LSST@Asia

Exploring the Wide, Fast, Deep Universe

LSST@Asia in Sydney (Australia) is the first conference in what we intend to be a series, following on from a series of very successful LSST@Europe conferences held in 2013, 2016 and 2018. These meetings enabled close interaction between LSST personnel and European scientists interested in LSST.

LSST@Asia will bring together scientists in Asia, Australia and South Africa with an interest in the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and provide them with the opportunity to interact with each other as well as with leaders of the LSST Science Collaborations (Solar System; Stars, the Milky Way and Local Volume; Transients and Variable Stars; Galaxies; AGN; Strong Lensing; Dark Energy and Informatics) and hear updates on LSST construction and data processing progress.

The main objectives of the 2019 meeting are to:

• Provide an update on the status of the LSST Project

• Develop a network of scientists in Asia, Africa, and the Pacific involved in various aspects of LSST

• Promote increased engagement of scientists with the LSST Science Collaborations

• Explore synergies with other facilities

Child care will be provided to maximise participation by those with carer responsibilities. There is funding support available to encourage attendance by early-career researchers (<5 years post-PHD) and PhD students.

Location

Colombo Theatres
University of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia

Dates

First announcement and pre-registration
20 August 2018

Abstract submission opened
19 November 2018

Abstract submission closed
14 January 2019
(Extended from 17 December 2018)

Programme announced
4 February 2019 (Updated 9 May 2019)

Registration and conference fee payment deadline
25 March 2019
(Extended from 4 March 2019)

Conference
20-23 May 2019

Contact

lsst-asia-list@phys.unsw.edu.au

Scientific Programme

The scientific programme for LSST@Asia can be downloaded here (updated 21 May).

Invited Speakers

• Federica Bianco (LSST Transients and Variable Stars Science Collaboration)

• Leanne Guy (Data Management Scientist; LSST Project)

• Sugata Kaviraj (LSST Galaxies Science Collaboration)

• Victor Krabbendam (LSST Project Manager)

• Michelle Lochner (LSST Dark Energy Science Collaboration)

• David Trilling (Northern Arizona University; LSST Solar System Science Collaboration)

• Will Clarkson (University of Michigan-Dearborn; LSST Stars, Milky Way and Local Volume Science Collaboration)

• Claudia Lagos (ICRAR)

• Tyler Bourke (SKA Organisation)

Participants

Local Organizing Committee

• Sarah Brough (Chair; UNSW, Australia)

• Christoph Bergmann (UNSW)

• Anshu Gupta (UNSW)

• Mireia Montes Quiles (UNSW)

• Jeffrey Simpson (UNSW)

Scientific Organizing Committee

• Sarah Brough (Chair; University of New South Wales, Australia)

• Wen-Ping Chen (National Central University)

• Simon Driver (ICRAR, University of Western Australia)

• Richard Easther (University of Auckland, New Zealand)

• Yen-Ting Lin (Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica)

• Michelle Lochner (African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, and South African Radio Astronomy Observatory)

• Byeong-Gon Park (Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute)

• Somak Raychaudhury (The Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, India)

• Tony Tyson (University of California Davis, USA)

• Hu Zhan (National Astronomical Observatories of China)

Local Logistics

Conference Venue

The conference venue is the Colombo Theatres on the Kensington campus of the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia.

Travel support

We were able to offer travel assistance funding to junior scientists. Successful applicants have been advised.

Accomodation

The conference will be held at the UNSW Kensington Campus which is south of the Sydney Central Business District. There are 3 main accommodation locations:

• Within walking distance of campus there are small hotels e.g. Perouse Lodge, (close to the Randwick shops/cafes/few restaurants)

• A short bus-ride/steep hill walk away at Coogee Beach there is the large Crowne Plaza Coogee Beach Hotel and several backpacking hostels (lots of cafes/bars restaurants here)

• A 20min express bus service runs from Sydney's Central Train Station every few mins in rush-hour and there are many international hotel chains close to there e.g. Mercure Sydney, Rendezvous Hotel Sydney Central, Rydges Sydney Central and obviously the best city restaurants at your fingertips!

Getting Around Sydney

Public transport

The conference venue is on the campus of UNSW, which is directly accessible by bus from the Sydney CBD and surrounding neighbourhoods.

All Sydney public transport options (buses, ferries, trains, light rail) use the Opal payment card. The cards themselves are free but you will require a minimum balance to travel. They can be purchased at many locations, including the train stations at Sydney Airport. If you purchase your Opal card at airport train stations there is a $35 minimum top-up.

You can plan your public transports trips using the official Transport NSW website, Google Maps, or various mobile apps.

Sydney Airport is located just 13 minutes by train from the city. There is a $14.30 station access fee when using the Domestic or International Terminal train stations.

There is a very frequent weekday express bus (891 or 893) that run in the morning from Central Station in the Sydney CBD to UNSW, and back in the afternoon and evening. Do not be worried by the sometimes long queues; there will be plenty of buses.

Some representative public transport costs:

• Sydney International or Domestic Terminal Stations to Central Station on the train: $17.84 (includes station access fee of $14.30)

• Central Station to UNSW on the 891/893 express bus: $3.66

• Coogee to UNSW on the 370 bus: $2.20

Private car

There is no free parking available on the UNSW campus. More details on parking costs can be found here. Note that there is ongoing light rail construction on the streets around UNSW which may cause driving conditions to change without notice from day-to-day.

Visas

All travellers to Australia without an Australian or New Zealand passport must have a valid visa before boarding their plane.

New Zealand passport holders will most likely be eligible for a Special Category visa (subclass 444) which is you receive automatically on arrival.

Participants with passports from other countries will either require an eVisitor (subclass 651), an Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) visa, or a Visitor Visa (subclass 600). You can use the Visa Finder website of the Australian Government to help you decide the visa you need for entering Australia.

We strongly encourage you to apply for your visa as soon as possible, in particular the Visitor Visa (subclass 600), as the Australian Department of Home Affairs report that only 90% are processed within 27 days of application.

Conference participants who are not eligible to apply for an eVisitor or ETA visa will need an “Letter of Invitation” to supplement their application. Please email lsst-asia-list@phys.unsw.edu.au if you need an invitation letter.

Code of Conduct

The LSST@Asia organisers want to ensure all participants in its activities are able to enjoy an environment that is free from discrimination and harassment. Therefore, we are committed to making this meeting and associate events productive and enjoyable for everyone, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, nationality or religion. We will not tolerate harassment in any form.

This code of conduct applies to all participants at this LSST@Asia conference, including but not limited to official sessions, social events, and meetings. Participants agree to follow these guidelines:

• Behave professionally. Any form of harassment – sexist, racist, or exclusionary comments or jokes are not appropriate. Harassment includes sustained disruption of talks or other events, inappropriate physical contact, sexual attention or innuendo, deliberate intimidation, stalking, and photography or recording of an individual without consent. It also includes offensive comments related to race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, or religion.

• All communication should be appropriate for a professional audience including people of many different backgrounds. This includes oral, written and print language, and imagery.

• Be considerate and respectful to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Critique ideas rather than individuals.

Individuals engaging in behaviour prohibited by this policy, as well as those making allegations of harassment in bad faith, will be subject to disciplinary action. Such actions range from a verbal warning to ejection from the meeting or activity in question without refund of registration fees, and the reporting of their behaviour to their employer. 

If you have concerns, suggestions, or would like to report a violation, please contact the LOC (lsst-asia-list@phys.unsw.edu.au).

Parts of this code of conduct are based on the London Code of Conduct, as originally designed for the conference 'Accurate Astrophysics. Correct Cosmology', held in London in July 2015. The London Code was adapted with permission by Andrew Pontzen and Hiranya Peiris from a document by Software Carpentry, which itself derives from original Creative Commons documents by PyCon and Geek Feminism. It is released under a CC-Zero license for re-use. To help track people's improvements and best practice, please retain this acknowledgement, and log your re-use or modification of this policy at https://github.com/apontzen/london_cc.

LSST@Asia Sponsors