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Scientific Opportunities For new Instrumentation, Asilomar 2010

June 6-8, 2010
Asilomar Conference Grounds, on the Monterey peninsula in central California

View the list of current registered participants.

Background:

One of the great advantages of SOFIA is that the instrumentation can take advantage of new technologies and new thinking, and a strong instrumentation program will be important for the future success of the observatory. To identify science opportunities that would be enabled by a new generation of instruments, and in anticipation of an expected NASA Announcement of Opportunity (AO), the SOFIA Science Mission Operations will be sponsoring a workshop to explore the new investigations that might be made possible in the next few years.

Goal and Mission:

The Workshop will provide a venue for interaction and collaboration between theorists, observers and instrument developers to:

• Review the most important scientific questions addressable through IR and sub-millimeter observations, particularly as they pertain to SOFIA in a 3-7 year range.
• Identify the most urgently needed new instruments required for those observations.
• Highlight technology advancements that can lead to powerful new instrumentation in the near term.
• Discuss unique, synergetic observing programs between SOFIA and other existing and near-term observatory facilities from both space and the ground.
  

Program:

Download the detailed program.

The program of the workshop will consist of invited review talks and contributed posters. In addition, a limited number of presentations on the status of the observatory and instrumentation will be given. A substantial amount of time has been set a side for poster viewing and discussion.

Attendance is open to all interested parties and we encourage observers, theorists and, in particular instrument builders, to contribute poster presentation on the subject of new SOFIA instruments. Posters will be limited to 4' x 4'.

The meeting will begin with dinner and a reception on Sunday June 6, followed by two full days of talks and poster presentations. The meeting will end on Tuesday (June 8) at 8pm. Because of the late close of the meeting, Tuesday night lodging (and Wednesday morning breakfast) at the Asilomar center is included in the default housing agreement.

The review topics and invited speakers are:

Workshop organizers:

Erick Young
Pamela Marcum
B-G Andersson
Eric Becklin
Scott Horner
Thomas Roellig
Martin Ruzek
Hans Zinnecker

For questions about the workshop, please contact asilomar2010@sofia.usra.edu

Proceedings, Posters and Talks:

No printed proceedinsg are planned for this workshop. However, to provide documentation of the workshop, pdf versions of the posters and talks will be made available for the SOFIA web site. Abstracts will be posted as soon as the registration deadline is passed while electronic versions of the full talks/posters are to be submitted shortly before the workshop and will be posted as soon as feasible afterwards.

Logistics and Registration

The Asilomar Conference Grounds is a full service conference center and the housing fee includes lodging and three meals a day, starting on Sunday dinner and ending with Wednesday breakfast (for those who choose so, a bag lunch may also be requested on Wednesday morning). We will, in addition, provide coffee breaks and refreshments to go with the evening sessions on Monday and Tuesday.

Pacific Grove, and Asilomar, is easily reachable by car from either the San Jose or San Francisco airports. Unfortunately, the public transportation options are more limited. Detailed driving directions and some public transport possibilities are give at the Asiomar Center's web site (http://www.visitasilomar.com/location-maps-transportation/index.cfm). Parking is available on the conference grounds.

Venue and Surroundings

Important Dates:

To receive e-mail updates about the workshop, please send your contact information to asilomar2010@sofia.usra.edu with "Workshop" in the subject line.

Download the workshop poster (pdf)

Footnotes
1. For questions regarding the NASA AO, please contact Dr. Paul Hertz at NASA HQ, Paul.hertz@nasa.gov

2. For questions about the workshop, please contact asilomar2010@sofia.usra.edu

Page Last Updated: April 2, 2010