Hi all,
Here is an invitation to "Cosmology on Safari" from Cynthia, open to any
appropriate BICEP2 or Keck'er who may be able to attend--contact your
local PI or the talks committee if you are interested. Looks awesome,
but unfortunate timing for many of us who will be tied up with Pole
activities in January.
John
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Cosmology on Safari: 26-30 January 2015 (Bonamanzi,
KwaZulu-Natal)
Date: Wed, 01 Oct 2014 22:00:15 +0200
From: H. Cynthia Chiang <cynthia(a)physicschick.com>
To: John Kovac <jmkovac(a)cfa.harvard.edu>
CC: Kavilan Moodley <kavilan.moodley(a)gmail.com>
Hi John,
Good to hear from you, and sorry to hear about the unfortunate timing
with Pole deployments! I've heard that from a few other people as
well. We'd certainly love to have anyone who's available from BICEP2
and Keck. If all goes well with this conference, we hope to make it a
regular event every other year, so perhaps we'll see you at some other
point. (And we may choose slightly different wording re: rhinos in
future advertisements!)
cheers,
Cynthia
On 10/01/2014 06:28 PM, John Kovac wrote:
>
> Hi Cynthia,
>
> This conference sounds awesome! Thank you for the invitation--I would
> love to come myself--I've always wanted to visit SA--although given
> the timing and the planned BICEP3 and Keck deployment schedules this
> summer I doubt I'll be free. I can forward to our BICEP2 and Keck
> lists and see if we can send someone.
>
> I hope all is well,
>
> John
>
>
> p.s. Does "spearheaded rhino conservation" sound like a contradiction
> to you?
>
>
>
> On 10/1/14, 11:19 AM, Kavilan Moodley wrote:
>> Dear Colleagues,
>>
>> We are pleased to announce that registration is now open for Cosmology
>> on Safari at http://www.acru.ukzn.ac.za/~cosmosafari. The conference
>> will focus on the interplay between cosmological models and data, with
>> emphasis on the challenges that remain in cosmology. Topics covered
>> will include constraints on primordial perturbations, dark radiation,
>> gravitational waves and inflationary models from the cosmic microwave
>> background, constraints on dark energy, dark matter, and theories of
>> gravity. Invited speakers include Markus Boettcher, J. Richard Bond,
>> Neal Dalal, Romeel Dave, Henk Hoekstra, Jack Hughes*,
>> Marc-Antoine Miville-Deschenes*, Lyman Page, Joe Silk, Eva
>> Silverstein, and Rashid Sunyaev* (*=to be confirmed).
>>
>> Cosmology on Safari will take place at Bonamanzi Game Reserve
>> (http://www.bonamanzi.co.za/), a private game reserve in the heart of
>> the Zulu kingdom, two hours north of Durban on the east coast of South
>> Africa. Bonamanzi is home to elephants, rhinos, giraffes, zebra,
>> hippos, cape buffalo, leopards, impala, nyala, kudu, crocodiles,
>> wildebeest, and warthogs, along with many other species as well as
>> countless birds. It is also a short 20 minute drive from the
>> world-class Hluhluwe-iMfoloze game reserve which also hosts all the
>> big cats and the endangered African wild dog. The park spearheaded
>> rhino conservation efforts, and is now home to about 10% of the
>> world's rhino population. We will arrange an outing to
>> Hluhluwe-iMfolozi as part of the conference. The weather on the east
>> coast of South Africa is moderated by the Indian Ocean and in January
>> daily highs average 30/86 (C/F) and daily lows average 20/68.
>>
>> Registration and abstract submission close on December 1, 2014. The
>> registration fee is 4000 ZAR (approximately 360 USD/280 EUR) and
>> covers the conference facility, tea breaks, lunches, bus
>> transportation between the Durban airport and Bonamanzi, a river
>> cruise and conference banquet. Room rates are at Bonamanzi are 1200
>> ZAR pp (single) and 1100 ZAR pp (sharing). This includes dinners and
>> breakfasts. There are also a limited number of dorm-style rooms for
>> students at a reduced rate. There is also some funding to partially
>> support local students - interested parties should contact the
>> conference organizers. While we strongly recommend participants stay
>> at Bonamanzi, there are a number of other lodging options in the
>> vicinity.
>>
>> From the local organizing committee: H. Cynthia Chiang, Matt Hilton,
>> Kavilan
>> Moodley, Adam Moss, Jonathan Sievers, and Amanda Weltman. Logistical
>> questions can be directed to Vicki Hooper: info(a)venues.co.za
>> <mailto:info@venues.co.za>
>>
>
>
