2013 (Long Beach, CA)

What: 2013 NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellows Symposium, American Astronomical Society Meeting, Long Beach CA
When: Saturday, 5 January 1:00-6:00 PM and Sunday, 6 January 9:00 AM-6:00 PM
Where: Downtown Hyatt Long Beach - Regency Ballroom A

The NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship (AAPF) program is designed to support promising young scientists who combine their research with education and/or outreach activities. During this two-day weekend session, the NSF fellows will discuss their research and education/outreach activities with invited faculty mentors and any AAS members who wish to attend. The goals are to learn from each other's experiences, to listen to suggestions from the audience, and to foster new collaborations. The session will also feature informal discussion panels on topics of interest to current fellows.

All members of the astronomical community are welcome and encouraged to attend.
This includes in particular graduate students who might be considering applying for an AAPF this year or in the future, as well as any other scientists or educators who'd like to stop by and learn more about Fellows' ongoing activities.
Information for Attendees:

There will be a conference dinner on Saturday night (January 5th 7:00pm) at Agaves Kitchen and Tequilla.While the meeting itself is open to all interested parties, the conference dinner is limited to Fellows, Fellow Alumni and invited speakers and panelists) More information including the menu can be found at the bottom of this page.

Twitter For those tweeting the symposium, we'll be using the hashtag #AAPF13

Program:

Saturday, Jan 5
1:00 PM Welcoming Remarks - Ed Ajhar (NSF)
1:15 PM Carl Melis (UC San Diego) - Dusty Aftermath of the V1309 Sco Binary Merger
1:30 PM Gail Zasowsk (Ohio State University) - Probing the Inner Milky Way with APOGEE
1:45 PM Doug Watson (KICP/University of Chicago) - Shedding Light on the Fate of Satellite Galaxies
2:00 PM Brian Morsony (University of Wisconsin-Madison) - Gender Differences at Critical Transitions: Hidden Results from the National Academies Report
2:15 PM Sasha Hinkley (Caltech) - The New Era of Exoplanet Imaging
2:30 PM Discussion Panel: Making the Transition from Postdoc to Faculty

  • Allison Coil (UC San Diego)
  • Matt Povich (Cal Poly Pomona)
  • Danilo Marchesini (Tufts University)

3:30 PM COFFEE BREAK

4:00 PM Jason Nordhaus (Rochester Institute of Technology) - Building Opportunities for Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Students in Astronomy
4:15 PM Kerstin Perez (Columbia University) - Search for Dark Matter with the GAPS Experiment
4:30 PM Eilat Glikman (Yale University) - Dust reddened quasars: a status update
4:45 PM Education and Public Outreach Keynote Address - Kim Coble (Chicago State University) - Using Insights From Education Research to Build a Student-Centered Cosmology Curriculum

7:00 PM Symposium Dinner

Sunday, Jan 6
9:00 AM Kat Barger (University of Notre Dame)- Can Dwarf Galaxies Sustain Massive Galaxy Star Formation? Inflows & outflows of the Magellanic Clouds
9:15 AM Zach Etienne (University of Illinois) - Can Black Hole--Neutron Star Binary Mergers Produce Gamma-Ray Bursts?
9:30 AM Claudia Cyganowski (Harvard/CfA)- A Submillimeter Array Survey of Protocluster Evolution

9:45 AM COFFEE BREAK

10:15 AM Discussion Panel: Project Leadership in the Age of Large Collaborations

  • Daniel Eisenstein (Harvard/CfA, SDSS-III)
  • Zejlko Ivezic (University of Washington, LSST)
  • Ted Dunham (Lowell Observatory, SOFIA)

11:15 AM Meg Schwamb (Yale University) - Planet Hunters: Crowdsourcing the Search for Extrasolar Planets
11:30 AM Tomer Tal (UC Santa Cruz) - Massive galaxy groups at 0$<$z$<$1.6
11:45 AM Gabe Perez-Giz (NYU) - Bigrade Orbits Around Kerr Black Holes
12:00 PM Regina Jorgenson (Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii) - Baby Galaxy Photos From Space: Direct Detection of the Elusive, High-Redshift Damped Lyman alpha Systems

12:15 PM LUNCH BREAK

2:00 PM Science Keynote Address - Daniel Eisenstein (Harvard/CfA) - Dark Energy and Cosmic Sound
3:00 PM Molly Swanson (Harvard) - Demographics of massive galaxies in SDSS-III
3:15 PM Britt Lundgren (University of Wisconsin-Madison) - Probing Galaxy Outflows at High-Redshift with the SDSS and 3D-HST Surveys
3:30 PM Sarah Horst (University of Colorado-Boulder) - Understanding the Formation and Composition of Planetary Atmospheric Hazes

3:45 PM COFFEE BREAK

4:15 PM Update from NSF - Jim Ulvestad (NSF) - Long-term Strategy for U.S. Ground-based Astronomy
4:30 PM Kathy Cooksey (MIT Kavli Institute) - Precious Metals in SDSS Quasar Spectra
4:45 PM Discussion Panel: Novel Approaches to Public Outreach

  • Stuart Lynn (Zooniverse/Chicago Science Hack Day)
  • Kelle Cruz (Hunter College/CUNY/Astrobetter)
  • Curtis Wong (Microsoft Research/World Wide Telescope)
  • Alyssa Goodman (Harvard CfA/World Wide Telescope/Seamless Astronomy)

5:45 PM Closing Remarks - Kelle Cruz (Hunter College/CUNY)

Symposium Dinner

Where: Agaves Kitchen and Tequilla,200 Pine Avenue, Ste A, Long Beach, CA 90802, Map

When: 7:00-10:00 PM, Saturday, January 5th. Everyone can get to the restaurant on their own. Please be on time.

Payment: Everyone will owe $35 for dinner (includes tax and tip; alcohol not included); this is the reimburseable amount. Please bring the exact amount in cash. We'll be collecting money during the symposium on the 5th. Those needing an individual receipt will receive one upon request.

Menu:

Appetizer:

  • Agaves Salad - Mixed greens, seasonal berries, spicy pepitas /spicy candied almonds, cotija cheese chipotle balsamic vinaigrette

Main Course:

  • Carne Asada Tacos - Achiote marinated rib eye w/cilantro/Onion/Salsa roja served w/ Rice and Beans
  • Carnitas - Braised Pork / Habanero Salsa/ Tortillas/ Limes/ Rice/ Beans
    Pollo en Mole Poblano - Chicken Breast/Mole Poblano / Sesame seeds/ Plantains / White Rice/ Bean

  • Vegetarian Grilled Vegetables Enchiladas ( No Cheese )

Dessert:

  • Mexican Flan - Traditional Caramel Custard / Chef Selection

* Served with Chips and Salsa

Cash Bar: Drinks rang up separately and paid by individual.

Reimbursements

Non-local NSF Fellows
We are happy to report that the NSF has approved our funding proposal for this year’s NSF Symposium. We anticipate being able to reimburse non-local NSF Fellows (those not local to the LA/Pasadena area) for:

  • 1 night of hotel lodging
  • 1.75 days per diem ($71 /day)

Please see below for directions on how to claim these expenses. Please be sure to obtain a receipt for your 1 night of hotel lodging and include this when you mail in your reimbursement form (and IIF form if you are a non-US citizen).

Invited speakers and panelists
We are happy to report that the NSF has approved our funding proposal for this year’s NSF Symposium for those not local to the LA/Pasadena area. Please be sure to obtain receipts for your airfare (if we are reimbursing your travel) and 1 night of hotel lodging (if we are reimbursing your lodging), and 1.75 days per diem ($71 /day) and include these when you mail in your reimbursement form (and IIF form if you are a non-US citizen).

Reimbursement Procedure
Fill out the Yale University Reimbursement Form. Only if you are a non-US citizen do you need to also complete the IIF form . Forms need to be submitted no later than January 28th

Please mail your completed forms & receipts to:
            Laurelyn Celone
            YCAA
            Physics Department
            Yale University
            P.O. Box 208120
            New Haven, CT 06520-8120