Special Interest Groups and Workshops

There will be a number of special interest groups meeting on the Wednesday afternoon at 15:30.

These include:

UKSP

The UK Solar Physics community are having a meeting on the Wednesday afternoon in EX-LT2.

We invite all solar physicists - or those with an interest in this field - to attend the UK Solar Physics meeting. All are welcome, especially PhD students. The meeting will include an update on UKSP activities over the past year (including the website, UKSP Nuggets and Summer Schools) with a discussion of what we could do in future. There will be a "Mini missions forum" with very brief updates on future space missions and groundbased facilities in solar physics. We will also have a discussion on outreach activities, with short reports from some members of our community who are very active in public engagement.

Diversity

The RAS/STFC diversity group will meet in EX-LT1.

Wednesday 15.30 - 16.15

LGBT+ Network, the story so far and where are we going?

The RAS has teamed up with the Institute of Physics to launch a new LGBT+ network for professional astronomers and physicists. In this special Interest group, which is open to everyone, we will be discussing what has happened so far with this collaboration and what our plans for the future are for this network. There will also be a chance to discuss current challenges for the LGBT+ communities within physics and astronomy today.

Wednesday 16.30 – 17.15

Gender Bias in the Science Classroom and its Future Implications

In this special discussion meeting we will be looking at how gender bias in science lessons affects children from the ages of 4-18, and looking at the implications this may have on the next generation of scientists. Is there anything we as professional astronomers and geophysicists can do to combat gender bias long before the students arrive at university? There will be a brief presentation of the findings from the IoP ‘Opening Doors’ Project.

Education

Those interested in astronomy education should meet in EX-C33.

Poster session

General poster viewing and judging will take place at this time. IF possible, poster presenters should be close to their poster to answer questions.

Hack Report

A chance for those undertaking projects during the Hack Day to report back to a wider audience on what they came up with. This session will be in BS-A26.

Getting your Paper Published: A Workshop for Authors

For all early-career researchers looking to publish their research or to review papers.

The course takes place in BS-A25 and will be run by MNRAS journal staff and will cover:

• How to write a good paper

• MNRAS submission process

• how the review process works and how long it takes

• How to respond to referee reports

• How to be a referee

• Ethical issues associated with research publishing

Popular science writing

A workshop for everyone interested in developing communication skills for outreach, education and impact
Sue Bowler A&G Editor, Amanda Doyle Popular Science Editor, Jo Barstow BSA Media Fellow 2015

In this informal workshop we will take place in BS-A24 and:
• discuss how to approach varied audiences
• suggest strategies for projects and career development
• provide do's and don’ts
• address your questions
• work with examples – bring along your tricky topics if you like!