22nd - 29th July, 2013 (Vainu Bappu Observatory, Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Kavalur)
F I R S T A N N O U N C E M E N T website: www.iiap.res.in/astrostat (Downloadable A4-sized poster is on the website)
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics
and the Center for Astrostatistics, Pennsylvania State University (USA)
are jointly organising an 8-day
school in fundamental statistical inference as applicable to
astrophysical problems for practising astrophysicists. This is the
fourth school in the series, and is designed to provide a strong
conceptual foundation in modern statistics as well as a repertoire of
state-of-the-art statistical tools applicable to astrophysical problems.
The school is designed for all levels of practising astrophysicists
wishing to enhance their grasp of the application of statistics to their
research. In addition to lectures, there will be a heavy emphasis on
hands-on tutorials. The content of the school will broadly follow the
pattern of the previous schools.
Organisers The Indian Institute of Astrophysics,
located in Bangalore, is a premier
institution devoted to research in astrophysics and other allied areas
in physics.
The Center for Astrostatistics, Pennsylvania State University (USA),
is an interdisciplinary research centre at the
interface of astrophysics and statistics, where researchers from both
disciplines collaborate to share and develop methodologies in order to
meet the modern challenges of empirical astrophysics.
Venue
The school will be held on the picturesque campus of the Vainu Bappu
Observatory (VBO), a field station of the Indian Institute of
Astrophysics (IIA). This campus is located near the village of Kavalur
in the Javadi Hills in Tamil Nadu. The nearest train stations are
Vaniambadi and Jolarpettai, from where road transport to the Observatory
will be arranged by IIA. The Observatory campus is about a
three-and-a-half hour drive from the IIA-Bangalore campus, from where
also, road transport to VBO will be arranged by IIA.
Costs and Financial Support
Board, lodging and transport from Bangalore or the nearest train
stations to the venue will be covered by IIA for all the participants.
Participants are required to find their own travel funds. However, some
limited travel funds are available for extremely deserving participants
from institutions within India, especially from the university sector.
How to Apply
Participation in the school is open to practising astrophysicists at all
levels. The number of participants will be limited to about 30. An
on-line application form is available on the
website, and this is the
strongly preferred method. More details are on the website.
Particularattention must be paid to demonstrating the relevance of the school to the applicant's research. The deadline for receiving the completed application forms (as well as recommendation letters where relevant) is the 15th April, 2013.
The Co-ordinators
The IIA-PennState Astrostatistics School
The Indian Institute of Astrophysics
Bangalore 560 034