Plans for the February 2012 BoV Meeting
The next meeting of the Board of Visitors will be held February 10-11, 2012, in Austin.
Popular Science Discussion Groups
As in February 2011, the events of the meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, February 10, with Science Discussion Groups on The University of Texas at Austin campus hosted by McDonald Observatory researchers and Department of Astronomy faculty. Information on the topics, the hosts, and how to register for the Science Discussion Groups will be distributed later in December.
Hyatt Regency Austin
Reception and Dinner
The BoV meeting events will continue on Friday, February 10, with a reception and dinner at the Hyatt Regency Austin (208 Barton Springs Road, Austin, 78704). The reception will start at 6:30 p.m., and the dinner will start at 7:30 p.m. Information on the hotel, parking, and registration for the reception and dinner will be sent out in the next two weeks.
This year’s Dinner Speaker will be Dr. Nicholas Suntzeff, the Mitchell/Munnerlyn/Heep Professor of Observational Astronomy at Texas A&M University. Dr. Suntzeff, a founder the High-Z Supernova Search Team, one of the teams that discovered the accelerated expansion of the Universe (aka “dark energy”) and published the first results in 1998, will present a talk entitled, “The Enveloping Darkness, or How to Almost Win a Nobel Prize.” Recipients of the Board of Visitors awards to undergraduate and graduate students and for teaching and staff excellence will also be recognized during the evening.
Dr. Nicholas Suntzeff
Meeting Features Three Science Talks
On Saturday, February 11, the meeting will continue at the ACES Building on The University of Texas at Austin campus, beginning with breakfast at 8:00 a.m., followed by the BoV meeting from 9:00 a.m. to Noon. Speakers at the BoV meeting will include Dr. John Kormendy (faculty talk): “The Stately Dance of Evolution in Spiral Galaxies”; Dr. Roderik Overzier (research talk): “Thinking Outside the Box: First Light of the Millennium Observatory”; and Michael Gully-Santiago (graduate student talk): “New Technologies Shed Light on Newborn Stars and Planets.”
Famed Mirror Maker Roger Angel to give Great Lecture
The Lunch at the ACES Building will follow the meeting from Noon to 1 p.m. Then Dr. J. Roger P. Angel, who is Director of the Steward Observatory Mirror Laboratory and a Regents Professor of Astronomy and of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona, will present The Great Lecture in Astronomy from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Dr. Angel has developed concepts and technology for some of the most
powerful astronomical telescopes, including the Large Binocular Telescope
and the planned Giant Magellan Telescope. Today he is working on a novel
telescope that harvests solar energy by focusing sunlight onto small but
powerful photovoltaic cells. These "energy telescopes" are designed for
mass-production in huge volume for solar farms, at a cost low enough to make
unsubsidized solar electricity highly competitive. Dr. Angel's talk is entitled "A New Job for Telescopes: Making Solar Electricity."
Because some BoV members could not attend Friday afternoon Science Discussion Groups in February 2011, an additional SDG will be held from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, concluding the BoV meeting. Information on the host, location, topic, and how to register for this discussion group will be distributed later in December.
We hope that you can join us for what should be an educational and fun BoV meeting in February 2012.
[Joel Barna]
BoV Chair's Message: Transition and a Record of Accomplishment
Director's Report: HETDEX Progress Update
Plans for the February 2012 BoV Meeting
BoV Sponsors "New Horizons in Astronomy" Symposium 2011
First Recipients of the Ralph Cutler Greene Award Announced
McDonald Observatory Outreach Office Teams up with Dallas's new Perot Museum
Texas Astronomers at the Texas Science and Engineering Festival
News from around the BoV and Texas Astronomy
Planned Giving Committee Report
Mary Ann Rankin Educational Endowment Nearly Two-Thirds Funded
BoV Funds Underwrite the First Annual Texas Astronomy Undergraduate Research Symposium