Second Announcement
An International Workshop on the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST) will be held in
Liège, Belgium, June 15-18, 1998
as the 34th Liège International Astrophysics Colloquium under the chairmanship of Prof. D. Reimers, Hamburg Observatory. The Workshop is co-sponsored by ESA, ESO, NASA, STScI and Belgian organizations.
The main purpose of the Workshop is to offer the astronomical communities at large a forum where they may discuss and better define the prime scientific objectives of the NGST and its complementarity with other large space and ground facilities as well as reviewing the technological challenges, with particular emphasis on those areas where European industry can offer innovative contributions.
During 1996 and 1997, NASA, following the recommendation of the "HST and beyond" report, has invested considerable effort in the study and definition of a large aperture (8 metre class) near IR space telescope, now known as the Next Generation Space Telescope, to study the Universe at high redshift (5 < z < 30) and in particular the formation and evolution of galaxies at that early epoch.
NGST now constitutes a major part of the NASA "Origins" programme and is planned to be launched in the year 2007. In mid 1996, NASA formally invited ESA to cooperate in these studies. Since the advent of the NGST concept and the ensuing scientific and technical feasibility studies carried out by NASA (see "NGST - Visiting a Time When Galaxies Were Young", June 1997, Ed. P. Stockman), European astronomers have applied considerable pressure on ESA to participate in these studies and to consider a substantial European involvement in NGST.
Following the recommendations of a specially appointed NGST Task Group, ESA is now starting, in coordination with NASA, a number of studies on the NGST mission, its telescope and its instrumentation (see the "invitation for a letter of interest"). The task group also recommended that an NGST workshop should be organized in Europe during 1998.
The Workshop will consist of invited talks and posters. All papers will be published in the Proceedings.
The programme will include:
R. Angel, S. Beckwith, P. Bely, R. Bonnet, C. Burrows, S. Charlot, L. Cowie, S. Cristiani, R. Davies, A. Dressler, R. Ellis, A. Ferrara, M. Franx, R. Genzel, P. Jakobsen, R. Kennicutt, R. Kirshner, O. LeFevre, S. Lilly, A. Loeb, P. Madau, J. Mather, J.-L. Puget, M. Rees, A. Renzini, P. Schneider, C. Steidel, M. Stiavelli, P. Stockman, E. Weiler and S. White.
P. Benvenuti (Co-chair), R. Fosbury, D. Fraipont-Caro, R. Hook, P. Jakobsen, P. Madau (Co-chair), B. Sjöberg, J. Surdej, J.-P. Swings (Chairman local organization).
The meeting will take place on the Sart Tilman campus of the Liège University, Bâtiment des Amphitheatres (about 6 km from Liège city centre, shuttle buses will be organized).
NGST signs will be posted on the campus.
The meeting will begin on Monday June 15 at 9:30; a welcome drink will be offered on the site on Sunday June 14, from 16:00 to 20:00 for those who wish to obtain the relevant documents, badge, meal tickets, etc...
Anyone wishing to attend the conference must complete and return the Registration Form. The registration deadline is May 11, 1998.
The registration fee is BEF 4000 (USD 120 / DEM 200) if paid before May 11, 1998. The fee can be paid either by credit card (VISA or MasterCard), cheque or bank transfer.
Participants paying with a credit card should fill out the card details on the registration form. The form can be emailed, but a copy with the cardholder's signature should also be faxed to +32-4-2527474.
Cheques should be made payable to "Institut d'Astrophysique, Liège" and must be issued in Belgian Francs.
Bank transfers should be made to account number 001-1514415-30 with the C.G.E.R., Agence de Liège-Cointe, Avenue de l'Observatoire, 278, B-4000 Liège) and should contain the name of the participant and the reference "NGST Conference". Please note that we are not responsible for possible banking fees and therefore participants should make sure that we receive the full amount of BEF 4000. Registrations without accompanying payment will not be accepted.
After May 11, if space is still available for late registrations, the fee will be BEF 5000 (USD 150 / DEM 250).
Participants who wish to present a poster should submit an abstract of their contribution by electronic mail to ngstconf@eso.org before April 6, 1998.
The Proceedings of the conference will be published by the European Space Agency and each registered participant will receive a copy.
Block reservations have been made in the hotels listed below. Participants who would like to make use of this arrangement should submit the Accommodation Request Form before May 11, 1998. After this date, no accommodation request will be dealt with by the conference organizers. The room allocation will be made on a first come, first served basis.
Mercure
(city centre), Blvd de la Sauvenière, 100, 4000
Liège
Single room BEF 2000 per night - double room BEF 2500 per night
Holiday
Inn, Palais des Congrès - Esplanade de l'Europe 2, 4020
Liège
Single room BEF 2500 per night - double room BEF 3000 per night
Comfort Inn
l'Univers (near the railway station), Rue des
Guillemins, 116, 4000 Liège
Single room BEF 1860 per night - double room BEF 2320 per night
University Sport Campus (out of town, within 15-20 min walking
distance from Conference lecture hall), Résidence du Blanc
Gravier, 4000 Sart Tilman
Rooms for multiple occupancy - single room BEF 1050 per night,
double room BEF 1700 per night, 3-person room BEF 2350 per night
and 4-person room BEF 3000 per night.
April 6: deadline for submission of abstracts
May 11: deadline for hotel accommodation requests
May 11: deadline for registration
Questions about the conference should be sent by email to ngstconf@eso.org (general) or to astrocol@astro.ulg.ac.be (local logistics).