A r A S   N e w s

 

 

N E W S L E T T E R   OF THE

ARMENIAN ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY   ( A r A S )

 

Editor: Lilit Hovhannisyan

 

The ArAS Newsletter in the INTERNET: http://www.aras.am/arasnews.html

 

 

 

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CONTENTS:

 

1.      The 60-th Anniversary of the Byurakan Observatory’s Foundation 

2.      The First International Summer School in Byurakan

3.      Armenian participants in the VLTI Summer school

4.      Staff changes at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences and the Yerevan State University

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.The 60-th Anniversary of the Byurakan Observatory’s Foundation

 

As it was announced before, on September 1- 3 the Byurakan Observatory celebrates the 60-th anniversary of its foundation. The celebration will take place in the Byurakan Observatory. The Byurakan Observatory organizes a Solemn Meeting and a Scientific Conference “Active Universe” (from September 1 to September 3).    

 

For more detailed info please visit the homepage: http://www.aras.am/BAO60_index.htm

 

 

2. The First International Summer School in Byurakan

 

This year for the first time the Byurakan Astronomical Observatory (BAO) and Armenian Astronomical Society (ArAS) organize an International Summer School. The school will take place in the Byurakan Observatory thanks to the financial support from Mr. Daniel Weedman, Mr. David Nelson, BAO, ArAS, INTAS and other sponsors and sponsoring organizations. There are fourteen invited lecturers from abroad and three from the local observatory.  The school is rich of interesting lectures and it’s very well organized in sense of the after-school entertainments.

 

For more detailed info please visit the homepage: http://www.aras.am/SS_2006/SS_index.htm

 

 

3.      VLTI Summer School

 

On June 4-16 an International VLTI Summer School was organized in the French Chateau de Goutelas. The school was organized in order to teach PhD as well as beginner astronomers to the VLTI spectra reduction, proposal writing, and career development techniques. Two Byurakan young astronomers, Parandzem Sinamyan and Lilit Hovhannisyan participated in this school. They obtained a lot of good skills as well as exciting memories from this school.

 

This was my first participation in these types of schools. In my opinion, participating in the summer schools is very important for any young astronomer. VLTI summer school gave me an opportunity to be introduced with the large telescopes’ observations and spectra reduction.  It was very interesting and useful to be involved in the practical sessions. Also it gave me a wonderful opportunity to become friends with other peer astronomers. I’d like to say thank you to the organizers for organizing the VLTI educational summer school.  

 

Parandzem Sinamyan

 

 

4.      The Staff Changes at the Armenian National Academy of Sciences and the Yerevan State University

 

New president of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences is elected

 

The forth President of the ANAS (succeeding Hovsep Orbely (1943-1947), Victor Ambartsumian (1947-1993) and Fadey Sargsyan (1993-2006)) was elected in last May. This position is occupied now for forthcoming five years by Prof Radik Martirossyan – the former Rector of the Yerevan State University. It is pleasant for Armenian astronomers to recall that Prof. Martirossyan has graduated from YSU as an astrophysicist and has begun his professional career at the Byurakan observatory. At the very beginning of his career he was working at the radioastronomy department of the BAO. Later he left the observatory when the Institute of Radiophysics and Electronics was established on the base of the mentioned department. Since then he started working at the IRPhE and very soon became the director of IRPhE.

 

Prof Yurii Shukuryan was elected in the position of the Vice-President. He is a specialist in the field of informatics and automatization problems and was working earlier as the Academician-Secretary of the ANAS Department of Physics, Mathematics and Technical Sciences. This Department is divided now into two new Departments as it was up to beginning of 1990s. Byurakan observatory is included in the new Department of Physics and Astrophysics with other institutes for Physics Research. Prof Yurii Chilingaryan became the Academician-Secretary of this Department for coming five years.

 

New appointments in the Yerevan State University

 

During the last two months series of changes occurred in high level positions in the Yerevan State University. First Prof. Radik Martirossyan resigned from the position of the rector. The process of elections has begun with four candidates nominated at the very beginning. Ultimately Prof. Aram Simonyan – one of the former pro-rectors took up this post.

Changes involved also the Physics faculty where the specialization in astrophysics is organized. Prof Samvel Harutyunyan, the faculty dean, became one of pro-rectors of YSU. And vice versa, Prof Edward Chubaryan serving previously as a pro-rector took up the post of dean. Another former pro-rector Prof Ara Avetisyan was appointed to the position of Head of Astrophysics Department. Actually his major wasn’t astronomy but, as he confesses, astrophysics always played a very important role in his scientific biography. The essential parts of his scientific researches are related to the inner structure of neutron stars.

Last two positions are elective and elections should be organized

 

We congratulate all of them. Also we wish them further fruitful activity in the field of science management.