And I thought I'd have quiet retirement!
The rude awakening
The telephone call from Dick Manchester came mid-morning on a beautiful day in March; Wallis Lake was blue, glassy and beckoning! Could I provide a little assistance with the organization of the IAU General Assembly to be held in Sydney this coming July, nothing too intrusive, say two days a week (ha, ha!)? With good Internet communications I would not need to go to Sydney too often, and transport could be provided for such a purpose.
When I retired from ATNF in February 2001, I seriously thought I'd be able to leave astronomy behind me forever. I'd quickly disposed of most of some 40 years of collected astronomy material. I'd disposed of my Wahroonga home and moved to a lakeside paradise some 300 km north of Sydney, absolutely sure that my geographic separation would protect me from any attempts to involve me in the organization of the IAU 25th General Assembly to be held in Sydney this year in the period 13 - 26 July.
How we humans can fool ourselves! After fourteen idyllic months in paradise, my way of life was rudely altered by Dick's call. Against my better judgment, against my wife's wishes, but at least relieving a nagging guilt, I agreed to become involved in the organization. However, I have to confess that the transition was not quite as traumatic as it sounds because several of my co-supervised PhD students were still around and I'd spent a considerable fraction of my retirement guiding them through the last stages of their thesis preparations etc. And as my reward they had `dragged' me back (not exactly screaming!) into observing programs. My wife could well have told me to `break a leg', the good luck comment used in the theatrical game, but she had to practice what she preached. Taking on both the General Assembly and a wife with a broken leg at the same time turned out to be a bit rough! In a way the two things were synchronized - as my wife's bones healed, GA organization became more intrusive; my `retirement' is now on hold until August.
Organization of the IAU 25th GA
The IAU 25th GA will take place in the period 13 - 26 July 2003, at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) in Darling Harbour. It is formally hosted by the National Committee for Astronomy (NCA) (of the Australian Academy of Science) in conjunction with the Astronomical Society of Australia. These committees established a National Organizing Committee (NOC) plus several related sub-committees. When I joined Harry Hyland of James Cook University as Co-Chair in March, the NOC had held twenty-one meetings; on 19 February the thirtieth meeting will be held. The NOC has a membership of 16 representing 13 different organizations, an Executive Committee of six members, a Finance Committee, and subcommittees: sponsorship and exhibition; website matters; media and newspaper matters; hospitality, accommodation and tours; associated promotional events; and
program matters.
The current status of organization is reflected in the GA website (www.astronomy2003 .com) and its various links. Information can also be found in the IAU Information Bulletins IB 91 and 92. We have contracted the services of a professional organizing group, ICMS Australasia Pty Ltd, which interfaces with the SCEC management, undertakes much of the practical side of organization, including marketing the event, and will process all registration and accommodation bookings.The estimated budget, assuming that 1500 people will register, is some two million dollars. Because of the significant costs associated with the use of the world-class convention facility, we have had to charge an early registration fee of $880 (including GST). This is significantly higher than the cost for the previous GA in Manchester, but for that meeting the use of many rooms was donated by the University of Manchester. We have heard that some overseas astronomers are unhappy about the cost of the GA, but the main reason for this must lie in the high airfare costs, an extra burden which Australians have grown to accept because they are associated with attendance at most international meetings. Even to keep the registration cost at the $880 level, sponsorships providing about $350 K in GA revenue will be needed to balance the budget, and a professional group, DVA-Navion, has been engaged to seek appropriate sponsors. ICMS will also assist in this. A selection of Australian students will be able to register for $220 by volunteering to provide assistance during the GA; details can be obtained from Jon Everett at UNSW (jon@phys.unsw.edu.au).
The Opening Ceremony and First Plenary Session of the GA will be held on 15 July in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House. The program is currently being finalized; it will include the awarding of the Gruber Prize for Cosmology. These events will be preceded by a Reception in the Opera House Foyer. The Closing Ceremony will take place at the Convention Centre on the afternoon of 24 July. The formal GA dinner will take place that evening. ICMS are organizing this event, and has promised us a spectacular cultural celebration!
The scientific and Commission meetings will take place between 14 - 25 July. Three Symposia with staggered starts will take place during the first week, the remaining three the second week. We have attempted to keep the weekend within this period as free as possible from formal meetings. The Symposia are:
S216: Maps of the Cosmos
S217: Recycling Intergalactic and Interstellar Matter
S218: Young Neutron Stars and Their Environment
S219: Stars as Suns: Activity, Evolution and Planets
S220: Dark Matter in Galaxies
S221: Star Formation at High Resolution.
The GA will provide something for everyone - checkout our website! In addition to the six Symposia, the meetings will include 21 Joint Discussions, several special sessions (on planetary exploration, astronomy in Antarctica, double-star classification, astronomy teaching) and substantial opportunity for the Commission and ad-hoc meetings. A Women's Networking Luncheon is being organized. The program will be complemented by a `Festival of Astronomy' for the public. This will involve public talks, a Schools Day organized by UNSW, and other events. A major event will be an Astro Expo exhibition, to which the public will have a four-day access. This will be held in one of SCEC's large exhibition halls, which will also house the posters, Internet café, astronomer's coffee and lounge area, café, and small theatre. ICMS is currently very active chasing up the selling of exhibition spaces. A set of tours around Sydney and further afield has also been organized.
The website and linked sites provide all the most up-to-date information on meetings, meeting rooms, accommodation, tours etc. Further information on accommodation and associated transport, provision of childcare facilities, billeting possibilities etc will be added in the near future. Here you can use on-line forms to register for the Assembly, book accommodation and submit presentation abstracts, and can also download forms to apply for IAU Travel Grants as well as book various tours. It is also possible to download forms to book exhibition space if you're so inclined. An important section deals with obtaining visas - all visitors from overseas, other than Australian and New Zealand citizens, are required to have a valid visa for Australia. In principle, attendance at a GA is by invitation of the IAU President; IAU members are automatically invited. In practice, invitations can be given by national adhering organizations, Commission and Division Presidents, and Chairpersons of the various meetings. At a recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society in Seattle, Rachel Webster, President of the NCA (the Australian adhering group) offered to invite non-members who filled out the registration form and checked the `Invited Participant' box.
Two important deadlines have just passed
February 15 was the deadline for submitting applications for IAU Travel Grants, and also the deadline for submitting any presentation abstracts suporting the grant applications.
March 1 was the official deadline for submission of other presentation abstracts, and it is gratifying that the total number submitted has exceeded 2300, although some are duplicates. It now appears that late abstracts will be accepted for some of the meetings, and the details will be listed on the General Assembly website.
Future deadlines to remember
30 April: Deadline for early registration. Early registration is not only much cheaper, but your name will be included in a draw for a Sydney Harbour Bridge climb for two people, which I'm told is very exciting!
15 May: The presenters selected by the organizing committees of the various meetings must have registered by this date for their abstracts to be included in the GA Abstracts Book.
11 July: Closing date for pre-meeting registration.
13 July: On-site registration begins.
14 July: Meetings begin with three Symposia.
The bottom line
The GA organization is gaining momentum and slowly the threads of the various activities are being drawn together. We, who are organizing the meeting, believe that this meeting will be the best GA yet. Certainly the selection of the beautiful Darling harbour and SCEC for the meeting, in conjunction with the spectacular Opera House for the opening, support this. However, ultimate success will depend on having a large number of people coming to the meeting, so we encourage you to come and join us. I hope the interruption to my retirement has not been in vain!
John Whiteoak
ATNF Honorary Fellow and Co-Chair NOC for the IAU 25th General Assembly
(John.Whiteoak@csiro.au)