The IAU is seeking volunteer astronomers to serve on the steering committee of a new IAU initiative, the IAU Hands-On Workshops (I-HOW). This initiative aims to train young scientists in developing countries in accessing, analysing and interpreting astronomical data for their research projects.

I-HOW will consist of a series of capacity-building workshops, during which the participants will learn how to retrieve astronomical data from the archives of large international facilities, and install and use software to analyse and interpret those data. The participants will spend 50–60% of the time working on a project using those data under the supervision of specialists, and the rest of the time in lectures related to the astronomical data they are using. These projects will also increase the scientific impact of the astronomical facilities from which archived data were obtained, since a lot of these data have not been fully exploited.

The members of the I-HOW steering committee will work together with the I-HOW Director, Mariano Mendez, in setting up this initiative. The committee will consist of a number of scientists, each of them with an expertise in a different wavelength domain, gamma-/X-rays, ultraviolet/optical/near-infrared, mid-/far-infrared, radio (mm), radio (cm-m), and multi-messenger astronomy.

The tasks of the members of the committee will be to: 

• Publicise the I-HOW programme among colleagues in their area of research.
• Help members of the community to write workshop proposals.
• Participate in the selection of the workshops to be carried out every year.
• Set up the programme of workshops in their area of expertise.
• Invite the scientists who will lecture at those workshops.
• Coordinate the announcement of a workshop once it has been selected.
• Visit the proposed workshop site and coordinate actions with the local organisers.
• Set up a committee to select applicants.
• Attend and lead the scientific organisation of the workshop.

Applicants should submit a motivation letter and a CV here (free Google sign-in required). In the motivation letter applicants should indicate the way in which their expertise will help the goals of this initiative, for example by detailing their previous involvement in the organisation of similar initiatives within other organisations. The deadline for applications is 1 July 2021.

More information

The IAU is the international astronomical organisation that brings together almost 12 000 active professional astronomers from more than 100 countries worldwide. Its mission is to promote and safeguard astronomy in all its aspects, including research, communication, education and development, through international cooperation. The IAU also serves as the internationally recognised authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies and the surface features on them. Founded in 1919, the IAU is the world's largest professional body for astronomers.

Links

• IAU Hands-On Workshops web page
• Application form for volunteer astronomers (free Google sign-in required)

Contacts

Mariano Mendez
Email: mariano@astro.rug.nl

Lars Lindberg Christensen
IAU Press Officer
Cell: +49 173 38 72 621
Email: lars@eso.org