challenges. The inter-linked nature of these questions requires a broad array of experiments and shows that particle physics, nuclear physics and astronomy are now so closely connected that, while they represent different techniques and approaches, they are addressing the same fundamental questions.

Work is currently continuing on the development of the physical and life sciences aspects of the STFC Science Roadmap and these will be published in due course.

The Science Roadmap is intended to be a dynamic document. We welcome any corrections or feedback you may have.

Victoria Wright
Head of Science Strategy

We would like to announce the release of version 7.0 of the CHIANTI
database for astrophysical spectroscopy. With Version 7.0, CHIANTI
now includes data for several new ions as well as significant updates to
many ions, including several key Fe species routinely observed by
Hinode/EIS and SDO. Also, a completely new implementation of the
CHIANTI software in the Python programming language has been
developed and is freely available on the web (ChiantiPy). IDL
software updates have been performed to ensure compatibility
with IDL 8.

If you use CHIANTI through SolarSoft that is automatically mirrored,
the update will occur automatically within the next few days. Otherwise,
you will need to manually update your the SolarSoft directories.

If you use CHIANTI through the stand-alone tar file, we recommend that
you download and install the new tar file in your CHIANTI directories.
The new tar file can be found at our new web site location:

http://www.chiantidatabase.org/ – note the new url!

The ChiantiPy software suite can be found at

http://sourceforge.net/projects/chiantipy/

If you have any questions, problems, suggestions regarding CHIANTI,
we are always glad to hear from you by sending email to

chianti_help@halcyon.nrl.navy.mil

Best regards,

The CHIANTI Team

http://www.chiantidatabase.org/

The Media course introduces scientists to the world of the mass media, press releases, how to be interviewed etc. The next course date is 21 March 2012 in London

The Communications course includes how to write clearly without using jargon, structure a talk, use visual aids effectively, how to chair conferences, and how to run question and answer sessions. The next course date is 16 March 2012 in London.

Two-day residential Media and Communications training courses are also available and are held at the Kavli Royal Society International Centre in Buckinghamshire. The next dates are 14/15 February 2012.

STFC offers bursaries to pay the course fees and T&S costs for eligible researchers. The courses are run for us by the Royal Society. To book a place visit the Royal Society website

Once you have a place, go to the STFC website to apply for an STFC bursary.

The STFC contact for more information is Jane.Butt@stfc.ac.uk Tel 01793 442030

31 October – 1 November – Challenge Led Applied Systems Panel (CLASP), Royal College of Physicians, London
STFC contact : Penny.Woodman@stfc.ac.uk

November – date to be advised – e-MERLIN Steering Committee, venue tbc
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

2 November – CERN Finance Committee, CERN, Geneva
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

3 November – Nuclear Structure Astrophysics and Reactions (NuSTAR) Oversight Committee, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Katharine.Schofield@stfc.ac.uk

3 November – ISIS Crystallography User Group Meeting, Cosener’s House, Abingdon
STFC contact : David.Keen@stfc.ac.uk

8 November – Experimental Particle Physics/HEPP half day meeting in honour of Professor Norman McCubbin “………the nature of matter from the ISR to the LHC”
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, R22 Pickavance
Online registration at http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/accel/forum/2011/mccubbinfest/home.htm

8 November – Futures Advisory Panel Meeting, Coseners House, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharmila.Banerjee@stfc.ac.uk

8 November – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

8 November – UK PrepSKA Oversight Committee, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

9 November – ISIS disordered materials user group meeting, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Daniel.Bowron@stfc.ac.uk

10 November – Closing date of Large Awards Scheme for projects in public engagement
STFC contact : Chris.Woolford@stfc.ac.uk

10 November – Imaging in conservation: Looking at artefacts under a new light, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : winfried.kockelmann@stfc.ac.uk

10 – 11 November – ISIS Empirical potential structure refinement workshop, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Daniel.Bowron@stfc.ac.uk

10 – 11 November – Science Board, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Victoria.Wright@stfc.ac.uk

11 November – Big Telescopes training for physics teachers, Selkirk
STFC contact : Dan.Hillier@stfc.ac.uk

14 November – Programme Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Wendy.Light@stfc.ac.uk

14 – 15 November – ING Board, La Palma, Hawaii
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

16 November – Research Councils UK Executive Group (RCUKEG), Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield @stfc.ac.uk

16 – 17 November – European Space Agency Science Programme Committee (ESA SPC), Paris
UKSA contact : Chris.Castelli@stfc.ac.uk

17 – 18 November – ISIS molecular spectroscopy user group meeting, Cosener’s House, Abingdon
STFC contact : felix.fernandez-alonso@stfc.ac.uk

21 November – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

21 November – Centres Forum, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot and Daresbury Laboratory
STFC contact : Zoe.Gayfer@stfc.ac.uk

22 November – STFC Council Meeting, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Andy.Boyd@stfc.ac.uk

22 November – Education, Training and Careers Committee meeting, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Katharine.Hollinshead@stfc.ac.uk

23 November – SKA Founding Board, Heathrow Airport
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

24 – 25 November – Innovations Partnerships Scheme (IPS) Peer Review Meeting, Medical Research Council, London
STFC contact : Andi.Kidd@stfc.ac.uk

29 November – NCCPE Conference – Engage 2011 : Making an Impact, The Bristol Hotel, Prince Street, Bristol
STFC contact : Neville.Hollingworth@stfc.ac.uk

30 November – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

STFC SiS Large Awards Scheme – This scheme offers funding for STFC science and technology projects that aims to inspire and involve a wider audience. Up to £100,000 can be applied for. There is a two-stage process, with a simple outline proposal form at stage 1. The closing date for stage 1 applications is 10th November 2011 at 16:00.

More details can be found on the STFC website or by contacting Chris Woolford on 01793 442098 or e mail chris.woolford@stfc.ac.uk

The Astronomy Guidance currently available at http://www.stfc.ac.uk/Our%20Research/12214.aspx may be updated after the AGP 2011 Plenary meeting, which takes place on 23rd November. The community will be notified of any revisions as soon as possible after the meeting, In the meantime I would suggest Applicants follow the current guidelines.

May I take this opportunity to remind Applicants to seek guidance from the office prior to submission if needed. It would also be extremely helpful to email me kim.burchell@stfc.ac.uk if intending to submit to the 2012 round.

If you have any queries then please contact me, Kim Burchell (01793 442021) or Dr Colin Vincent (01793 442095)

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Vince Cable has just announced the appointment of Professor John Womersley as the next Chief Executive Officer of STFC. John’s four-year term will commence on 1 November 2011. John’s appointment followed a competitive selection and Ministerial approval process. Many of you will be familiar with John from his role as Director Science Programmes at STFC. We will link from our stfc.ac.uk website to the official announcement as soon as possible.

From 1 November, I will be on secondment to the UK Space Agency until 31 March 2012 to advise on steps needed to leverage the research base to maximise the economic growth of the space sector.

I will be working closely with John over coming weeks during the handover period. As a first step, we have agreed that Dr Janet Seed will take over John’s duties as acting Director of Science Programmes to ensure he is able to fully concentrate on preparing for this very significant and important role. Other transitional arrangements will be announced as soon as possible.

Warm regards
Keith Mason
STFC CEO

We heard today that the ESA Science Programme Committee has unanimously selected Solar Orbiter as the mission which will fill its Cosmic Vision Medium Class mission, ‘M1′ launch slot for 2017. (Euclid is also selected as ‘M2′).

For those of us at Imperial, UCL/MSSL and RAL who have been directly involved, this is the culmination of a very long haul to get to this point (PPARC was holding Solar Orbiter review meetings as long ago as October 2003, although work on the mission concept started in the last century! The instrument teams have been formally together since the LOI’s in October 2006 and instrument proposals went in in January 2008).

More importantly, the mission represents an opportunity for members of both the UK Solar Physics and MIST communities to come together to capitalise on the science of Solar Orbiter – addressing the links between the Sun and the heliosphere. The UK holds leading roles on 4 of the most important instruments selected for the mission – the magnetometer and solar wind particle analysers from the in situ side and the Extreme Ultra-violet Imager and the EUV Spectrometer on the remote sensing side.

We hope, now that the mission is selected, to be building further on the engagement with all members of the UK Solar Physics and MIST communities, and look forward to preparing jointly for this exciting opportunity to explore the Sun and the heliosphere.

Andrzej Fludra, Louise Harra, Tim Horbury and Chris Owen.

30 November – 1 December – James Clerk Maxwell Telescope (JCMT) Board, Hilo, Hawaii
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

2 December – United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) Board, Hilo, Hawaii
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

2 December – Small Awards Scheme for projects in public engagement judges meeting, Medical Research Council, London,
STFC contact : Chris.woolford@stfc.ac.uk

6 December – United Kingdom Committee on CERN, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, London
STFC Contact: Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

8 December – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

8 December – Nuclear Structure Astrophysics and Reactions (NuSTAR) Oversight Committee meeting, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Katharine.Schofield@stfc.ac.uk

12 December – Programme Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Wendy.Light@stfc.ac.uk

14 December –CERN Finance Committee, CERN, Geneva
STFC Contact: Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

14 December – Centres Forum, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot and Daresbury Laboratory
STFC contact : Jayne.Price@stfc.ac.uk or Cathy.Johnson@stfc.ac.uk

14 December – Research Councils’ United Kingdom Executive Group (RCUKEG), Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Linda.Enderby@stfc.ac.uk

14 – 15 December – Projects Peer Review Panel meeting, Polaris House, Swindon STFC contact – Sharmila.banerjee@stfc.ac.uk

15 December – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

19 December – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

31 October – 1 November – Challenge Led Applied Systems Panel (CLASP), Royal College of Physicians, London
STFC contact : Penny.Woodman@stfc.ac.uk

2 November – CERN Finance Committee, CERN, Geneva
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

2 November – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

3 November – Nuclear Structure Astrophysics and Reactions (NuSTAR) Oversight Committee, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Katharine.Schofield@stfc.ac.uk

8 November 2011 – Experimental Particle Physics/HEPP half day meeting in honour of Professor Norman McCubbin “………the nature of matter from the ISR to the LHC”
Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, R22 Pickavance
Online registration at http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/accel/forum/2011/mccubbinfest/home.htm

The following are the new board members:

Valery Nakariakov (President)
Manolis Georgoulis (Vice-President)
Gianna Cauzzi (Treasurer)
Ineke De Moortel (Secretary)
Tom Van Doorsselaere (Press Officer)
Astrid Veronig
Hardi Peter
Victor Melnikov
Hana Meszarosova
Laurent Gizon
Lucie Green
Hector Socas-Navarro
Stefaan Poedts (co-opted)
Lindsay Fletcher (co-opted)
Norma Crosby (co-opted)
Manolo Collados (co-opted)
Silja Pohjolainen (co-opted)

Please mind that only original papers, presenting new results, will be considered for publication. Review papers, as well as papers presenting results already published elsewhere, will NOT be considered.

Letters of intent (which are just emails stating that you are planning to submit a paper “Title” to the Topical Issue) are to be sent to Valery Nakariakov [V.Nakariakov@warwick.ac.uk] by September 30.
The submission deadline of the papers is November 15.

The papers should be prepared using the Solar Physics’ style files.

The RAS has committed itself to support of the IAU Strategic Plan ‘Astronomy for the Developing World 2010 – 2020′, and has had useful meetings with Kevin Govender, Director of the S. Africa based ‘Global Office of Astronomy for Development’ (OAD – see below), which is spear-heading it. The Plan aims to use astronomy as a tool to stimulate development at primary, secondary and tertiary education as well as science research and the public understanding of science.
In the first instance the OAD is compiling a list of potential volunteers willing to contribute to capacity building activities viz

• Building Research Capacity and university education
# Schools for university students
# Long-term visits to institutes in developing countries
# Long-term institute twinning
# Inspirational lectures to students on astronomy and related technologies.
• Astronomy for Schools
# Teacher training courses
# Development and translation of educational material for children.
• Astronomy for the Public
# Inspirational semi-popular lectures on astronomy or related technologies
# Activities building on IYA2009 including stargazing and engagement with amateur groups

In addition to participation in the delivery or helping with the organization of activities there are several general areas in which volunteer assistance would be valuable, e.g. translation of the OAD website into other languages. The OAD is particularly interested in contacting expatriates from developing countries who are prepared to help carry out development activities in their countries of origin. Note that the strategic plan spans a ten-year period. Assessing the number of potential volunteers, will help the OAD to gauge the scale of possible activities, develop an effective organizational structure to run them and provide information for fund raising campaigns possibilities.

If you are willing to assist please complete the questionnaire at http://www.astronomyfordevelopment.org/index.php/volunteers.

In addition you can email info@astro4dev.org specifying as subject: “Call for Volunteers”

For its part, the RAS has set aside funds to facilitate visits, especially of younger UK based scientists, to developing institutions on projects approved by the OAD. We hope to announce details of the scheme in the near future. In addition, though separately from the OAD, we have helped the Afghanistan Astronomy Association to publish and distribute a primary school textbook in the 2 official languages, Dari and Pashto.

Regards
David Elliott
Executive Secretary
Royal Astronomical Society
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London W1J 0BQ
020 7734 3307
www.ras.org.uk

—————————————————————————————
The IAU Global Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD)

The IAU, in partnership with the South African National Research Foundation, recently established the Office of Astronomy for Development (OAD) at the SAAO in Cape Town, South Africa. The creation of the OAD is a significant milestone towards realising the decadal strategic plan “Astronomy for the Developing World, Building from the IYA2009″.

The vision for the OAD is simply expressed by its slogan “Astronomy for a better world.” It aims to use astronomy as a tool to stimulate development at all levels including primary, secondary and tertiary education, science research and the public understanding of science.

The OAD currently has two staff members and the search is underway for the third. We have issued a call for expressions of interest for institutions to host regional nodes, as well as a call for potential volunteers. Besides creating regional nodes, the OAD aims to set up three task forces to focus on (i) university education and research; (ii) young children and school education; and (iii) public outreach. In December 2011 a workshop will be held at the OAD for major stakeholders. The OAD will present its activities and an account of its progress at the IAU General Assembly in August 2012.

October (date to be confirmed) – E-ELT UK Programme Steering Committee, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

4 October – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

4 October – Computing Advisory Panel, Medical Research Council, London
STFC contact : Trish.Mullins@stfc.ac.uk

5 October – Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Upgrade Oversight Committee, Imperial College, London
STFC contact : Rachel.Reynolds@stfc.ac.uk

5 – 6 October – Joint Cancer Care Workshop by STFC and BIR, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharmila.Banerjee@stfc.ac.uk

12 October – Research Councils UK Executive Group (RCUKEG), Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Linda.Enderby@stfc.ac.uk

12 – 13 October – Science Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Victoria.Wright@stfc.ac.uk

13 October – Closing date of Small Awards Scheme for projects in public engagement
STFC contact : Chris.Woolford@stfc.ac.uk

17 October – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboraory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

17 October – Centres Forum, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot and Daresbury Laboratory
STFC contact : Jayne.Price@stfc.ac.uk or Cathy.Johnson@stfc.ac.uk

18 October – Programme Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Wendy.Light@stfc.ac.uk

20 October – ALMA Oversight Committee meeting, University College London, London
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

24 October – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

26 – 27 October – Second Futures Environment Workshop, Open University
STFC contact : Sharmila.Banerjee@stfc.ac.uk

31 October – Inverse Square Law (ISL) Oversight Committee Meeting, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Katharine.Schofield@stfc.ac.uk

5 September – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

5 September – HPC Oversight Committee meeting, Medical Research Council, London
STFC contact : Trish.Mullins@stfc.ac.uk

7 – 8 September – UK HEP Forum 2011, Cosener’s House, Abingdon
STFC contact : Stefani.Ricciardi@stfc.ac.uk or Tricia.Shand@stfc.ac.uk
For further information : http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/accel/forum/2011/about.html

8 September – Science Board, University College London (UCL), London
STFC contact : Victoria.Wright@stfc.ac.uk

9 September – United Kingdom Committee on CERN (UKCC), BIS, London
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

9 September – Programme Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Wendy.Light@stfc.ac.uk

10 – 15 September – British Science Association Festival of Science, University of Bradford
STFC contact : Robin.Clegg@stfc.ac.uk

13 September – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

14 September – CERN Finance Committee, CERN
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

14 September – Research Councils UK Executive Group (RCUKEG), BIS, London
STFC contact : Linda.Enderby@stfc.ac.uk

19 September – Accelerator Strategy Board, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

20 – 22 September – Astronomy Grants Panel (AGP) Peer Review Meeting (Astronomy Observation and Astronomy Theory), Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Kim.Burchell@stfc.ac.uk

21 September – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

21 September – Centres Forum, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot and Daresbury Laboratory
STFC contact : Jayne.Price@stfc.ac.uk or Cathy.Johnson@stfc.ac.uk

26 – 28 September – Astronomy Grants Panel (AGP) Peer Review Meeting (Solar Studies and Space Based Solar Terrestrial Physics, Planetary Studies), Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Kim.Burchell@stfc.ac.uk

26 September – Liverpool Telescope teleconference
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

27 September – MTB event, Novotel, London Heathrow
STFC contact : Julie.Bellingham@stfc.ac.uk

29 September – SKA Founding Board meeting, Holiday Inn, Heathrow, London
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

29 – 30 September – Astronomy Grants Panel (AGP), Merging Meeting, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Kim.Burchell@stfc.ac.uk

The award seeks to recognise excellence in the communication skills of physicists who are at the beginning of a career in physics, with a prize of £250. Applicants do not need to be a member of the IOP, but should be one of the following:

• An undergraduate physicist
• A person involved in an appropriate postgraduate study within a few years of a degree qualification (not more than 5 years)
• A person working as a physicist in UK or Eire within the first 5 years of their physics career

The deadline of 15th September 2011 is fast approaching and we would be very appreciative if you could help us advertise this award and reach as many early career physicists as possible, perhaps through your website or email lists.

Further details on the eligibility and submission requirements, can be found on our group web page:

http://www.iop.org/activity/groups/subject/physcom/prize/page_50554.html

For any other queries or clarifications please do not hesitate to contact myself or the group secretary, David Smith, at: david.smith@brunel.ac.uk

The elections for the board of the European Solar Physics Division
(ESPD) will take place from 14-16 September 2011, which is during the
week of the ESPM 13 meeting.

In previous years, for practical reasons, the election has been
restricted to those attending the ESPM meeting. This year we wish to
hold online elections using the facilities offered by the European
Physical Society (EPS), of which the ESPD is a division.

To take advantage of this, you must register as a member of the ESPD
*before 13 September 2011* using the following instructions:

- the link to register is:http://www.eps.org/subscribe
- select “European Astronomical Society” in the Collaborating Societies
- select “Solar Physics Division” in the Divisions and Sections
(Members who do not select these two names cannot be distinguished as
EAS/ESPD members.)

European Physical Society membership is €40 per year, but this year you
do not have to make the payment to cast your vote. However, in future
years it is expected that only paid-up EPS members will be able to vote
in the ESPD elections.

Instructions on how to vote will be sent to you by the EPS, and the names
and statements of those standing for election will be on the voting page.

Best wishes,

Stefaan Poedts
Valery Nakariakov
Lyndsay Fletcher

You will no doubt be aware of the precarious funding position the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) finds itself in.

The RAS has already written a letter supporting the efforts of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) to ensure that funding for JWST continues (see http://www.ras.org.uk/images/stories/ras_pdfs/Policy%20Papers/Elmegreen.pdf).

To show grass roots support for JWST Monica Tosi, Senior Astronomer at INAF – Astronomical Observatory of Bologna, has drafted a letter/ petition to John Holdren, White House Science Adviser which can be found at http://goo.gl/mvaOQ. I encourage you to read this and consider adding your name.

If you would like more information on the status of JWST’s funding see:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14629938
and
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110822/full/476379a.html

Best wishes

Professor Roger Davies

President, RAS

Small Awards Scheme – A scheme which offers funding for small, local or ‘pilot’ projects promoting STFC science and technology for funds up to £10,000.

Closing date for applications – 13 October 2011 at 16:00.

For further details please go to http://www.stfc.ac.uk/Public%20and%20Schools/1396.aspx

————————————————————————————————————————-

Large Awards Scheme – A Scheme which offers funding for projects which are expected to have a much larger (national) impact promoting STFC science and technology. Up to £100,000 (£125,000 FEC) can be applied for. There is a two-stage process, with a simple proposal form at stage 1.

Closing date for stage 1 applications – 10 November 2011 at 16:00.

For further details please go to http://www.stfc.ac.uk/Public%20and%20Schools/1375.aspx

15/16 August – Accelerators Peers Review Panel, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

31 August – Advisory Panel for Science in Society Meeting, National Space Centre, Leicester
STFC contact : Chris.Woolford@stfc.ac.uk

5 September – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

5 September – HPC Oversight Committee meeting, Medical Research Council, London
STFC contact : Trish.Mullins@stfc.ac.uk

7 – 8 September – UK HEP Forum 2011, Cosener’s House, Abingdon
STFC contact : Stefani.Ricciardi@stfc.ac.uk or Tricia.Shand@stfc.ac.uk
Further information : http://hepwww.rl.ac.uk/accel/forum/2011/about.html

9 September – United Kingdom Committee on CERN (UKCC), BIS, London
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

9 September – Programme Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Wendy.Light@stfc.ac.uk

10 – 15 September – British Science Association Festival of Science, University of Bradford
STFC contact : Robin.Clegg@stfc.ac.uk

13 September – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

14 September – CERN Finance Committee, CERN
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

14 September – Research Councils UK Executive Group (RCUKEG), BIS, London
STFC contact : Linda.Enderby@stfc.ac.uk

19 September – Accelerator Strategy Board, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Charlotte.Jamieson@stfc.ac.uk

20 – 22 September – Astronomy Grants Panel (AGP) Peer Review Meeting (Astronomy Observation and Astronomy Theory), Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Kim.Burchell@stfc.ac.uk

21 September – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

21 September – Centres Forum, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot and Daresbury Laboratory
STFC contact : Jayne.Price@stfc.ac.uk or Cathy.Johnson@stfc.ac.uk

26 – 28 September – Astronomy Grants Panel (AGP) Peer Review Meeting (Solar Studies and Space Based Solar Terrestrial Physics, Planetary Studies), Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Kim.Burchell@stfc.ac.uk

26 September – Liverpool Telescope teleconference
STFC contact : Michelle.Cooper@stfc.ac.uk

27 September – MTB event, Novotel, London Heathrow
STFC contact : Julie.Bellingham@stfc.ac.uk

29 – 30 September – Astronomy Grants Panel (AGP), Merging Meeting, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Kim.Burchell@stfc.ac.uk

4 October – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

5 October – Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) Upgrade Oversight Committee, Polaris House, Swindon
STFC contact : Rachel.Reynolds@stfc.ac.uk

5 – 6 October – Joint Cancer Care Workshop by STFC / BIR, RAL, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharmila.Banerjee@stfc.ac.uk

11 October – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

12 October – Research Councils UK Executive Group (RCUKEG), Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Linda.Enderby@stfc.ac.uk

17 October – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboraory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

17 October – Centres Forum, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot and Daresbury Laboratory
STFC contact : Jayne.Price@stfc.ac.uk or Cathy.Johnson@stfc.ac.uk

18 October – Programme Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Wendy.Light@stfc.ac.uk

24 October – Executive Board, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot
STFC contact : Sharon.Bonfield@stfc.ac.uk

26 – 27 October – Second Futures Environment Workshop, Open University
STFC contact : Sharmila.Banerjee@stfc.ac.uk

More details may be found at:

http://www.iop.org/about/awards/subject/payne_gaposchkin-/medallists/page_51323.html

Enhancing Science Board

The Council of the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is revising and simplifying its strategic scientific advisory structure to ensure the most effective advice from our communities, as well as efficient administrative processes. We envisage a more streamlined structure to provide clearer advice and connection with the community, but also to reduce the overall cost of the system in the light of the need for all public sector bodies to reduce their administrative costs.

Council has agreed that, with effect from 1 August 2011, Science Board and the science committees for Particle Physics, Astronomy and Nuclear Physics (PPAN) and for Physical and Life Sciences (PALS) be merged into a single advisory board. The new body will continue to be named Science Board and to report directly to Council. The new Science Board will comprise a core membership, initially of 16 members drawn from the existing Science Board, PPAN and PALS membership so as to ensure continuity of advice to Council. Over time Science Board will reduce to a core membership of 12. In addition Council

• agreed to establish a college of non-core experts so as to provide Science Board a wider breadth of knowledge to be called upon as required.

• agreed that Science Board will, on the basis of need, establish subgroups of both core and non-core members.

• noted that there is likely to be an ongoing need for a standing Science Board subgroup in the PPAN disciplines, given the workload in this area.

Council also agreed that the Accelerator Strategy Board, the Projects Peer Review Panel (PPRP), Advisory Panel on Science in Society, the Education Training and Careers Committee, and the Grants Panels would continue to report to Science Board.

Consultation on Advisory Panels

The Council’s advisory structure also includes a number of subject-specific Advisory Panels that report through PPAN and PALS. Council recognises the importance of these in providing strategic scientific advice on the future priorities of individual aspects of the STFC programme, and in serving as a vital additional connection with our research communities. In updating the advisory structure, STFC welcomes the opinions of members of our scientific communities on the most effective way for the Science Board to receive this needed strategic input and has launched a consultation (www.stfc.ac.uk/36187.aspx ) to collate views on this important project.

Please circulate this call for input to other interested parties. We welcome submissions as soon as possible, and before 14 October 2011. Please note: persons or organisations submitting comments may have their views published.

Contributions may also consider applications of a wide assortment of heliospheric remote-sensing observations/missions as well as detailed three-dimensional (3-D) modelling and reconstruction methods of the inner heliosphere. We also welcome contributions investigating occasions where remote-sensing observations and/or heliospheric modelling have failed us and the possible causes behind them. The TI can also cover the early remote-sensing heliospheric results from the newly-operational LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory (STELab) Toyokawa array, and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio systems as well as future space-based remote-sensing instrumentation and plans.

The TI will consist of completed, original research papers on this common theme which would benefit from being published together. All of the papers will be fully refereed in the normal manner. To assist the Editor, Dr. Mario M. Bisi, Prof. Richard A. Harrison, and Dr. Noé Lugaz have agreed to act as Guest Editors for this Issue.

We solicit manuscripts on this general subject, for inclusion in this TI of Solar Physics, with deadlines of 29 July 2011 (Friday) for submission of a statement of interest, title, abstract, and suggestions of referees, and of 25 November 2011 (Friday) for submission of the completed manuscript.

There are no publication, page, or colour charges for publishing in Solar Physics, and the Journal’s impact factor is still increasing considerably.

In order to respect the other contributors, we will be strict with deadlines for submission, refereeing, and proofing. To expedite the schedule, referees will be identified prior to the submission of the manuscripts on the basis of the abstracts. Papers which are late, either because of delays in submission or protracted refereeing, will likely appear individually in later issues of the Journal.

If you wish to participate in this TI of Solar Physics, please let us know by Friday 29 July 2011 if you would like to be considered for inclusion by E-Mail to Mario Bisi (Mario.Bisi [at] aber.ac.uk) (with the subject: Observations and Modelling of the Inner Heliosphere Solar Physics TI Proposed Submission) and provide us with a tentative title, abstract, authors, estimated number of pages, as well as names and E-Mail addresses of at least three potential referees. Once you have successfully heard regarding your proposed submission, you should then prepare and submit your manuscript for refereeing by 25 November 2011 (http://www.editorialmanager.com/sola/).

Mario M. Bisi, Richard A. Harrison, and Noé Lugaz (Guest Editors),
and
Lidia van Driel-Gesztelyi (Editor).

http://www.editorialmanager.com/sola/

This is a FINAL reminder that the deadline for nominating colleagues (who do not need to be Fellows) for medals and prizes to be awarded in 2012 is 31st July 2011 (except for the Patrick Moore Medal – http://www.ras.org.uk/education-and-careers/208/1921-patrickmooremedal). Receiving this kind of recognition from their peers is hugely appreciated by awardees so please consider taking a little while to complete a nomination setting out how your nominee meets the appropriate criteria (essentially by reference to or inclusion of a C-V listing key achievements and publications). Your proposals will be considered by 2 awards panels chaired by Ofer Lahav (Vice-President ‘A’) and Mike Kendall (Vice-President ‘G’) see http://www.ras.org.uk/about-the-ras/committees/863#awards for the complete membership.

The Following awards are available for nomination now:
- Gold Medals (A & G)

- Herschel Medal for observational astrophysics

- Chapman Medal for solar-terrestrial physics, (including geomagnetism and aeronomy)

- Jackson-Gwilt Medal for astronomical instrumentation or techniques; achievement in observational astronomy; or research into the history of astronomy

- Fowler Awards (A & G) for noteworthy contributions to research made in the first decade or so following the start of PhD work

- Winton Capital Awards (A & G) to recognise careers which have shown the most promising development within 5 years of completion of a PhD

- The RAS Awards for Service (A & G) to recognise individuals who have developed A or G in the life of the nation but who do not fall within the criteria of the Society’s other awards

- Group Achievement Award (A & G) for achievement by large consortia

- ‘Named Lectures’ viz Harold Jeffreys (geophysics or solar-system science); George Darwin (astronomy or astrophysics); Gerald Whitrow (cosmology, usually with particular reference to philosophical aspects)

- Honorary Fellowships (for overseas – based scientists)

Please click on http://www.ras.org.uk/awards-and-grants/awards/271-awards to make your nomination

(lists of previous awardees can be found at http://www.ras.org.uk/awards-and-grants/awards/241-lists-of-medalists-prize-winners-and-lecturers )

Regards

David Elliott
Executive Secretary
Royal Astronomical Society
Burlington House
Piccadilly
London W1J 0BQ
020 7734 3307

www.ras.org.uk

Are you, or do you know, an astronomer or space scientist on a career break, who would like to return to a research career?

There is currently an opportunity for a Daphne Jackson Fellowship funded by the Royal Astronomical Society.

We are seeking an astronomer, planetary scientist or geophysicist to take up a Fellowship funded by the RAS which can be undertaken at any UK university/research establishment.

Daphne Jackson Fellowships are usually two years part time, paid Fellowships during which the Fellow undertakes a challenging research project and a tailored retraining programme. Fellows must have had at least two years break and a degree in a SET discipline and three years research experience prior to the break.

The Fellowships are designed to help returners who have been out of the workplace for two years or more and are intended to significantly increase employability and remove the disadvantages inherent in a career break.

For more information please see the website www.daphnejackson.org or call Dr Katie Perry on 01483 689166, before 15th July 2011.

www.daphnejackson.org

STFC offers 12 Ernest Rutherford Fellowships annually. These provide up to five years funding to outstanding researchers at an early stage of their career. The aim is to support future scientific leaders to establish a strong, independent research programme. Successful candidates will have the opportunity to bid for Ernest Rutherford research funding in the form of a research grant.

Further information is available from www.stfc.ac.uk/Funding+and+Grants/509.aspx

Contributions may also consider applications of a wide assortment of heliospheric remote-sensing observations/missions as well as detailed three-dimensional (3-D) modelling and reconstruction methods of the inner heliosphere. We also welcome contributions investigating occasions where remote-sensing observations and/or heliospheric modelling have failed us and the possible causes behind them. The TI can also cover the early remote-sensing heliospheric results from the newly-operational LOw Frequency ARray (LOFAR), Solar-Terrestrial Environment Laboratory (STELab) Toyokawa array, and the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA) radio systems as well as future space-based remote-sensing instrumentation and plans.

The TI will consist of completed, original research papers on this common theme which would benefit from being published together. All of the papers will be fully refereed in the normal manner. To assist the Editor, Dr. Mario M. Bisi, Prof. Richard A. Harrison, and Dr. Noé Lugaz have agreed to act as Guest Editors for this Issue.

We solicit manuscripts on this general subject, for inclusion in this TI of Solar Physics, with deadlines of 29 July 2011 (Friday) for submission of a statement of interest, title, abstract, and suggestions of referees, and of 25 November 2011 (Friday) for submission of the completed manuscript.

There are no publication, page, or colour charges for publishing in Solar Physics, and the Journal’s impact factor is still increasing considerably.

In order to respect the other contributors, we will be strict with deadlines for submission, refereeing, and proofing. To expedite the schedule, referees will be identified prior to the submission of the manuscripts on the basis of the abstracts. Papers which are late, either because of delays in submission or protracted refereeing, will likely appear individually in later issues of the Journal.

If you wish to participate in this TI of Solar Physics, please let us know by Friday 29 July 2011 if you would like to be considered for inclusion by E-Mail to Mario Bisi (Mario.Bisi [at] aber.ac.uk) (with the subject: Observations and Modelling of the Inner Heliosphere Solar Physics TI Proposed Submission) and provide us with a tentative title, abstract, authors, estimated number of pages, as well as names and E-Mail addresses of at least three potential referees. Once you have successfully heard regarding your proposed submission, you should then prepare and submit your manuscript for refereeing by 25 November 2011 (http://www.editorialmanager.com/sola/).

Mario M. Bisi, Richard A. Harrison, and Noé Lugaz (Guest Editors),
and
Lidia van Driel-Gesztelyi (Editor).

http://www.editorialmanager.com/sola/