Date: May 8 to 12, 2018 Venue: Gorleaus building, Sterrewacht Leiden, Leiden Hosts/organizers: Steven Bos, Sebastiaan Haffert, David Doelman, Emiel Por Attendees:Click here to download Schedule:Click here to download
The attendees in front of a model of the ISS Columbus module, at ESA/ESTEC, Noordwijk.
The goal for NYRIA2018 in Leiden was to connect young researchers in instrumentation and to stimulate
interaction and collaboration between participants. As well as to, show this
talented group of researchers what Leiden University and the Netherlands in general has to offer.
The workshop had 38 participants from 22 different institutes and 10 different countries spanning four continents.
On Monday, overseas attendees gathered at the hotel where the local organising committee escorted them, by bike, to Leiden
University. The workshop was kicked off with an introduction on Dutch astronomy, including the Netherlands Research School
for Astronomy (NOVA) and Leiden Observatory. Afterwards each participant gave an elevator pitch on their research. This was
meant as a short personal introduction. We thought it was important to let all participants give a short introduction at the beginning of
the workshop. This would let people know of each others work before their main presentation. This was especially helpful
for the participants who gave a presentation at the end of the week, as they could then already start talking with people
at the start of the workshop. We concluded the first day with a borrel and pizza dinner. The participants really enjoyed
the borrel and the pizza and felt that it was a good way to connect with other people in a more relaxed environment.
Attendees mingiling at a coffee break.
The first day was a great success where the participants could get to know each other. This was noticeable during Tuesday
morning where a majority of the people already started to discuss their research. We started the day with two rounds of
presentations from the participants of the workshop with a coffee break in between the two rounds. The presentations were
of high quality and very interesting as some people were immediately discussing ideas and collaborations during the coffee
break and lunch. After lunch we had two invited talks from staff members in astronomical instrumentation from
Leiden Observatory. The invited talks were a mix of a talk and a question- and-answers session, focused on how to build a
career in astronomical instrumentation. This was an important topic for us, as the NYRIA workshop was focused on connecting
and networking for the new generation of astronomical instrumentalists. We noticed that this was very well received by the
participants as they were very involved in the Q&A sessions. In the end we went over the scheduled time due to the amount
of questions. The day was concluded with a typical Dutch dinner at the Schaapsbel where all the international participants
were able to try dutch pancakes.
Attendees brainstorming during the hackathon session.
The Wednesday morning was filled with presentations by the participants. The afternoon was reserved for a hackthon.
The goal of this event was to brainstorm about new telescope concepts for the next generation of telescopes. This is
relevant as current technology is not sufficient to build telescopes larger than 40 meters, which is the size of the
telescopes currently in construction. To kick off the hackathon Prof. dr. Christoph Keller gave a presentation on how to
become a creative scientist and an introduction of the subject. We formed groups of approximately ten persons, each
supervised by one of the organisers of the workshop. Each group came up with unique and innovative solutions, which ranged
from large fiber bundles to interferometers in space, that were presented at the end of the afternoon. The day concluded
with a dinner at Proeflokaal Bregje, where in an informal setting more socialisation could take place.
Tour of ESA/ESTEC
On Thursday we started with the last round of talks by the participants. After the lunch we went to ESA/ESTEC with a rental
bus. The goal of the ESA/ESTEC visit was to showcase Dutch space- instrumentation efforts. Therefore we had a non-standard
talk and tour by the lead optical engineer at ESTEC in combination with a standard ESA introduction. Both were received very
well by the participants.
Offical workshop dinner
The Friday started with a presentation by Prof. dr. Tim de Zeeuw on the realization of large astronomical research
facilities. As being the former Director-General of the European Southern Observatory Prof. de Zeeuw could show his
unique hands-on experience on this subject. The many questions at the end of presentation demonstrated the high engagement
by the participants. The week concluded with a short summary of the workshop and an outlook to future workshops and the
organisation of NYRIA in general.
credit image: Mauricio Cabrales
Acknowledgments:
We at NYRIA would like to give a big thank you to our local organising commitee
Steven Bos,
David Doelman,
Sebastiaan Haffert and
Emiel Por.
These four went above and beyond in making NYRIA 2018 a wonderful and fruitful experience for all attendees.
We are very grateful for the time and effort they put into organising this meeting.
