CSIRO Summer Vacation Scholarship Program
December 2000 to February 2001 marked the CSIRO Summer Vacation Scholarship Program with the Australia Telescope National Facility and Telecommunications and Industrial Physics (at both the Marsfield and Lindfield sites) participating. There were 170 applications for the 20 positions, seven with the ATNF (two of these at the Narrabri Observatory) and 13 for CTIP. The students worked on projects with a scientist or an engineer for a period of 10-12 weeks.
Standing left to right: Jessica Chapman (ATNF), Jenna Hall, Tim Connors, Ashish Choudhary, Edward Boyce, Paul Beasly, Susan Rennie, Ilana Klamer, David Neo, Diem Vu Thanh, Karina Kiely, Bob Sault (ATNF), Lucia Bromley-Gambaro (ATNF).
Sitting left to right: James Brinkhoff, Ivan Mac, Benjamin Lippmeier, Elizabeth Claridge, Ian Manchester, Peter Woloszyn, Ashley Smart.Absent: Samantha Coras, Arthur Dimitrelis, Leigh Milner, Geoff Poulton (CTIP)
The students experienced the working environment of a major research facility. The program included: a series of introductory lectures on the work of the ATNF and CTIP; a tour of the CSIRO Marsfield and Lindfield laboratories; and a weekly afternoon tea session where a staff member, or specially invited guest, talked on a topic of their choosing.
A highlight of the program was the observatory trip where the students, in teams of 2-4, were given the opportunity to work on a project of their own choice, at either the Parkes radio telescope or the Australia Telescope Compact Array at Narrabri. The observatory trip was attended by John Whiteoak (Parkes) and Bob Sault (Narrabri).
We give a huge thank you to John Whiteoak, as this was his last participation in the program. John has contributed greatly to the Summer Vacation Scholarship Program and has provided many students the opportunity to continue to further their studies and goals with the ATNF Higher Degree Scheme. We wish John good luck in his retirement.
The program concluded with a Summer Vacation Students' Symposium, organised by the students themselves, which was held on Friday 9 February 2001 at the Radiophysics Laboratory Lecture Theatre in Marsfield, followed by a farewell dinner.
Advertisements for the next round of the Summer Vacation Scholarship Program will be distributed around mid-June to all Australian universities and will also appear at http://www.atnf.csiro.au/educate/summer_vacation /summer_info_page.html.
Lucia M Bromley-Gambaro, ATNF
(lgambaro@atnf.csiro.au)