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>