Conferences, Workshops etc.

Past Events

RadioNet Workshop on Future Trends in Radio Astronomy Instrumentation, Bonn, Germany, September 21-22, 2020

We are pleased to announce the RadioNet Technical Dissemination Workshop on new trends in Radio Astronomy instrumentation. These two days of coming together, presenting new ideas and discussing future trends will be held on September, 21st and 22nd 2020 at the Max-Planck-Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn (Germany).

This meeting is the last in a series of technical workshops combining several aspects of engineering and operational issues at radio observatories all over Europe and beyond. It provides the unique opportunity to cross border the different communities to see what ‘the others’ are doing and planning and enhance communication between engineers, scientists and operators.

Science with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), Schloss Ringberg, Germany, February 02-05, 2020

The Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) 12 m submillimeter telescope has significantly contributed to a wide variety of astronomy science areas, ranging from the discoveries of new molecules to large-scale and deep imaging of the submillimeter sky.

Since 2012, every other year, the Ringberg APEX workshops bring together APEX users and other interested scientists working on a wide range of exciting results covering the Solar System to distant galaxies in the early Universe. APEX2020 aims at presenting new science results and to looking into new science opportunities for the next years.

In the last two years, APEX has been significantly improved by upgrades of the antenna itself as well as by the commissioning of new instruments, including new large cameras for wide-field continuum imaging and new heterodyne instruments highly complementary to ALMA.

While ALMA operation is in full swing, APEX is strengthening its role not only as a pathfinder for studying large source samples and probing larger spatial scales to prepare detailed high angular resolution ALMA follow ups, but also as a fast response instrument to complement new results from ALMA. Furthermore, APEX ensures southern hemisphere access for submillimeter projects complementing archival Herschel research as well as new SOFIA science.

The conference venue, Ringberg Castle, provides a unique setting for in depth discussions on current and future science with APEX. In particular, sessions on new scientific results, on synergies with other observatories and on the exploitation of the upcoming new APEX capabilities are envisioned.

The castle can accommodate about 60 to 70 participants. Registration will open Oct 1st at which point scientific contributions can be proposed.

Scintillometry 2019, Bonn, Germany, November 4-8, 2019

In this workshop, we will discuss the many recent developments in the field, including mapping scattering screens using VLBI, using scintillation to spatially resolve pulsar emission and solve pulsar orbits, studies of plasma lensing in plasma-dense environments, physical models of scintillation, and ways to remove scintillation/scattering from a pulsar's intrinsic emission.

PAF Workshop 2019, Bonn, Germany, September 16-18, 2019

The scope of the workshop is to exchange ideas and solutions among the developers of radio-astronomical instrumentation in the frequency range below 100GHz, specially under the aspect of phased array feed systems.

After single pixel systems and discrete array receivers have been developed to sensitivities close to the physical limits, phased array feed systems are now the next logical step to further increase the science output of the observing facilities. These receiving systems with up to several hundred receiving channels introduce new technological challenges in all areas.

Bonn-Dwingeloo Neighbourhood VLBI Meeting 2019, Dwingeloo, NL, June 6, 2019

Very-long-baseline interferometry offers unprecedented resolutions in radio astronomy and is under continuous development. There is a long VLBI tradition both in Bonn (MPI für Radioastronomie) and Dwingeloo (ASTRON and JIV-ERIC), and both sites organise regular neighbourhood meetings since last century, in alternate years to the EVN Symposium. For 2019, Dwingeloo hosts the meeting.

Spectroscopy with SOFIA: new results & future opportunities, Schloss Ringberg, Germany, January 20-23, 2019

Building on the success of the 2015/17 Ringberg meetings on spectroscopy with SOFIA at which about 70 participants discussed SOFIA results ranging from nearby star formation to the interstellar medium in nearby galaxies, SOFIA2019 aims at presenting new science results and looking into future science opportunities for the next years enabled by new instrumentation.

The workshop will include a session "SOFIA/APEX technological and scientific synergies" to honor the contributions of Rolf Güsten to both projects on the occasion of his retirement.

¹³th BONN workshop on the formation and evolution of neutron stars, Bonn, Germany, December 10, 2018

The BONN neutron star workshops aim to bringing together observers and theoreticians to exchange and discuss new ideas related to neutron star research, in a one-day workshop

The 13th BONN workshop will future a “news” session devoted to highlights from ongoing neutron star research. There will be two additional topical sessions on:
Multi-wavelength/multi-messenger observations of neutron stars: future instrumentation and observing facilities

Science with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), Schloss Ringberg, Germany, March 11-14, 2018

Now more than 12 years in operation, the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) 12 m submillimeter telescope has significantly contributed to a wide variety of submillimeter astronomy science areas, ranging from the discoveries of new molecules to large and deep imaging of the submillimeter sky.

Since 2012 the Ringberg APEX workshops bring together APEX users working on a wide range of exciting results covering the Solar System to distance galaxies in the early universe. APEX2018 aims at presenting new science results and to looking into new science opportunities for the next years.

The Big Impact of a Big Dish: Science with the Effelsberg 100-m Telescope, Bonn, Germany, 20-21 February 2018

The Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy is happy to announce the workshop: "The Big Impact of a Big Dish: Science with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope", which will be held on 20-21 Feb, 2018 at the MPIfR in Bonn.

This meeting is intended to bring together various user groups of the 100-m telescope with the support staff of the observatory and the technical developers.

Young European Radio Astronomers Conference (YERAC), Bonn, Germany, 5-9 September 2016

The Young European Radio Astronomers Conference (YERAC) has been held annually in different radioastronomical centers in Europe since 1968 and has enabled many graduate students and young post-docs doing radio astronomical research to meet and present their current work. For a history of YERAC, see http://www.yerac.org .

YERAC will take place in Bonn for the fifth time. The Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy, MPIfR, has agreed to provide the funding for board and lodging to all participants. Travel costs are expected to be paid by the participants' host institutes.

Participation is by recommendation only. Supervisors/directors of institutes are asked to nominate candidates and provide a supporting letter to yerac@mpifr-bonn.mpg.de . Each participant is expected to deliver a 15 minute talk about their work. The abstracts will be published electronically.

Science with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX2016), Schloss Ringberg, Germany, March 6-9, 2016

Continuing on the success of the 2012/14 Ringberg meetings on APEX science where about 70 participants discussed exciting APEX results ranging from our Solar system to distant galaxies in the Early Universe, APEX2016 aims at presenting new science results and to looking into new science opportunities for the next years.

The conference venue Ringberg Castle provides a unique setting for in depth discussions on current and future science with APEX. In particular, sessions on new scientific results, on synergies with other observatories and on APEX beyond 2017 are envisioned.

Dissecting the Universe - Workshop on Results from High-Resolution VLBI, Bonn, 30 November to 02 December 2015

Recent developments have pushed the limits of resolution in astrophysics to new frontiers. Very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) at millimetre wavelengths or using antennas in space yields resolutions down to tens of microarcseconds (that is, fractions of nanoradians). These observations probe compact objects such as the innermost regions of active galactic nuclei. Space VLBI is living a new era at present with the results from the RadioAstron mission, enhancing radio interferometry in terms of resolution at least one order of magnitude with respect to ground-based VLBI. Millimetre VLBI also brings radio interferometry to a new range of resolution and with much enhanced sensitivity due to improvements in data bit rate. With more antennas capable of VLBI at 3-mm wavelength, and successful observations being carried out at 1-mm, a new window is open to universe at unprecedented resolution. This workshop will review recent results on high resolution radio astronomy, including opportunities provided by new antennas becoming available. It will also discuss on the applications of high-resolution imaging techniques and the synergies in the study of compact objects by space and mm-VLBI together.

Contributions to the workshop will be published online in this webpage; no regular proceedings are planned.

CHANG-ES Workshop, Bonn, July 13-17, 2015

This is the annual meeting of the international consortium of the CHANG-ES project, in which 35 nearby edge-on galaxies have been observed with the EVLA in C- and L-band in three different arrays in radio continuum and polarization. The aim of the project is to study galactic halos, the interface between the disk's interstellar medium (ISM) and the intergalactic medium (IGM). From the observations we will address questions like how do halos depend on the star formation rate or other in-disk activities or what role do magnetic fields and cosmic rays play in the dynamics of extraplanar matter.

The workshop is mainly meant for consortium members. Non-members are welcome on Thursday and Friday (July 16-17).

Magnetisation of Interstellar and Intergalactic Media: The Prospects of Low-Frequency Radio Observations, Schloss Ringberg, Germany, July 1-4, 2015

This is the sixth meeting of the DFG Research Unit FOR1254 on magnetic fields in the Universe, which is to review the achievements made during the second funding period, supported by invited review talks given by experts in the field. LOFAR is now routinely operational, while 'older working horses', partly upgraded, are being used to cover the higher frequency ranges (GMRT, JVLA). Significant progress has also been achieved in the Research Unit in terms of MHD modeling of galaxies and galaxy clusters, which alleviate and strengthen the interpretation of the observations and the resulting data products, and in the development of modern tools of data analysis.

This workshop is meant for members of the DFG Research Unit FOR1254. Participation of non-members is possible on request.

Ringberg Workshop on Spectroscopy with the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) , Schloss Ringberg, Germany, March 15-18, 2015

Since 2010 the Stratospheric Observatory For Infrared Astronomy SOFIA) has started contributing to a wide variety of far-infrared (FIR) and mid-infrared (MIR) astronomy science areas, ranging from the discovery of new light molecules to detecting dusty protostars in star forming regions (including infall motion and collapse), thereby significantly complementing and extending the heritage of the recently ended Herschel and Spitzer science missions. SOFIA has completed its major development phase and is now in full operation.

This workshop will be in honor of Eric Becklin, chief scientist and long-term strong supporter of SOFIA, on the occasion of his 75th birthday.

The castle can accommodate about 60-70 participants.

Registration and abstract submission are now open with a deadline January 22nd, 2015.

Extreme Astrophysics in an Ever-Changing Universe - Time Domain Astronomy in the 21st Century | Celebrating John Seiradakis' 40-year career, Ierapetra, Greece, June 16-20, 2014

Today we know that most phenomena observed in “time-domain” astronomy are related to extreme astrophysical events or processes. Whether it is the explosion of stars in supernovae or the observations of flare stars, pulsars, gamma-ray bursts, blazars or active galactic nuclei, time-domain astronomy stretches across the whole electromagnetic spectrum and beyond. With increasing technical capabilities, the 21st century will see corresponding new instruments being developed or coming online, revolutionising our view of the ever-changing Universe.

Our ambition is to bring together different research communities and provide a platform for an exchange of ideas, experience and methods that may prove invaluable in promoting the unification of time-domain astronomy. Further, to approach these methods qualitatively similarly as probes of very different scale physics in which different effects become dominant at different systems.

The conference also celebrates the career of Prof. John H. Seiradakis, who over the last 40 years has contributed to the field in many aspects.

The participation is limited to strictly 80 participants. Early registration is therefore highly recommended.

99 years of Black Hole - from Astronomy to Quantum Gravity, Potsdam, May 20-22, 2014

The meeting "99 years of Black Holes - from Astronomy to Quantum Gravity" aims for bringing together experts from the research areas on Black Holes and Gravitational Waves, extending towards the future of General Relativitiy and Quantum Physics. This meeting will close the four-year long european funded COST Action "Black Holes in a Violent Universe". The conference is jointly organized by the COST Action MP0905, the MPI für Radioastronomie and the Albert-Einstein-Institut.

The formation of the Solar System, Bonn, 13-15 May 2014

With more than 900 confirmed exoplanets, it is becoming clear that there are many planetary systems with rather different properties to that of the Solar System. This poses the question how our own Solar System formed. The answer to this question is not straight forward, because it is based on hints from the current state on what happened in the past. It turns out that this is an interdisciplinary endeavour, requiring knowledge of supernovae explosions, meteorites, cosmochemistry, structure and evolution of circumstellar discs, star cluster dynamics, and the early dynamical evolution of planetary systems. The goal of this workshop is to provide a platform for information exchange between these different disciplines, putting together the puzzle pieces of the Solar System formation history.

The workshop focusses on:

Cosmochemical constraints on the physical/chemical conditions in the Solar Nebula
Time scales of the dust and planetesimal growth for the Solar System
Models of the Kuiper belt formation
The role of the stellar environemt, with emphasis on star cluster dynamics
Early planetary system development
Future evolution of the Solar System

Contributions from related fields are welcome.
Registration is open from 1st December 2013. The workshop will be limited to 40 participants, early registration is recommended.

558th WE-Heraeus-Seminar on "The Strong Gravity Regime of Black Holes and Neutron Stars", Physikzentrum Bad Honnef, 31 March to 4 April, 2014

The main theme of this seminar is the observation and theoretical description of systems where gravity is strong and non-linear, in particular systems containing black holes and neutron stars which are ideal gravitational laboratories. To cover the complete complexity of this field of research, experts and graduate students from the observational and theoretical community are invited to bring together their expertise.

As a rough guideline, we have the following categories:

Strong-field gravity in GR and its alternatives
Black holes as strong field probes
Neutron stars as strong field probes
Gravitational wave observations and merger events

The program consists of invited as well as contributed talks and posters. We particularly encourage female scientist to contribute to the seminar. For young scientists we award the best poster with a price.

The number of participants is limited to about 70. All local costs (i.e., meals and accommodation) of the participants will be covered. The registration deadline is December 15th, 2013.

Science with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), Schloss Ringberg, 19-22 January 2014

After the success of the 2012 Ringberg meeting on APEX science where about 70 participants discussed exciting APEX science ranging from our Solar system to distant galaxies in the Early Universe, time is ripe to review what has been accomplished since then and to look into science opportunities for the next years.

The castle can accommodate about 60-70 participants. Registration is now open and with the registration participants will also be asked to submit a title and a brief abstract that fits into the meeting objectives.

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Granada, 19-22 November 2013

Joint COST Conference on "The Galactic Center Black Hole Laboratory".

The Conference is also closely linked to the COST Action MP1104 - "Polarization as a tool to study the Solar System and beyond", the FP7 action "Probing Strong Gravity by Black Holes Across the Range of Masses", and the collaborative research center SFB956 "Conditions and Impact of Star Formation - Astrophysics, Instrumentation and Laboratory Research".

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Ioannina, Greece, 16-19 September 2013

The Summer School “Black Holes at all scales” aimed at postgraduate students and young postdoctoral fellows. The program includes reviews on various aspects of Black Hole-related science, such as: demographics and formation theories of galactic black hole binaries in our and nearby galaxies, our "own" supermassive black hole on the Galactic center, formation and cosmic evolution of supermassive black holes, phenomenology of active galactic nuclei and a review of their "unification" theories, theory of jet formation and energy extraction in black hole systems, as well as the scaling of accretion and jet physics from mini-quasars to quasars.

The Modern Radio Universe 2013, Bonn, 22-26 April 2013

80 years ago, in spring 1933, Karl Jansky published his discovery of cosmic radio emission. This paved the way not only for a new discipline, radio astronomy, but also for an exploration of the universe that now encompasses almost the entire electromagnetic window. Today, radio astronomy is about to enter into yet another new era with a number of new or upgraded radio facilities coming online and major new initiatives, like the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), are starting up. This conference will try to highlight the original and exciting science currently being produced by radio astronomical telescopes, such as the GBT, Effelsberg, LOFAR, ALMA, the JVLA, eMERLIN, EVN, VLBA, as well as pathfinder experiments of the SKA, and others. Science areas that will be discussed are among others: Cosmology, galaxy evolution, AGN and compact objects, star formation, interstellar medium, The Milky Way and Galactic science, radio transients, fundamental and astroparticle physics, extreme physics and associated theory. This fresh view on the radio universe will improve our current knowledge of the universe and highlight new trends in radio astronomy. The science delivered by the radio astronomical community addresses key questions in modern astrophysics that may lead us to even more ambitious science goals to be targeted by future radio facilities like the SKA.

Radio Interference with Large Bandwidth Observations, Bonn, 8-12 April 2013

This meeting is the first in a series of technical workshops combining several aspects of engineering and operational issues at European radio observatories. This provides the unique opportunity to cross border the different communities to see what "the others" are doing and enhance communication between engineers, scientists and operators. It is therefore strongly recommended that all attendees not only visit their dedicated sessions but also attend sessions of other target audience.

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Geneva, 18-22 March 2013

COST Conference at CERN on "The biggest accelerators in space and on earth"

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Brighton, 16-18 January 2013

COST Winter School at the University of Sussex on "From Classical to Quantum GR: Application to Black Holes"

RadioAstron Key Science Programme: Organisation and Planning Workshop, Bonn, 3-4 December 2012

The workshop was aimed at discussing the letters of intent submitted by various groups of investigators who intended to conduct extensive observational programs in the key science areas of RadioAstron. The discussions provided a basis for shaping up the Key Science Program (KSP) of RadioAstron, forming and structuring the KSP teams, and planning further steps for preparation and submission of the KSP proposals to the programme committees of RadioAstron and the supporting ground VLBI networks and radio telescopes.

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Palermo, 21-22 November 2012

5^th Working Groups' Meeting on "Black Holes and Jets"

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Brussels, 16-17 October 2012

Joint COST Workshop on "Polarisation & Active Galactic Nuclei"

Q2C5 - Space-based Research in Fundamental Physics and Astronomy, Cologne, 9-12 October 2012

The purpose of Q2C5, the fifth of the Quantum-to-Cosmos workshop series, was to highlight the field of fundamental physics, astronomy, and cosmology with experiments and observations on ground and in space in order to gain improved insight into the fundamental laws of nature. Space provides complementary experimental and observational conditions not available on ground. The fifth Workshop continued the tradition of the first four meetings, but at the same time was used to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the 100-meter Effelsberg radio telescope.

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Malta, 24-26 April 2012

Joint COST Conference on "Black Holes: From Quantum To Gravity"

Science with the Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX), Schloss Ringberg, 12-15 February 2012

With the recent extension of APEX by the partners beyond 2012 and the changes in the submm/FIR observatory landscape with the advent of Herschel, SOFIA and ALMA, it is timely to discuss recent new science results with APEX and its scientific and instrumental opportunities in the future.

The conference venue Ringberg Castle will provide a unique setting for in depth discussions on current and future science with APEX. In particular, sessions on new scientific results, on synergies with other observatories and on APEX beyond 2012 are envisioned.

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Manchester, 2-4 November 2011

4^th Working Groups' Meeting on "Black Holes in Orbit"

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Bologna, 12-13 April 2011

3^rd Workings Groups' Meeting on "Primordial Black Holes and how to grow BHs"

Workshop on "Renewable Energy Concepts for mega-Science Projects demonstrated at the SKA and its Pathfinders", Berlin, 7 April 2011

In order to explore the boundaries of our current knowledge, many new scientific experiments and facilities naturally require a large technical infrastructure. As a result, these mega-Science projects also often have a large power consumption that is not only costly but may also be sustainable on environmental grounds. In order to enable mega-Science projects also in the future and to reduce both their long-term financial and environmental costs, renewable energy solutions should be employed.

20th EVGA Meeting & 2th Analysis Workshop, Bonn, 29-31 March 2011

The scope of the 20th Meeting of EVGA covers all aspects of geodetic and astrometric VLBI including hardware, correlation, analysis and results both scientifically and technologically while the 12th IVS Analysis Workshop is devoted purely to discussions of the operational aspects of data analysis in the framework of IVS.

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Valencia, 15-16 November 2010

2^nd Working Groups' Meeting

European Single Dish School in the Era of Arrays (ESSEA), Bonn, 27 September to 1 October 2010

This school provided information on the theoretical background as well as on practical matters of radio astronomical observations with a single-dish telescope. A visit to the 100-m telescope in Effelsberg with observations was also included. The school was dedicated mainly to graduated students and PostDocs in astronomy.

Receivers & Array Workshop, Bonn, 19-20 September 2010

The meeting was aimed at bringing together scientists and receiver engineers who are working in the field of receiver developments of more than a handful feeds. We will review the scientific case for large spectroscopic MMIC arrays on large telescopes. The hardware requirements for effective use of such arrays, including telescope optics, array receivers, and digital back-ends will also be reviewed.

The Radio Sky: LOFAR to SKA (AG-SplinterMeeting), Bonn, 14-15 September 2010

This Splinter workshop informed about the technical status and the science projects of both telescopes, LOFAR and SKA. First results from LOFAR were presented.

COST ACTION MP0905 - BLACK HOLES IN A VIOLENT UNIVERSE, Bonn, 24-25 June 2010

1^st Working Groups' Meeting

ASTRONOMY IN THE NEXT DECADE: SYNERGIES WITH THE SQUARE KILOMETRE ARRAY, Bonn, 14-18 April 2008

The aim of the EU Marie Curie programme (MCCT) was to promote, discuss and disseminate the SKA and SKADS ideas to young researchers. The programme should provide the next generation of European astronomers with basic and advanced scientific and technology knowledge, thereby securing the high-level role of European radio astronomy for the future. The programme consisted of training courses, schools, astronomical workshops and technical workshops. This was the first astronomical MCCT SKADS workshop which was focused on the astronomical and scientific aspects of SKA, addressing in detail Key Science Areas of SKA.

European Radio Interferometry School, Bonn, 10-15 September 2007

The purpose of the school was to present the basic principles of radio interferometry techniques and data analysis, covering general aspects common to all observations but also specialised topics including high and low-frequency, polarimetry, spectroscopy and high resolution (VLBI) observations. Use of interferometer arrays such as MERLIN, WSRT, VLA and the European VLBI Network (EVN) were covered, as well as introductions to arrays such as ALMA, LOFAR and the SKA which are under development. The school was addressed both to potential new users of radio interferometry, and to astronomers and students already in the field who wish to broaden their knowledge and skills.

Multiband Approach to AGN, Bonn, 30 September to 2 October 2004

The meeting aimed at bringing together scientists involved in AGN studies in different spectral bands, and discussing the nuclear activity in galaxies from different perspectives and in connection with similar processes occurring in galactic objects (X-ray binaries and "microquasars"). Critical aspects of AGN and XRB research were highlighted in a small number of invited reviews, and further explored in the contributed talks and discussion forums. The workshop was focused on three broadly-defined areas in which various fields of AGN research intersect with each other and with studies of the XRB.

Exploring the Cosmic Frontier - Astrophysical Instruments for the 21st Century, Berlin, 18-21 May 2004

The symposium in Berlin was dedicated to presenting and discussing the fundamental scientific problems that will be addressed by major future astrophysical facilities in the next few decades.

The Magnetized Interstellar Medium, Antalya, 8-12 September 2003

The Magnetized Interstellar Medium conference was hold in Antalya, Turkey, on 8-12 September 2003, and was supported by the Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie and the Akdeniz University.