########################################## Table of Contents ########################################### 1. Conferences 1.1. Testing Gravity 2015, Vancouver 1.2. Third Erlangen Fall School on Quantum Geometry 1.3. A Century of General Relativity, Berlin 1.4. 24th Workshop on General Relativity and Gravitation in Japan (JGRG24) 1.5. 100 Years of General Relativity, Penn State 2. Jobs 2.1. Postdoc at Univ of Zululand 2.2. Academic Opportunities in the School of Mathematical Sciences - Level B/C/D/E Monash University 2.3. PhD Fellowship in Relativity at Southampton 2.4. PhD Fellowships in Physics at the University of Trento 2.5. Riemann Fellowship at Leibniz Universitaet Hannover 2.6. Postdoctoral position in multimessenger astrophysics at the University of Pisa 3. News 3.1. Living Reviews in Relativity: "On the History of Unified Field Theories. Part II" ============================================== 1. Conferences ============================================== 1.1. Testing Gravity 2015, Vancouver --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/?p=9530 Starting: 2015-01-15 to 2015-01-17 Location: Vancouver, Canada Additional Information: http://www.sfu.ca/physics/cosmology/TestingGravity2015/ Contact: testing-gravity-2015[AT]sfu.ca We are organizing a 3 day workshop at SFU Harbour Centre in Vancouver, January 15-17, 2015, on various ways of testing gravity - cosmological, astrophysical and terrestrial. The workshop will bring together experimentalists, observers and theorists, with a mixture of invited and contributed talks, and plenty of time for discussions. Topics will include - Pulsars, black holes and other astrophysical tests - Gravitational wave detectors - Terrestrial tests, gravity on short distances - Cosmological probes - CMB, 21cm, redshift surveys, weak lensing - Modified gravity theories - Model-independent frameworks for testing gravity Because the meeting deals with the overlap between all these different research areas, we plan a 1-day school on Wednesday, January 14, as an option for people who would like to catch up to speed on areas outside their normal research focus. Testing Gravity is a topical theme, in part because of the growing interest in modified gravity theories motivated by the unexplained nature of dark matter and dark energy, and in part by improving technologies that open opportunities for new types of tests. We hope that you will consider coming to our workshop and will appreciate if you forward this announcement to your colleagues, including postdocs and graduate students. The registration for the workshop and the school is now open and available via the workshop website: http://www.sfu.ca/physics/cosmology/TestingGravity2015/ Travel advice and local information will appear soon. Sincerely, The Scientific Organizing Committee: Andrei Frolov, Makoto Fujiwara, Ruediger Picker, Levon Pogosian, Maxim Pospelov, Dimitrios Psaltis and Douglas Scott +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.2. Third Erlangen Fall School on Quantum Geometry --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2014/07/09/third-erlangen-fall-school-on-quantu... Starting: 2014-09-15 to 2014-09-18 Location: Erlangen, Germany Additional Information: https://www.algeo.math.fau.de/people/kulzer-johanna/tft0/fall-school.html Contact: kulzer[AT]math.fau.de The Erlangen Fall Schools on Quantum Geometry are a series of interdisciplinary schools on mathematical physics topics surrounding geometry and quantisation. They address postdocs and PhD students from both subjects and aim to provide an overview as well as an in-depth understanding of current research topics at the interface of mathematics and physics. The Third Erlangen Fall School on Quantum Geometry involves three intensive lecture series on: Teichmüller Theory (Vladimir Fock, Université de Strasbourg, IRMA) Deformations of Operator Algebras and the Construction of Quantum Field Theories (Gandalf Lechner, Universität Leipzig) Geometric Quantization (Gijs Tuynman, Université Lille 1) Each lecture series consists of approximately 6 hours of lectures as well as problem and discussion sessions. They are aimed at a mixed audience of mathematicians and physicists and are accessible to PhD students and postdocs. Participants should register on the school's registration page https://www.algeo.math.fau.de/people/kulzer-johanna/tft0/registration.html by July 31 2014. There is a limited amount of funding to provide financial support to PhD students and young researchers. If you require funding to cover your travel and/or acomodation cost, please indicate so on the registration form. Conference secretary: Johanna Kulzer, Department Mathematik, FAU, Cauerstrasse 11, 91058 Erlangen, Germany, Tel: 0049 9131 85 67035, Fax: 0049 9131 85 67036, For more details see: https://www.algeo.math.fau.de/people/kulzer-johanna/tft0/fall-school.html +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.3. A Century of General Relativity, Berlin --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2014/07/18/a-century-of-general-relativity/ Starting: 2015-11-30 to 2015-12-05 Location: Berlin, Germany Additional Information: http://www.aei.mpg.de/1569589/A_Century_of_General_Relativity Contact: ute.schlichting[AT]aei.mpg.de The Max Planck Institutes for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and the History of Science, along with the International Society for General Relativity and Gravitation, jointly announce a meeting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Einstein's full formulation of the theory of general relativity. The meeting will take place from Monday November 30 until Saturday December 5, 2015, and it will be held at the Harnack House in Berlin. The first part of the meeting will consist of reviews of current research frontiers in physics and astronomy that are impacted by general relativity. The second part will consist of an historical examination of the development of the theory and its integration into mainstream physics. Further details will be announced in the Autumn of 2014. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.4. 24th Workshop on General Relativity and Gravitation in Japan (JGRG24) --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/?p=9543 Starting: 2014-11-10 to 2014-11-14 Location: Kashiwa City, Japan Additional Information: http://indico.ipmu.jp/indico/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=36 Contact: jgrg24-loc[AT]ipmu.jp Dear Colleague, We are pleased to announce that the 24th workshop on General Relativity and Gravitation (JGRG24) will be held at Kavli IPMU, University of Tokyo. This is one of a series of JGRG workshops held in Japan every year since 1991, which has provided a place where people can exchange new ideas and pursue future trends in our research. The workshop will cover a wide area of research related to general relativity. The list of invited speakers: Francois Bouchet (IAP, Planck) Claudia de Rham (Case Western) Raffaele Flaminio (NAOJ, KAGRA) Steven Gubser (Princeton) Jonathan C McKinney (Maryland) Hitoshi Murayama (Berkeley/Kavli IPMU, SuMIRe) Andrzej Rostworowski (Jagiellonian) Leonardo Senatore (Stanford) Mark Vagins (Kavli IPMU, Super-Kamiokande) Shigeru Yoshida (Chiba, IceCube) The registration is open at the conference web site. The deadline is the 21st of Sep, 2014. If you would like to make either oral or poster presentation, please send us the title and the abstract by email to jgrg24-loc(at)ipmu.jp after registration. Unfortunately, we will be able to provide financial support to only a limited number of applicants. Priority may be given to Ph.D students and researchers who do not have their own research grant. For further information, please visit our web site at: URL: http://indico.ipmu.jp/indico/conferenceDisplay.py?confId=36 SOC: H. Asada, T. Chiba, T. Harada, K. Ioka, H. Ishihara, M. Kawasaki, H. Kodama, Y. Kojima, K. Maeda, S. Mukohyama, T. Nakamura, K. Nakao, Y. Nambu, K. Oohara, M. Sasaki, M. Shibata, T. Shiromizu, J. Soda, N. Sugiyama, T. Tanaka, M. Yamaguchi, J. Yokoyama LOC: T. Fujita, S. Mukohyama, R. Namba, R. Saitou Inquiries to: jgrg24-loc(at)ipmu.jp Shinji Mukohyama +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1.5. 100 Years of General Relativity, Penn State --------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2014/07/31/100-yeats-of-general-relativity/ Starting: 2015-06-07 to 2015-06-12 Location: University Park, PA, USA Additional Information: http://event.gravity.psu.edu/index.shtml Contact: rxh1[AT]psu.edu Second Announcement An international conference to celebrate 100 years of general relativity, entitled General Relativity and Gravitation: A Centennial Perspective will be held at the University Park campus of Penn State from Sunday, June 7 through Friday, June 12, 2015 under the auspices of the International Society on General Relativity and Gravitation (ISGRG) and the Topical Group on Gravitation (GGR) of the American Physical Society. ISGRG has commissioned a volume to celebrate the centennial, to be published by the Cambridge University Press. This volume will be released at the conference. Registration is now open at the conference website: http://event.gravity.psu.edu/index.shtml The regular registration fee is $150 with a student rate of $75 and the accompanying guest rate of $50. This fee includes all social events including the banquet. Early registration is strongly recommended since the total number of participants is limited because of the capacity of the main auditorium. Scientific Structure of the Conference The scientific program has a dual goal: To assess the current status of our field in broad terms, and discuss future directions. Therefore the plenary part of the conference will feature invited talks on various areas as well as perspective sessions in which 3-4 panelists will share their vision on a single theme. The invited talks will consist of broad overviews summarizing major developments over the past 2-3 decades. The perspective sessions will feature topics such as Future Technologies in Gravitational Wave Physics; Frontiers of Relativistic Astrophysics; The Next Decade in Cosmology; Future Directions in Computational Gravity; and, Gravity Meets the Quantum. Parallel sessions will be divided into four themes following the tradition of the GRn conferences of the ISGRG: i) Mathematical and Numerical GR; ii) Relativistic Astrophysics and Cosmology; iii) Experimental and Observational Gravity; and, iv) Quantum Aspects of Gravity. They will feature contributed talks, as well as a few invited talks providing introductions to broad sub-areas. Some sessions will be dedicated to the interface between these areas. There will also be a special Poster Session one afternoon featuring not only contributed presentations but also posters summarizing the invited talks at parallel sessions for the benefit of the participants who could not attend those specific sessions. General Information The conference will offer ample opportunities for informal discussions and social interactions. There will be a welcome reception in the evening on Sunday, June 7, a poster session (with refreshments) in the afternoon on Tuesday, June 9 and a conference banquet on Thursday, June 11. The conference will end late afternoon on Friday, June 12. The local airport at Penn State is University Park/State College (SCE), served by Delta, United, and US Airways with flights from Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington DC. University Park/State College is also within easy driving distance (approximately 2-4 hours) from Baltimore, New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington DC. A block of rooms has been reserved at local hotels and again, early reservations are strongly recommended. Please see the conference web-page for further information. Local Organization Committee: Eugenio Bianchi (Co-Chair), Chad Hanna (Co-Chair), Abhay Ashtekar, Martin Bojowald, Randi Neshteruk, Ben Owen Scientific Organization Committee: Abhay Ashtekar (Chair), Beverly Berger, John Friedman, James Isenberg, Malcolm MaCCallum, Peter Saulson +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ============================================== 2. Jobs ============================================== 2.1. Postdoc at Univ of Zululand ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/?p=9516 Deadline: 2014-08-15 Location: Kwa-Dlangezwa, South Africa Additional Information: http://www.unizulu.ac.za/call-for-applications-postdoctoral-research-fellows... Contact: BeeshamA[AT]unizulu.ac.za The University of Zululand invites applications for Postdoctoral Research Fellowships positions in any of its academic departments with suitable mentorship expertise. The Fellowships are valued at R240 000 pa and will be tenable for a period of TWO years, starting as soon as possible. The Fellowships are intended to enhance the intellectual environment at the University and to provide opportunities in diverse fields for recent doctoral graduates to develop their research skills and prepare them for an academic career. The University is located north of the uTugela River in the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. The region provides diverse research opportunities and the University is in close proximity to people in rural areas, commercial farmers, an industrial hub, a world heritage site and two countries in the SADC region. Although this invitation extends to all research fields, and an attempt will be made to ensure intellectual diversity in the appointments, the University particularly interested in attracting persons whose research could impact upon the region in which it is situated. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.2. Academic Opportunities in the School of Mathematical Sciences - Level B/C/D/E Monash University ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/?p=9519 Deadline: 2014-08-24 Location: Melbourne, Australia Additional Information: http://jobs.monash.edu.au/jobDetails.asp?sJobIDs=524967&sReferrer=home&lApplicationSubSourceID=&lWorkTypeID=&lLocationID=&sJobNo=524967&lCategoryID=&lBrandID=&sKeywords=524967&stp=AW&sLanguage=en Contact: sci-maths-jobs[AT]monash.edu Over the years Monash has built a strong reputation in Mathematics and, following the relocation of some of the more applied research areas, the School of Mathematics is embarking on a unique expansion across broad areas of Mathematics. The 15 appointments to be made in the next two years will be at all levels with at least four of the positions at Level E. Outstanding candidates in all areas of Mathematics are invited to apply for the posts. We expect to make appointments in algebra, analysis, applied analysis, and pde's (theoretical and computational), but appointments in other areas will be made. Some of the appointments will further build our research in mathematical biology, mathematical finance, and nonlinear dynamics with engineering applications. Appointments that consolidate our existing strength in combinatorics, operations research, mathematical statistics and hydrodynamics will be considered. Successful candidates at Level E will be expected to take a leadership role and be involved with recruitment at lower levels. All candidates will be expected to have outstanding research records and help our drive for excellence across the school. The school recognises the need for a strong Mathematical underpinning of research in many schools across the campus and is committed to delivering outstanding Mathematics teaching across the campus. These roles are full-time positions; however, flexible working arrangements may be negotiated. Your application must address the selection criteria. Enquiries: sci-maths-jobs[AT]monash.edu +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.3. PhD Fellowship in Relativity at Southampton ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/?p=9520 Deadline: 2014-08-31 Location: Southampton, UK Additional Information: http://www.southampton.ac.uk/maths/postgraduate/research_degrees/apply.page Contact: leor[AT]soton.ac.uk Applications are invited for a PhD Fellowship within the Gravity group in the School of Mathematics at the university of Southampton, UK. The PhD position is funded by the European Research Council for a duration of 3 years, starting in October 2014. The successful candidate will work with Prof. Leor Barack on the problem of orbital dynamics around black holes in General Relativity, with applications to gravitational-wave astronomy. The University of Southampton (UK) is home to a large Gravity research group, comprising 9 staff members (Nils Andersson, Leor Barack, Carsten Gundlach, Ian Hawke, Wynn Ho, Ian Jones, Kostas Skenderis, Marika Taylor and James Vickers), 9 postdocs and 15 research students. Research in the group covers topics in black-hole and neutron-star astrophysics, sources of gravitational waves and numerical relativity, as well as string-inspired gravity and holography. Students of any nationality are invited to apply, but full funding is guaranteed only for EU nationals. We prefer applications to arrive before 31 August 2014, but later applications will be considered until the position is filled. Applications should be made online, by following the link on http://www.southampton.ac.uk/maths/postgraduate/research_degrees/apply.page In the online application form please select Programme Type "Research", "Full Time" and type in "Mathematics" in the Search window. Then follow the link under "Apply online" and proceed as instructed. Make sure to indicate "Leor Barack" as the requested supervisor. Please also email a copy of your CV directly to leor[at]soton.ac.uk. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.4. PhD Fellowships in Physics at the University of Trento ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2014/07/20/phd-fellowships-in-physics-at-the-un... Deadline: 2014-09-11 Location: Trento, Italy Additional Information: http://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/1940/announcement-of-selection Contact: bruno.giacomazzo[AT]unitn.it The Physics department at the University of Trento invites applications for PhD fellowships starting in November 2014. The PhD fellowships have a duration of 3 years and a gross salary of 13638.47 EUR per year (about 1000 EUR per month after taxes). The PhD program covers several scientific areas, including also Gravitational Wave Astronomy, Theoretical Physics, and Astroparticle Physics. More details about the doctoral school in Physics can be found at http://web.unitn.it/en/drphys The Department of Physics includes faculty members working on computational astrophysics (Giacomazzo), gravitational wave detectors (Dolesi, Prodi, Vitale, Weber), theory of general relativity and cosmology (Cognola, Vanzo, Zerbini), and astroparticle physics (Battiston, Lazzizzera). Students with interests in one of these areas are strongly encouraged to apply. Applications for the doctoral positions are accepted from candidates, regardless of gender, age, and nationality, who have a Masters degree (equivalent to the Italian laurea magistrale). Any degree in Physics or related disciplines will be given preferential status. Applications are also accepted from students who expect to get their degree by October 31 2014. The University of Trento is ranked among the top 5 universities in Italy and it is characterized by an international and diverse student population. The city of Trento is located on the Italian Dolomites and it is very well connected with several destinations in Italy and Europe. The deadline for applications is September 11 2014 at 4 pm Italian time. The selection will be based on the curriculum of the candidate and on an oral exam (candidates permanently residing abroad by the date of the oral exam may take the exam by phone or videoconference in their country of residence). More information about the application process can be found here: http://www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/1940/announcement-of-selection +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.5. Riemann Fellowship at Leibniz Universitaet Hannover ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2014/07/22/riemann-fellowship-at-leibniz-univer... Deadline: 2014-12-31 Location: Hannover, Germany Additional Information: http://riemanncenter.de/fellowships.html Contact: riemann[AT]maphy.uni-hannover.de We are offering several Riemann Fellowships to mathematicians and theoretical physicists early in their postdoctoral career who are interested in participating in the research activities of any of the groups involved in the Riemann Center, for a period of up to four months. Salaries amount to about 2000 Euro per month after deductions and may require some mild teaching duties. The Riemann Center will assist with housing and other organizational issues concerning the visit. Applications can be sent at any time and will be considered as fellowships become available. Please send your application including a CV, publication list and a cover letter stating the intended period of stay and research group preference either electronically to riemann(at)maphy.uni-hannover.de or by mail to Riemann Center for Geometry and Physics Leibniz Universitaet Hannover Appelstrasse 2 30167 Hannover Germany +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2.6. Postdoctoral position in multimessenger astrophysics at the University of Pisa ------------------------------------------------------------- Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2014/08/01/postdoctoral-position-in-multimessen... Deadline: 2014-08-29 Location: Pisa, Italy Additional Information: http://www.df.unipi.it/~razzano/firb2012/postdocgwpi2014.pdf Contact: massimiliano.razzano[AT]pi.infn.it A two-year postdoctoral position at the University of Pisa on multimessenger astrophysics is avilable. This position has been opened in the context of the 2012 FIRB Grant `New perspectives on the violent Universe: unveiling the physics of compact objects with joint observations of gravitational waves and electromagnetic radiation' awarded to Marica Branchesi (University of Urbino), Michela Mapelli (INAF Padova) and Massimiliano Razzano (University of Pisa). We invite applications in the area of multimessenger astrophysics, focusing on the study of the gravitational waves from pulsars and other astrophysical sources. The position is expected to begin in October/November 2014, and the deadline for the application is August 29th, 2014. More information can be found at: http://www.df.unipi.it/~razzano/firb2012/postdocgwpi2014.pdf and the details on the application procedure at: http://www.unipi.it/ateneo/bandi/assegni/2014/fisica/29ago2014/index.htm http://www.unipi.it/ateneo/bandi/assegni/2014/fisica/29ago2014/inglese.r... (announcement in english) Title: "Study and development of data analysis techniques for gravitational wave signals from pulsars and other sources of astrophysical interest" For more details you are very welcome to contact massimiliano.razzano[AT]pi.infn.it +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ ============================================== 3. News ============================================== 3.1. Living Reviews in Relativity: "On the History of Unified Field Theories. Part II" ------------------------------------------------------------ Announcement on Hyperspace@AEI: http://hyperspace.aei.mpg.de/2014/07/11/living-reviews-in-relativity-on-the-... Additional Information: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2014-5 Living Reviews in Relativity has published a new review article on "On the History of Unified Field Theories. Part II (ca. 1930 - ca. 1965)" by Hubert F. M. Goenner on 23 June 2014. Please find the abstract and further details below. ------------------ PUB.NO. lrr-2014-5 Goenner, Hubert F. M. "On the History of Unified Field Theories. Part II (ca. 1930 - ca. 1965)" ACCEPTED: 2014-05-13 PUBLISHED: 2014-06-23 FULL ARTICLE AT: http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2014-5 ABSTRACT: The present review intends to provide an overall picture of the research concerning classical unified field theory, worldwide, in the decades between the mid-1930 and mid-1960. Main themes are the conceptual and methodical development of the field, the interaction among the scientists working in it, their opinions and interpretations. Next to the most prominent players, A. Einstein and E. Schrodinger, V. Hlavaty and the French groups around A. Lichnerowicz, M.-A. Tonnelat, and Y. Thiry are presented. It is shown that they have given contributions of comparable importance. The review also includes a few sections on the fringes of the central topic like Born-Infeld electromagnetic theory or scalar-tensor theory. Some comments on the structure and organization of research-groups are also made. UPCOMING ARTICLES AT: http://relativity.livingreviews.org/Articles/upcoming.html ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++