================================================================================ Current and Future Pulsar Science with the Arecibo Telescope A Y2K Workshop at Arecibo - March 12-14 2000 Third Announcement - Travel, Accommodation & Program ================================================================================ Dear Colleague, As promised, here is a final announcement giving further details about the workshop ``Pulsars at Arecibo'' to be held at the Observatory on March 12-14 2000. We are expecting around 35 people to be attending the sessions which will be held at the Observatory's Visitor Center Auditorium. This mailing gives details on the scientific program and events. Since this is a workshop, and we aim to be as flexible as possible with the program, we welcome any further comments and suggestions for improvements. On behalf of all of us at the observatory, we look forward to welcoming you to Puerto Rico for this workshop which we hope will be scientifically rewarding for all concerned. with best wishes Dunc Lorimer. ******************************************************************************** The rest of this message contains details on: - Timetable of events - The meeting fee - The participants - Getting away from it all ******************************************************************************** TIMETABLE OF EVENTS ****STOP*PRESS******STOP*PRESS******STOP*PRESS*****STOP*PRESS*****STOP*PRESS**** We are pleased to announce to all speakers that an LCD projector will be available for use by those of you with PC-based presentations etc. ****STOP*PRESS******STOP*PRESS******STOP*PRESS*****STOP*PRESS*****STOP*PRESS**** Sun 12 March 2000 Morning: On their arrival at the observatory, participants will be given a workshop folder which includes a free ticket to the visitor center. The Observatory canteen will be open from 9 am for people wishing to have breakfast/lunch. Feel free to check out the visitor center at any time during the day. The observatory swimming pool and basketball courts may also interest the sport enthusiasts. Afternoon: Most people who expressed a preference for afternoon activities wanted either a tour of the observatory and a discussion on pulsar timing. The original idea for the pulsar timing discussion was to thrash out issues concerning present and future observing strategies for the 'global timing' project --- a roughly monthly program of Arecibo timing observations of millisecond pulsars. I suggest that interested participants meet to discuss these issues in the Observatory library. Brief tours of the observatory are possible for those who are interested and I will look into the possibility of some trips up to the platform. For those of you who are interested in visiting the beach, apparently a minority based on my initial survey, the old VSQ car will be available (and maybe even the new one if we're lucky) plus I'm prepared to lend any trustworthy soul my car for the afternoon (provided they don't crash it!). Those heading off to the beach are advised to set off as early as they can in order to catch the best of the weather. I'll give directions to a few places, but I'm sure 'old hands' will also know some good places to go! Evening: From ~6:30 pm onwards --- BBQ at the Observatory Pool Mon 13 March 2000 0900-0920 Welcome address by the Mayor of Arecibo Recent AO Observational Results I (Chair: Fernando Camilo) 0920-0940 Alex Wolszczan - Recent PSPM results 0940-1000 Maura McLaughlin - Recent AOFTM results and future plans 1000-1020 Frederick Jenet - Recent CBR results 1020-1030 Dunc Lorimer - PSR J1907+0918 and SGR 1900+14 1030-1100 Coffee Recent AO Observational Results II (Chair: Maura McLaughlin) 1100-1120 David Nice - Does coherent timing measure up? 1120-1140 Eric Splaver/Andrea Somer - MkIV/ABPP timing 1140-1200 Ingrid Stairs - TBA 1200-1220 Aris Karastergiou - TBA (something about 1913+16) 1220-1400 The classic ``Rice 'n Beans'' Lunch at the Observatory canteen Single pulses - theory and observations (Chair: Vicky Kaspi) 1400-1430 Jan Gil - Coherent pulsar radio emission 1430-1450 Mark McKinnon - Sign-changing circular polarization in single pulses 1450-1510 Ramesh Bhat - Recent multi-station single pulse observations 1510-1530 Don Backer - GPS determination of Faraday rotation in the ionosphere 1530-1600 Coffee Results from other observatories I (Chair: Andrea Somer) 1600-1620 Barney Rickett - cm-wave ISS observations 1620-1640 Dipanjan Mitra - Pulsar Scattering from the Gum Nebula 1640-1700 Joseph Lazio - Low-Frequency Detection and Observations of Pulsars Evening: Dinner at one of Arecibo's fashionable local restaurants Tue 14 March 2000 Results from other observatories II (Chair: Joe Lazio) 0900-0920 Somebody from Parkes - The Parkes multibeam survey 0920-0940 Paulo Freire - Timing millisecond pulsars in 47 Tucanae 0940-1000 Rick Jenet - New pulsar search techniques 1000-1020 Don Backer - Interstellar weather in the Crab and B1937+21 1020-1040 Tim Hankins - Recent observations of giant pulses 1040-1100 Coffee Pulsar observing at AO (Chair: Ingrid Stairs) 1100-1120 Andy Dowd - The WAPP : Arecibo's new wide-band pulsar machine 1120-1150 Dunc Lorimer - overview of pulsar observing at AO 1150-1230 What features present/potential users would like to see (discussion!) 1230-1400 Lunch at 'Resaurante El Observatorio' (formerly the Cornell Bar) Future Pulsar observing (Chair: Eric Splaver) 1400-1430 Jim Cordes - The future of pulsar searches at AO and elsewhere 1430-1500 Shami Chatterjee - Present and future pulsar VLBI 1500-1515 Tim Hankins - Future observations with the upgraded VLA 1515-1530 Mark McKinnon - Imminent pulsar observations with GBT 1530-1600 Coffee 1600-1700 Discussion on future priorities (Chair: Don Backer????) This slot is open to ideas and suggestions --- anybody willing to make a verbal presentation on some aspect and then throw the floor open to discussion is most welcome to do so... so far I've had interest from Don Backer - thoughts on pulsar archiving ******************************************************************************** THE MEETING FEE As mentioned in previous mailings, in order to cover various overheads, we do request that you pay a fee of 50 US$ on arrival at the observatory. Now, this sound a bit harsh at first, but actually it's quite a bargain. Here's what your fifty bucks will get you: - A complementary pen - A badge with your name on it - A free ticket to the visitor center - An Arecibo Observatory folder and notepad - Coffee and cookies during mid-session breaks - A meeting T-shirt being designed by a local artist - A poolside barbecue in the company of (in)famous astronomers (Sunday) - An authentic 'rice n beans' lunch at the observatory canteen (Monday) - A slap-up dinner at one of Arecibo's finest eateries (Monday evening) - A Puerto Rican style lunch at 'Restaurante el Observatorio' (Tuesday) We hope that this more than justifies the nominal fee. Cash payments are, of course, preferable. There's even a working ATM machine at the gate of the observatory. We do however also accept payments in the Euro, as well as cheques made payable to Cornell University. ******************************************************************************** WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS Below is the current list of people scheduled to attend the workshop. For visitors, arrival and departure dates (when known) are given, as well as accommodation arrangements. Please notify dunc@naic.edu with further changes in your travel plans. As can be seen by the large number of blanks in the arrival and departure dates, many people have been suspiciously quiet so far so it'd be good to hear (a) that they are coming and (b) when they arrive. If we don't know when you're arriving, we'll be assuming that you will be getting to and leaving the observatory under your own steam!! People marked in the list below with a '*' are known to be arriving independently, either getting a hire car, or getting a lift in with friends. We plan to enlist the help of the observatory's famous driver, Dimas Alvarez, who will be able to make some trips to San Juan up to FRIDAY March 10 to pick people up from the airport and bring them to Arecibo. As you can imagine, trying to coordinate this so that young Dimas does not spend too much time on the roads is a problem and we cannot guarantee that you'll be picked up. Participants arriving AFTER 3:30 pm on Friday March 10 will *have to* make their own arrangements since, unlike astronomers, the boy Dimas doesn't work on weekends. Participant Room TOA TOD David Kaplan* Obs #1 11/3 14/3 1740 Eric Splaver Obs #1 David Nice Obs #2 10/3? ???? Joseph Lazio Obs #2 10/3? 15/3? Maura McLaughlin Obs 3B Andrea Somer Obs 3B 10/3 1244 CO 749 20/3 1445 CO 742 Ingrid Stairs Obs 3B 11/3? ???? Dipanjan Mitra Obs #6 10/3 26-28/3 Janusz Gil Obs #6 9/3 1147 AA ? 20/3 1100 AA ? Boe Lewandowski* Obs #7 3/3 15/3 Bulent Kiziltan* Obs #7 3/3 15/3 Alex Wolszczan* ?? Fernando Camilo PI Frederick A Jenet PI Bryan Jacoby PI Vicky Kaspi PI Barney Rickett EBC Mark McKinnon* EBC 11/3 1945 TWA 94 15/3 1055 TWA 11 Nichi D'Amico EBC Jim Cordes EBC Don Backer EBC Tim Hankins EBC 10/3 1118 Del ???? Aris Karastergiou EBC 10/3 2024 LH? 17/3 1350 ? | Paulo Freire EBC 12/3 2346 CO 745 15/3 0750 CO 740 + Adam Chandler EBC Shami Chatterjee EBC There has been a problem with accommodation: some of the rooms I 'reserved' for workshop participants have been snatched back to make room for visiting observers who, as you can understand, take priority given our currently limited accommodation at the observatory. These people have been provisionally booked into the Posada Inn (PI). The remaining people staying off site are booked into El Buen Cafe (EBC). In addition to the above visitors, the following 'local yokels' will be at the meeting too. Neftali Sotero Daniel Altshuler Ramesh Bhat Mike Davis Andy Dowd Dunc Lorimer Chris Salter Snezana Stanimirovic + misc AO-staff ******************************************************************************** GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL Strangely, many visitors to the telescope give up the opportunity to spend a couple of days vacation at one of the many nice spots the island has to offer. Several participants are staying on for a few days after the meeting ends in order to join in the global timing run at the weekend. Before this run starts, some of us are presently thinking of a trip to Vieques - one of two small islands off the east coast of Puerto Rico staying over on the nights of the Wednesday and Thursday (March 15/16) and returning on Friday March 17. Vieques is renouned for its beautiful beaches and, in particular, has one of the finest examples of a bioluminescent bay in the world. Anybody with time on their hands is welcome to come along. The big problem I see right would be transporting people to Fajardo (the port on the east coast) to catch the ~3$ ferry to Vieques. Once in Vieques it is possible to rent bikes or cars to get around the island. I will be making some inquiries about accommodation in the coming week and anybody interested should contact me (dunc@naic.edu). ********************************************************************************