DATE: Fri, 18 Sep 2009 09:37:11 +1000 SUBJECT: Pathways to SKA Science in Australasia Pathways to SKA Science in Australasia A conference, "Pathways to SKA Science in Australasia", is to be held at the Auckland University of Technology on Tuesday - Thursday, February 16-18, 2010. The conference aims to highlight recent SKA developments in Australia and New Zealand and to review the main areas of SKA science. Motivations for the meeting include the recent signing of the Australia - New Zealand SKA Cooperation Agreement and first light on a new 12m antenna at Warkworth, near Auckland, which it is hoped will be a "path-finder" for further New Zealand involvement in ASKAP and the SKA. We expect the meeting to attract further interest in the SKA and ASKAP on both the science and engineering sides, especially in New Zealand. The meeting will include sessions on: · SKA Overview * ASKAP * Engineering developments in Australia * Engineering developments in New Zealand * SKA Key Science * Related projects in Australasia The meeting website (www.aut.ac.nz/skanz2010 ) gives the draft program and other information relating to the meeting. There are ample slots for contributed papers and also a poster session. On Tuesday afternoon, there will be a visit to the Warkworth site followed by wine tasting at a local vineyard. The conference dinner will be in Auckland's famous Sky Tower restaurant. Associated events are a meeting on Geodetic VLBI in New Zealand (Monday 15 February), an Astroinformatics School (Friday 19 February) and an Australian VLBI operations and technical meeting (Friday 19 February). We encourage you to visit the website and to register your interest in participation in this meeting. Dick Manchester (Chair SOC) Sergei Gulyaev (Chair LOC)