SOFIA October Conference Registration, Cycle 5 Call for Proposals & June AAS booth

1. SOFIA Conference Registration OPEN: “The Local Truth: Galactic Star Formation and Feedback in the SOFIA Era”

Dates: October 17-21, 2016

Location: Asilomar Conference Center, Pacific Grove (near Monterey), Calif.

Registration Deadline: August 31, 2016

Registration and abstract submission are now open for the 2016 SOFIA science conference: “The Local Truth: Galactic Star Formation and Feedback in the SOFIA Era – Celebrating 50 years of Airborne Astronomy.” The conference registration web page is:

https://www.sofia.usra.edu/researchers/meetings-and-publications/events/local-truth-star-formation-and-feedback-sofia-era-3#sthash.AOmX7Elh.dpuf

(Please note that older-vintage browsers may not be able to reach that page.)

The conference will be held at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, CA, a famously attractive conference venue on the Northern California coast. Lodging can be booked through the Asilomar web site at:

https://aws.passkey.com/event/15093995/owner/10793795/home

This SOFIA science conference will focus on the current understanding of star formation and the impact of feedback processes in Galactic molecular clouds and nearby galaxies. High angular resolution and high spectral resolution observations in the mid- and far-infrared, as provided by SOFIA, are critical for a detailed understanding of the key physical processes involved. Such "local truth" is necessary for correctly interpreting observations of star formation tracers in distant galaxies.

Invited speakers are listed below. Ample opportunities for contributed talks will be available. Contributions based on SOFIA observations are encouraged. For questions or additional information regarding the conference, please send an email to “starformation2016 {at} sofia.usra.edu”

Confirmed Invited Speakers

    John Bally (University of Colorado)
    Eric Becklin (SOFIA Science Center)
    Edith Falgarone (ENS, Paris)
    Ralf Klessen (University of Heidelberg)
    Charlie Lada (Harvard-Smithsonian, CfA)
    Karl Menten (MPIfR, Bonn)
    Mark Morris (UCLA)
    David Neufeld (Johns Hopkins University)
    Jonathan Tan (University of Florida)
    Xander Tielens (Leiden University) 
    Michael Werner (JPL)

More information about the conference can be found at:

https://www.sofia.usra.edu/researchers/meetings-and-publications/events/local-truth-star-formation-and-feedback-sofia-era-0

2. SOFIA Cycle 5 Call for Proposals: proposals due July 1, 2016

The SOFIA Cycle 5 Call for Proposals (CfP) was issued on April 29th.  There will be a formal update to the CfP on June 10th. The deadline for proposal submission is July 1, 2016 (9 pm Pacific Daylight Time).

Seven instruments will be available during SOFIA Cycle 5: EXES, FIFI-LS, FLITECAM, FORCAST, FPI+, GREAT (or upGREAT), and HAWC+. The HAWC+ instrument and the upGREAT High Frequency Array mode will be commissioned after the proposal deadline for Cycle 5, and are offered for General Investigator observing on a shared risk basis, contingent on successful commissioning.

U.S. investigators will have totals of approximately 500 observing hours and $5M to support observation analyses through this call.


Details, including information about the instruments, can be found via:

http://www.sofia.usra.edu/Science/proposals/Cycle5

3. SOFIA exhibit booth at the 228th AAS meeting in San Diego

The SOFIA Science Center will have an exhibit booth at the upcoming AAS meeting, June 12-16 in San Diego. Staff scientists will be available to provide potential Guest Investigators with information about the Observatory and with hands-on demonstrations of the proposal tools. Short talks on the available instrument and their science capabilities will be presented at the booth. The schedule of talks will be posted each day during the AAS meeting, and on the SOFIA web site at:

http://www.sofia.usra.edu/

Please feel free to direct questions and comments to the SOFIA Science Center help desk: "sofia_help {at} sofia.usra.edu". You may subscribe (or unsubscribe) to SOFIA electronic news by sending an email to: “sofia_astronews {at} sofia.usra.edu” with “subscribe” (or “unsubscribe”) in the subject line.