8th International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas
Second Announcement
The 8th International Colloquium on Atomic Spectra and Oscillator Strengths (ASOS) for Astrophysical and Laboratory Plasmas will be held in Madison, WI at the University of Wisconsin (UW) from Sunday August 8 through Thursday August 12, 2004. The ASOS meetings are held once every three years. These meetings bring together basic and applied atomic spectroscopists, including some astronomers, from Europe, North America, and Asia. The ASOS meetings provide important opportunities for interaction between "consumers" and "producers" in the field of atomic spectroscopy.
The talks and poster sessions will be held at the Pyle Center on the shore of Lake Mendota in the heart of the UW campus. The first session will start Monday, August 9 at 8:00 am. The Pyle conference facility is within a short walk of downtown Madison. More information on the Pyle Center is available at http://conferencing.uwex.edu/pyle.cfm
Conference Program
The Conference Program is now available here
The Author Index is now available here
Special Support for Graduate Students:
NASA has provided special financial support to increase Graduate Student participation in ASOS-8. Graduate Students may apply for up to $500 (North American) or up to $1000 (Overseas) as partial reimbursement of registration and travel expenses. Students should: (1) submit an abstract, (2) register for the conference, and (3) have their major professor send a letter requesting such support in order to apply for special support. The University of Wisconsin will require that original receipts for travel expenses be submitted for travel reimbursements.
Conference Check-in for Pre-registered Participants and Late Registration:
Check-in for pre-registered participants and late registration will take place between 6:00 pm and 9:00 pm on Sunday, August 8 in the Main Lobby of the Pyle Center with a simultaneous reception in the Alumni Lounge.
Conference Program:
There will be a Special Session Honoring Prof. Charles R. Cowley
of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, on the Occasion of his 70th Birthday.
Gillian Nave and Friedrich Kupka will speak in this Session.
Invited Talks
Emil Biémont, Université of Liège, Liège, Belgium
Recent Advances and Difficulties in Oscillator Strength Determination for Rare-earth Elements and Ions
Timothy Beers, Michigan State University
Abundances in Very Metal-poor Stars: Nuclear Effects or Too Simple Atomic Physics?
Elizabeth den Hartog, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
Understanding and Control of Systematic Errors in the Measurement of Radiative Lifetimes Using Laser-Induced Fluorescence
Paul D. Feldman, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Spectroscopy of Comets with the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer Satellite
John Gillaspy, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
The Electron Beam Ion Trap + Microcalorimeter: A Good Combination for Laboratory Astrophysics
Marco Haverlag, Philips Lighting, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
Prediction of Spectra of High-pressure Metal Halide Discharge Lamps containing Rare-earth Fillings
Henrik Hartman, Lund University Observatory, Lund, Sweden
Experimental Transition Probabilities for Parity Forbidden Lines in Complex Spectra
Alan Hibbert, Queen's University Belfast, UK
Oscillator Strengths for Fe II
Friedrich Kupka, Max Planck-Institut for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany
Some Physics We Can Learn from Spectroscopy of A type Stars
Gillian Nave, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, USA
Atomic Oscillator Strengths in the Vacuum Ultraviolet using Fourier transform and Grating Spectroscopy
Rudolf Neu, Max Planck Institut für Plasmaphysik, EURATOM Assoc., Garching, Germany
Spectroscopy Data Needs of Next Generation Devices for Magnetically Confined Fusion
Albrecht Pospieszczyk, Institut für Plasmaphysik, EURATOM Assoc., Jülich, Germany
Spectroscopic Diagnostics of Tokamak Edge Plasmas
Ton Raassen, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
X-ray Spectra of Cool and Hot Stars obtained with Chandra and XMM-Newton
Most contributed talks will presented as posters.
Abstracts:
Abstracts (one page maximum) of invited talks and posters should be e-mailed or sent via regular mail to the abstract submission address before June 1, 2004. Please do not fax your abstract, because faxes are often of poor quality. The preferred file type is MS-Word. Word Perfect is also fine. Adobe pdf files are acceptable, but we cannot do any final editing on such files.
The abstract should be formatted to print or printed in black ink on a single sheet of white paper, either 8.5" x 11" or A4, preferably with Times New Roman 12-point type, and single spaced. One inch margins on all sides are required. The TITLE in CAPITAL LETTERS should be centered at the top of the page, followed by the authors' names in bold type, affiliation and complete address, all centered. The name of the person presenting the paper should be underlined. Do not underline the TITLE. Insert blank lines between the TITLE and list of authors with affiliations and after the list of authors with affiliations. Reference numbers should appear in square brackets [1]. Figures must be properly sized, positioned, and embedded in the electronic files or on the single page for paper submissions.
The invited talks will be published.
Abstracts should be e-mailed to:
jelawler@facstaff.wisc.edu
Abstracts can be sent to:
ASOS-8 c/o J. E. Lawler
Dept. of Physics
Univ. of Wisconsin
1150 University Ave.
Madison, WI 53706 USA
Conference Excursion & Banquet:
The main Conference Excursion will be linked to the Conference Banquet and evening entertainment on Wednesday, August 11. Bus transportation will be provided after lunch. The afternoon activity will be a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural school, Taliesin. The Conference Banquet will follow the visit to Taliesin. After the Banquet we are planning to attend the American Players Theatre (APT). The APT production company performs classical theatre, often Shakespeare, in their outdoor facility. Taliesin and the APT are very near each other in a beautiful rural setting near the Wisconsin River. The Thursday morning session will start at 9:00 am instead of the usual 8:00 am due to a late return to Madison on Wednesday.
Meals:
The costs of the Registration Reception and morning and afternoon breaks with drinks and snacks are included in the Registration Fee. There is a nominal charge of $50 for the Conference Excursion which includes the Taliesin Tour, Banquet, & Theatre tickets. (This extra charge is needed to ensure an accurate count.) No other meals are included in the Conference Registration Fee. The Pyle Center is next to the UW Memorial Union Terrace and is within a block of the downtown State Street area which has many shops and restaurants. If the August weather is typical, then most participants will want to have at least one lunch on the Memorial Union Terrace overlooking Lake Mendota. The Memorial Union Terrace is truly one of the nicest places in Madison for a light grill/cafeteria lunch or for a beer.
Registration:
The Registration Fee is $250. Online registration is available at
https://charge.doit.wisc.edu/extension/asos.html
Checks in U.S. dollars, Master Card, and Visa are accepted.
Accommodations:
Rooms have been block reserved at two facilities. You must contact the facility directly to make your reservation. Please identify yourself as an ASOS-8 participant when reserving a room, to ensure the special conference rates. The deadline for room reservations is July 7, 2004, after which the block reserved rooms will be released to the general public.
A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the Lowell Center, which is a UW guest facility next to the Pyle Conference Center. The 2004 rates for the Lowell Center are $70/night (single) and $80/night (double). There is no sales tax due at this UW facility. Guest rooms in the Lowell have the amenities of standard hotel rooms in the U.S. Parking and breakfast are included.
Contact Information:
The Lowell Center
610 Langdon Street
Madison, WI 53706
Tel: 866-301-1753(toll free) or 608 256 2621
Fax: 608 262 5445
E-mail: lowell@ecc.uwes.edu
Web: http://conferencing.uwex.edu/lowell.cfm?lowell=7
Group Number: ASOS
Password: Lowell
Additional rooms have been reserved at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel. This hotel is about a 10 minute walk from the Pyle Center. It offers free shuttle service to guests. The conference rate for the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel is $95/night (single or double) plus 13.5% tax. Each additional adult is an extra $10/night. For an extra $10, an upgrade to a Home Office room is available. This upgrade includes a refrigerator, microwave, large desk with computer data port, and other executive extras. Parking is included with standard and upgraded rooms, but breakfast is not included.
Contact Information:
Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel
525 West Johnson Street
Madison WI, 53703
Tel: 608 251 5511
Fax: 608 251 4824
E-mail: reservations@hjplazamadison.com
Web: http://www.hjplazamadison.com/
Accompanying Persons Program:
To be determined.
Travel:
The Madison airport (also called Dane County Regional Airport) is well connected to 3 major hub airports which have intercontinental flights.
The Chicago O'Hare International Airport is the nearest airport with intercontinental flights. This airport is a major hub for both United Airlines and American Airlines, and it services flights of many different European and Asian airlines. In addition to frequent flights between the Chicago O'Hare Airport and Madison, there is an express Van Galder bus from the O'Hare Airport Bus/Shuttle Center to the UW Memorial Union next to the Pyle Center. A map of the O'Hare Airport showing the Bus/Shuttle Center, an up-to-date schedule, and fare information for the Van Galder bus is available at http://www.vangalderbus.com The bus ride takes about 3 hours. A flight takes about 30 minutes. A car trip from the O'Hare airport, which is on the "Madison side" of the Chicago metropolitan area, takes less than 3 hours.
The Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport is somewhat further away than the Chicago Airport. This airport is the home base of Northwest Airlines. It has very frequent flights to Madison of slightly less than 1 hour duration. It is connected to Madison by a scenic stretch of Interstate Highway 94. A car trip from Minneapolis takes less than 5 hours.
The Detroit International Airport (Wayne County Airport) is further yet from Madison. This airport is a major hub of Northwest Airlines. It has frequent flights to Madison of slightly over 1 hour duration. The drive from Detroit to Madison is not recommended because it takes about 8 hours and includes travel in heavy traffic through the Chicago metropolitan area.
Wisconsin is a very scenic state and a popular vacation destination for people in the upper Midwest. Although you may want to rent a car and tour some of Wisconsin, it is not necessary to rent a car during the conference. Parking in downtown Madison is limited. Most things you might need are within an easy walk or bus ride.
A taxi cab is recommended from the Madison Airport to the Pyle Center. The fare should be about $15 including a gratuity. If you are staying at the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel and you call the hotel, they will pick you up at the Madison Airport in the free shuttle.
Currency:
Restaurants, hotels, and stores in Madison will, with a few exceptions, take MasterCard and Visa. They will usually accept Traveler's Checks in US dollars. Only US currency can be used in Madison. ATM machines are plentiful. Banks in Madison have currency exchange windows, but the banks are some distance from the Pyle Center and/or Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel.
Maps and more Information on UW Campus and Madison
Maps and more detailed information on the UW Campus and Madison are available at http://www.visit.wisc.edu/ and http://www.visitmadison.com/
International Organizing Committee
Manfred Bitter, Tomas Brage, Gordon Drake, Uri Feldman, Michel Godefroid, Alan Hibbert, Jorgen Hansen, Sveneric Johansson, Achim Kunze, Jim Lawler, Dave Leckrone, Don Morton,
Eric Pinnington, Joe Reader, Peter Smith, Lydia Tchang-Brillet, Wolfgang Wiese