Applications open for Advancing Theoretical Astrophysics Summer School

Advancing Theoretical Astrophysics Summer School

July 15-26, 2019 at University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Application due January 15, 2019
For more information, see https://collectiveastronomy.github.io/advancingtheoastro/

“Advancing Theoretical Astrophysics” is a two week long, international summer school intended to build and strengthen essential skills in physics and computation for a career in theoretical astrophysics. The summer school prioritizes a supportive, collaborative, and diverse learning environment.

The target groups for this school are graduate students pursuing a degree in astrophysics, with a BSc degree in physics or astrophysics (note that we will consider well-motivated exceptions on a case-by-case basis, such as early-stage postdocs wishing to change research area). One of our primary goals is to encourage young researchers who have an interest in pursuing theory, but have had only limited experience or access to resources, to make the leap. Attendees of the school will learn and employ a variety of computational methods, so a basic comfort level with linux and coding/scripting is expected.

The school will be a mix of short topical lectures and interactive problem solving, using methods that can be applied to a wide range of topics. Students will work collaboratively on several types of canonical problems (with guidance from teachers and more advanced students), gaining hands-on experience with cutting-edge techniques employed in modern theoretical astrophysics. Examples include setting up and solving non-linear differential equations, running numerical simulations of (magneto)hydrodynamic equations, and utilizing order-of-magnitude techniques to develop intuition for a physical problem. We will also provide training in essential complementary skills such as data visualisation, public speaking, proposal writing, and networking.

We welcome applications from everyone, but we especially encourage applicants from under-represented groups and countries with access to less resources for theoretical astrophysics. We hope to not only provide students with the tools to succeed in theoretical astrophysics, but to advance the science itself by opening the conversation to a diverse range of viewpoints, creating new pathways and approaches to solving the most difficult and interesting problems in the universe.

Confirmed Lecturers/Mentors/Facilitators: 
Camille Avestruz (University of Chicago/University of Michigan), Nicole Cabrera Salazar (Movement Consulting), Chiara Ceccobello (Chalmers University of Technology), Jane Dai (University of Hong Kong), Jason Dexter (CU Boulder), Sebastian Heinz (U Wisconsin, Madison),  Daniela Huppenkothen (University of Washington, Seattle), Andrew King (University of Leicester), Nicole Lloyd-Ronning (Los Alamos National Laboratory/University of New Mexico), Sera Markoff (University of Amsterdam), Gibwa Musoke (University of Amsterdam), Samaya Nissanke (University of Amsterdam), Smadar Naoz (University of California, Los Angeles), Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz (University of California, Santa Cruz/DARK Copenhagen), Irene Tamborra (Niels Bohr Institute, Copenhagen), Alexander Tchekhovskoy (Northwestern University)