NORDIC-BALTIC MILLIMETRE AND OPTICAL/NIR ASTRONOMY SUMMER SCHOOL II

ONSALA, 14-23 June 2010

A Nordic-Baltic Research Training School for graduate students focusing on

"Extragalactic Astronomy in the ALMA Era"

will be held at Onsala Observatory, Sweden during the period June 14-23, 2010. The course is organized jointly by the Onsala Space Observatory (OSO, Sweden) and the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT, Spain), with financial support from NORDFORSK.

The goal is to give young researchers (PhD students or final-year MSc students) experience in the combined use of mm/radio and optical/NIR observations within a specific area of astronomy. Specifically, the school will prepare students for using ALMA (first call for proposals likely by end of 2010/early 2011). Although concentrating on the main extragalactic science areas with ALMA, the school will also emphasize the importance of complementary observations at other wavelengths, in particular optical/IR observations. The school is also open to those working in areas other than extragalactic astronomy who wish to learn about ALMA and optical/IR astronomy techniques and science.

Scientific lectures by leading Nordic and international experts on extragalactic astronomy will encompass nearby galaxies, activity in starbursts and AGNs, and the high-redshift Universe. In addition, the school will also feature lectures on observing techniques in mm and optical/NIR and tutorials on mm interferometric data reduction (CASA) and of optical/NIR data. Each student will, within a group, carry out a short research project during the course. These projects will use interferometric archival datasets, real time mm observations with the Onsala 20m radiotelescope and remote optical/NIR observations with the NOT. A substantial amount of time during the school will be dedicated to these research projects, and students will be expected to provide oral and written reports of their results. Upon successful completion of the full course programme, students will receive a certificate detailing the contents of the course and the workload involved, estimated to correspond to 6 ECTS credit points.

Students and faculty will be lodged at the Onsala Observatory (some 50 km from Goteborg), with easy access to the computers and network connections. Rooms and all meals are provided, and an excursion is planned during the weekend. We expect to be able to cover the costs of participation for students, lecturers and instructors, including travel, from the NORDFORSK grant (please have a look below for financial support rules). The attendance is limited to 18 students, early registration is encouraged.

Financial support rules:

Lecturers/Instructors: 100% travel costs covered / free accomodation

Students from Nordic universities: 100% travel costs covered / free accomodation

Students from Baltic universities: 70% travel costs covered / free accomodation

Other students: part of the travel costs might be covered depending on fundings availability / free accomodation.

Further information can be obtained from the persons below:

OSO: Sebastien Muller (mullers at chalmers dot se), John Conway (john dot conway at chalmers dot se)

NOT: Johannes Andersen (ja at not dot iac dot es)