Workshop group photo.
NYRIA workshop 2019
Lisbon, Portugal
Date: 4th - 8th November 2019
Venue: University of Lisbon, Portugal
Local Organizers: Bachar Wehbe & Alexandre Cabral, from IA
Attendees & Schedule: Click here to download
The NYRIA 2019 workshop was held in Lisbon – Portugal. The goal of the workshop was to gather a group of young researchers working in astronomical instrumentation to share their ideas, thoughts, and work in a friendly environment. As every year, the NYRIA workshop is held in a different location, trying to gather a mix of current members and and new ones to wider the network. After a welcome talk on Monday to introduce the Institute of Astrophysics and Space Sciences and the University of Lisbon, we kicked the workshop by an invited talk by Gerardo Avila, an expert on ESO's instruments. At the end of the first day, the participants had the opportunity to introduce themselves in a one-minute pop-up talk.
On Tuesday, the scheduled was condensed with interesting talks of the participants covering the main topic of the workshop: ground based astronomical instrumentation. We finished the day by an invited talk by Nuno Santos, one of the experts in exoplanets and in particular the science requirements behind the design of high-resolution astronomical instruments.
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hackathon session |
The third day of the workshop was also an interestingly condensed day. Along with the participants talk, we had two invited speakers: Alexandre Cabral talking about all the design and commissioning phases of an instrument from an instrumental point view; and João Retrê discussing the importance of science communication and outreach. We have to stress that the activities prepared by João were more like hands-on and it helped the participants engaging more together. At the end of the day, we launched the projects of the next day.
On Thursday, it was a scratch your head day. The participants were randomly divided into groups and each one was assigned a mission. The mission was to design an instrument to be used for undergraduate/graduate students to test a concept or confirm any idea they might have. At the end of the day, all the groups presented their work. The majority of the ideas were quite impressive, even with a low budget. Once in Portugal, you have to try their traditional food: cod fish, or as they call it in Portuguese bachalhau. The night of Thursday was the social event and dinner. Before heading to the restaurant, the participants had the chance to visit the ocenarium of Lisbon, one of the biggest in the world. At the end of the night, all the participants, and the invited speakers were invited to enjoy a meal and couple of drinks at a restaurant near the seaside.
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Last but not least. The last day of the workshop started by a discussion regarding gender balance and diversity in astronomy, and in particular in the field of astronomical instrumentation. This invited talk was led by Gabriella Gilli and Vardan Adibekyan. Trust me, it was intense. After the talk it was the closing ceremony, where each participant was handed a certificate of attendance after discussing the pros and cons of the workshop to better organize a 2020 one. At the end, we all cheered together with some traditional drinks, in particular porto wine and ginga. Not to forget the cheese as well.
Cheers to an awesome workshop!
Written by: Bachar Wehbe
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