RAS Bulletin, January 2018 

•             Specialist Discussion Meeting – 12th January        
•             RAS Public Lecture: Space – So What! 16th January
•             RAS astro4dev mobility grants are now open
•	       PhD theses in astronomy and geophysics, Deadline reminder for Fellows of the RAS
•             Frontiers of Science        
•             RAS Job List
•             Friends of the RAS
•             Notes for Fellows

______________________________________
RAS Specialist Discussion Meeting  - 12th January

Wave-based heating in the solar atmosphere 
10:30–15:30 in the Royal Astronomical Society Lecture Theatre, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BQ
Organisers: Paolo Pagano (St. Andrews)
                        Patrick Antolin (St. Andrews)
                        Ineke de Moortel (St. Andrews)
                        Sergiy Shelyag (Northumbria)
                
The European Extremely Large Telescope: UK Community Day
10:30–15:30 in the Geological Society Lecture Theatre, Burlington House, Piccadilly, London W1J 0BG
Organisers: Aprajita Verma (Oxford)
                        Chris Evans (Edinburgh)
                        Sandi Wilson (UK Astronomy Technology Centre)
                         Isobel Hook (Lancaster)

More information can be found on our website: http://www.ras.org.uk/events-and-meetings 

______________________________________
Call for suggestions for RAS Specialist Discussion Meetings 2018-19 (Deadline 1 March 2018). FELLOWS ONLY.

The RAS invites suggestions from Fellows of the RAS who wish to propose (and therefore organise) Specialist Discussion meetings for the academic year beginning October 2018. Meetings are held monthly from October to May, on the second Friday of the month.

To help with assessment, proposals should include the following information:
- Title of meeting and organiser(s), at least one of whom should be an RAS Fellow
- The topics to be covered in the meeting
- Rationale for the meeting, including timeliness,
- Suggestions for invited speakers
- Preferred date for meeting, if any

Proposals should not exceed one A4 page in length.

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 (including Exoplanets) should be sent to Mandy Bailey ([log in to unmask]) and proposals for Geophysics SD meetings (including Solar, Solar Terrestrial and Planetary Physics) should be sent to Mark Lester ([log in to unmask]). The deadline for receipt of proposals is 1st March 2018.

______________________________________
RAS Public Lecture: Space – So what!   16th January 

Since the birth of the Space Age in 1957 with the launch of the world's first artificial satellite, the discoveries made through the applications of space science and engineering have changed humanity's perspective of our position in the Universe. But what difference has space science and technology made to our everyday lives? Has it really been worth all of the money spent? Could space science save us from the mass extinction of life on Earth? What science did British astronaut Tim Peake doing on the International Space Station (ISS) during his six month mission in space? And is Mars always going to be a dream of future exploration or are we truly entering the era of humanity becoming a multi-planet species?

The Geological Society, Burlington House,LONDON,W1J 0BG 13:00 – 14:00

The Royal Astronomical Society, Burlington House,LONDON,W1J 0BQ 18:00 - 19:00 (booking required via www.eventbrite.co.uk)

_____________________________________
RAS astro4dev mobility grants are now open

Mobility funding through the RAS-astro4dev grant:
The RAS has teamed up with the IAU's Office of Astronomy for Development to offer grants allowing researchers or educators to move between the United Kingdom and countries where astronomy is not yet well developed. The grants are available to scientists, engineers and educators who are committed to pursuing development goals alongside their scientific and technical interests. The closing date for applications is 31 January 2018. More information, and the application form, can be found at this link.

_____________________________________
PhD theses in astronomy and geophysics, Deadline reminder for Fellows of the RAS

Each year the RAS recognises the best PhD theses in astronomy and geophysics completed in the UK. The deadline to nominate theses completed during 2017 is 31 January 2018.

Three prizes are available: the Michael Penston prize for astronomy, the Keith Runcorn prize for geophysics, and the Patricia Tomkins prize for instrumentation science in either astronomy or geophysics. The winners receive £1000 and an invitation to present the results of their thesis at a meeting of the RAS. The Michael Penston prize and Keith Runcorn prize runners up will receive £50 book tokens. The Patricia Tomkins prize is sponsored by the Patricia Tomkins Foundation.

Nominees must have completed their PhD (viva held and all corrections completed) at a UK university during 2017. For more details and to submit a nomination, see the pages on each prize:

•	The Michael Penston prize, for theses in astronomy and astrophysics, including cosmology, astrobiology etc.
•	The Keith Runcorn prize, for theses in geophysics, including seismology, solar physics, planetary science etc.
•	Patricia Tomkins thesis prize for theses in instrumentation science for astronomy and geophysics - while the support is aimed at developing skills in scientific hardware such as electronics, detectors and optics, the development of novel software specific to a hardware project will also be considered.
___________________________________
Frontiers of Sciences      

In association with The Royal Society of Biology, The Royal Society of Chemistry, The Astrobiology Society of Britain and The Royal Astronomical Society, another "Frontiers of Sciences" meeting is taking place in Leeds.  

Speakers include: 
1) Dr Dominic Papineau (UCL): Biosignatures in the Eoarchean rock record

2) Dr Frances Westall (CNRS Orleans Campus, France): Space, the search for extra-terrestrial life and society

3) Prof: Peter Strazewski (Montpellier University): Chemist's Challenges of the Future: How to Animate Dead Matter?

4) Dr Sergio Ioppolo (QMUL): Star formation process, putting emphasis on the several physical and chemical steps  

Special note: last year's attendance was 80 and this year the capacity is 120, so please register early to avoid disappointment. Please contact Dr Sohan Jheeta by email at [log in to unmask]  or telephone +44 (0)7804659990.   Light refreshments provided along with the opportunity to network.
______________________________________
RAS JOB LIST

The RAS Jobs List service provides email alerts for new posts for jobseekers, together with an online archive of previous mailings. For advertisers, it provides a free, moderated distribution service. Anyone can post or subscribe to the list. 

For further information visit:
http://www.ras.org.uk/education-and-careers/208-miscellaneous/221-jobslist
________________________________________
FRIENDS OF THE RAS

If you know someone interested in astronomy that enjoys attending popular lectures and social events why not tell them about the 'Friends of the RAS'? 

See: http://friends.ras.org.uk/
________________________________________
NOTES FOR FELLOWS

You can now look at minutes of RAS Council meetings:
http://www.ras.org.uk/about-the-ras/council 

To unsubscribe: 
http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=ras&A=1