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IAU Executive Committee Working Group: Professional-Amateur Relations in Astronomy
The IAU working group for professional-amateur relations in astronomy (for short, the pro-am WG) was formed in April 2021 as a WG under the Executive Committee. The IAU Strategic Plan 2020-30 stated that connecting professional and amateur astronomers was one of its goals for the decade (see Strategic Plan, Goal 4). This is also an integral mission of the IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach.
The aims of the pro-am WG are:
to promote research collaborations between IAU professional astronomers and research-capable amateurs;
to organize workshops for amateur and professional astronomers (possible hybrid or virtual) approximately every two years, startin g in April 2023;
to promote the ‘Meet the Astronomer’ program of the OAO, whereby IAU members give talks to amateur societies or associations;
to organize an IAU symposium devoted to developing pro-am relations.
To further these aims, the pro-am WG conducted a survey of amateur astronomers and amateur astronomy associations world-wide in Dec 2021 to Feb 2022. Almost two thousand amateurs and over 350 associations responded.
IAU Pro-Am Working Group Organizing Committee
Aniket Sule, India – Co-Chairperson
John Hearnshaw, New Zealand – Co-Chairperson
Tim Spuck, USA
Ilya Usoskin, Finland – liaison of WG with IAU Executive Committee
Yuko Kakazu, USA and Japan – WG Secretary
Lina Canas, Japan and Portugal – liaison with IAU Office for Astronomy Outreach
Beatriz Garcia, Argentina
Moein Mosleh, Iran
Antonia Varela Perez, Spain
Clementina Sasso, Italy
Kaz Sekiguchi, Japan
Boonrucksar Soonthornthum, Thailand
Mayra Lebron, Puerto Rico
Pro-Am WG session at the GA: Thursday 11 August 15:15 to 16:45
The following talks at the pro-am WG GA session have been proposed:
John Hearnshaw |
Introduction to the pro-am WG and future plans | 15 min |
Tim Spuck |
The pro-am survey | 15 min |
Lina Canas |
Meet the Astronomer programme | 10 min |
Antonia Varela |
To be confirmed | 10 min |
Inok Song |
Amateur astronomers in Korea | 10 min |
Aniket Sule |
Amateur astronomy culture in India | 10 min |
General discussion |
On future directions for the pro-am WG | 20 min |